Lubaina Himid Reports ‘Disbelief and Pleasure’ at 2026 Venice Biennale Selection

Lubaina Himid b. 1954, Tanzania Follow +

Zanzibar-born artist Lubaina Himid will present new works at the British Pavilion at next year’s Venice Biennale, with the British Council selection panel expecting her to transform the Pavilion with ‘vibrant, articulate and spatially dynamic artworks’.

Himid said she ‘laughed out loud with both disbelief and pleasure’ upon the news of her selection, and plans to create work that ‘communicates with complex histories and looks to a more collaborative future’.

Celebrated for her pioneering approach to art, which explores race, history, feminism, cultural memory, and identity, Himid has curated several significant exhibitions challenging Eurocentric narratives and spotlighting the contributions of Black figures often overlooked in Western history.

The selection panel included prominent figures from the U.K.‘s cultural institutions like Zoé Whitley and Claire Jackson who commended Himid for her cultural activism and ‘theatrical, spatially dynamic approach to exhibition-making’, which invites audiences to engage with the stories of Black British communities.

Based in Preston, U.K., Himid is an Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire and a key figure in the Black British Art Movement. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her significant contributions to the arts in 2018.

Himid is currently showcasing a major solo exhibition at Beijing‘s UCCA, encompassing key stages of her career over the past four decades. —[O]

Main image: Lubaina Himid, Naming the Money (2004). Ten cut-out figures, dimensions variable. © Lubaina Himid. Courtesy the artist; Hollybush Gardens, London; and Greene Naftali, New York. Exhibition view: Navigation Charts, Spike Island, Bristol (2017). Photo: Stuart Whipps/Spike Island.