We’re delighted that The Guardian has published a powerful feature by Charlotte Higgins exploring Nnena Kalu’s historic Turner Prize win — the first time a learning-disabled artist has received the UK’s most prestigious art award.
The article offers a rare and thoughtful look into Nnena’s practice: the physicality of her sculptures, the rhythmic intensity of her drawings, and the clarity and confidence with which she works each day in the studio. It also highlights the long-term collaboration between Nnena and her long term facilitator and ActionSpace’s Head of Artist Development, Charlotte Hollinshead, whose sensitive, sustained support has enabled Nnena’s vision to flourish over more than 25 years at ActionSpace.
Higgins traces the journey from years of being overlooked to the moment the art world finally caught up with what we have always known, that Nnena is an artist of extraordinary commitment, ambition and originality. She also reflects on the wider significance of this win, from the breaking of what Charlotte described as a “very stubborn glass ceiling” to the impact Nnena is already having on young people, teachers and artists across the country.
This Guardian feature marks a major cultural shift: a recognition that learning-disabled artists belong at the centre of contemporary art, not at its margins.
Thank you to Charlotte Higgins for telling this story with such care and depth.
