Latest news with #NnenaKalu
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Her need to make is off the scale': why Nnena Kalu's Turner prize nomination is a watershed moment for art
One day, out of the blue, everything changed for Nnena Kalu. For more than a decade, she'd been making a certain kind of drawing, in a certain kind of way – repeated shapes, clusters of colour, all organised in rows. 'Then, in 2013, she just suddenly started to go whoosh,' says Charlotte Hollinshead, Kalu's studio manager and artistic facilitator, making big, swirling, circular hand gestures. 'Everybody in the studio just stopped. She was somebody who had such a set way of working, for years and years and years, repeated over and over. For this to suddenly change was really quite shocking.' It was a shock that would set Kalu on the path to becoming the first learning-disabled artist to be nominated for the Turner prize, as she was last month. Her drawings are incredible: vast, hypnotic, swirling vortices of repeated circular marks on pale yellow paper. But it's her sculptural installations that have garnered the most attention: huge cocoons made of found fabric and VHS tape, wrapped into massive, tight, twisting, ultra-colourful knots. It was an installation of these heady sculptures at Manifesta 15, a pan-European art biennial held in Barcelona last year, that brought her to the attention of the Turner committee. Kalu, who has limited verbal communication, was born in Glasgow in 1966 to Nigerian parents, but moved at a young age to Wandsworth in London, where she still lives in supported care, not far from her studio at ActionSpace, a charity that provides space and assistance to learning disabled artists. She is autistic with complex support needs, and Hollinshead leads the team that has been helping to nurture her creative endeavours since 1999. 'From the beginning, her need to make was off the scale,' says Hollinshead, who has been at Kalu's side for almost 30 years. It was at Hill House day centre in nearby Tooting in the late 1980s that Kalu first started exploring her creativity, before developing a more focused art practice, centred on drawing, when she joined the ActionSpace studio. But she was limited by space. 'I always knew Nnena had potential for sculptural work,' says Hollinshead. 'I held back on it slightly because we didn't have the room or the budget. Nnena requires a lot of materials.' It wasn't until the council gave ActionSpace access to empty shops in 2010 that Kalu could really let loose. 'For the first time, she had loads of room, so I laid out some materials, and she just blew our minds,' says Hollinshead. 'She started making these cocoons, assembling them really quickly and attaching them all over the place. It was amazing to suddenly see somebody actually be free. She was glowing. The minute we opened that floodgate, there was no way to close it.' Slowly but surely, bigger opportunities followed. In 2016 she showed alongside contemporary artists including Laure Prouvost at an exhibition in Belgium; in 2018, she took part in Glasgow International; 2024 saw her first commercial gallery show at Arcadia Missa in London. She's just opened a major institutional exhibition at Norway's Kunsthall Stavanger. It's a career trajectory that any contemporary artist would aspire to. Her work has echoes of Phyllida Barlow or Sheila Hicks: it wouldn't be out of place in a Tate or Pompidou. 'I think out of all the artists we work with, Nnena's work stood out from the very beginning as really fitting in within contemporary art,' says Hollinshead. 'It was always just significantly different in terms of its ambition and quality and approach. It always felt really fresh and exciting and immediate. So we have always insisted that she be seen as a contemporary artist, so that she doesn't get sidelined as an outsider or disabled artist.' The challenge is how to present Kalu's art, and her disability, to an audience unused to dealing with both at the same time. When I first reviewed her work, in 2024 at Arcadia Missa, there was an insistence on her disability not being mentioned. 'We were just starting to work out how we do this,' says Hollinshead. 'How do we support an artist with limited communication, who isn't in a position herself to say how she wants to be described, how do we honour her work? We were really worried that the learning disability would be fetishised, and that the focus wouldn't be on the work.' Kalu has since been given a bigger platform, and that's now viewed by Hollinshead as an opportunity to talk about her experience rather than hide it away: 'We have to celebrate this. She's an amazing role model.' Besides, in contemporary art, context is everything. You can't talk about the three other artists nominated for this year's Turner prize without talking about their backgrounds. Zadie Xa's Korean heritage, Mohammed Sami's youth in war-torn Iraq, Rene Matić's experience growing up queer and mixed-race in Peterborough. These things are all integral to their work, ingrained in everything they do. Why would it be any different for Kalu? 'I feel that it's as much a part of her identity as being a woman and being Black and being in her 50s and everything else,' says Sheryll Catto, ActionSpace's director. 'What we don't want to get into is a forensic discussion about exactly what her disability is, because it's irrelevant. We're not engaging with the diagnosis or anything. We're engaging with Nnena as an artist.' Sign up to Art Weekly Your weekly art world round-up, sketching out all the biggest stories, scandals and exhibitions after newsletter promotion The ultimate aim is balance, an attempt to feel out how best to present the work. How do you focus on Kalu's art without erasing her experience, and how do you talk about that experience without fetishising it? 