Exhibition title and details announced for Lubaina Himid representing the British Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2026
The British Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2026 will present Lubaina Himid CBE RA’s solo exhibition Predicting History: Testing Translation, a major new body of work addressing the complexities of belonging and the meaning of home. The exhibition will feature a series of large, multipaneled paintings in dazzling colours, alongside narratives, character-driven performances, and a surreal soundscape co-created with artist Magda Stawarska. Through these elements, Himid will illustrate the tensions and possibilities experienced when navigating life in places outside one’s roots.
Lubaina Himid CBE RA. Image courtesy of the British Council. Image credit Adama Jalloh
Himid, born in Zanzibar in 1954, is renowned for her pioneering artistic practice addressing race, history, feminism, cultural memory, and identity. Her work combines storytelling, historical research, and visual invention to challenge Eurocentric narratives and draw attention to overlooked Black figures in Western history. In this exhibition, she also embraces the British Pavilion’s neo-classical architecture, creating a space that is welcoming and full of potential but subtly layered with unease, reflecting the complexity of migration and cultural belonging.
Commissioned by the British Council, the exhibition will emphasise Himid’s ability to represent the UK in a contemporary light, exploring both opportunity and tension. Predicting History: Testing Translation will encourage audiences to reflect on personal and collective histories, migration, and memory. The project will highlight the power of art to connect individual experience with broader global narratives, offering insight into what it means to belong in a changing world.
Lubaina Himid’s British Council Commission for the British Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia will run from 9 May – 22 November 2026.
For more information visit: venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org
