Liverpool celebrates as Assemble wins Turner Prize for Granby 4 Streets project

The Assemble collective has won the internationally famous Turner Prize for its work with residents of Granby 4 Streets in Toxteth in Liverpool. The award was presented live on television in a Channel 4 show. As reported in the Guardian newspaper, the judges' panel praised “a ground-up approach to regeneration, city planning and development in opposition to corporate gentrification”, adding that "They [Assemble] draw on long traditions of artistic and collective initiatives that experiment in art, design and architecture. In doing so they offer alternative models to how societies can work. The long-term collaboration between Granby Four Streets and Assemble shows the importance of artistic practice being able to drive and shape urgent issues.” An earlier Guardian article on this year's prize had already identified the Assemble project as a worthy winner, against weak opposition. The Granby 4 Streets success has received widespread coverage nationally, but the Liverpool Echo coverage best conveys local pride in the achievement, which after all was a collaborative process between the winning collective (based in London) and the residents. Other stories in the Echo, highlighting the relationship between art, community arnd regeneration, include:

• http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/look-how-far-granby-4-10564438
• http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/turner-prize-7-reasons-granby-10558531
• http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/granby-4-streets-turner-prize-10547629