Helen Marten has won the Turner Prize and promised to share her prize money

Helen Marten Has Won The Turner Prize - And Split The Prize Money With Her Fellow Nominees

Altruistic art

By Jenny NovitzkyPublished: 06 December 2016

Sculptor Helen Marten has won the prestigious Turner Prize, securing the £25,000 prize money and a place in art history.

The Turner Prize winning exhibition from Helen Marten

Helen Marten, who also won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture just weeks ago, creates complex pieces out of everyday objects. She intricately layers reclaimed items, inviting gallery goers to explore the work and piece together meaning.

The youngest of the nominees, her sculptures beat off competition from Michael Dean, Josephine Pryde, and the utterly Instagrammable Anthea Hamilton.

Nominee Anthea Hamilton's Turner Prize entry

Marten has, as with her Hepworth Prize, decided to split the award money with the other nominees. It is an inspiring act of altruism and support for her fellow artists. She claimed her decision was due to the unfairness of hierarchical prizes for a subject that is "deeply subjective".

The art world has a responsibility to uphold an umbrella of egalitarianism and democracy and openness.

The organisers of the award gave their support to her decision, describing it as "gracious and generous".

Previous Turner Prize winners include Grayson Perry, Steve McQueen, Chris Ofili, Gillian Wearing, Antony Gormley, Assemble, Martin Creed, Anish Kapoor and Gilbert & George.