A major new award launches today to champion the excellence, vitality, and diversity of contemporary photography in Ireland. The Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize 2026, presented in partnership with 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.
The Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Bursary 2026 is 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.
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 and 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 call for the photography competition and bursary opens today and the deadline for submissions is Sunday 11 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.
“This new prize represents a landmark commitment to photography as a vital part of Irish cultural life,” said Trish Lambe, CEO and Artistic Director of Photo Museum Ireland. “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.”
“We have a proud history of supporting the arts, for example our long-standing partnership with the National Portrait Gallery in London,” said Adam Griffiths, Partner and Head of Taylor Wessing Dublin office. “Launching this photo prize allows us to celebrate Irish creativity and offer artists a new route to visibility and recognition on a national and international stage. The bursary widens that offer to ensure artists from underrepresented communities can develop their practice further and it exemplifies our commitment to inclusivity.”
The prize offers a total fund of €25,000, including:
- Two runners-up: €2,500 each
- A separate €10,000 bursary for a photographer from an underrepresented community
Louise O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, expressed her delight at the announcement of the prize today: “This new prize 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.”
For full details and to enter, visit: https://photomuseumireland.ie/taylorwessingirishphotoprize/
