Turner Prize Winner Nnena Kalu's Supported Studio Practice Challenges Art World Norms
Nnena Kalu, who won the Turner Prize in 2025, has been creating her art at ActionSpace in South London since 1999. Her artistic repertoire features spiral drawings and sculptures crafted from tubing encased in cardboard and tape. During the award ceremony, Charlotte Hollinshead, her studio manager, highlighted the discrimination Kalu has encountered. Studios that provide support advocate for artists who are learning-disabled, autistic, or neurodivergent, challenging conventional art perspectives. Notable UK artists from these studios include Michelle Roberts, who had a retrospective at De La Warr Pavilion, and Andrew Omoding, who showcased solo work at Camden Art Centre in 2024. ActionSpace also aided artists like Robin Smith and Linda Bell in 2018, yet most studios depend on scarce public funding. This piece is featured in the January & February 2025 edition of ArtReview.
Key facts
- Nnena Kalu won the Turner Prize in 2025.
- Kalu works in a supported studio run by ActionSpace at Studio Voltaire in South London.
- She has been based there since 1999.
- Her practice includes spiral drawings and sculptures made from tubing and tape.
- At the award ceremony, studio manager Charlotte Hollinshead spoke about discrimination Kalu faced.
- Supported studios assist learning-disabled, autistic, and neurodivergent artists.
- Michelle Roberts had a retrospective at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea.
- Andrew Omoding had a solo show at Camden Art Centre in London in 2024.
Entities
Artists
- Nnena Kalu
- Charlotte Hollinshead
- Michelle Roberts
- Andrew Omoding
- Robin Smith
- Linda Bell
- Mark Lawrence
- Pardip Kapil
- Richard Phoenix
- Joanne Lee
- Hari Koutlakis
- Dave Court
- Lewis Constantine
- Adrian Jangala Robertson
- Lisa Slominski
- Sim Luttin
- Jennifer Gilbert
- Jung Yoon
- Liesl Rockchild
Institutions
- ActionSpace
- Studio Voltaire
- Project Art Works
- De La Warr Pavilion
- Camden Art Centre
- ArtReview
- Turner Prize
- Action Space
- Arts Project Australia
- We Are Studios
- co-art Studio
- Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists
- Art et al.
- Slominski projects
- Jump Left
- Jennifer Lauren Gallery
- Rebecca Hossack Gallery
- Creative Australia
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
- British Council
- Aesop Foundation
- National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (Telstra NATSIAA)
- Archibald Prize
- Wynne Prize
- Sulman Prize
- Alice Prize
Locations
- South London
- London
- United Kingdom
- Hastings
- Bexhill-on-Sea
- Uganda
- Glasgow
- Naarm/Melbourne
- Dharug Country
- Sydney
- Kaurna country
- Adelaide
- Mparntwe/Alice Springs
- Central Australia
- South Korea
- Seoul