Overview

• The exhibition at Cartwright Hall opens to the public on September 27 with free tickets and runs through February 22.
• The four shortlisted artists are Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa, with the winner to be announced in Bradford on December 9.
• Multiple critics single out Sami’s war-inflected, unpeopled paintings that probe memory and conflict, though some question a shift toward rewarding painterly craft.
• Adrian Searle backs Kalu’s ten hanging sculptures made through repetitive binding of recycled materials, highlighting the ActionSpace-supported artist’s physical process and presence.
• Matić’s installation mixes intimate snapshots with political material, including a banner reading ‘NO PLACE’/‘FOR VIOLENCE,’ while Xa presents an immersive, shamanism-informed environment featuring a reflective gold floor and a mobile of 650 brass bells.