Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1986, Jasleen Kaur takes home one of the UK’s most prestigious art prizes and uses her winning speech to highlight the plight of Palestinians.
ADVERTISEMENTJasleen Kaur has won the 2024 Turner Prize. At just 38 years old, she is two years younger than the prize itself, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Actor James Norton presented the award to Kaur at a ceremony in London’s Tate Britain gallery, marking a return to the location for the prestigious award. Kaur takes home a cash prize of £25,000 (€30,150) for her nominated work of ‘Alter Altar’, first exhibited at Tramway in Glasgow last year.
“From where I am now, I want to echo the calls of the protestors outside. A protest made up of artists, culture workers, Tate staff, students, who I stand firmly with,” Kaur said in her acceptance speech.
She referred to an open letter signed by over 1,000 people demanding the Tate “sever ties with organisations complicit with what the UN and ICJ are getting closer to say is a genocide of the Palestinian people.”
Kaur won the prize for her multidisciplinary practice to evoke her upbringing as part of the Indian community in Glasgow. Currently in exhibition at the Tate Britain, alongside the other nominees, she personifies everyday objects through sound installations, exploring her cultural heritage via sculptures formed out of family photos, an Axminster carpet, a vintage Ford Escort covered in a giant doily, Irn-Bru and kinetic hand bells.
“The jury noted the considered way in which Kaur weaves together the personal, political and spiritual in her exhibition ‘Alter Altar’, choreographing a visual and aural experience that suggests both solidarity and joy,” the Turner Prize said in a press release.
“They praised her ability to gather different voices through unexpected and playful combinations of material, from Irn-Bru to family photographs and a vintage Ford Escort, locating moments of resilience and possibility.”
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. Previous winners of the prize include Damien Hirst, Steve McQueen, and Anish Kapoor.
Also present at the ceremony were the three other nominees, Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson and Delaine Le Bas. They each win £10,000 (€12,000). An exhibition of the four shortlisted artists is at Tate Britain until 16 February 2025.
Our view
At the opening of this exhibition in September, Kaur’s work stood out the least of the nominees. “Although enjoyable, the Kaur’s section feels like the least engaging, with the individual items lacking a cohesive theme or narrative beyond their singular connection to Kaur’s background,” we wrote at the time.
Although an interesting choice for a winner, Kaur seems to fall short of the Turner Prize’s reputation as one of art’s more risk-taking awards. “The Turner has always sparked excitement, controversy and debate,” Norton said as he announced Kaur as the winner. While her work certainly promotes cultural engagement, it doesn’t feel likely to yield the same cultural conversation that previous nominees like Tracey Emin achieved.
Next year the prize will be held at Cartwright Hall in Bradford as part of the 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations, also marking the 250th anniversary of British painter JMW Turner’s birth.
Jasleen Kaur’s work and the other nominees can be seen at the Tate Britain, London until 16 February 2025.
