BEIJING.- After a jury meeting in Vienna earlier this year, the Maria Lassnig Foundation has awarded the prestigious Maria Lassnig Prize to Lubaina Himid, marking the fourth edition of this mid-career artist award. Along with a monetary prize of EUR 50,000, the award includes an exhibition at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, which serves as the collaborating institution for this year's edition.

The Maria Lassnig Prize was originally envisioned by Maria Lassnig before her death in 2014 at the age of 94, at height of her artistic powers. Having achieved recognition only later in life, she hoped to encourage the efforts of fellow career artists not yet familiar to the public.

“In just a few short years, the Maria Lassnig Prize has emerged as a prestigious award that honors artists in the midst of their careers, recognizing their exceptional talent and the need for greater recognition, according to the esteemed jury. The ongoing partnerships with internationally renowned institutions that usually help artists to get attention early on, contributes a lot to the award’s global impact. As a result, we are enormously proud to announce that this exceptional artist Lubaina Himid, with a diverse cultural background, will be undertaking a project at UCCA Beijing. It’s the first major presence for the artist in Asia. We eagerly anticipate the outcome of this award edition and extraordinary collaboration,” noted Peter Pakesch, Chair of the Maria Lassnig Foundation.

Lubaina Himid CBE RA (b. 1954, Zanzibar) is a renowned British artist, curator, and Emeritus Professor of contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire. Since the beginning of her career in the 1980s, her work has delved into themes of colonialism, slavery, history, identity, and gender, long before they became central to contemporary discourse.

In 2017, Himid made history by becoming the first Black woman to win the Turner Prize. She was subsequently elected as a Royal Academician and was honored with a CBE for her remarkable contributions to the field of art in 2018. Following numerous exhibitions in the United Kingdom and around the world, including a solo show at Tate Modern in 2021, Himid's presentation at UCCA will mark her first solo exhibition in Asia. She also serves on the boards of trustees for esteemed institutions such as The Lowry in Manchester and the Arts Council England (Visual Arts).

The jury, consisting of Maria Lassnig Foundation Chair Peter Pakesch, UCCA Director Philip Tinari, Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries, London), Matthias Mühling (Director, Lenbachhaus, Munich), Cao Fei (artist), Guo Xi (Director of Exhibitions, UCCA), and Patrick Rhine (Director of Research, UCCA), played a crucial role in the selection process.

The Maria Lassnig Prize has recognized outstanding artists in previous editions, including Cathy Wilkes (2017, MoMA PS1, New York), Sheela Gowda (2019, Lenbachhaus, Munich), and Atta Kwami (2021, Serpentine Galleries, London).

“Lubaina Himid's bold formal innovations and trenchant historical explorations have established her as one of the most important voices in global contemporary art. UCCA is honored and thrilled to be able to present her work to audiences in China for the first time,” commented UCCA Director Philip Tinari.