Overview
- Kalu, 59, receives £25,000, with fellow nominees Mohammed Sami, Rene Matić and Zadie Xa awarded £10,000 each after the Bradford ceremony on December 9.
- The prize recognized Drawing 21 from Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery and Hanging Sculpture 1–10 made for Manifesta 15 in Barcelona.
- Her cocoon-like sculptures and vortex drawings are on view in the Turner Prize exhibition at Cartwright Hall, Bradford, through February 22, 2026.
- Kalu, who is autistic with limited verbal communication, has worked with ActionSpace since 1999; her facilitator Charlotte Hollinshead delivered the acceptance speech.
- Disability groups including Sense hailed the result as long overdue, while critics were divided, with some backing Kalu’s work and others favoring Sami.