Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible. The prize is awarded at Tate Britain every other year, with various venues outside of London being used in alternate years. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the UK's most publicised art award. The award represents all media.
As of 2004, the monetary award was established at £40,000. There have been different sponsors, including Channel 4 television and Gordon's Gin. A prominent event in British culture, the prize has been awarded by various distinguished celebrities: in 2006 this was Yoko Ono, and in 2012 it was presented by Jude Law.
It is a controversial event, mainly for the exhibits, such as The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living – a shark in formaldehyde by Damien Hirst – and My Bed, a dishevelled bed by Tracey Emin. Controversy has also come from other directions, including Culture Minister Kim Howells criticising exhibits, a guest of honour swearing, prize judge Lynn Barber writing in the press, and a speech by Sir Nicholas Serota about the purchase of a trustee's work. The Guardian has called the 2025 award the "soppiest ever".
Background
The prize was named after Turner, because, though he is now considered one of the country's greatest artists, when he was active, his work was controversial. While he is now looked at as a traditionalist, his new approach to landscape painting changed the course of art history, as many of the Turner Prize winners aspire to do.Each year after the announcement of the four nominees and during the build-up to the announcement of the winner, the Prize receives intense attention from the media. Much of this attention is critical and the question is often asked, "Is this art?"
The shortlisted and winning artists are chosen by the prize's jury based upon a showing of their work that they have staged in the preceding year. Nominations for the prize are usually invited from the public, although these suggestions are not a significant part of the selection process according to Lynn Barber, one of the 2006 judges. Public nominations were not actively sought for the prize in 2020 or 2021 "given the uncertainties of lockdown". The shortlist is announced in July; a show of the nominees' work opens at Tate Britain in late October; the prize itself is announced at the beginning of December. The exhibition remains on view until January. The prize is officially not judged on the Tate show, however, but on the earlier exhibition for which the artist was nominated.
The exhibition and prize rely on commercial sponsorship. By 1987, money for the prize was provided by Drexel Burnham Lambert; its withdrawal after its demise led to the cancellation of the prize for 1990. Channel 4, an independent television channel, stepped in for 1991, doubling the prize money to £20,000, and supporting the event with documentaries and live broadcasts of the prize-giving. Channel 4's head of arts at the time, Waldemar Januszczak, was influential in helping set the format for the prize in the following years, such as arguing for the age limit of 50 that was in place from 1991 until 2017. In 2004, they were replaced as sponsors by Gordon's Gin, doubling the prize money to £40,000, with £5,000 going to each of the shortlisted artists, and £25,000 to the winner. At a press conference for the 2019 prize, bus operator Stagecoach were announced as the lead sponsors of that year's prize, drawing questions from journalists as to whether the company was an appropriate sponsor, due to the chairman Brian Souter's support of Section 28 laws and campaigning against the legalisation of same-sex marriage. It was announced the following day that Tate and Turner Contemporary had mutually agreed to terminate the sponsorship with Stagecoach.
As much as the shortlist of artists reflects the state of British Art, the composition of the panel of judges, which includes curators and critics, provides some indication of who holds influence institutionally and internationally, as well as who are rising stars. Former Tate Director Sir Nicholas Serota was the Chair of the jury from the start of his tenure at the Tate in 1988 until 2006. There are conflicting reports as to how much personal sway he has over the proceedings.
The media success of the Turner Prize contributed to the success of such late 1990s phenomena as the Young British Artists, Cool Britannia, and exhibitions such as the Charles Saatchi-sponsored Sensation exhibition.
Most of the artists nominated for the prize selection become known to the general public for the first time as a consequence. Some have talked of the difficulty of the sudden media exposure. Sale prices of the winners have generally increased. Chris Ofili, Anish Kapoor and Jeremy Deller later became trustees of the Tate. Some artists, including Sarah Lucas and Julian Opie, have declined the invitation to be nominated.
Winners and nominees
History
The identity of the Turner Prize is deeply associated with conceptual art. For two of its first editions, Art & Language was nominated in 1986, and Terry Atkinson, one of the founders and historical member of Art & Language, was nominated in 1985.In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and first non-British artist to receive the Turner Prize.