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About


Sabba Khan is a visual artist, architectural designer and story teller. Her work examines diasporic identities and how they are formed by the physical and non-physical structures around us. Her work is personal and emotive, and designed to illicit relational empathy, understanding and expansive ideas of a shared sense of humanity. Having lived in East London her entire life, she is fascinated by cities, density, landmarks, homes, and streets. She explores the relationship between inside / outside, private/ public, micro/ macro, individual and communal.

All of this is best encapsulated by her graphic novel, The Roles We Play, which was awarded the Jhalak Prize for best literature by a person of colour in 2022, Broken Frontier’s Break Out Talent ’22 and was nominated one of The Guardian’s best reads of 2021. Nominations include the Ignatz prize, Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize, British Book Design Awards and AOI’s World Illustrations Awards. The Roles We Play is available in the US under the title ‘What is Home, Mum?’.

Collaborators for Khan’s comics work include The Wellcome Collection, The British Council, SOAS, NHS, The Design Museum, London Borough of Newham, JCWI and The British Library.

Khan is co-director of Khan Bonshek, an architectural practice set up by her and her partner in Stratford, London, where both have just completed their self-build home and have won 2024’s Transformation Prize for NLA’s ‘Don’t Move, Improve!’ awards.

She also teaches as an Associate Lecturer at Chelsea School of Art, and is a mentor at Laydeez Do Comics.  

Khan’s art practice is supported with membership from A-N Artists, The Association of Illustrators and The Society of Authors. Funding bodies who have supported Khan’s practice are Arts Council England and Jerwood Arts. 




Current and Upcoming

+ Hard Graft at Wellcome Collection 


+ Newham Festival of Stories


+ Thought Bubble ‘24 - DSTLRY Hall table C4b









Past Events


+ Whitechapel Gallery Summer School ‘24 workshop with Alaa Alsaraji

+ North Kensington Library Workshop

+ The Future Obervatory at The Design Museum with Julia King

+ Jaag Festival panel talk 

+ Graphic Novel Your Life Module with Quentin Blake Centre

+ Storytelling Pathway lectures for BA Interiors, Chelsea School of Art, Year 3

+ NorthEastern University Guest Lecturer at BA Architecture


+ Part of judging panel for First Graphic Novel Competition 2023


+ Muslim Women Literature Conference, Birmingham


+ Comics workshop, Race and Health Conference for UCL’s Institute for Global Health


+ Unpacking The Roles We Play with Severnside Psychotherapy Institute


+ London College of Communication Guest Lecturer at BA Illustration


+ Comics workshop and panel talk with Caleb Azuma Nelson for Brighton Festival


+ Mindful drawing workshop for Rosetta Primary School, Year 2


+ Laundry workshop with Marianna at the Design Museum 


+ Show and Tell for Print and Matter Lab, Birmingham


+ London School of Architecture, Culture Theory workshop with Part 2  students


+ Islamophobia Awareness workhop and zine for Newham Council 


+ Panel Talk for Newcastle University’s Literature department


+ Guest Lecturer at Leeds University