"The nomination of the learning disabled artist Nnena Kalu for this year's Turner Prize has been described by UK culture professionals as a watershed moment. "It represents a really significant moment for the learning disabled artist community, not just nationally but internationally," says Michael Raymond, a co-curator of the Turner Prize exhibition. The Scottish artist's work-comprising suspended sculptures bound with rope and tape along with swirling vortex drawings-is on show in the Turner Prize exhibition at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford (27 September-22 February 2026) as part of the UK City of Culture festival. Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami, and Zadie Xa have also been nominated."
""[It is] incredibly important that a learning disabled artist with limited verbal communication... is exhibiting on this level," says the writer and curator Lisa Slominski in an exhibition film. Kalu's practice is supported by the visual arts organisation ActionSpace. which runs a studio at Studio Voltaire in south London. Kalu's primary assistant, Charlotte Hollinshead, the head of Artist Development at ActionSpace, has worked with Kalu since 1999."
"Kalu is nominated for her contribution to the Conversations exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and for her work Hanging Sculpture 1 to 10 at Manifesta 15 in Barcelona. The prize judges, which include the independent curator Andrew Bonacina, selected the nominees on the basis of what they felt to be the strongest and best exhibitions of the past year, adds Raymond. "[Hosting the show in Bradford] means so much to the artistic community in Bradford and the wider West Yorkshire region," he adds."
The Turner Prize launched with an exhibition at Bradford's Cartwright Hall Art Gallery running 27 September–22 February 2026 as part of the UK City of Culture festival. Learning-disabled artist Nnena Kalu received a nomination described by culture professionals as a watershed for the learning-disabled artist community both nationally and internationally. Kalu's work includes suspended sculptures bound with rope and tape and swirling vortex drawings. Kalu's practice is supported by ActionSpace, with primary assistant Charlotte Hollinshead working with the artist since 1999. Kalu was nominated for work shown at the Walker Art Gallery and Manifesta 15. Other nominees include Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami, and Zadie Xa.
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