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Lubaina Himid in “Between Worlds”
Descriptive audio version available here.
Painted in bright colors and adorned with lush fabrics, the often forgotten and marginalized figures in artist Lubaina Himid’s Street Sellers (2024) stand proudly with their assorted wares as life-sized portraits hung at New York’s Greene Naftali Gallery. After decades of pioneering work in painting and sculpture alongside curating groundbreaking exhibitions for Black women artists, recent years have brought long-deserved recognition for Himid, whose career challenges dominant histories of art and society through uniquely democratizing approaches. This documentary film dives deep into the artist’s process as she sifts through used furniture at flea markets to find the raw material for her paintings, listens to football matches while working in her studio, and pushes to find new ways to invite viewers to participate in the vital and provocative conversations at the heart of her work. “At the heart of everything,” Himid says, “I am trying to bypass gatekeepers of history and gatekeepers of contemporary museums, and say, ‘let’s have a conversation in this space about your life, my life, our histories, and where we belong.’”
This film was directed by Bryan Chang and Sana A. Malik, produced by Zeshawn Ali and Bryan Chang, edited by Zara Serabian-Arthur, and photographed by Bryan Chang.
Credits
Directors: Bryan Chang, Sana A. Malik. Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski. Series Producer: Nick Ravich. Producers: Zeshawn Ali, Bryan Chang. Editor: Zara Serabian-Arthur. Director of Photography: Bryan Chang. Associate Producer: Andrea Chung. Associate Curator: Jurrell Lewis. Design & Animation: Momentist, Inc. Composer: Andrew Orkin.
Production Services: Meerkat Media. Field Producer: Angela Walley. Additional Cinematography: Sean Hanley, Andrew Kemp, Mark Walley. Assistant Camera: Jason Harris, Oscar Harrison, Daniel Usman. Location Sound: Peter Bailey.
Additional Art21 Staff: Makda Amdetsyon, Lauren Barnett, Hannah DeGarmo, Lolita Fierro, Ian Forster, Grace LeCates, Emma Nordin, Jessica Svenson, Noor Tamari, Nora Wimmer.
Finishing Services: Skyline Finishing. Colorist: Stewart Griffin. Online Editor: Ben Kiviat. Re-Recording Mixer & Dialogue Editor: Annie Medlin. Sound Effects Editor: Mike Frank. Finishing Producer: Wendi Litteral. Additional Finishing Services: Cut + Measure. Additional Finishing Producers: Mary Grace Duffy, Alex Laviola. Audio Description & Captions: Sasha Hecht, Andre Kelman. Quality Control: Adam Stout. Narration: Louise Eliasof. Additional Music: Trey Toy. Additional Video Editor: Regina Spurlock. Assistant Editors: Stephanie Cen, Tristan Daley, Michelle Hanks.
Artwork Courtesy: Lubaina Himid, Hollybush Gardens.
Legal Counsel: Donaldson Callif Perez. Archival Material: Artists Rights Society, British Textile Biennial, Pogus Caesar, Claudette Johnson, Illuminations Media.
Interns: Candice Cirilo, Emma Kanne, Billie Lam, Asante Marie Owusu-Brafi, Aarya Silwal, Maria Syville, Emilia Copeland Titus.
Special Thanks: The Art21 Board of Trustees, Chris Davison, Beth Hughes, Alex Klein.
Filming Locations Provided By: The Birley Artist Studios, The Contemporary Austin, Greene Naftali Gallery, The Holburne Museum, Plum & Co Reclamation Yard, Printed Matter, Inc., Royal Academy of Arts
Series Created By: Susan Dowling and Susan Sollins.
Original Production Funding Provided By: The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Agnes Gund, Melony and Adam Lewis, National Endowment for the Arts, Teiger Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Dealer Tire, Arts, Equity, & Education Fund™, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Tim and Lauren Schrager Family Foundation.
This program is a production of Art21, Inc. which is solely responsible for its content.
© 2025 Art21, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Closed captionsAvailable in English, German, Romanian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian
Through the Art21 Translation Project, multilingual audiences from around the globe can contribute translations, making Art21 films more accessible worldwide.
Interested in showing this film in an exhibition or public screening? To license this video please visit Licensing & Reproduction.
Lubaina Himid was born in 1954 in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and currently lives and works in Preston, United Kingdom. She received a BA at Wimbledon College of Art in 1976 and an MA from the Royal College of Art in 1984. Through her paintings, installations, and sculptures, Himid creates platforms for viewers to engage with pressing questions about race, gender, class, and history. Working on traditional canvases, cut-out cardboard portraits, or repurposed domestic furniture, the artist calls attention to forgotten marginalized histories and people and connects them to the present. An early pioneer of the Black Arts Movement, Himid has been an advocate for inclusion in the art world, curating exhibitions and creating spaces for Black female artists in the United Kingdom.
“At the heart of everything, I’m trying to bypass the gatekeepers of history or the gatekeepers of contemporary museums and say, ‘Let’s have a conversation in this space about your life, my life, and our histories, and where we belong.’”
Lubaina Himid
