A major new photography award was announced in Dublin today with the launch of the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize 2026.
A collaboration between international law firm Taylor Wessing, Photo Museum Ireland, and the charity Business to Arts, the new initiative represents the largest combined prize fund for contemporary photography in Ireland, totalling €25,000 across awards and a new bursary.
The contest is free to enter and open to photographers and lens-based artists aged 18 and over who are Irish or based in Ireland, including Northern Ireland, with submissions welcome across all genres of photography, from portraiture and documentary to conceptual and experimental practices.
The inaugural 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, inviting entrants to explore ideas of connection and collective life.
The prize fund includes a €10,000 first prize, two runner-up awards of €2,500 each, and exhibiting honorariums of €100 for up to 30 shortlisted artists.
In addition, a separate €10,000 Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Bursary has been introduced to support an artist from an underrepresented community working in photography or lens-based media. The bursary aims to provide financial assistance for the development of new work.
Winning and shortlisted entries will be displayed in a public exhibition at Photo Museum Ireland in 2026 - following the exhibition, the winning works will join the newly established Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize collection and be shown at the firm's offices.
The judging panel for 2026 includes photography curators, writers, and critics Zoë Harrison, Anne Nwakalor, and Fintan O'Toole, alongside Photo Museum Ireland CEO and Artistic Director Trish Lambe and curator Darren Campion.
Entries for the annual competition are now open, and will close on 11 January 2026 - full entry details and guidelines are available via Photo Museum Ireland's website.