'I don't know what the majority of our artists at ActionSpace have got,' says Hollinshead. 'I don't know any clinical diagnosis. And I don't want to know, because they're people. I know that Nnena adores Abba …' 'And dancing, and champagne, and cake!' Catto chimes in. 'And that's more important than anything else. We're focused on the joyous wonderfulness of all of our artists, that's what we do.' Hollinshead and Kalu are obviously close, with a relationship built on a huge amount of trust. 'For a learning-disabled artist to succeed, it takes a team of people, and it's a family approach, it needs a lot of love and support. I've spent a huge amount of time with Nnena in her studio, in nightclubs, in Nando's. She's like part of my family.' Kalu is working on two huge, swirling drawings on my visit, making repeated, obsessive but precise marks that twist and turn over the paper. The two works echo each other, the same marks appearing across both, neatly mirrored. As well as champagne, Abba and cake, Kalu loves beautiful fingernails and proudly shows off some immaculate lilac gel nails while looking thoroughly unimpressed at my own chewed up cuticles. I ask Hollinshead how Kalu feels about the Turner nomination. 'I think the enormity of the Turner prize is a very abstract idea, but she absolutely loves putting exhibitions together, and this will be another big exhibition. She will understand about the award situation, I think, when she gets to the award ceremony.' This is clearly a watershed moment for arts and disabilities, a total shifting of the traditional art paradigm. 'The nomination is phenomenal,' says Hollinshead. 'It's seismic. Someone said to me the other day, 'It's like someone's just thrown a bomb into the Turner prize – and it is like that. A good bomb.'
Times
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Autistic artist with speech limitations on Turner Prize shortlist
An autistic artist with severe speech limitations has been shortlisted for the Turner Prize after wowing jurors with her large sculptures that require enormous amounts of increasingly scarce VHS tape. Nnena Kalu, 58, who was born in Glasgow, is one of four artists shortlisted for the leading contemporary art prize with the jury praising her 'assured and very beautiful cocoon-like sculptures'. Kalu has been supported for more than 25 years by the London-based ActionSpace, which works with artists who have learning disabilities. Her key supporter, Charlotte Hollinshead, devotes much time to securing the increasingly scarce VHS tape that the artist likes to deploy in her sculptures along with fabrics, paper and clingfilm. Sam Leckey, the director of Liverpool Biennial and one of this year's judges,
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Turner Prize nominates neurodiverse and refugee artists
A non-verbal neurodiverse artist, a former Iraqi refugee and one of the youngest ever nominees are among the artists shortlisted for this year's Turner Prize. Nnena Kalu, Mohammed Sami, Zadie Xa and Rene Matić - who at 27 is the second youngest artist to be nominated after Damien Hirst - are all in the running for the prestigious annual art prize, the Tate announced on Wednesday. An exhibition of their work will be held at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery from September as part of Bradford's UK City of Culture celebrations. The winner, who will be awarded £25,000, will then be announced on 9 December at a ceremony in the West Yorkshire city. Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize jury, said the shortlist "reflects the breadth of artistic practice today, from painting and sculpture to photography and installation". He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the artists, who are each guaranteed to receive £10,000, offer "extraordinary world-views that are very personal". Take a closer look at all four shortlisted artists and their work: Glasgow-born Nnena Kalu (above) has been a resident artist with Action Space, which supports artists with learning disabilities, for more than 25 years. She creates large-scale swirling abstract drawings and sculpures made from colourful streams of repurposed fabrics and materials such as reels of VHS tape. The jury praised her "unique command of material, colour and gesture and her highly attuned responses to architectural space". Photographer, writer and poet Rene Matić, from Peterborough, is nominated for solo exhibition As Opposed To The Truth at CCA Berlin, which touches on the rise of right-wing populism and identities. Matić captures "fleeting moments of joy in daily life, and expressions of tenderness within a wider political context", according to Tate, using intimate photos of family and friends placed in an installation which also includes objects like the artist's collection of children's black dolls bought in second-hand shops. The work looks at themes including "the constructed self through the lens of rudeness" and rudeboy culture, a Jamaican subculture. The jury said they were "struck by the artist's ability to express concerns around belonging and identity". Mohammed Sami hails from Baghdad and his work draws on his life and experiences during the Iraq war and as a refugee in Sweden. The artist is recognised for solo exhibition After the Storm at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, and the jury were impressed by his "powerful representation" of war and exile. His large-scale paintings explore memory and loss, layering patterns and colours to create "haunting, dreamlike scenes". Zadie Xa comes from Vancouver, Canada, and her work