LUBAINA HIMID in The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure

Philadelphia Museum of Art
Nov 9, 2024 – Feb 9, 2025

Curated by British writer and curator Ekow Eshun, The Time is Always Now takes its title from an essay on desegregation by American writer and social rights activist James Baldwin. It highlights a sense of urgency around contemporary artistic expression, while acting as a reminder that Black artists exist within an always-evolving artistic lineage.

Traveling to the PMA from the National Portrait Gallery in London, the artists in this exhibition work in the U.S. and the U.K., including Michael Armitage, Claudette Johnson, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Amy Sherald, among others. For the show’s Philadelphia presentation, six artists working in the U.S. and U.K. have been added.

The Time is Always Now is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London, in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It will be supported by a series of public programs, including student tours, educational guides, and family programming.

For more information, please visit the museum's website.