Congratulations: Simeon Barclay Nominated for the Turner Prize
Kinda Blu at Coventry Biennial 2025, photo by Garry Jones
We were delighted to hear that Simeon Barclay has been nominated for the Turner Prize!
Simeon curated Kinda Blu, an exhibition that we co-commissioned with Arts Council Collection as a part of Coventry Biennial 2025. This impactful exhibition was presented at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum and consisted of works drawn exclusively from the Arts Council Collection.
Ryan Hughes (Artistic Director and CEO, Coventry Biennial) comments:
“Simeon is a thoughtful, innovative and generous artist and it was an honour to work so closely with him on the most recent Coventry Biennial. His approach to exhibition making expertly brought together his personal interests and memories, with his exceptional understanding of art history and his unique insights into what makes cities like Coventry so special. This complex but insightful way of working is what makes his practice so engaging and powerful. I was delighted, yet not at all surprised to hear that he had been nominated for the Turner Prize. This is very well deserved and I have no doubt that his show will be exceptionally strong!”
Coventry Biennial has a long (if coincidental) relationship to the Turner Prize, Simeon’s nomination is the latest instance of artists we have commissioned or exhibited works by later being nominated for this prestigious award. These amazing artists that Simeon joins include Rene Matić, Claudette Johnson, and Sin Wai Kin.
Examples of artists presenting projects at Coventry Biennial and exhibiting in the Turner Prize at the same time additionally includes Zadie Xa, Rory Pilgrim and Lawrence Abu Hamdan.
And of course, the Turner Prize in 2021 was right next door to our exhibitions at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum as a part of the UK City of Culture programme.
We want to take this moment to wish Simeon the best of luck, and we can’t wait to visit his contribution to the Turner Prize exhibition at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art later this year!
by Ruark Jon-Stevens