Turner Prize winning Preston artist to represent Great Britain at global art festival

Turner Prize winning Preston artist Lubaina Himid CBE has been chosen to represent Great Britain at a globally renowned international art festival.

The University of Central Lancashire Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Art will deliver a major solo exhibition of new work at the Venice Biennale 2026.

Lubaina is one of the pioneers of the Black British Art Movement. She has spent her career developing a practice that addresses themes of race, history, feminism, cultural memory and identity. She has specifically highlighted the trade in enslaved people and the contribution made by the people of the Black Diaspora.

Lubaina, who has lived and worked in Preston since the early 1990s, said: “I laughed out loud with both disbelief and pleasure when I found out about this wonderful invitation to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2026.

“It is such a great honour and at the same time a huge challenge and a brilliant and exciting opportunity to make something particularly special, which resonates with multiple audiences, communicates with complex histories and looks to a more collaborative future.”

Her work will go on display next year in the famous Italian city’s British Pavilion.

“I’m determined to have a great time doing it,” Lubaina said. “It’s such a dream venue. Venice is everybody’s favourite city, and the pavilion itself is so British, on the top of that little hill, trying to be very grand and actually quite domestic. I love making shows that work with the place they’re in.”

Following her Turner Prize win in 2017, Lubaina received a CBE for her contributions to the arts in 2018.

Professor Graham Baldwin, Vice-Chancellor at the University, said: “I’m absolutely delighted the British Council has recognised Lubaina’s amazing work and chosen her to represent Great Britain at such a prestigious international art exhibition.

“She has been a driving force for the Black British Art Movement during her illustrious career and I know Lubaina will create a fantastic eye-catching and thought-provoking new exhibition.”

The Venice Biennale attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and will run from 9 May to 22 November 2026.

Emma Dexter, the British Council Collection and Commissioner of the British Pavilion, said: “Himid pushes the boundaries of painting practice through sound and sculptural installation, incorporating new materials, textures, narratives and formats in her work.

“Combining a radical optimism with social critique, she will transform the Pavilion with her vibrant, articulate and spatially dynamic artworks. Himid’s exhibitions take the visitor on an exploratory journey, which is why it’s so exciting to imagine how she will use the enfilade of six spaces in the British Pavilion.”

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This story was made possible by you, our readers, and a host of organisations in the city, through our Crowdfund Lancashire appeal, which unlocked support from the Lancashire Culture and Sport Fund provided by Lancashire County Council. You can see all our coverage and, if you know of an arts project or event in the city we should be covering, you can submit it for our event listings and/or send details to contactus@blogpreston.co.uk for us to cover it as a story on the Blog.