Turner Prize goes to Jasleen Kaur

This year's Turner Prize has been awarded to artist Jasleen Kaur. At 38, Kaur was the youngest person on the shortlist for the 2024 edition of the prestigious Tate Britain-sponsored art award. The other artists in the running were Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson and Delaine Le Bas.

Kaur was honored for her exhibition titled "Alter Altar," featuring sculptures and soundscapes that reflect her background growing up in an Indian Sikh family in Glasgow.

The artist incorporates everyday objects in her work. Her winning exhibition included a red Ford Escort covered in a huge white lace doily, an acrylic "sky" hung with ordinary items, a large rug, and a soundtrack featuring worship bells, Sufi Islamic devotional music, Indian harmonium and pop music tracks.

Weaving 'the personal, political and spiritual'

The jury praised "the considered way in which Kaur weaves together the personal, political and spiritual … choreographing a visual and aural experience that suggests both solidarity and joy."

In a video on the Turner Prize website, Kaur speaks of her interest in a Sikh tradition of balancing the political and spiritual, saying, "I'm really interested in that duality and I've become quite obsessed with this particular point in my lineage where devotional practices were done across religious lines. That was happening for hundreds of years. But through the violence of borders, the violence of colonialism, the violence of empire, so much of this stuff, it has been impacted. And I'm obsessed with it because it tells me that there's a different way to live together."

Demands to sever ties with Israeli government

That stance seems to have informed Kaur's acceptance speech at Tate Britain in London on Tuesday evening, when she expressed support for pro-Palestinian protesters outside the ceremony. Wearing a scarf with the Palestinian flag, she called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for Britain's Tate museums to cut ties with donors linked to Israel's government.

"It's not a radical demand — this should not risk an artist's career or safety," she added.

Kaur had already communicated her position through an open letter published ahead of the prize ceremony. Titled "Tate: end your complicity in genocide," the letter has been signed by more than 1,200 artists and art workers.

The museum organization had already said before the ceremony that they would not respond to Kaur's comments. 

Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize jury, said he just wanted to focus on the winner's art.

Prestigious modern art prize

Now in its 40th year, the Turner Prize is awarded by Tate Britain annually to an artist either from or working in Britain, and recognizes recent work rather than lifetime achievement.

The winner receives £25,000 (€30,000, $31,600) with the other shortlisted artists each receiving £10,000. The award is named for the 19th-century English painter J. M. W. Turner.

Past winners of the Turner Prize have included international successful artists such as Damien Hirst, Steve McQueen and Antony Gormley.

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier