| Description | This archive documents Lubaina Himid's activity primarily from 1983-1998. As an artist, curator, writer, and educator, Himid has been seminal in facilitating and creating opportunities for artists of African-Caribbean and Asian heritage to exhibit and publish their output in the UK. Following her appointment as lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), Preston, in 1990, what was once a private archive became a study collection, research tool, and free, accessible resource for artists, students and fellow teaching staff with its own dedicated space at the university.
The ‘Making Histories Visible’ Archive was also a vehicle for Himid and her collaborators to work with major art museums - such as Tate - to connect artists and communities with their local and international heritage through exhibitions, archive interventions and public art projects. Their aim was to act as cultural brokers to encourage a sense of belonging and contribution to the culture, while strategically engaging in curatorial collaborations, major collection interventions and public exhibition projects. Research was undertaken by Professor Himid with Susan Walsh and Christine Eyene. Their work, carried out in collaboration with Tate in 2005, 2008 and 2011, led to key acquisitions made of work by artists from the Black diaspora.
The archive collection consists of correspondence; catalogues; brochures; flyers and leaflets; invitations; press releases; newsletters; posters; photographs and texts. There are some notable correspondents from the Blk Art Group, such as Claudette Johnson, Donald Rodney and Maud Sulter as well as institutional allies and supporters. There’s a wide-ranging selection of private view cards and exhibition catalogues. Key ephemeral items include copies of 'Feminist Arts News' (FAN), material produced by the Organisation for Black Art Advancement and Leisure Activities (OBAALA), and Greater London Arts documents such as the ‘Black Arts Policy and Strategy’ and ‘An Anti-Racist Code of Practice’ (1980s).
The archive includes posters by artists such as Chila Kumari Burman, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Gavin Jantjes and Yinka Shonibare, as well as posters for group exhibitions held at, among other spaces, The Africa Centre, London; The Black Art Gallery, London; Camerawork, London; The Pavilion, Leeds; The Photographers’ Gallery, London; The Polytechnic, Wolverhampton; The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and Transmission Gallery, Glasgow. In addition, there are published essays and texts by, among others, Lubaina Himid, Stuart Hall, Omoyiola Oyeleye and Ingrid Pollard. Finally, there’s a selection of images from works of art and installation shots to portrait shots of artists such as Himid, Pollard and Sulter, and political coverage such as marchers attending an anti-apartheid rally, London, 1984. |
| Administrative History | Lubaina Himid was born in Zanzibar in 1954. She studied Theatre Design at Wimbledon College of Art (1976) and received an MA in Cultural History from Royal College of Art (1984). She worked at Rochdale Art Gallery until her appointment as lecturer, later professor, at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in 1990. Himid won the Turner Prize in 2017, and was elected a Royal Academician in 2018. Her work is held by Tate, Royal Academy of Arts, Arts Council, British Council, Government Art Gallery, Birmingham Museums, Leeds Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, Pallant House Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery,, and other public collections.
Himid has held solo exhibitions at venues such as : Pentonville Gallery, London (1986), Rochdale Art Gallery (1987, 1992); Chisenhale Gallery, London (1989); Southbank Centre (1992); Transmission Gallery, Glasgow (1994); Wrexham Arts Centre (1995); Peg Alston Gallery, New York (1996, 2008); Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston (1997, 2007, 2012, 2018); Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno (1997); Bolton Museum & Art Gallery (2001); Hatton Gallery, Newcastle (2004); Hollybush Gardens, London (2013, 2018, 2022, 2024); Spike Island, Bristol (2017); Modern Art Gallery, Oxford (2017); Nottingham Contemporary (2017); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2017); Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2018); New Museum, New York (2019); and Tate Modern (2021-2022).
Her pioneering work as a curator includes : 'Five Black Women', Africa Centre, London (1983); 'Black Woman Time Now', Battersea Arts Centre, London (1984), 'Into The Open', Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield (1984), 'The Thin Black Line', ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), London (1985); and solo shows by Donald Rodney (1989) and Claudette Johnson (1990) at Rochdale Art Gallery. Himid founded The Elbow Room in 1986 with Maud Sulter to present exhibitons, events, and projects throughout the UK. |