- South African visual activist Zanele Muholi wins the 2026 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography — the field’s largest prize at SEK 2 million (~$218,000)
- Muholi’s work over 20+ years has documented Black LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa through powerful series including Faces and Phases and Somnyama Ngonyama
- The Hasselblad Award has been given annually since 1980 — past recipients include Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Cindy Sherman
- A major solo exhibition opens at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 10, 2026, running through April 4, 2027
The Hasselblad Foundation has named South African visual activist Zanele Muholi as the 2026 recipient of the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography – widely regarded as the most prestigious prize in the medium. The 46th laureate of the award, Muholi receives SEK 2,000,000 (approximately $218,000), a gold medal, and a Hasselblad camera.
Muholi’s selection recognizes a body of work that has fundamentally reshaped how photography serves as a tool for human rights advocacy. Through powerful influential photographers, they have built an archive of Black LGBTQIA+ lives in South Africa and beyond – one that insists on visibility, dignity, and respect in the face of systemic discrimination.
Who Is Zanele Muholi?
Born in 1972 in Umlazi, Durban, during the apartheid regime, Muholi studied Advanced Photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg before completing an MFA in Documentary Media at Ryerson University in Toronto. They currently live and work between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Muholi describes themselves as a “visual activist” rather than an artist – a distinction that underscores how deeply their creative practice is intertwined with advocacy. Their work uses the visual languages of classical fine art photography prints, fashion, domestic labor, and ethnographic imagery to challenge stereotypes and historical misrepresentation of Black bodies.
Among their most significant projects:
- Faces and Phases (2006-present) – A landmark portrait series documenting Black lesbian, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals in South Africa. Now in its 20th year, it is considered one of the most important bodies of work in contemporary photography.
- Only Half the Picture (2003-2004) – An early series documenting lesbian lives and hate-crime survivors in South Africa.
- Brave Beauties (2014-present) – A series honoring transgender women.
- Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) (2018-present) – A striking self-portrait series using photography books and found objects to confront racial stereotyping and reclaim Black identity in visual culture.
Beyond their photographic practice, Muholi founded Inkanyiso in 2009, a forum for queer and visual activist media, and established The Muholi Art Institute in 2022 to support emerging artists across disciplines.
What Is the Hasselblad Award?
Established in 1980 by the Hasselblad Foundation, the Hasselblad Award is the world’s largest prize in photography. It was created from the estate of Erna and Victor Hasselblad, the inventor of the iconic Hasselblad camera system.
The prize consists of SEK 2,000,000 (approximately $218,000), a gold medal, a diploma, and a solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center within the Gothenburg Museum of Art in Sweden. Since 2022, the Hasselblad camera company has also contributed a camera as part of the prize package.
Previous laureates include some of the most celebrated names in photography history: Ansel Adams (1981), Henri Cartier-Bresson (1982), Sebastiao Salgado (1989), Cindy Sherman (1999), Nan Goldin (2007), Wolfgang Tillmans (2015), Carrie Mae Weems (2023), Ingrid Pollard (2024), and Sophie Ristelhueber (2025).
Why Muholi Was Chosen
The Hasselblad Foundation’s citation highlights both the artistic mastery and social impact of Muholi’s work:
“Zanele Muholi stands as one of the most influential contemporary photographers, with an impact that reaches far beyond the art world. They use portraiture to articulate and celebrate the presence, depth, and dignity of the Black LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa and the rest of the world.”
The Foundation emphasized how Muholi’s photographs are “formally compelling, employing iconic photography and its legacy, colour, greyscale, and lighting to create an adept visual language that holds both strength and vulnerability.”
Kalle Sanner, CEO of the Hasselblad Foundation, added: “In their artistic practice, Muholi combines photography with activism, creating powerful and significant works in which human rights are central.”
Muholi responded to the honor with characteristic community focus: “This prize is not mine alone. I carry it with the many faces, names, and histories that have trusted me with their stories. From Umlazi to every space where Black LGBTQIA+ people continue to fight to exist freely, this recognition affirms that our lives are worthy of being seen – not as statistics, not as shadows, but as full human beings.”
Exhibition and Events
As part of the award, Muholi will receive a solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in the Gothenburg Museum of Art, running from October 10, 2026, through April 4, 2027. The exhibition is curated by Louise Wolthers and Dragana Vujanovic Ostlind from the Hasselblad Foundation, alongside Lufuno Ramadwa from the Muholi Art Institute.
The award week in Gothenburg includes a packed schedule of events: a seminar in collaboration with the County Administrative Board of Vastra Gotaland, a concert with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, a book launch, and the formal award ceremony on October 9. An artist talk at Moderna Museet in Stockholm follows on October 13.
Muholi’s work has previously been exhibited at leading institutions worldwide, including the Venice Biennale, Tate Modern in London, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Maison Europeenne de la Photographie in Paris. Previous exhibitions in Sweden include shows at Fotografiska (2018) and Bildmuseet (2021).
Muholi is represented by Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York and Southern Guild Gallery in Cape Town.
For photographers interested in how award-winning work is recognized globally, see our coverage of the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 finalists and the World Nature Photography Awards 2026 winners.
Featured image: Julile I, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2016. From Zanele Muholi’s Somnyama Ngonyama series. Courtesy Hasselblad Foundation.
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