The Turner Prize 2026 shortlist has been announced by Tate Britain, featuring four artists with a rich and diverse range of work. Simeon Barclay, Tanoa Sasraku, Kira Freije, and Marguerite Humeau are nominated for their groundbreaking contributions to contemporary British art.
Shortlisted Artists and Their Works
Simeon Barclay
Barclay is nominated for his performance The Ruin, an hour-long spoken-word piece about his upbringing in Huddersfield and his experience of northern England's industrial landscape. The performance merges spoken word with live percussion, exploring themes of Britishness, class, race, and masculine identity through an evocative, experimental use of language and a psychologically immersive soundscape.
Tanoa Sasraku
Sasraku is recognized for her solo exhibition Morale Patch at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. The exhibition examines geopolitical ideas through object-like sculptures, works on paper, and film, focusing on recent political and military histories of oil. The jury praised the precision and sophistication of the installation, noting its strong contemporary resonances.
Kira Freije
Freije's first major solo exhibition, Unspeak the Chorus at the Hepworth Wakefield, features sculptures made of metal, fabric, and found materials. The show includes lifesize figures constructed from bare metal armatures and expressive, stonecast faces in poses that are both unsettling and beautiful. The jury was struck by the emotional depth and haunting arrangement of figures.
Marguerite Humeau
Humeau is nominated for her solo exhibition Torches at Aarken Museum of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen. The exhibition features sculptures combining references to natural species and otherworldly forms, bathed in a looped cycle of light and sound. The jury hailed her cinematic exhibition making and her engagement with ecological and existential themes.
Jury Comments
Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize jury, stated: “This year’s selection presents a rich and diverse range of work, spanning installation and performance, with a strong emphasis on sculptural practice. Each artist invites us into carefully constructed scenarios that offer distinct perspectives to explore the world around us and reflect on our place within it.”
Exhibition and Prize
An exhibition of the shortlisted artists' works will be held at Teesside University’s Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (Mima) from 29 September 2026 to 29 March 2027. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 10 December 2026, receiving £25,000, while the other shortlisted artists will receive £10,000 each.
Dr Laura Sillars, director of Mima and dean of culture and creativity at Teesside University, said: “This shortlist promises an extraordinary Turner prize exhibition at Teesside University’s cultural heart, Mima. As the first Turner prize within a university setting, this moment creates a special context for contemporary art to inspire discussion, dialogue, and new ways of thinking.”
