Low Key Shrines: French Paintings and German Ceramics

A self-described “painter and a cultural activist,” Lubaina Himid rose to prominence in the 1980s as a pioneer of the British Black Arts Movement and a staunch advocate for the contributions of women of color to the visual arts. Organizing groundbreaking shows in community-centered or disused spaces as well as preeminent London institutions, Himid created sites for Black artists and communities to exhibit and to congregate. Her 1985 ICA exhibition The Thin Black Line , for instance, manifested a more inclusive vision of contemporary art in the UK, showing her own work and that of her peers in institutional settings typically denied to them. Himid’s curatorial priorities also extend to her own art, which over the past decade has gained international acclaim for exposing the human toll of empire while affirming the centrality of Black subjects.