Friday 12th December

I have mentioned The Turner Prize before in my blogs but I thought I’d put together a brief synopsis discussing both the Prize, it’s aims and the controversies surrounding it and including this years winner Nnena Kalu. Apologies if it comes across as a bit of a lecture.

The Turner Prize is Britain’s leading award for contemporary visual art, established in 1984 and named after the British painter J.M.W. Turner.

The Prize is awarded annually to a British artist (or someone working in Britain) based on an outstanding exhibition or a significant body of work completed over the previous year.

Originally it had broad eligibility (including critics and administrators), but by 1991 the shortlist was restricted to artists only, typically four nominees under a certain age (historically under 50).

Winners receive a cash award (historically £25,000) and the exposure associated with one of the art world’s most high-profile honours.

Because of its visibility and controversial history, the Prize has often served as a flashpoint, shaping public debate about contemporary art, pushing boundaries, and redefining what “art” can be in Britain.

Why It Matters — Influence & Significance

·        Spotlight on new and experimental art: The Prize has helped bring avant-garde and experimental work into the mainstream. By celebrating conceptual, sculptural, installation-based and interdisciplinary art, it encourages artists to push creative boundaries.

·        Career Launchpad: For many artists, winning or even being shortlisted can dramatically raise their profile. Recognition by The Turner, often leads to gallery shows, museum exhibitions, and broader public awareness.

·        Shifting cultural conversations: The Turner Prize has played a major role in broadening the public’s understanding of contemporary art and expanding its definition beyond traditional painting or sculpture. It has opened doors for diverse voices, materials, and practices.

·        Institutional and societal relevance: Because winners reflect contemporary concerns such as identity, politics, race, social change, disability, etc.  the Prize often encapsulates shifting cultural and social values in Britain (and beyond), making it a barometer of the moment.

Selected Past Winners - Some Highlights

Here are a few notable past winners to illustrate the variety of artistic practices celebrated by the Prize.

·        Anish Kapoor (1991) — a major sculptor whose later large-scale public works would earn him global renown.

·        Damien Hirst (1995) — one of the most controversial and talked-about artists associated with the “Young British Artists”—his work forced public debate about shock value, media, mortality, art and commerce.

·        Steve McQueen (1999) — known today as a major filmmaker, McQueen’s win underscored the Prize’s openness to multi-disciplinary practice and expanded notions of “art.”

·        Grayson Perry (2003) — a potter, sculptor and writer whose deeply personal and socially reflective work challenged conventional boundaries between “high art” and “craft.”

These examples show how the Prize doesn’t reward a single kind of art but embraces a broad spectrum, from traditional to radical, from sculptures to multimedia installations to identity-driven conceptual pieces.

The 2025 Winner: A Landmark Moment - Nnena Kalu

·        On 9 December 2025, the Turner Prize was awarded to Nnena Kalu.

·        Kalu was honoured for two bodies of work: “Hanging Sculpture 1-10” (installed at a former power station in Barcelona) and her contributions to “Conversations” at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

·        Her art involves striking, large-scale hanging sculptures made from repurposed materials, rope, fabric, VHS tape, and other found media creating “cocoon-like” forms. Alongside these, she produces large expressive drawings marked by bold, rhythmic lines.

·        Her win is widely celebrated not only for the aesthetic power of her work, but as a historic moment — she becomes the first artist with a learning disability to be awarded the Prize.

·        The jury praised her “bold and compelling work,” lauding her masterful use of material, scale, colour, composition and the “powerful presence” her creations occupy in space.

Kalu’s recognition signals a broadening of what kinds of artists and practices can be acknowledged by mainstream institutions. Her win highlights inclusivity and re-examines traditional “ gatekeeping” in art , a powerful statement for the contemporary art world. It has also ,once again sparked the annual debate as to its real relevance.

Ongoing Debates - Pros & Cons (Revisited)

While the significance of the Turner Prize is long established, it continues to provoke strong debate. Some of its strengths and weaknesses have become especially apparent in light of recent winners and evolving art-world contexts.

 Strengths / What Works

·        Diversity and representation: The Prize’s willingness to highlight underrepresented voices  including artists from different social, cultural, and neurodiverse backgrounds  helps democratize contemporary art. Nnena Kalu’s 2025 win is a historic marker for this.

·        Expanding definitions of art: By awarded non-traditional media (sculpture, installation, found materials, drawing, conceptual art), the Prize validates approaches that fall outside classical painting or sculpture traditions, pushing art forward.

·        Challenging public perceptions: Many Turner-winning works force audiences to confront difficult or unfamiliar ideas about identity, memory, culture, disability, material reuse , which can provoke reflection and dialogue.

·        Influence on art careers: For many artists, winning or being shortlisted remains a transformative career moment, giving them exposure, legitimacy, opportunities, and a platform to reach wider audiences.

 Criticisms / What Remains Challenging

·        Accessibility and public reception: Much contemporary work celebrated by the Prize is conceptual, abstract, or uses non-traditional media  some viewers find it hard to connect with or understand, which can reinforce views that modern art is “elitist” or “inaccessible.”

·        Subjectivity of artistic merit: Judging contemporary art is inherently subjective. What one jury values as “bold” and “innovative,” others may dismiss as obscure or self-indulgent. This continues to fuel debate over whether the Prize sometimes celebrates trend more than substance.

·        Media sensationalism and controversy: The Turner Prize has often gained public attention because of controversy, shock, or political statements which can overshadow the art itself. That tension remains.

·        Institutional constraints & “gatekeeping”: While inclusivity has improved, critics argue that the art 7world (and institutions behind the Prize) still maintain standards shaped by certain aesthetic or cultural biases,  potentially limiting what’s considered “worthy.” Harking back to the early years of the Royal Academy perhaps

Reflection: The Ever-Evolving Role of the Turner Prize

The Turner Prize has never been just a “best-artwork” award. It is also a mirror to social change, cultural dialogue, and evolving ideas about what art can be in Britain. Over its four decades, it has helped move British contemporary art into global prominence and at the same time forced society to wrestle with the often-awkward, challenging, or radical truths that contemporary artists bring forward.

The 2025 award to Nnena Kalu underscores how the Prize continues to evolve,  not only in aesthetic terms, but in its social and moral imagination. By acknowledging an artist with a learning disability, the Prize reaffirms art as a space for inclusion, diversity, and representation beyond traditional boundaries.

Whether one agrees with every decision of the jury or every piece of art judged worthy, the Turner Prize remains one of the most important and provocative institutions in contemporary art,  a constant invitation to question: what is art, who gets to make it, and who gets to be seen.

Many in the art world, remain frustrated at The Turner Prize and what it stands for. I have never really taken that much notice of it. As an artist, my artwork does not really push the boundaries of what can be considered as art. In that way, I am in the “traditional” camp. “Conceptual “ ideas are not really my thing. The Turner Prize will always push the boundaries and the debate as to what is or isn’t art. Now days it appears that if you say it is art, it is. It is, however, worth reading the background to Kalu’s (or any other artists) work and life. She shouldn’t be judged on The Turner Prize exhibition alone.

Back in my world. This week I sold 2 of my “Lake” Paintings at Beckstones Gallery,  possibly to the same person as they were identical size. We are full on preparing for Christmas.  I did manage 3 watercolours on Monday but I’ve virtually stopped work for Christmas. Next week is my Christmas Quiz which I may post in my blog . You can, of course, Google the answers but where’s the fun in that?