We are delighted to announce the shortlisted artists for the inaugural Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize, a major new national award celebrating outstanding contemporary photography being made in and from Ireland today.
Selected from a nationwide open call that received over 1,300 entries, the shortlisted artists present diverse and powerful responses to the 2026 theme, Community – Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine - it is in each other’s shadow that we live. Spanning documentary, portraiture, conceptual and experimental practice, the works reflect the vitality of photography in Ireland today, offering nuanced perspectives on belonging, identity, and collective experience.
The shortlisted artists are: Chad Alexander, Salem Anowe Chukwuezi, Philip Arneill, Niamh Barry, Lisa Bennett, Deirdre Brennan, Missy Brinkmeyer, Michael Cassidy, Ishmael Claxton, Polina Cosgrave, Shane Coughlan, Michael Croghan, Evanna Devine, Laura Dunwoody, Cat Gundry-Beck, Caroline Guinan, Conor Horgan, Shane Hynan, JP Keating, Joe Laverty, Xuying Li, Jeanette Lowe, James Mahon, Jillian McGrath, Yvette Monahan, Emma O’Brien, Clodagh O’Leary, Mandy O’Neill, Keelin O’Shea, Chris Reid, Emily Roche, Blaise Smith, Laura Smith.
The exhibition opens at Photo Museum Ireland from 22 April 2026 until 24 May 2026. The winners of the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize will be announced in a major awards presentation on opening night, where the first prize winner will be awarded €10,000, two runners-up awarded €2,500 each, and thirty shortlisted artists will receive an exhibition honorarium award. The winner of the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Bursary will also be announced on the night.
Presented in partnership with Photo Museum Ireland and Business to Arts, the Prize establishes a major new national platform for photography, offering unprecedented visibility and support for artists at all stages of their careers. As the largest combined prize fund for contemporary photography in Ireland, the initiative marks a significant investment in the country’s cultural life.
The exhibition brings forward work that is ambitious, socially engaged and deeply rooted in lived experience, foregrounding perspectives that expand how community is seen, represented and understood. Together, the selected photographs offer a timely portrait of contemporary Ireland shaped by connection, creativity and shared experience.
Trish Lambe, CEO and Artistic Director of Photo Museum Ireland, said, “It is with great pride and excitement that we announce the shortlist for the inaugural Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize – a defining moment for contemporary photography in Ireland. The artists shortlisted this year reflect the depth, diversity and ambition of photographic practice across the Irish community. Their work engages powerfully with the social and political realities shaping our time, while engaging in vital international conversations about the evolving role of photography. We are proud to deliver this Prize in partnership with Taylor Wessing and Business to Arts – organisations with a strong and sustained commitment to artistic excellence. Together, we have established a platform that combines meaningful investment in artists with national and international visibility.”
Adam Griffiths, Partner and Head of our Dublin Office, said: “We are immensely proud to see such a vibrant response to the inaugural Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize. The shortlisted artists exemplify the creativity and diversity that define Ireland’s photographic community today. By supporting this prize in partnership with Photo Museum Ireland and Business to Arts, we are committed to nurturing artistic talent at every stage and ensuring that contemporary Irish photography receives both national and international recognition. It is our privilege to help provide this platform for voices that reflect, challenge and celebrate what it means to belong in Ireland.”
Following the exhibition, the winner of the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize will have their work included in the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize Collection.
The exhibition is is accompanied by a public programme of talks, tours and events, alongside national media coverage celebrating Irish photography at a pivotal moment in Ireland’s cultural life.