is inspired by her Korean heritage and the importance of shamanic beliefs. Interweaving paintings, murals, traditional patchwork textiles and 650 brass bells that make harmonised sound inspired by Korean shamanic ritual bells, Xa's work focuses on the sea as "a spiritual realm to explore traditions and folklore, speaking to a multitude of cultures". The jury felt the "vibrant installation" was a "sophisticated development" of Xa's work. Established in 1984, the prize is named after radical painter JMW Turner - who would have turned 250 on Wednesday - and is awarded each year to a British-based artist for an "outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work". Shanaz Gulzar, creative director Bradford UK City of Culture 2025, said it was "a huge honour and privilege" to bring the prize to the city that gave the world David Hockney. "Bradford has produced some amazing artists, literary artists, visual artists, contemporary artists," she told Radio 4. "And to have these four artists in Bradford, I think really speaks to how we're delivering our year so far, and it speaks to our audiences." Last year's prize was won by Jasleen Kaur, who used a vintage Ford Escort, worship bells and Irn-Bru to celebrate the Scottish Sikh community. Other ther previous winners have included Sir Anish Kapoor (1991), Damien Hirst (1995) and Sir Steve McQueen (1999). Art showcasing Scottish Sikh community wins Turner Prize 'I thought I wouldn't be here' - David Hockney on his biggest ever exhibition
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Internationally renowned event coming to Bradford will be 'landmark moment' for city
THE internationally renowned Turner Prize is coming to Bradford in what has been described as a 'landmark moment' for the city. One of the world's best-known prizes for the visual arts, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Established in 1984, the prize is named after the radical painter JMW Turner. It is awarded each year to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work. This year, the winner will be announced at an award ceremony in Bradford on December 9. Previous winners have included Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, and Grayson Perry, and a celebrity presents the prize. Previous presenters have included Richard Attenborough, Madonna, and Yoko Ono. Tate has today announced the four artists who have been shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2025 -Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa. An exhibition of their work will be held at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery from September 27 to 22 February 22, 2026, in a major moment in the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations. An exhibition will be held at Cartwright Hall (Image: Submitted) Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said: 'Having an internationally renowned event like the Turner Prize here in Bradford is a landmark moment for our city. 'It's a powerful opportunity to welcome visitors from across the UK and beyond, and to showcase everything that makes Bradford such a dynamic and culturally rich place. 'Each of the nominees has a remarkable ability to take huge subject matters and abstract themes, and turn them into powerful, shared experiences. 'We believe that audiences will connect deeply with the diversity of vision, ideas, and approach of these exceptional artists. We're delighted to be working in partnership with Tate, Bradford Museums & Galleries, and Yorkshire Contemporary to bring this prestigious event to the beautiful Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.' Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize jury, said: 'It's an honour to announce this fantastic Turner Prize shortlist – congratulations to all the nominees. 'The shortlist reflects the breadth of artistic practice today, from painting and sculpture to photography and installation, and each of the artists offers a unique way of viewing the world through personal experience and expression. 'On JMW Turner's 250th birthday, I'm delighted to see his spirit of innovation is still alive and well in contemporary British art today, and I look forward to an unmissable exhibition of their work in Bradford this autumn.' Peterborough artist Rene Matic was among the four shortlisted artists announced at the Tate Britain on Wednesday for their first institutional solo exhibition, called As Opposed To The Truth, which touches on ideas of the rise of right-wing populism and identities. Alongside Matic were three fellow London-based artists, Glasgow-born Nnena Kalu, Mohammed Sami, who first moved to Sweden after leaving Iraq, and Canada-born Zadie Xa. Rene Matic (Image: Diana Pfammatter) Matic, 27, was praised by the jury for expressing 'concerns around belonging and identity, conveying broader experiences of a young generation and their community through an intimate and compelling body of work'. Their work looks at themes including 'the constructed self through the lens of rudeness', which they have taken from rudeboy culture, a Jamaican subculture in the UK. It includes personal photographs of family and friends in stacked frames, paired with sound, banners, and an installation at the Centre for Contemporary Arts Berlin, Germany. They also have an ongoing collection called Restoration, which focuses on 'antique black dolls salvaged by the artist' and a flag quoting political leaders who called for 'no place for violence' in the wake of the attempted assassination of US President Donald Trump. Kalu, born in Glasgow in 1966, is a resident artist at ActionSpace's studio, which supports learning disabled artists across London, at Studio Voltaire. Nnena Kalu (Image: