GLASGOW.- The winner of the Turner Prize 2009 is a 1995 graduate of The Glasgow School of Art’s world renowned MFA program. With another GSA graduate Lucy Skaer, also nominated for this year’s Turner Prize, the School can now claim to have produced 30% of the Turner Prize nominees since 2005. Three of the Turner Prize winners since its inaugural year in 1984 have been graduates of The Glasgow School of Art – Douglas Gordon, Simon Starling and now Richard Wright.

The Master of Fine Art postgraduate program at The Glasgow School of Art is well-known for attracting applicants from all over the world and for producing graduates who go on to international success. Alongside Richard Wright, these include 2005 Turner Prize winner Simon Starling, and artists such as Claire Barclay, Rosalind Nashashibi and Martin Boyce who have represented Scotland in such prestigious exhibitions as the Venice Biennale. One of a small number of two-year postgraduate fine art programs in the UK, the Master of Fine Art has helped to establish Glasgow as a dynamic and international centre for contemporary art.

Professor Seona Reid, Director of The Glasgow School of Art said: "We are absolutely delighted Richard Wright has won the Turner Prize 2009. His win is testament to the strength of Glasgow's thriving contemporary arts scene and the City's reputation as one of Europe's leading centers for the visual arts. I am very proud of the role the Glasgow School of Art has played over many years in establishing this reputation."