Forty years on, this exhibition celebrates artists who redefined British art.
Connecting Thin Black Lines 1985–2025 is a landmark exhibition curated by Turner-Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid, who will represent Great Britain at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Marking 40 years since Himid’s pivotal 1985 exhibition The Thin Black Line, this new show brings together, for the first time, all 11 original artists from that momentous project: Brenda Agard, Sutapa Biswas, Sonia Boyce, Chila Kumari Burman, Jennifer Comrie, Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson, Ingrid Pollard, Veronica Ryan, Marlene Smith and Maud Sulter.
Archival material from the original Thin Black Line exhibition – including previously unseen letters and photographs – sheds light on this transformative moment in art history.
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