Bold claim: A groundbreaking milestone has arrived in the art world with Nnena Kalu winning the 2025 Turner Prize. This achievement marks the first time a artist with a learning disability has claimed the prestigious £25,000 prize, a sum roughly $33,250, Tate Britain announced on December 9.
Kalu, known for hanging sculptures and life-sized drawings that evoke the calm, rhythmic energy of nests and cocoons, joins a lineup of four finalists: Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami, and Zadie Xa. The three runners-up will each receive £10,000 (about $13,300). An exhibition of all four artists’ works is open at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford through February 22, continuing Turner Prize tradition by presenting the winner’s work at a venue outside the Tate. The prize ceremony was broadcast live from Bradford, which has been designated the UK City of Culture for 2025.
Kalu was born in Glasgow in 1966 to Nigerian parents and currently resides and works in London. For 25 years, she has been an artist-in-residence at ActionSpace, an organization dedicated to supporting artists with disabilities. Her studio practice centers on wrapping, coiling, and knotting fabric, rope, and even magnetic tape from VHS cassettes around tubes and frames, creating spirals, spools, and coils that feel both familiar and improvisational. Her drawing practice echoes these motions using pen, graphite, and pastels in circular, looping gestures.
Two works helped elevate her profile to Turner Prize contention: Drawing 21 (2021), shown at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, and Hanging Sculpture 1 to 10 (2024), exhibited at Manifesta 15 in Barcelona. At tonight’s ceremony, Charlotte Hollinshead, Kalu’s artistic facilitator and head of artist development at ActionSpace, spoke on her behalf. Hollinshead noted that Kalu, who has limited verbal communication, often faced exclusion, discrimination, and obstacles within the art world due to her disability.
“Hopefully this award will smash that prejudice,” Hollinshead asserted during the presentation.
Sources: Hyperallergic News; BBC reports; Tate Britain announcements; and related coverage on the Turner Prize 2025 exhibitions and Bradford’s City of Culture designation.
Thought-provoking takeaway: The win foregrounds disability as a source of artistic strength rather than a barrier, challenging preconceptions about who can embody and deserve major recognition in contemporary art. What are your views on how disability and representation influence prestige in the arts? Should institutions broaden criteria to include lived experience as a core component of artistic impact? Share your perspective in the comments.
