She was once forced to exhibit in a corridor by the ICA’s toilets. Now the 70-year-old artist is going to the ‘Olympics of art’ where she has ‘all sorts of things to say about Britain’s history and the British pavilion itself’
Lubaina Himid, the artist known for her large stage-set-style installations that draw attention to figures overlooked by history, has been picked by the British Council to represent the UK at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
“I’m energised and so up for it,” the artist said of the challenge to fill the British pavilion with her work at “the Olympics of art”. She added: “I was ready to do it when I was 30 – it’s just that the British Council weren’t ready for me.”
