Twelve finalists named for 2026 National Photography Prize

Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) has announced the 12 finalists for the 2026 National Photography Prize, the biennial acquisitive award that has been a benchmark for contemporary photographic practice in Australia since its establishment in 1983.

This year’s prize carries particular significance: the $40,000 acquisitive award has been renamed the Audray Banfield Award in recognition of Audray Banfield, the inaugural Director of the Albury Regional Art Gallery, whose vision for the institution as a nationally significant centre for photographic practice underpins the prize’s ongoing ambition. A $5,000 John and Margaret Baker Memorial Fellowship for an emerging artist is also offered.

The 2026 finalists are: Alana Hunt, Alex Walker, Amalia Lindo, Arlo Mountford, David Stephenson, JD Reforma, Lisa Stonham, Marian Tubbs, Morgan Hogg, Nathanael Edwards, Paul Knight and Sarah Rhodes.

Selected from more than 300 entries by a curatorial panel comprising Ellen Dahl (recipient of the 2024 National Photography Prize), Alinta Maguire (First Nations Curator, MAMA) and Blair French (CEO, MAMA), the shortlist spans artists from northern Queensland to Tasmania. Judging of both awards will be carried out by Natasha Bullock, Senior Curator, Photography at the National Gallery of Victoria.

The finalist works collectively reflect the breadth of contemporary photographic practice — encompassing camera-less darkroom processes, large-format analogue photography, moving image, lenticular works, archival practice, installation and experiments with artificial intelligence. Thematically, the works engage with environmental change, family histories, memory, intimacy, place and cultural identity.

French described the selection process as one of both privilege and difficulty. “Extraordinary work continues to be made by artists right across the country,” he said, “drawing on the rich histories of photography while also looking forward through new experiments with contemporary technologies and photographic languages.”

The finalist exhibition opens at MAMA on Saturday 8 August 2026, with prize winners announced at the opening event.

The 2026 National Photography Prize exhibition is presented at Murray Art Museum Albury, supported by the MAMA Art Foundation. mamaalbury.com.au