Photo Museum Ireland’s new awards mark a milestone for contemporary photography in Ireland …
The Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize is 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 photography in Ireland, the initiative signifies a significant investment.
Selected from a nationwide open call that received over 1,300 entries, the shortlisted artists all presented diverse responses to the 2026 theme, Community – Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine – it’s 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.
Conor Horgan was awarded the first prize of €10,000 for his work from the series EDGE. This addresses the emergence of barriers along Dublin’s Grand Canal and nearby areas in an attempt to deter homeless people seeking asylum from sleeping there. Horgan’s image focuses not on individuals, but on the structures themselves and invites viewers to consider the experiences of these men who were met with the opposite of what they most needed – protection.
Two Judges’ Selection Awards of €2,500 each were presented to Laura Dunwoody for her Nothing Lasts Forever series offering an intimate portrait of youth and community in Ballymun and Salem Anowe Chukwuezi’s Covert imagery that showcases the reality for Black men in Ireland, making visible what often goes unseen.
The Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Bursary of €10,000 that recognises an emerging artist was awarded to Patryk Gizicki whose work explores youth culture, offering a nuanced and personal perspective shaped by his Polish heritage and Irish upbringing.
Need to know: The exhibition runs from April 22 to May 24 and offers a timely portrait of contemporary Ireland shaped by connection, creativity and shared experience. Following the exhibition, the winning work will form part of the Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize Collection, ensuring its place within a growing national archive of contemporary photography. The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of talks, tours and events. @photomuseumirl
