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

The photography exhibition will be displayed at Cromwell Place, South Kensington, from 27 October 2022, as the Gallery prepares for its anticipated  reopening.

The National Portrait Gallery has announced that entries are open to its annual Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. The international competition, which celebrates and promotes the very best in contemporary portrait photography, is inviting submissions from 9am on 6 April until 5pm on 31 May 2022 via a brand new digital platform, specially developed for this year’s Prize.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic 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. Following the success of 2021’s display, which featured 54 portraits from 25 artists, works submitted in 2022 will again be exhibited at the South Kensington-based arts hub, Cromwell Place, while the Gallery’s own building in St Martin’s Place undergoes a major transformation. The exhibition will open in London on 27 October and will run until 18 December 2022.

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.

The Photographic Portrait Prize has been sponsored by international law firm Taylor Wessing since 2008. This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of their support for this prestigious competition and exhibition, which has received over one million visits since its launch in 1993.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: “In its fifteenth year of sponsorship, we are thrilled to be opening entries to the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2022. Every year, I am so impressed and inspired by the creativity of photographers around the world who take the time to submit their work to this competition. I have no doubt that this year’s Prize will showcase the very best in contemporary portrait photography.''

Shane Gleghorn, Managing Partner at Taylor Wessing, said: “We've supported the National Portrait Gallery and The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize for fifteen years. The prize attracts exceptional talent and the very best in photographic works. Each year the prestige of the prize and exhibition provides a platform to showcase subjects that deserve international attention. We look forward to seeing what this year will bring and the next generation of talent emerging from the 2022 prize.''

Elizabeth Dellert, Membership & Development Director at Cromwell Place, said: “Working with public institutions is one of the programming pillars of Cromwell Place and being able to provide a temporary home for the National Portrait Gallery brings an exciting energy to our buildings. The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, which showcases talent from all around the world, mirrors our ethos to provide a London base for our international membership. We are thrilled to host this annual prize for its second year in our Pavilion Gallery and showcase the best in portrait photography today.''

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 2022 competition, photographers are required to upload their image(s) via the National Portrait Gallery’s new competition platform. All images will be viewed anonymously by a panel of judges who will collectively select the prize winners and works for exhibition. The digital platform can be accessed via: www.competitions.npg.org.uk. The entry fee for the competition is £20 per image. Full information about how to enter, including entry forms and rules, can be found online.