The Hasselblad Foundation’s citation regarding the  Hasselblad Award laureate 2026, Zanele Muholi:

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. Born in 1972 during the apartheid regime, they are highly aware  of the power of narration in the face of systematic violence. Muholi’s photographs are formally compelling, employing composition, colour, greyscale, and lighting to create an adept visual language that holds both strength and vulnerability. The portraits foreground individuals with a direct and dignified gaze, challenging prejudice and discrimination while creating alternative visual histories. Activism and community work is an integral part of their practice, which combines political urgency and formal mastery, making Muholi a central figure in global queer visual culture.

Zanele Muholi: “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. 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.’ 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.”

Kalle Sanner, CEO of the Hasselblad Foundation: “It is with great pleasure that we award Zanele Muholi the 46th Hasselblad Award. In their artistic practice, Muholi combines photography with activism, creating powerful and significant works in which human rights are central. We look forward to presenting an extensive selection of their work this autumn at the Hasselblad Center.”

The Hasselblad Foundation promotes education and research in photography and the natural sciences, fostering photographic advancement through its international award, exhibitions and scholarly initiatives.

About Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi has paved new ground in their use of photography in visual activism, first and foremost in a relentless fight for claiming visibility, dignity and respect for Black queer subjects. Their practice is a fearless confrontation of the silencing and discrimination particularly in their native South-Africa. Their long-term portrait series Faces and Phases (2006–), was conceived as an act of resistance against systemic violence. The project has entered its 20th year and is now considered a seminal body of work in contemporary photography. Other works include the early Only half the Picture (2003-4) which documented lesbian lives and hate-crime survivors, and Brave Beauties (2014–) that honours trans women. In the ongoing self-portrait series Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) (2018–) Muholi uses the visual languages of classical portraiture, fashion, domestic labour, and ethnographic imagery, to challenge stereo-types and historical representation of Black bodies in visual culture. These bold self-portraits have redefined visual strategies around identity and empowerment.

As an integral part of their artistic practice, Muholi is committed to collective empowerment and knowledge-building. Inkanyiso was founded 2009 as a forum dedicated to queer and visual activist media, and The Muholi Art Institute (founded 2022) aims to support and develop emerging artists across diverse disciplines. Muholi’s work is central to contemporary de-bates on race, representation, activism, and human rights. They have been foundational for a new generation of queer and Black photographers and inspire emerging artists to work politically, ethically, and with community engagement.

Zanele Muholi (she/they) was born 1972 in Umlazi, Durban and currently lives and works between Johannesburg and Cape Town. They studied Advanced Photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg and completed an MFA in Documentary Media at Ryerson University, Toronto, in 2009. Muholi’s work has been exhibited at leading institutions worldwide, including at the Venice Biennale, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, Tate Modern, London, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, and Serralves Museum in Porto. Previous solo exhibitions in Sweden include Fotografiska (2018) and Bildmuseet (2021). They have received numerous awards such as the ICP Spotlights Award (2022), the Spectrum International Prize for Photography (2020), the Lucie Award for Humanitarian Photography (2019), and the Rees Visionary Award by Amref Health Africa (2019).

Muholi is represented by Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York and Southern Guild Gallery in Cape Town.

The exhibition at the Hasselblad Center is on view from 10 October 2026 – 4 April 2027.

Curators: Louise Wolthers and Dragana Vujanović Östlind from the  Hasselblad Foundation, with Lufuno Ramadwa from the Muholi Art Institute.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Hasselblad Foundation is collaborating with the Gothenburg-based camera company Hasselblad, which honours this year’s award recipient by including a new camera as part of the prize.

All images: © Zanele Muholi
Portrait of Zanele Muholi:© Ikram Abdulkadir

About the Hasselblad Foundation
The Hasselblad Foundation was established in 1979 in accordance with Erna and Victor Hasselblad’s will after they sold the Hasselblad camera company. The purpose of the foundation is to promote scientific education and research in photography and the natural sciences. The annual, inter- national Hasselblad Award has been presented since 1980 and is the world’s largest award in photography.

The foundation holds a photography collection focusing on Hasselblad Award winners and Nordic photographers. The Hasselblad Center is the foundation’s exhibition space, situated in the Gothenburg Museum of Art. Stipends for photographic advancement are awarded annually, and the foundation itself is engaged in the field of academic and artistic research through the publication of books, symposiums, and collaborations with Swedish and international universities.