Turner Prize 2026 exhibition opens at MIMA

The Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) has opened the exhibition for the 2026 Turner Prize shortlist. The exhibition, which runs from 26 September 2026 to 29 March 2027, features works by four shortlisted artists: Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. The winner is scheduled to be announced on 10 December 2026.

Kira Freije’s installation, ‘Unspeak the Chorus’, features 33 life-sized statues of steampunk-style cyborgs set within a vaporous, apocalyptic environment. The work explores themes of humanity and compassion through figures with hollow frames and metal replacements for flesh, emphasizing human faces and hands as remnants of identity.

Simeon Barclay’s contribution involves immersive environments that blend architecture, sound, and video to examine British culture. His work, ‘The Ruin’, utilizes spatial interventions to reflect on postwar infrastructural projects, such as the construction of the M62 motorway, and explores personal histories through settings like a childhood living room.