A major new award launches to champion the excellence, vitality, and diversity of contemporary photography in Ireland. The Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize 2026, presented in partnership with international law firm Taylor Wessing, Business to Arts, and Photo Museum Ireland, will celebrate outstanding photographic talent from across the island of Ireland.
The prize fund is the largest combined prize fund for contemporary photography in Ireland, offering a total of €25,000 through prizes and a new bursary, and the competition opens today.
The annual prize will provide a definitive national platform to showcase new work by photographers and lens-based artists at all stages of their careers.
In its inaugural year, the prize invites submissions responding to the theme “Community | Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine” — an Irish proverb meaning “It is in each other’s shadow that we live.” The theme asks artists to explore connection, belonging, and collective life in contemporary Ireland.
Also launched today is the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Bursary 2026, a €10,000 award established to support an artist working in photography or lens-based media who identifies as being from an underrepresented community. The bursary aims to facilitate time and space through financial resources to enable the recipient to further develop their practice.
Winning and shortlisted works will feature in a major public exhibition at Photo Museum Ireland from 18 April – 24 May 2026, accompanied by a national and international media campaign, after which the winning works will become part of the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize collection that will be displayed at Taylor Wessing offices.
“ This new prize represents a landmark commitment to photography as a vital part of Irish cultural life. We’re delighted to partner with Taylor Wessing and Business to Arts to create a platform that recognises and supports the extraordinary creativity and diversity of photographic practice in Ireland today.”
The judging panel brings together leading photography curators, writers, and critics, including Zoë Harrison, Anne Nwakalor, and Fintan O’Toole. They are joined by Photo Museum Ireland’s CEO & Artistic Director, Trish Lambe, and curator Darren Campion. Together, the panel reflects deep expertise in contemporary photography, curation, and visual culture across Ireland and internationally.
The prize offers a total fund of €25,000, including:
- First Prize: €10,000
- Two Runners-up: €2,500 each
- A separate €10,000 bursary for a photographer from an underrepresented community.
- In addition, €100 exhibiting honorarium for up to 30 shortlisted artists who will feature in the exhibition next Spring.
The call for the photography competition and bursary opens today, and the deadline for submissions is Sunday, 11th January 2026.
Entry is free and open to photographers and lens-based artists aged 18 and over who are Irish or based in Ireland (including Northern Ireland). Submissions are welcomed across all photographic genres — from portraiture and documentary to conceptual and experimental practices — and accessibility supports are available to ensure equitable participation.
Follow this link to the full Prize information, eligibility and inclusion detail.
Register here for our joint information webinar with Photo Museum Ireland on Dec 1st at 12pm.
“ Taylor Wessing has a proud history of supporting photography through our long-standing partnership with the National Portrait Gallery in London. Launching the Irish edition of this prize allows us to celebrate Irish creativity and offer photographers a new route to visibility and recognition on a national and international stage.”
We are thrilled to facilitate this major new Prize for the development of contemporary photography in Ireland. It exemplifies the kind of purposeful partnership we strive to enable - where business and the arts work together to inspire, challenge, and shape the world around us. It is significant in its investment by Taylor Wessing and demonstrates their belief in the creative talent in Ireland.
