Turner Prize Goes to Jasleen Kaur Amid Pro-Palestinian Protests

Jasleen Kaur, an artist whose recent installation work focuses on her childhood growing up in a Sikh community in Scotland, on Tuesday won the Turner Prize, the prestigious British art award.

The announcement was preceded by a small but noisy pro-Palestinian protest outside Tate Britain, the art museum in London where the prize ceremony took place.

As the award dinner began, about 100 activists gathered at Tate Britain’s steps and listened to speeches demanding that the Tate group of museums end any association with Israel, including the high-profile donors Anita and Poju Zabludowicz. In a protest letter published online, the activists said the Zabludowiczes have “well-documented economic and ideological links” to Israel’s government through the Tamares Group, the family’s real estate investment business.

The letter’s signatories included Kaur and two of the other artists nominated for this year’s Turner Prize, Claudette Johnson and Pio Abad.

While accepting the award onstage, Kaur, draped in a scarf in Palestinian colors, said she supported the protesters and called for Tate to end ties with Israel. “It’s not a radical demand — this should not risk an artist’s career or safety,” she said.

She then said “Free Palestine” to cheers.