An influential figure in contemporary art, from the central role she played in the British Black Art movement in the 1980s right up to her winning the prestigious Turner Prize in 2017, Lubaina Himid (*1954, Zanzibar) has constantly explored the possibilities that painting offers while questioning the narratives it conveys. In doing so, she has drawn attention both to aspects of history that have been made invisible and to the extraordinary moments of daily life.

Comprising brightly colored paintings, monumental installations, and sound environments, Lubaina Himid. So Many Dreams offers a unique opportunity to discover the scope and depth of the artist’s work. The exhibition unfolds along several narratives that touch on the question of places and their histories, historical memory and its resurgence in the present, and the transmission of certain stories through color, patterns, and sound. Narrative is never straightforward or linear. The artist creates spaces in her paintings which invite us to question the place each of the depicted figures occupies and the place we, too, occupy. The exhibition galleries unfold like the scenes of a play in which visitors are active participants.

The exhibition is organised by Tate Modern, London, in collaboration with MCBA