National Portrait Gallery calls for entries to its annual Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize

Today, the National Portrait Gallery announces that entries are open to its annual photography prize, renamed the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize. The international competition, which celebrates and promotes the very best in contemporary portrait photography, is inviting submissions from 9am on 4 April until 10pm 22 May 2023.

To celebrate the Prize’s return the National Portrait Gallery, following the redevelopment of its building, a number of new initiatives have been introduced to make the Prize more accessible than ever before. Photographers in receipt of Universal Credit or Pension Credit can enter this year’s Prize for free, and a new discount is in place for photographers who receive Disability Benefits, who are students or are between the ages of 18 and 25.

The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is one of the most competitive photography awards in the world and showcases the work of some of the most exciting and cutting-edge contemporary photographers. Works this year will be exhibited at the renovated National Portrait Gallery, following its reopening on 22 June 2023. This follows two years of exhibiting externally, during which time the Gallery was closed for redevelopment. The exhibition will open in London on 9 November 2023 and will run until 25 February 2024.

The competition is open to everyone aged 18 and over from around the world, whether a leading professional, a talented amateur or an exciting emerging artist. Photographers are encouraged to interpret ‘portrait’ in its widest sense, with ‘photography focused on portraying people with an emphasis on their identity as individuals.’ The winner of the competition will receive £15,000, with second prize receiving £3,000 and third prize £2,000. This year’s judging panel will be chaired by the National Portrait Gallery’s Director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, who will be joined by Senior Curator at The Photographer’s Gallery, Karen McQuaid; writer and photographer, Caleb Azumah Nelson; artist, Campbell Addy; and the National Portrait Gallery’s Curator of Photography, Sabina Jaskot-Gill.

“Ahead of the Gallery’s reopening on 22 June, I am thrilled to announce that entries to this year’s Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize are officially open. Every year, submissions reflect exciting contemporary photography and an extraordinary variety of themes and styles, so I look forward to seeing the entries for 2023.”
Dr Nicholas Cullinan
Director, National Portrait Gallery

“The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is in its sixteenth year, which makes it one of the longest running arts partnerships. Following on from the superb renovation of the gallery space, we are delighted to see the return of the Prize to the National Portrait Gallery this year. The prize attracts some of the very best images in contemporary portrait photography. We are looking forward to seeing those fantastic images on the walls of the renovated gallery.”
Shane Gleghorn
Managing Partner, Taylor Wessing

Entrants to the competition are encouraged to submit works as a series, either a group of individual portraits based on a particular theme, or two or more photographs that form a single portrait when shown together, in addition to stand-alone portraits. One series of photographs submitted to the competition may be chosen by the judges to be exhibited in its entirety.

To enter the 2023 competition, photographers are required to upload their image(s) via the National Portrait Gallery’s competition platform. All images will be viewed anonymously by a panel of judges who will collectively select the prize winners and works for the exhibition. The digital platform can be accessed via www.competitions.npg.org.uk. The entry fee for the competition is £21 per image. Full information about how to enter, including entry forms and rules, can be found online.