Turner Prize 2026 to be hosted at MIMA
One of the world’s preeminent prizes for contemporary art, the Turner Prize 2026, is to be hosted at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.
Part of Teesside University, MIMA is known globally for artistic excellence and community regeneration.
The Turner Prize, which is organised by Tate, is one of the world’s leading artistic accolades and is awarded annually to a British visual artist.
‘British’ can mean an artist working primarily in Britain or an artist born in Britain working globally.
The prize has helped launch the careers and reputations of numerous internationally renowned artists including Damien Hirst, Steve McQueen, Grayson Perry, Antony Gormley, Veronica Ryan, Lubaina Himid and, most recently, Jasleen Kaur.
Following Bradford’s hosting of the 2025 Turner Prize, the exhibition of work by the four shortlisted artists for Turner Prize 2026 will open in autumn 2026 at MIMA, with the announcement of the winner in December 2026.
Tees Valley Combined Authority is working in partnership with MIMA and Teesside University to bring the Turner Prize exhibition to MIMA, Middlesbrough in 2026 and develop a connected programme of activity and sector support across the Tees Valley as part of its Growth Programme for the Creative and Visitor Economies.
Recently lauded by the chairman of Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, as a ‘beacon and a catalyst’ for social and economic development, MIMA is at the heart of Middlesbrough’s thriving visual arts scene.
Its work to centre artists within communities has encouraged more young artists to remain in the region, while it also acts as a creative magnet, encouraging artists to choose Middlesbrough as their base.
MIMA’s impact is immediately evident through the grassroots galleries and art organisations established throughout the town, while large-scale public art including Claes Oldenburg’s ‘Bottle of Notes’ and ‘Temenos’ by Anish Kapoor, a previous Turner Prize winner, are a short walk from the gallery.
Hosting this globally significant prize is part of Middlesbrough’s ambitious plans to further develop arts and cultural organisations alongside its rapidly growing tech sector.
In 2025, cultural leaders in the town launched Towards 2030, a road map to the town’s bicentenary and Teesside University’s centenary. Investment of over £80m, from a cross-section of public and private organisations, has kickstarted this strategy, developing new creative production facilities, galleries, artist studios, workshops, community resources and creative workspaces alongside two Grade II historic buildings restored and repurposed for contemporary cultural and creative production.
Hosting the Turner Prize builds on these ambitious plans, cementing Middlesbrough’s reputation as a cultural and creative hub and demonstrating its commitment to artists and art.
Dr Laura Sillars, Director of MIMA and Dean of Culture & Creativity at Teesside University, said: “Hosting an event of this magnitude showcases the leading role MIMA plays in developing and building the contemporary arts ecosystem locally, nationally and internationally.
“Bringing the Turner Prize to Middlesbrough will connect artistic communities, bringing a global focus to our thriving arts scene.
“We’re planning a fabulous set of events and projects to ensure visitors have a brilliant experience when they come to Middlesbrough.”
Professor Paul Croney OBE, Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive of Teesside University, said: “As an anchor institution, dedicated to transforming lives and economies, supporting the cultural success of this region and beyond is central to our mission.
“MIMA’s work is key to this. Through its thriving arts, curating and cultural leadership courses and arts research, it propels students into creative careers and supports artists to international success.
“Hosting the Turner Prize exemplifies our ambition and commitment to seeing art and culture thrive in the Tees Valley, the UK and internationally.”
Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain and Chair of the Turner Prize jury, said: “We’re thrilled the Turner Prize will be held in Middlesbrough next year, for what promises to be an unmissable event.
“The Turner Prize exists to spark public conversations around contemporary art, and its enduring popularity is due to the way it spotlights the rich cultural offerings of our towns and cities.
“We look forward to these conversations taking place at MIMA, whose exciting exhibition programme and permanent collection has its community at its centre.”
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “The announcement of the Turner Prize in Middlesbrough is a major coup which underlines our commitment to building this sector – one that plays an important role in driving economic growth.
"An event of this stature bolsters our growing reputation for attracting major UK events to Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. Bringing the Turner Prize here will bring investment, visitors, and opportunity – supporting our drive to transform our region.”
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: “Hosting the Turner Prize is a massive win for Middlesbrough.
“We’ve been working hard on a mission to be the Most Creative Town and welcoming new visitors will help us change perceptions and highlight the brilliant things that happen here every day.
“We’re thrilled to be supporting MIMA and Teesside University in putting on a show that will attract headlines around the arts world.”
ENDS
About MIMA
MIMA, which turns 20 in 2027, is known for its collaborative work with communities and recent examples include award winning projects such as Sonia Boyce’s In the Castle of My Skin (2021), Chemical City (2022) and People Powered: Stories of the River Tees (2023). Boyce’s Golden Lion winning Venice Biennale (2022) Feeling Her Way built upon her work at MIMA.
The Erick van Egeraat building includes large art galleries for temporary exhibitions, collection galleries, an AHRC-funded open access ceramic collection and study centre, learning spaces, a café, garden and roof terrace. The Middlesbrough Collection, created when MIMA was founded from three prior collections, comprises more than 2,400 artworks. This summer, MIMA will launch a new garden pavilion for artist residencies, community workshops and public events, through a capital programme funded through DCMS and Arts Council England’s Cultural Development Fund. Recent exhibitions include major solo shows with Otobong Nkanga (2020), Sonia Boyce (2021), Lubna Chowdhary (2022), Lucie Rie (2022) and Jaqueline Poncelet (2024).
As part of Teesside University, MIMA also nurtures curatorial researchers to develop groundbreaking projects that could not happen without serious long-term investment in research. Recent examples include Towards New Worlds (2024), curated by Future Curators fellow and PhD scholar Aidan Moesby, which was the UK’s largest exhibition platforming the work of D/deaf, neurodivergent and disabled artists. MIMA’s current exhibition, The Secret Lives of Bottle of Notes: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen draws together loans from major collections and was supported by Professor Simon McKeown and Teesside University PhD scholar Karis Richardson, who undertook first-hand interviews and archival research to uncover the impact of legacy of public art commissioning in the late twentieth century.
About the Turner Prize
Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is named after the radical British painter JMW Turner (1775-1851). One of the world’s best-known arts prizes, it aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary art. Originating at Tate Britain, the Turner Prize regularly travels to other venues across the UK, widening access to contemporary art by bringing it to a leading local arts venue. £25,000 is awarded to the winner, with £10,000 awarded to the other shortlisted artists.
For more detail about the Turner Prize: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/turner-prize
Photo captions
- Installation of Lubna Chowdhary’s exhibition Erratics at MIMA, 2022. Image courtesy of MIMA.
- MIMA, Centre Square, Middlesbrough. Image by Rachel Deakin and courtesy of MIMA.
- Dr Laura Sillars, Director of Mima and Dean of Culture & Creativity at Teesside University
- Professor Paul Croney, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Teesside University
For more infomation, interviews and filming requests contact Communications Manager David Roberts, Communications Manager, 07584-490244, david.roberts@tees.ac.uk