Four Finalists Win the Turner Prize
Jan 20, 2020
For the first time ever last year, the Turner Prize had four winners. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani were all hailed as the 2019 winners.
Four Finalists Win the Turner Prize
For the first time ever last year, the Turner Prize had four winners. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani were all hailed as the 2019 winners, splitting the £40,000 prize pot amongst themselves. With the honour, the four joined a distinguished list of previous winners, including he abstract painter and printmaker Howard Hodgkin, who won the award in 1985.
History was made after the four artists persuaded the Turner Prize judges to recognise the core themes of their work: commonality, multiplicity and solidarity. The Guardian’s report on the Turner Prize noted how Hamdan, Commock, Murillo and Shani jointly wrote to the judges to make their plea. At the ceremony, Commock read their joint statement, and emphasised that the Turner Prize is about expanding ‘what it means to be British’. She also pointed out that their decision was a ‘symbolic gesture of cohesion’ in the face of isolation and exclusion.
The Turner Prize 2019 winners. Photo credits: Turner Contemporary
The Turner Prize: Renowned Yet Controversial
The Turner Prize, given by the Tate Gallery, is one of the country’s most prestigious art awards. It is also one of its most controversial. In fact, in 2018, The Independent touched on the controversial past of this yearly honour. In particular, the nominations in the 1990s and early 2000s were often rife with controversy, notably Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde-preserved cows in 1995 and Fiona Banner’s Arsewoman in Wonderland in 2002.
But reactions to the Turner Prize for 2019 were relatively tame as opposed to previous years. The decision to announce four winners, in particular, was well received. In fact, over 95,000 people visited the Turner Prize exhibition in Margate, making it one of the most popular to date.
This Year’s Turner Prize Host, Turner Contemporary
The Turner Contemporary, which hosted the 2019 Turner Prize, was opened in 2011. It was built thanks to various grants bestowed upon Margate, including £10.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund between 2009 and 2011. Funding was used to restore the town’s Dreamland amusement park and construct the JMW Turner-inspired art gallery. In subsequent years the Turner Contemporary has received further support with the Arts Council pledging a £495,000 grant for the gallery in late 2019. This grant, along with the £1.28 million allocated by the Kent County Council, will be used to improve the Turner Contemporary and further cement its place as one of Britain’s most important art establishments.
The Turner Contemporary continues to thrive in part due to funding given by the National Lottery, which has been supporting UK art by way of the Arts Council. These funds are vital to keeping the country’s art scene alive. The good news is that the jackpots are continuing to rise,with Lottoland reporting that the EuroMillions jackpot can sometimes reach over €100 million. With more people playing than ever before, art galleries like the Turner Contemporary will continue to receive more funding. In turn, they might even get to host the Turner Prize, just like Turner Contemporary did last year.
The Turner Prize Returns to Tate Britain
The exhibition at Turner Contemporary showcasing the artworks of Hamdan, Commock, Murillo and Shani ended on 12th January 2020. With that, attention will now turn to the 2020 Turner Prize, which will make its return at the Tate Britain.
Featured image: This year's Turner Prize winners, from left to right: Tai Shani, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock and Oscar Murillo. Photo credits: Turner Contemporary
All images used for illustrative purposes only
