Jasleen Kaur has been awarded the 2024 Turner Prize, receiving a £25,000 ($31,695) prize at a ceremony held at Tate Britain yesterday. The event, hosted by actor James Norton, commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Turner Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in contemporary visual arts.
Kaur was recognized for her exhibition ‘Alter Altar’, which brings personally significant objects to life through sound and music, and explores her personal experiences growing up in Glasgow’s Sikh community. The jury praised her ability to combine personal, political and spiritual elements in the exhibition, which debuted at Glasgow Arts Center Tramway last year. Most notably, her creations include a full-size vintage red Ford Escort with a sound system blasting pop and religious songs and covered with an oversized white tablecloth. The installation also includes bottles of Irn Bru (orange soda from Scotland) and Scottish pounds, further referencing her upbringing.
In her acceptance speech, Kaul noted how much the award means to her and said she didn’t know about it growing up. “I’ve received a lot of messages today from the local Sikh community and people I grew up with,” she said. “Something like this that’s so obvious means a lot to a lot of different people.”
This year’s shortlist includes Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson and Delaine Le Bas. Abad’s nominated works are mainly paintings, etchings and sculptures, focusing on the colonial history of objects in Oxford University’s collections. At the same time, Johnson’s pastel, gouache, and watercolor portraits of her black family and friends argue against the lack of representation of her marginalized groups in Western art history. Le Bas presents an immersive installation of painted and embroidered textiles suspended from ceiling to floor. The speech referenced the mythology and history of the Roma people to whom she belongs. An exhibition of their work will be on view at Tate Britain until 16 February 2025.
The Turner Prize was established in 1984 and is named after JMW Turner. It is awarded annually to a British artist in recognition of the outstanding performance of his or her work. Other notable winners include Anish Kapoor (1991), Steve McQueen (1999) and Lubaina Himid (2017). Next year, the Turner Prize will move to Bradford’s Cartwright Hall as part of the city’s UK City of Culture 2025 celebrations.
