‘Seismic’ historic moment as first artist with a learning disability wins the art worlds most high-profile prize
Glasgow-born Nnena Kalu has won the Turner Prize 2025 for her ‘bold and compelling’ work in sculpture and drawing. At a VIP-packed ceremony held last night in Bradford – 2025 UK City of Culture – the win was hailed as, ‘A major, major moment for a lot people’ with disabilities, because Kalu is autistic, learning disabled and has limited verbal communication.
Photo courtesy James Speakman/PA Media Assignments
Kalu was joined on stage by Charlotte Hollinshead, who has worked with Kalu for the past 25 years at ActionSpace, a visual arts organisation that supports learning disabled artists in London.
‘This is a major, major moment for a lot of people,’ said Ms Hollingshead. ‘It’s seismic. It’s broken a very stubborn glass ceiling.
‘Nnena’s career reflects the long, often very frustrating journey we’ve been on together … to challenge people’s preconceptions about differently abled artists, but especially learning-disabled artists, an important creative community so undervalued.
‘Nnena has faced an incredible amount of discrimination, which continues to this day, so hopefully this award smashes that prejudice away. Nnena Kalu, you’ve made history!’
Kalu is best known for her large, abstract work in drawing and/or sculpture, often displayed hanging from a wall or ceiling. Beginning with a loop, tube or armature, she wraps, folds and knots colourful streams of repurposed materials to form bundles that some have likened to a nest or cocoon. The materials include tactile, everyday items such as paper, cling film, parcel tape, cling film and fabric, and even reels of old VHS videotapes.
Her drawings, often of abstract vortices or spirals, echo the shapes and contours of her 3D work. The drawings are created from a standing position, with marks and movements replicated in series, usually in pairs or small groups. For these, Kalu uses pens, pencils, ink, graphite and pastels.
Ms Hollingshead said the work is carried out, ‘while listening to disco music, often as loud as possible.’
For this year’s Turner Prize, Kalu was nominated for her installation ‘Hanging Sculpture 1-10. Barcelona,’ presented as part of last year’s Manifesta 15 show, and for her presentation as part of Conversations, a group exhibition at Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool which ended in March. Commissioned by Manifesta 15 to create work under the theme of ‘Imagining Futures’, she created an installation of 10 large, brightly coloured sculptures to hang among the grey concrete pillars of the industrial site. For Conversations, she produced drawing in pen, graphite and chalk pen on two sheets of paper.
The award ceremony was held at Bradford Grammar School and presented by magician Steven Frayne (formerly known as Dynamo). It was broadcast live on BBC News.
Four nominees were shortlisted: as well as Kalu, there were Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa. Kalu was awarded the winning prize of £25,000; the others received £10,000 each.
The nominated work is on display at Bradford’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery until February 22, 2026.
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