Black History Month Artist Profile

Lubaina Himid

Introducing Preston-based artist and Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid CBE RA, the artist behind Hannibal’s Sister. Himid was born in 1954 in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and became heavily involved in the UK Black Art movement throughout the 1980s. Himid’s work focuses on the reclamation of identities, interwoven with themes of cultural history and activism.

In 2010, Himid was awarded an MBE for services to black women’s art, and in 2017, she was awarded the Turner Prize. The following year, Himid was promoted to CBE for services to art. Currently, Lubaina is teaching at the University of Central Lancashire where she is a professor of contemporary art.

At The Harris, we are honoured to be in possession of one of Lubaina’s notable works – Hannibal’s Sister.

The image below shows the imagined sister of Hannibal, who was a daring military leader who defeated the Roman army in 218–219 BC. Hannibal is believed to have been of black Phoenician heritage. Himid, born in Zanzibar, presents us with an alternative black history in which Hannibal’s sister could also be a war hero.

Hannibal’s Sister
Lubaina Himid (b.1954)