Nnena Kalu makes Turner Prize history as the first artist with a learning disability to win the award. The British-Nigerian creator claimed the 2025 Turner Prize, awarded for an outstanding exhibition or presentation of work over the past year, with her vibrant drawings and sculptures crafted from found fabrics, VHS tapes, cling film, plastics, and other rescued materials. The £25,000 prize marks a milestone not just for Kalu, but for the global art world, as many observers view it as a turning point in how neurodiversity is perceived within contemporary art.
Jury chair and Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson described Kalu’s victory as a watershed moment. He explained that while her work was chosen for its quality, her neurodivergent identity—alongside limited verbal communication—had historically placed her outside mainstream recognition. With this win, he said, the boundary between neurotypical and neurodiverse artists begins to dissolve, revealing how much of art history has been built on a delineation that may no longer hold.
Kalu’s practice blends large, tactile drawings with sculptural forms that Guardian critic Eddy Frankel characterized as “huge cocoons wrapped into massive, tight, twisting, ultra-colourful knots.” The judging panel, faced with a lineup many had tipped as potential winners, found her work standout for its energy and originality.
The Turner Prize, one of the art world’s most prestigious awards, is given to a Britain-born or -based artist for an exceptional exhibition or body of work displayed over the previous year. The 2025 nominees were widely seen as responses to contemporary Britain—where questions of identity and belonging are in flux—and critics offered fiercely divided yet passionate takes on the show.
Guardian critic Adrian Searle singled out Kalu as the standout, noting her materials include adhesive tape, cling film, repurposed plastics, fabrics, cable ties, and VHS tape bound into forms. Born in Glasgow in 1966, Kalu is autistic and has learning disabilities with limited verbal communication. Searle drew comparisons to Judith Scott and Hanne Darboven, praising Kalu’s work as “irreducible” and deserving of the prize.
Other critics spotlighted other works: The Telegraph highlighted Mohammed Sami’s bold, unsettling piece The Hunter’s Return, a 19-foot-wide painting depicting a surreal battlefield scene; The Times commended Sami’s evocation and technical prowess; Rene Matić, the second youngest nominee, presented a multimedia installation weaving Nina Simone and bell hooks through materials from his life and explorations of national identity. Vancouver-born artist Zadie Xa offered paintings of folkloric figures, sea creatures, and mythic imagery; however, Searle viewed this approach as excessive and overthought.
The ceremony took place at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, as part of the City of Culture celebrations. The Turner Prize typically travels between institutions, with this year’s events marking a return to a touring format after last year’s Tate Britain ceremony.
Kalu’s personal journey traces back to Glasgow and London, beginning her artistic practice at the Hill House day centre in Tooting, south London, during the late 1980s. She now operates from a studio at ActionSpace in Clapham, a charity that provides space and support to learning-disabled artists. Her career has progressed rapidly: collaborations with international artists in 2016, participation in Glasgow International in 2018, a first major gallery show last year, and a 2025 institutional presentation at Kunsthall Stavanger in Norway. The nomination drew praise from Sense, the disability charity, which called her recognition richly deserved and long overdue.
Farquharson commented on the visual impact of Kalu’s work, noting the drawings’ refined formal qualities and the sculptures’ vortex-like forms that invite close inspection and sustained delight. His remarks underscore a broader shift in the art world’s openness to diverse voices and experiences, suggesting that Kalu’s win could broaden the spectrum of what is considered contemporary artistic achievement.
