December 1, 2021
Turner Prize 2021: A Belfast Collective Brings the Pub — and the Protest
For the first time, the Turner Prize went to a collective: Belfast's Array Collective, who recreated a riotous Irish pub full of banners, song and activism.
2021 was the year the Turner Prize embraced the group over the lone genius. Every shortlisted name was a collective, and the £25,000 prize went to Belfast's Array Collective for a joyous, defiant installation that turned the gallery into a 'síbín' — a makeshift Irish pub.
Inside were the hand-painted banners, props and sounds of their real-world campaigning on issues from abortion rights to LGBTQ+ equality in Northern Ireland. The jury loved how the group translated activism into warmth, humour and beauty.
Awarded in Coventry during the city's year as UK City of Culture, it was a prize that celebrated solidarity — art made by communities, for communities.
Image: “The Fighting Temeraire, JMW Turner, National Gallery” — J. M. W. Turner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.