Courtesy of the Artist and ActionSpace) She creates large-scale abstract sculptures and drawings that hang down from the wall or ceiling. The items are made from colourful streams of repurposed fabric, rope, parcel tape, cling film, paper and reels of VHS tape. Kalu is nominated for her installation Hanging Sculpture 1-10, which Manifesta 15 Barcelona commissioned her to create at a disused power station, and her presentation in Conversations, a group exhibition at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The works contain 10 large brightly coloured sculptures that hung among the grey concrete pillars of the industrial site, and a work in pen, graphite and chalk pen on two pieces of paper. She was commended for 'her unique command of material, colour and gesture and her highly attuned responses to architectural space'. Xa, 41, who studied at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver and the Royal College of Art in London, is influenced by her Korean background and its 'spiritual rituals, shamanism, folk traditions and textile practices'. Zadie Xa (Image: Charles Duprat) She is nominated for Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything (2025), which was created with Spanish artist Benito Mayor Vallejo and shown at the United Arab Emirates' Sharjah Biennial. It has a sound element inspired by Salpuri, a Korean exorcism dance, and a mobile sculpture inspired by seashell wind chimes and Korean shamanic rattles, which has 650 brass bells that make harmonised sounds. Painter Sami, 40, born in Baghdad, has studied at the Belfast School of Art and Goldsmiths College, London. Mohammed Sami (Image: Sarel Jansen) He says: 'My paintings seek to capture the state of confusion that occurs because of the cut thread between reality and the imagination; between war narrated and war witnessed.' Sami was given the nod for After the Storm: Mohammed Sami at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, which has 14 paintings that respond to the history of Sir Winston Churchill's birthplace, and contain 'hints and references to conflict in Iraq'. The paintings do not have human figures, while one shows the 'shadow of a helicopter blade over a table and empty chairs', and another appears to suggest body bags.
The Guardian
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Videotape sculptures and wartime paintings among Turner prize shortlist
An artist who creates swirling sculptures out of fabric and old videocassette tape, and another who installed huge paintings evoking wartime trauma in the genteel rooms of Blenheim Palace, have been shortlisted for this year's Turner Prize. Nnena Kalu, a Scottish-born, London-based artist, and Mohammed Sami, who fled his native Iraq as a refugee, have been chosen alongside Rene Matić and Zadie Xa to compete for the contemporary art prize. Hailing the 'fantastic' shortlist, Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain, said the work of the four artists 'reflects the breadth of artistic practice today, from painting and sculpture to photography and installation, and each of the artists offers a unique way of viewing the world through personal experience and expression'. The announcement on Wednesday marked the 250th anniversary of JMW Turner's birth, he said, adding: 'I'm delighted to see his spirit of innovation is still alive and well in contemporary British art today.' Kalu, who has learning disabilities and works with the support of the London arts organisation Action Space, creates large-scale installations by repetitively winding strips of fabric and tape into colourful, untidy forms that have been described as 'like a dumpster-diver's dream'. She also works on paper, drawing swirling abstract forms through repetitive gestures. Sami, who was born in Baghdad in 1984 and as a schoolboy painted propaganda murals for Saddam Hussain's regime, was nominated for an exhibition of paintings at Blenheim Palace that the Guardian said '[sent] a depth charge' through its stately rooms. His work grapples with the traumatic memories of his early war-torn life and later exile in Sweden. Matić, originally from Peterborough, was born in 1997 and is the youngest artist on the shortlist. They were nominated for an exhibition at Berlin's Centre for Contemporary Arts made up of photographs and installations exploring questions of national and cultural identity. The jury, which also included independent curator Andrew Bonacina, Sam Lackey, the director of Liverpool Biennial, Priyesh Mistry, a curator at the National Gallery and Habda Rashid, of Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum, praised Matić's 'intimate and compelling body of work'. The fourth name on the list, Xa, is a Korean-Canadian artist whose work often includes large scale paintings and textiles exploring culture, tradition and folklore. Her nominated installation, at Sharjah Biennial 16 in the UAE, including paintings, traditional Korean patchwork and an interactive sculpture of over 650 brass wind chimes inspired by shamanic ritual bells. An exhibition of the four artists' work will be staged later in the year at Bradford's Cartwright Hall art gallery, as part of its UK City of Culture programme, before the winner is announced on 9 December at a ceremony in the city. Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said: 'Having an internationally renowned event like the Turner Prize here in Bradford is a landmark moment for our city. 'Each of the nominees has a remarkable ability to take huge subject matters and abstract themes, and turn them into powerful, shared experiences. We believe that audiences will connect deeply with the diversity of vision, ideas, and approach of these exceptional artists.'
