Entire North to be entered for Turner Prize

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed that the entire North of England will be entered for this year’s Turner Prize. It is the first time a work by a living prime minister has been entered for modern art’s most prestigious prize.

The Prime Minister said, 'I have been working on this for some time, and it follows on from my album of Oasis covers and the branding of Number Ten North. It is part of our government’s cultural diplomacy.'

The work can already be seen across great swathes of the North, in fact all of it. One of the work’s most unusual features is that people can ‘live’ in the piece and go about their ordinary business just as if it was a part of everyday life, which, of course, it is.

Other entries for this year’s prize include #motion-flux, a 20 metre stretch of pavement in Margate covered by a pile of e-bikes, and a sculpture of a weeping plane spotter at RAF Fairford who turned up a day late for the B-52s.

Image credit: Wix AI

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Ted Turner, RIP

Ted Turner, the media mogul who launched CNN, has died, aged 87.

Ted will be remembered for his fantastic contribution to education through his famous Ted talks and for setting up the well known Turner Prize for artists. He was also the inspiration for the detective, played by Tom Hanks, in the film Turner and Hooch.

Ted is survived by his pop-icon daughter Tina Turner and his brother, British romantic painter JMW Turner.

Image credit: Wix AI

Thames Water could win Turner Prize

The nominations for the 2026 Turner Prize have just been announced, include a surprise entry from Thames Water.

While most of the nominations are from the usual list radical, up-and-coming, and angry young artists, the Thames Water entry is the first one by a company. Some artists are shocked (and angry), and believe that the corporate entry is a sell out that goes against the spirit of the prize.

Thames Water were not able to give any details about the entry. 'Someone else has submitted the artwork on our behalf, but without our approval or authorisation,' said a spokesman. 'We have barely enough cash to pay dividends. We have no cash for repairs. We certainly wouldn't waste good dividend money to pay an artist for an entry. We doubt that OfWat would be keen on that.'

Art lovers who are keen to see the Thames Water entry can view the work on the beach at Eastbourne. The installation, called Pile of Poo, can be seen at low tide throughout 2026, 2027 and 2028. The work is described as a dynamic, shape-shifting and pungent reflection on the nature of greed, mortality and decay.