Turner prize is nothing like your great uncle complaining about the demand for political correctness and not being able to say whatever he wants. No, it wants to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art which includes mirroring the diversity of British society in terms of age, race, and gender. This year, all four nominees have a background outside of the UK, two of them are over 50 (which was from 1991 to last year the age limit), and three of them are female.

This is the last week to enjoy the works of the 2017 Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid and the other three artists shortlisted artists Hurvin Anderson, Andrea Büttner, and Rosalind Nashashibi. This year, the exhibition takes place outside of London. It is on display at Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, a northern city of the UK (as part of the UK City of Culture celebrations.)

In the exhibition, one can see Brummie Hurvin Anderson’s vivid paintings in which he explores different ways of depicting community and identity, touching upon his Jamaican heritage.
According to the Tate, “his work pays homage to this cultural history and explores themes of memory, identity and nationhood.”

This attitude can also be traced in Rosalind Nashashibi who has a Palestinian and Irish heritage. About her film Electrical Gaza she says: ”I think of the Gaza Strip as having been put under a kind of enchantment by the world powers. I’m using terms from an archaic or childish language to allow the extraordinary conditions to show through with all the attendant fear, excitement, suffering and boredom of life under enchantment.”

Likewise, Winner, Lubaina Himid who was born in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, deals with cultural history and reclaiming identities. She was one of the first artists involved in the Black Art movement in the 1980s and kept on creating activist art. See what’s going on?

The odd one out is Andrea Büttner. This German converts the romantic genius chlicé of artists by using themes such as themes such as shame, vulnerability, poverty, and embarrassment. She was initially celebrated for her daring use of unfashionable mediums such as woodcut and glass painting.

Although one can indeed detect the kind of theme the Turner prize wants to support and encourage, I think it’s the only way to go from now on. Art should reflect its society and everyone should aboard this train.

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