Habiba Nabisubi

Over the autumn term and spring term, Habiba Nabisubi worked with a group of children from Grange Primary School for a weekly afterschool club. They have been exploring hair and identity but the club also became a creative space for them to process emotions around news and current affairs. The project culminated in a DIY exhibition and as a farewell Habiba gifted portraits of all the children! These beautiful portraits were then installed as part of a trail of exhibits around Drawing Room, ROCK PAPER SCISSORS: A Snapshot .

Habiba’s recent Teacher Assembly: Drawing Race encouraged local primary school teachers to think critically about how drawing techniques, materials, tones and references provided in the classroom can better reflect the diversity of our communities. This session illuminated how important it is for  all children to feel seen and have the confidence and tools to draw themselves and each other.

For her Family Studio in April, Habiba invited families to celebrate the springtime through creating textured flower crowns. The sun flooded the community studio as families transported the space into a meadow! For Habiba’s Family Studio in June, families created sculptures of their hair using card, wool, ribbon, pipe cleaners and paraded their new styles down the catwalk!

We recently hosted a forum for the ROCK PAPER SCISSORS artists to come together and reflect on projects whilst unpacking ideas through making and discussion. Habiba led a thoughtful session, sharing her fascination with hair and read an autobiographical text, whilst inviting the group to make stress balls and hair styles.

Habiba Nabisubi is a British-Ugandan artist-illustrator and mental health advocate based in South London. Through drawing she celebrates Black people in authentic and beautiful ways and views her artworks as an opportunity for others to learn, grow and reflect. She graduated from Camberwell College of the Arts in BA Illustration 2016; then went on to participate in Arts Council funded Pathways Into (2019-2021). Selected projects include Hair, Untold Stories, Horniman Museum, 2020; illustrated ‘Our Rights: Stories and Poems about Children’s Rights’ edited by Jake Hope.