Nnena Kalu wins Turner Prize 2025

The Turner Prize 2025 has been awarded to Nnena Kalu. The winner of the £25,000 prize was announced this evening at a ceremony at Bradford Grammar School presented by magician Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo, in Bradford, this year’s UK City of Culture, and broadcast live on BBC News.

The jury congratulated all four nominees for their unique and bold presentations, offering an insight into contemporary art today. Working across sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, sound and installation, this year’s nominees each reflect their diverse practices and broad experience in compelling ways. The Turner Prize 2025 at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford has attracted 34,000 visitors to date.

The jury awarded the prize to Nnena Kalu, who creates hanging sculptures from wrappings of different materials making cocoon-like shapes, as well as large-scale drawings made with vigorous, rhythmic lines. The jury commended Kalu’s bold and compelling work, praising her lively translation of expressive gesture into captivating abstract sculpture and drawing. Noting her distinct practice and finesse of scale, composition and colour, they admired the powerful presence these works have.

One of the best-known visual arts prizes in the world, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Established in 1984, the prize is awarded each year to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work. The shortlisted artists for 2025 are Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa.

The members of the Turner Prize 2025 jury are Andrew Bonacina, independent curator; Sam Lackey, Director, Liverpool Biennial; Priyesh Mistry, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects, The National Gallery; and Habda Rashid, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Fitzwilliam Museum. The jury is chaired by Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain.

The exhibition of the four shortlisted artists is at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford until 22 February 2026. It is co-curated by Jill Iredale, Curator, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Michael Richmond, Curator, Yorkshire Contemporary, and Sophie Bullen, Assistant Curator, Yorkshire Contemporary, for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Turner Prize 2025 is produced by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Delivered in partnership with Tate, Bradford District Museums & Galleries and Yorkshire Contemporary. It is supported by The John Browne Charitable Trust and The Uggla Family Foundation. It is sponsored by Amplitude Event Solutions.

In 2026, the prize will be held at MIMA, Middlesborough.

Notes to Editors

High-resolution images are available via Dropbox.

For press information about Turner Prize 2025: daisy@boltonqunn.com / +44(0)20 7221 5000

For press information about Bradford 2025: Jamieleigh.Hargreaves@bradford2025.co.uk

For press information about Tate and the Turner Prize: pressoffice@tate.org.uk / +44(0)20 7887 8730

Listings information

Turner Prize 2025
27 September 2025 to 22 February 2026
Cartwright Hall, Lister Park, Bradford, BD9 4NS
Open Tuesday to Friday 10.00–16.00 and Saturday to Sunday 10.00–18.00
Admission free
@BradfordMuseums #TurnerPrize2025
@bradford_2025 #Bradford2025 @yorkshirecontemporary

About the Turner Prize

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is named after the radical British painter JMW Turner (1775-1851) whose 250th birthday is marked this year. £25,000 is awarded to the winner, with £10,000 awarded to the other shortlisted artists. Originating at Tate Britain, the Turner Prize regularly travels to a non-Tate venue in the UK, widening access to contemporary art by bringing it to a local leading arts venue. In 2026 the prize will be presented at MIMA in Middlesborough.

Previous Turner Prize winners are: 1984 Malcolm Morley; 1985 Howard Hodgkin; 1986 Gilbert & George; 1987 Richard Deacon; 1988 Tony Cragg; 1989 Richard Long; 1991 Anish Kapoor; 1992 Grenville Davey; 1993 Rachel Whiteread; 1994 Antony Gormley; 1995 Damien Hirst; 1996 Douglas Gordon; 1997 Gillian Wearing; 1998 Chris Ofili; 1999 Steve McQueen; 2000 Wolfgang Tillmans; 2001 Martin Creed; 2002 Keith Tyson; 2003 Grayson Perry; 2004 Jeremy Deller; 2005 Simon Starling; 2006 Tomma Abts; 2007 Mark Wallinger; 2008 Mark Leckey; 2009 Richard Wright; 2010 Susan Philipsz; 2011 Martin Boyce; 2012 Elizabeth Price; 2013 Laure Prouvost; 2014 Duncan Campbell; 2015 Assemble; 2016 Helen Marten; 2017 Lubaina Himid; 2018 Charlotte Prodger; 2019 Hamdan/Cammock/Murillo/Shani; 2021 Array Collective; 2022 Veronica Ryan; 2023 Jesse Darling; 2024 Jasleen Kaur.

About Nnena Kalu

Nnena Kalu was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1966. Since 1999 Kalu has been a resident artist in ActionSpace’s studio, a visual arts organisation that supports learning disabled artists across London, based at Studio Voltaire. Nnena Kalu is 59 years old and lives and works in London.

Kalu creates large scale abstract sculptures and drawings. Often made onsite in the exhibition space, they hang down from the wall or ceiling. Kalu begins with a loop, tube or armature that forms a base from which she begins to wrap, fold and knot colourful streams of repurposed fabric, rope, parcel tape, cling film, paper and reels of VHS tape. These brightly coloured lengths and strips form a bundle, sometimes resembling a nest or cocoon. Kalu’s drawings feature repeated gestural marks, layered to create abstract forms often in the shape of vortexes or spirals. Created whilst standing, each drawing is made with marks and movements replicated in a series, usually in pairs or small groups, using pens, pencils, ink, graphite and pastels. Together the dense, rhythmic whirlpool-like forms of line and colour, echo the contours of her sculptures.

