Congratulations to Nnena Kalu who has won this year’s Turner Prize, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to receive the UK’s most high-profile art award. The judges described her sculptures and drawings as “bold and compelling”, praising the brightly coloured forms wrapped in layers of ribbon, string, card and shiny VHS tape, and her drawings of swirling, tornado-like shapes.
Kalu, 59, is an autistic, learning disabled artist with limited verbal communication. Charlotte Hollinshead, who has worked with her for 25 years, called the award “a major, major moment” and said it had “broken a very stubborn glass ceiling”. She added that Kalu had worked “so hard for such a long time” and was finally receiving the recognition she deserved.
The Glasgow-born, London-based artist was announced as the winner of the £25,000 prize at a ceremony in Bradford, the UK’s current city of culture. She accepted the honour wearing a rosette with her photo and the words “Idol, legend, winner, whatever.”
Kalu has been gaining recognition in recent years through her long-term residency with Action Space, which supports artists with learning disabilities. Hollinshead, her studio manager and artistic facilitator, highlighted the “beautiful work” and the “complex forms” created while listening to disco music “as loud as possible”. She noted the “frustrating journey” to challenge preconceptions about learning disabled artists and spoke of the discrimination Kalu has faced.
Turner Prize jury chairman and Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson said the decision was based on the “quality and uniqueness” of Kalu’s practice. He described her drawings as “beautifully intricate” and “swirling vortexes”, and her sculptures as suspended, three-dimensional forms resembling abstract expressionist paintings. He noted the highly unusual use of materials, including video tape wrapped “round and round”, and emphasised their expressive and compelling nature.
Farquharson added that the result was historic because it “breaks down walls” between neurotypical and neurodiverse artists, focusing attention on the power of the work itself.
The ceremony took place at Bradford Grammar School, and works by all four shortlisted artists are on display at the Turner Prize exhibition at Cartwright Hall until 22 February 2026. The other nominees – Rene Matić, Zadie Xa and Mohammed Sami – will each receive £10,000.
The Turner Prize, founded in 1984, remains the UK’s most coveted and controversial art award, with past winners including Lubaina Himid, Jeremy Deller, Grayson Perry, Steve McQueen and Damien Hirst.