Special bus makes its mark at Lister Park to highlight Turner Prize exhibition

The world famous Turner Prize, recognising the best of British contemporary art, has made its mark on a special bus unveiled today (Thursday 28 August) alongside Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford where works by the four shortlisted artists will be on show from 27 September 2025.

First Bus, an Official Travel Partner of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, has worked with the organisers to design a fully wrapped bus to promote the exhibition, which runs until February 2026.

Emblazoned with ‘Turner Prize 2025’ on all sides and featuring the visual identity of this year’s prize, the bus was the centre of attention at a family day in Lister Park, ahead of the exhibition opening in a few weeks.

Daniel Bates, Executive Director and Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director of Bradford 2025 and co-curator Michael Richmond of Yorkshire Contemporary were there to see the bus revealed and share in the celebrations.

The Turner Prize 2025 bus is the third to be supplied by First Bus to promote Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and supports the organisation’s sustainability goals by encouraging  greener travel to visit attractions, lowering the carbon footprint of events and helping reduce traffic congestion.

Kayleigh Ingham, Commercial Director of First Bus in North & West Yorkshire, said: “We’re thrilled to help highlight this internationally acclaimed arts prize and exhibition. It promises to draw in thousands of visitors to Bradford and we hope many will see bus travel as the obvious and sustainable choice to get there.

“We will be scheduling the Turner Prize 2025 bus to serve routes to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, which will provide an added touch of interest for customers making the trip to the show.”

As part of its activity to support the family day at Lister Park, First Bus enlisted the help of two special storytellers to treat parents and youngsters with readings on the bus of its Tinyfoot and Evie’s Adventure to Tiny Street children’s book.

Irene Kaali and Humaira Bham, members of the BBC’s New Voices of Bradford trio, took turns reading the book with families taking away copies and children receiving a soft toy of the bus character Evie.

The operator has published the story to help young minds think about the environment and green choices, with donations from sales going to cancer charity Macmillan.

Picture captions:

Turner Prize bus1: (left to right) Shanaz Gulzar, Daniel Bates, Kayleigh Ingham and Michael Richmond reveal the branded bus at Lister Park with Cartwright Hall in the background.

Turner Prize bus2: (left) Kayleigh Ingham and Daniel Bates with Shanaz Gulzar and Michael Richmond reveal the branded bus at Lister Park.

Turner Prize bus3: Kayleigh Ingham in the driver's seat with (from left) Shanaz Gulzar, Daniel Bates and Michael Richmond reveal the branded bus at Lister Park.

Turner Prize bus4: Kayleigh Ingham in the driver's seat with (from left) Michael Richmond, Shanaz Gulzar and Daniel Bates reveal the branded bus at Lister Park.

Turner Prize bus5&6: BBC New Voices Irene (left) and Humaira with Joe Morphett from First Bus

Ends

Notes to editors

About Turner Prize 2025

Turner Prize 2025 takes place at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery from 27 September 2025 to 22 February 2026 as a major moment in the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations.

One of the world’s best-known prizes for the visual arts, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art.  Established in 1984, the prize is named after the radical painter JMW Turner (1775-1851) and is awarded each year to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work. 

Produced by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Delivered in partnership with Tate, Bradford District Museums & Galleries and Yorkshire Contemporary.

About Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture

Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture (Bradford 2025) runs from January 2025 to December 2025 and is a celebration of Bradford city and district, taking place across its city, towns, villages and greenspaces. It will showcase the rich history of the area and spotlight its dynamic contemporary culture in all forms; dance and theatre, music and film, visual arts and crafts, food and sport.

Bradford 2025 is created for, with and by the people of Bradford – and it has young people at its heart. With more than a quarter of its population aged under 20, Bradford is one of the UK’s youngest cities. Bradford 2025 is proudly reflecting this youth across all aspects of its programme, from education, skills and training projects to new artistic commissions centred on the lives, concerns and ambitions of young people today.

The City of Culture designation has already brought significant investment to the region and been a catalyst for development. It is set to have a lifelong impact through its reshaping of the local curriculum, skills and training programmes, investment in existing and new creative spaces, and open up opportunities for cultural participation.