The Guardian view on the Turner prize at 40: not over yet | Editorial

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 thos