French artist Laure Prouvost wins Turner Prize

LONDON (AP) French filmmaker and installation artist Laure Prouvost on Monday won this year's Turner Prize, the prestigious British award for contemporary art.

The 35-year-old won with a video installation that included a short film shown in a room featuring a table set for a tea party.

"Thank you for having a French one here, thank you for adopting me," she said at an award ceremony in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It was the first time the award has been presented outside England.

Prouvost, who is based in London, beat three other finalists: Popular humorist David Shrigley, British-German artist Tino Sehgal, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a Londoner of Ghanaian descent.

Organizers have praised Prouvost's work for their "richly layered stories, translation, and surreal moments." They say she has created a distinct visual language that engages "in an ongoing conversation with the history of art and literature."

The 25,000-pound ($40,000) award, given annually to a British or Britain-based artist under 50, often sparks lively debate about the value of modern art.

Previous winners of the prize, named for 19th-century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, include media favorites such as transvestite potter Grayson Perry, shark pickler Damien Hirst and dung-daubing painter Chris Ofili.