Art world awaits 2025 Turner Prize winner

The winner of the Turner Prize was to be unveiled Tuesday, with four people vying for the prestigious award for contemporary art, including an Iraqi painter and an autistic artist.

Established in 1984 to celebrate contemporary British art, the Turner Prize is awarded each year to an artist born or based in Britain for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work.

Named after English painter J.M.W. Turner and his legacy of artistic experimentation, the prize, organised by the Tate institution, is one of the world’s leading visual arts awards.

The four shortlisted artists were announced on April 23, 250 years to the day since Turner’s birth.

Two are British-born, Nnena Kalu and Rene Matic, joined by Iraqi painter Mohammed Sami and Canadian-Korean artist Zadie Xa. All four now live and work in London, according to the prize organisers.

Their work has been on display since September at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford, in northern England.

Glasgow-born Kalu was described by organisers as “an autistic, learning disabled artist with limited verbal communication”.

The 59-year-old was nominated for her hanging sculptures using wrapped material, including fabric, rope and tape.

Her nomination was welcomed by British disability charity Sense as “incredibly significant”.

“We hope the 2025 Turner Prize will mark a new beginning, where many more disabled artists are given the chance to shine,” said Stephanie Tyrrell, head of arts at the charity, calling Kalu’s sculptures “beautiful and so impactful”.

“Nnena’s success proves what disabled people can achieve, given opportunities and support,” she added.

Sami, 40, seen by some commentators as the favourite, explores memory and conflict in his war-torn home country in his paintings.

Matic, 27, an artist from central England, presents work that blends intimate photography with sound and objects, addressing themes of race, care and vulnerability.

Xa, 41, is a finalist for her installation of bells, seashell soundscapes and painted walls drawing on Korean shamanism and ocean folklore.

Every other year, the Turner Prize exhibition ventures out of the Tate Britain gallery in London.

Bradford has been designated the 2025 “UK City of Culture”.

The prize-winner receives £25,000 ($33,300), while the remaining shortlisted artists will be awarded £10,000 each.

– ‘Launching pad’ –

“The Turner Prize continues to delight, inspire and provoke debate as it enters its fifth decade,” said Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize 2025 jury.

Christopher Turner, head of the architecture and design department at London’s V&A museum, said the prize has “struggled to connect with the public… as it used to”.

“That said, it is an important launching pad for emerging and mid-career artists,” he told AFP.

Previous winners include now-household names such as duo Gilbert & George, Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread, Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen and Damien Hirst.

The annual award seeks to encourage debate around new advances in contemporary art, which has often spilled over into controversy.

Chris Ofili, for example, won in 1998 for incorporating elephant dung into his paintings.

Hirst in 1995 exhibited pieces including a rotting cow’s head, while Emin’s 1999 entry “My Bed” — an unmade double bed with stained sheets surrounded by soiled underwear, condoms, slippers and empty drink bottles — attracted huge attention.

Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur won last year’s prize with a solo exhibition, which included an installation of a Ford Escort car with a giant doily on it, as the award celebrated its 40th anniversary.

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