Lubaina
Himid awarded Britain's Turner Prize, oldest artist ever
to win
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[December 06, 2017]
By Mark Hanrahan
LONDON (Reuters) - Lubaina
Himid, a 63-year-old artist whose creations include
dinner plates painted with vomiting aristocrats, became
the oldest person ever to win Britain's most prestigious
art award - the Turner Prize - on Thursday.
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Tanzanian-born Himid beat other short-listed artists including
British painter Hurvin Anderson, German painter Andrea Büttner
and British filmmaker Rosalind Nashashibi.
The judges praised Himid for her "uncompromising tackling of
issues including colonial history and how racism persists
today," Alex Farquharson, director of organizers Tate Britain,
said in a statement.
In the past, the prize has been viewed as a vehicle for younger
artists, but it has moved in a new direction this year, with two
nominees over 40 and the other two short-listed artists in their
50s and 60s.
The organizers have now scrapped a rule introduced in 1991 that
required nominated artists to be under the age of 50.
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The annual award for contemporary art was presented to Himid by
electronic music star Goldie, in a televised ceremony held in
Hull Minster church in the north eastern city of Hull.
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The Turner Prize award money is 40,000 pounds ($54,000), with 25,000
pounds going to the winner and 5,000 pounds each for the other
short-listed artists.
Founded in 1984 and named after English 19th century landscape
painter J.M.W. Turner, the Prize is the UK's most high-profile
visual arts award. During the 1990s, it helped to launch the careers
of some of the stars of the Young British Artists movement such as
Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
An exhibition in Hull's Ferens Gallery showcasing the nominees work,
which organizers said has been visited by over 90,000 people since
opening in September, runs until Jan. 7.
(Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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