2026-03-06 | Zanele Muholi: won Hasselblad Prize 2026

We congratulate our fellow Zanele Muholi who has been named the 2026 recipient of the Hasselblad Prize, the world's largest photography prize with a prize money of 2,000,000 kronor, a gold medal and a Hasselblad camera. The laureate will be honored with an exhibition at the Hasselblad Center on display from 10 October 2026 to 4 April 2027, as well as a series of events during Hasselblad Award Week in Gothenburg; a seminar in collaboration with the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland; a concert with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; an opening; a book launch; a ceremonial award ceremony on 9 October and an artist talk at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm on 13 October.

The foundation's motivation for choosing Zanele Muholi as the 2026 Hasselblad Prize laureate: Zanele Muholi is one of the most influential photographers of our time with an impact that extends far beyond the art world. With her portraits, she highlights and celebrates the experiences and dignity of the black LGBTQIA+ community – both in South Africa and in the rest of the world. Muholi was born in 1972 during the apartheid regime and has a strong awareness of the power of storytelling in the encounter with systematic violence and oppression. The photographs are visually powerful and use composition, color, grayscale and light to create an expression that encompasses both strength and vulnerability. The people in the portraits meet the viewer with a direct and obvious gaze. The images challenge prejudice and discrimination and at the same time contribute to writing alternative visual stories. Activism and working close to people is a natural part of Muholi's practice. By combining political engagement with artistic precision, Zanele Muholi has become a central voice within global queer visual culture.

Zanele Muholi: “This award is not mine alone. I carry it with the many people who have entrusted me with their stories. From Umlazi to every place where black LGBTQIA+ people continue to struggle to exist freely, this recognition confirms that our lives are worth seeing – not as statistics, not as shadows, but as full human beings. For many years, my work has been about visibility and resistance. It has been about creating an archive so that no one can say, ‘We didn’t know.’ When this honor comes, I accept it for my community; those who are no longer with us, those who are still here, and those who have yet to see themselves reflected with dignity.”

The Hasselblad Foundation was established in 1979 in accordance with the will of Erna and Victor Hasselblad. The purpose of the foundation is to promote scientific education and research in photography and the natural sciences. The annual international Hasselblad Prize has been awarded since 1980 and is the world's largest prize in photography.

The foundation has a photographic collection with a focus on Hasselblad Prize winners and Nordic photographers. The Hasselblad Center, located in the Gothenburg Museum of Art, is the foundation's exhibition space. Additional scholarships for the promotion of photography are awarded annually and the foundation is involved in academic and artistic research through book publishing, symposia and collaborations with Swedish and international universities.

Photo: Zanele Muholi @ Ikram Abdulkadir