Normally, the Turner Prize jury would have announced its shortlist of artists in May and would have invited them to prepare for its autumn exhibition, but due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Tate has announced the introduction of Turner Bursaries, which will go to 10 selected artists, in place of this year’s Turner Prize.

The £10,000 (approx. $12,300) bursaries will be granted to British and Britain-based artists who have contributed notable works in the contemporary art field, much like the Turner Prize, for which the jury has spent the past 12 months to select nominees, visiting hundreds of exhibitions.

“The practicalities of organizing a Turner Prize exhibition are impossible in the current circumstances, so we have decided to help support even more artists during this exceptionally difficult time. I think JMW Turner, who once planned to leave his fortune to support artists in their hour of need, would approve of our decision. I appreciate visitors will be disappointed that there is no Turner Prize this year, but we can all look forward to it returning in 2021.”, stated Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize jury.

A virtual meeting will be held sometime in June to select the 10 bursary winners.