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The award that helped shoot young British artists to stardom is reaching middle age, but it still countsTurning 40 was always going to be tricky for the Turner prize. Set up in 1984 to showcase the best in contemporary British art, the prize will for ever be remembered for Damien Hirst’s dead shark, Tracey Emin’s unmade bed and Martin Creed’s empty room with the lights going on and off. Riding the crest of Cool Britannia in the mid-to-late 90s, the Turner prize – and those headline-grabbing Young British Artists – helped make London an international cultural powerhouse. And it wasn’t just animal carcasses. Winners included luminaries such as Antony Gormley, Steve McQueen and Grayson Perry.By 2001 it was so starry that Madonna presented the award. While the Turner remains the best-known art prize in the world, it is unlikely Taylor Swift would make space in her diary today. Can this one-time enfant terrible grow old gracefully without losing its vigour and urgency? Is it still a reliable index of the most exciting work on the British arts scene? Continue reading...