About
Sabba Khan is an illustrator, 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 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.
She also teaches as an Associate Lecturer at Chelsea School of Art.
Khan’s art practice is supported with membership with A-N Artists, The Association of Illustrators and The Society of Authors.
+ Jhalak Prize Winner 2022
+ The Guardian’s Best Books of 2021
+ RSL Ondaatje Prize Longlist 2022
+ British Book Design Awards Shortlist 2022
+ World Illustration Awards Longlist 2022
+ Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review 2022
+ Ignatz Nomination Shortlist 2022
+ The Guardian’s Best Books of 2021
+ RSL Ondaatje Prize Longlist 2022
+ British Book Design Awards Shortlist 2022
+ World Illustration Awards Longlist 2022
+ Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review 2022
+ Ignatz Nomination Shortlist 2022