Johannesburg-based visual activist Zanele Muholi has been named the 2026 Hasselblad Award laureate, becoming the first Black queer South African to receive what is widely regarded as photography’s most prestigious international prize.
The Hasselblad Foundation announced the award, which recognises lifetime achievement and includes a gold medal, a Hasselblad camera, and a major solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, Sweden, running from 10 October to 4 April 2027.
Muholi, who uses they/them pronouns, has built a career documenting and celebrating the lives of Black LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa and globally through portrait photography.
The foundation’s citation states that 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 citation reads.
Born during apartheid, Muholi’s work focuses on creating visual archives that challenge prejudice and discrimination. The foundation noted that their photographs employ composition, colour, greyscale, and lighting to create what it described as “an adept visual language that holds both strength and vulnerability”.
Born during apartheid, Muholi’s work focuses on creating visual archives that challenge prejudice and discrimination. The foundation noted that their photographs employ composition, colour, greyscale, and lighting to create what it described as “an adept visual language that holds both strength and vulnerability”.
“This prize is not mine alone. I carry it with the many faces, names, and histories that have trusted me with their stories,” Muholi said in response to the award.
“For years, my work has been about visibility and resistance. It has been about creating an archive so that no one can say, ‘We did not know’.”
The award programme will include a formal ceremony, an orchestral concert, a book launch, and an artist talk at Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
Kalle Sanner, chief executive of the Hasselblad Foundation, said Muholi combines photography with activism to create works “in which human rights are central”.
“We look forward to presenting an extensive selection of their work this autumn at the Hasselblad Center,” Sanner said.
The Hasselblad Award, now in its 46th year, is regarded as the most significant prize in the history of photography.
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