Summary
- South African photographer and visual activist is the recipient for the 2026 Hasselblad Award, the world’s top photo prize
- Mulholi is known for their bold portraits which speak to Black queer visibility and challenge historical representations of Black bodies in visual culture
- The artist will be the center focus of an upcoming exhibition at Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, Sweden this fall
Zanele Muholi has become one of the most important artists working today. Striking and sublime, their images shape the arc of contemporary photography, making legible the complex codes of identity, belonging and being human. To honor this impact, the South African artist has been named this year’s Hasselblad Award winner, widely regarded as the most prestigious prize in photography.
Based between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Muholi was born in Umlazi during the apartheid. They studied advanced photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg before earning an MFA in documentary media at Toronto’s Ryerson University. Over the past two decades, Muholi, represented by Yancey Richardson, has gained international recognition, with major solo presentations at institutions including Fotografiska Shanghai, Tate Modern, International Center of Photography and the Venice Biennale.
More than a photographer, Muholi’s work is one of an activist, using art as a tool to confront the erasure and discrimination of Black bodies in visual culture. Their work merges precision and political urgency to, as the Hasselblad Foundation describes, “articulate and celebrate the depth and dignity” of Black queer communities in South Africa and beyond.
“For years, my work has been about visibility and resistance,” the artist wrote. “It has been about creating an archive so that no one can say, ‘We did not know.’ When this honour comes, I receive it on behalf of my community; those who have been erased, those who are still here, and those who are yet to see themselves reflected with dignity.”
Landmark projects from the winner include Faces and Phases (2006–ongoing), one of the most significant series of its time, chronicles lesbian, transgender and gender-nonconforming communities as an act of resistance against systemic violence. Another, perhaps Muholi’s most recognized, series, Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) (2018–ongoing), culls cues from fashion photography, classical portraiture, labor and ethnographic imagery in valiant self-portraits, evoking themes of dignity, performance and empowerment.
The Hasselblad Award carries a prize of SED 2,000,000 (approximately $217,790 USD), a gold medal and a Hasselblad camera. As part of the honor, Muholi will also be the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, Sweden, opening October 10 and running through April 4, 2027.
