A University of Central Lancashire Emeritus Professor has been recognised for her contribution to the art world with a prestigious honorary award.
The Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid CBE has been named an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy.
The Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Art said: “Courses in the arts and humanities are essential routes towards maintaining and nurturing the richness of our cultural landscape. I accepted this honorary fellowship because I am deeply honoured to be part of an institution, the British Academy, which supports and encourages research in these subjects; without them we are lost.”
Courses in the arts and humanities are essential routes towards maintaining and nurturing the richness of our cultural landscape.– Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Art Lubaina Himid
Lubaina is one of the pioneers of the Black British Art Movement. She has spent her career pioneering a practice which addresses themes of race, history, feminism, cultural memory and identity. She has specifically highlighted the trade in enslaved people and the contribution made by the people of the Black Diaspora.
After decades of creative outputs and eye-catching exhibitions, she won the globally renowned Turner Prize in 2017. The following year, she was recognised with a CBE for her contributions to the arts.
Next year, Lubaina, who has lived and worked in Preston since the early 1990s, is representing the United Kingdom at the international art festival, the Venice Biennale 2026. She has been chosen by the British Council to deliver a major solo exhibition of new work which will go on display in the famous Italian city’s British Pavilion from May to November.
I accepted this honorary fellowship because I am deeply honoured to be part of an institution, the British Academy, which supports and encourages research in these subjects; without them we are lost.– Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Art Lubaina Himid
Lubaina was one of four people elected as Honorary Fellows this year. She was joined on the list by Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor of Channel 4 News; Richard Ovenden OBE, Bodley's Librarian and the Helen Hamlyn Director of University Libraries; and Dame Judith Weir DBE Previous Master of the King’s Music and President of the Royal Society of Musicians.
The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
Photo credit Adama Jalloh.