SCOTLAND’S Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop has called for the Turner Prize to be staged north of the Border, following a  hat-trick of Scottish wins in the prestigious £25,000 arts prize.

Martin Boyce’s victory in  the world-renowned contest marked the third year in a row that a Scottish-based artist won, with Richard Wright in 2009 and Susan Philipsz in 2010 also taking the award.

Ms Hyslop told The Herald: “With our strong track record in producing past winners and nominees, Scotland would be the ideal host for the Turner Prize exhibition and I would urge the Tate Gallery to bring the event to Scotland.

“Scotland’s creative talent is thriving and there is no better place for innovative artists to live and work at this time.

“The Turner Prize exhibition would be a most welcome addition to our vibrant cultural calendar.”

She was also joined last night by Simon Groom, director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA), who said: “It would be a great idea to host a future Turner Prize in Scotland and this would help to focus even more attention on this country as a centre for innovative contemporary art.”

Seona Reid, director of Glasgow School of Art, Seona Reid, and Andrew Dixon, chief executive of Creative Scotland, have also called for the Turner Prize show, which displays the work of the four shortlisted artists every year, to come to Scotland.

Scots artists have won six times since Douglas Gordon picked up the prize in 1996, and many more have been shortlisted, the run cementing Glasgow’s position as the second most important city for visual arts outwith London.

This year’s event was held in Gateshead’s Baltic gallery, the first time in 27 years it was not held in London’s Tate gallery.

Next year the show returns to London and then, in 2013, it will be staged in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, for its UK City of Culture celebrations.

Some observers have already suggested that 2014, when Glasgow is holding both the Commonwealth Games and its own GI contemporary arts festival, would be an ideal year.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said:  “Martin Boyce’s success is yet another indication of the strength of contemporary visual art in Glasgow and testament to the city’s ability to nurture and attract the most talented artists.”

A Tate spokeswoman said last night: “Tate is delighted at the success of Turner Prize 2011 at Baltic, and we are already working with colleagues in Derry/Londonderry on the presentation of the 2013 Turner Prize as part of the UK City of Culture programme.

“Discussions about 2015 will follow in due course. We are delighted that there is interest in bringing the prize to Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.”

  • The SNGMA is opening a new exhibition of sculpture in Edinburgh later this month which features work from both Turner Prize Scots this year, Boyce  and Black.