Kalu has been nominated for her installation Hanging Sculpture 1-10. Barcelona, presented as part of Manifesta 15, Barcelona (8 September – 24 November 2024) and for her presentation in Conversations, a group exhibition at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (19 October 2024 - 9 March 2025). For Manifesta 15 Kalu was commissioned to create a body of work under the curatorial theme ‘Imagining Futures’ at The Three Chimneys, a disused power station. Her installation consisted of 10 large brightly coloured sculptures that hung amongst the grey concrete pillars of the industrial site. In Conversations Kalu presented Drawing 21 (2021), a work in pen, graphite and chalk pen on two sheets of paper.

Other solo exhibitions include: Creations of Care, Kunsthall Stavanger (2025); Nnena Kalu, Arcadia Missa, London (2024); Infinite Drawing, Deptford X, London (2022); Studio Voltaire elsewhere, Old Burlington Street, London (2020); Wrapping, Humber Street Gallery, Hull (2019); and Nnena Kalu, Project Ability Gallery, Glasgow International (2018).

Group exhibitions include: Kaleidoscopic Realms, Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery (2024); Trickster Figures: Sculpture and the Body, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes (2023); Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2021); Spectrum Arts Prize, Saatchi Gallery, London (2018); Radical Craft: Alternative Ways of Making, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (2016); The Trouble with Painting Today, Pump House Gallery, London (2014); Side by Side International Exhibition, Southbank Centre, London (2013); Big Show, Studio Voltaire, London (2004).

About Steven Frayne

Since bursting onto the scene nearly two decades ago, Steven Frayne - formerly known as Dynamo - has become one of the most recognisable figures in global entertainment. From sold-out arena tours to Sunday Times bestsellers, award-winning documentaries, to countless accolades, Steven’s legacy has touched millions worldwide. In 2015, he was named the Academy of Magical Arts Magician of the Year and received the Magic Circle’s prestigious Maskelyne Award for Performance, achieving the society’s highest level of recognition. Steven’s on-screen career has been equally remarkable, with three BAFTA nominations, two Virgin Media Awards, and Sky’s biggest entertainment launch of the past decade - 1.8 million viewers tuned in for the premiere of his hit show Beyond Belief.

About Cartwright Hall Art Gallery

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is one of four Bradford District Museums and Galleries venues run by Bradford Council. It can be found in the stunning Green Flag awarded Lister Park and is only a mile from Bradford city centre. Inside you’ll find incredible paintings, drawings and sculpture from the district’s own world-class art collections, including pieces by L.S. Lowry, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Anish Kapoor. The Hockney Gallery, dedicated to Bradford born artist David Hockney gives a playful introduction to his life and art with a particular focus on Yorkshire and Bradford, and taking you right through to his colourful iPad experiments. Alongside its permanent displays the venue offers an exciting programme of exhibitions and activities and workshops.

About Bradford 2025

Bradford became the fourth UK City of Culture in January 2025. The district was selected by the UK Government in May 2022 from a record-breaking 20 bids, following Derry~Londonderry (2013), Hull (2017) and Coventry (2021) to take on one of the most prestigious and transformative titles in UK culture.

Bradford 2025 takes place throughout Bradford District, which covers 141 square miles across West Yorkshire. It features performances, exhibitions, events and activities inspired by the extraordinary variety of this landscape, from the city’s historic centre to the breathtaking countryside that surrounds it. It pays homage to Bradford’s potent heritage as everything from a former industrial powerhouse to the world’s first UNESCO City of Film. Most of all, it celebrates the people of Bradford, from local artists and creative organisations to the diverse communities who call Bradford home.

The impact of UK City of Culture will continue long after the end of 2025. The designation has already brought significant investment to the region, and Bradford 2025 is set to serve as a catalyst for development, regeneration and change – reshaping Bradford for the benefit of future generations.

About Yorkshire Contemporary

Yorkshire Contemporary champions artistic practice across the region. Based in Leeds, they work with artists to create and present ambitious projects that reflect current dialogues and offer new perspectives about the world around us. They nurture early career artists to develop their skills and practice in West Yorkshire, placing them in a wider arts ecology, as well as showcasing national and international artists. They bring audiences and artists together through projects in their neighbourhoods, supporting people to be curious, and encourage exploration through creativity and play, with a particular focus on children and young people.

Currently operating without a fixed space, Yorkshire Contemporary deliver their mission by working collaboratively with partners in Leeds and across West Yorkshire, championing the work and worth of artists for local communities. Partnerships are key to their work, strengthening all they do and will continue as they work towards establishing a permanent new home.

Between 2013 and 2023 Yorkshire Contemporary was known as The Tetley, where they supported over 1200 artists including co-commissioning Tai Shani’s Turner Prize winning exhibition Semiramis.