Visual artist Lubaina Himid, best known for her paintings, installations, and drawings depicting the African diaspora, won the Turner Prize on Tuesday night, making her the first non-white woman to be given the leading British contemporary art award.
Her victory brings a cash prize of £25,000, or about R450,000, and was announced by Goldie, the British electronic musician and D.J., at a ceremony in Hull, England, which broadcast by the BBC.
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. This restriction was removed for the 2017 award, making Himid the oldest artist to receive the Prize.
Since it was set up in 1984, the Turner Prize has become one of the best-known visual arts prizes. Each year, four artists are shortlisted, and the prize awarded for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation in the preceding year. The aim of the Prize is to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art.
Alex Farquharson, Tate Britain’s director and the chairman of the Turner Prize jury, said in a statement that the jury “praised the artist for her uncompromising tackling of issues including colonial history and how racism persists today.” They admire her expansive and exuberant approach to painting which combines satire and a sense of theatre. The jury also acknowledged her role as an influential curator and educator who continues to speak urgently to the moment. Himid won for three of her shows this year, in Oxford, Bristol and Nottingham, he said.
Naming the Money, by Lubaina Himid, 2004.
Among the selection of Himid’s work on display at the Turner Prize exhibition in Hull was a collection of English ceramics painted with images of black slaves.
In previous years, the prize was judged only on the recent exhibitions for which the artists were nominated. This was the first year in which the prize show itself was formally taken into account.
Among the selection of Himid’s work on display at the Turner Prize exhibition in Hull was a collection of English ceramics painted with images of black slaves.
The location of the Turner exhibition alternates between the Tate Britain in London and galleries in other parts of the U.K. every year. Works by all of the nominees are on display in an exhibition at the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull until January 7th 2018.