‘Turner Prize will go ahead’ despite resignation from Culture Company board

Londonderry’s hosting of the Turner Prize will go ahead despite a key figure from the Tate Gallery resigning her position on the Culture Company Board.

The claims that the running of perhaps the most prestigious event in the 2013 calendar will remain unaffected come from both the Tate Gallery and the Culture Company. This is despite the departure of Anna Cutler from the board a matter of days before the Turner Prize exhibit is due to open at Ebrington on October 23 with the televised award night to be screened on Channel 4 on December 2.

The Tate Gallery confirmed that Anna Cutler resigned her position in a statement to the Sentinel and that she had served on the Culture Company Board since its inception in 2011.

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Anna Cutler is Director of Learning at the Tate Gallery who run the Turner Prize.

When the Sentinel asked the press office at the Tate Gallery about the potential impact on the running of the Turner Prize in Londonderry they said that Anna Cutler was not sitting on the Culture Company Board on behalf of the Tate.

The statement said: “Anna Cutler served on the Culture Compnay Board in a personal capacity. She resigned from the Board for personal resaons which she wishes to keep private. Her action has no impact whatsoever on the running of the Turner Prize. She does not wish to make any further comment.”

When pressed on the issue of acting ‘in a personal capacity’ despite her high ranking position at the Tate, the gallery’s press office again merely stated: “Anna was involved in her own right rather than representing the Tate.”

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The Sentinel also asked the Culture Company how they thought the departure of Anna Cutler would affect the staging of the Turner Prize.

The response received from the Culture Company was however almost identical to the one received from the Tate Gallery.

It said: “A spokesperson for Culture Company said: “Anna Cutler served on the Board of the Culture Company in a personal capacity. She resigned from the Board for personal reasons which she wishes to keep private. Her action has had no impact whatsoever on the running of the Turner Prize.”

Despite pointing out the fact that the Culture Company response was almost identical and lodging a request to speak directly to Culture Company Chief Executive, Shona McCarthy, no further response was made.

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The Sentinel also asked Derry City Council if Anna Cutler’s departure was caused in anyway by strain between her and the Council over control of marketing of the Turner Prize .

Again, the response fell short of the question asked.

A spokesperson for Derry City Council “advised that resignations from the Culture Company would be a matter for Culture Company rather than Council,” and also said that Derry City Council was “not in receipt of any details regarding the resignation.”

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