French artist Laure Prouvost wins U.K.'s Turner Prize

French artist Laure Prouvost has won this year's Turner Prize, the prestigious British award for contemporary art.

The 35-year-old filmmaker and installation artist won with a tea party-themed video installation. She beat three other finalists, including popular humorist David Shrigley, British-German artist Tino Sehgal and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a Londoner of Ghanaian descent.

The £25,000 ($43,500 Cdn) 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 favourites such as transvestite potter Grayson Perry, shark-pickler Damien Hirst and dung-daubing painter Chris Ofili.

The prize was awarded Monday in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, the first time it has been presented outside England.