LONDON, ENGLAND.- This year the public will be involved in selecting the four artists that will be shortlisted for the Turner prize. Serota stated, "The Turner prize shortlist has always been partly compiled as a result of public nominations, and we want to broaden the range. It has quite frequently been the case that nominations from the public have affected the judges." Nominations are now being accepted for this year's Turner Prize. The �20,000 prize will be awarded to an artist who is considered to have made an outstanding contribution to British art over the last year. Previous Turner Prize winners include Gilbert and George (1986), Antony Gormley (1994) and last year's winner Martin Creed. The purpose of the prize is not only to honour an outstanding British artist but also to bring new developments in contemporary art to a wider public. It has always and will continue to provoke debate, about the shortlist, current trends in contemporary art and the wisdom of a competition between artists working with such different media. Whatever the arguments, the event has maintained its unparalleled success in highlighting some of Britain's brightest talents.