The Sony World Photography Awards announce today the jury and London exhibition dates for the landmark 20th edition.
In their two-decade-long history, the Sony World Photography Awards have become the definitive reference point for contemporary visual storytelling, honouring the remarkable creativity and dedication of photographers working today. A celebration of the stories and images shaping our culture, the Awards show the diverse possibilities of the medium.
Organised by Creo, the Awards form the core part of its photography programming strand, the World Photography Organisation. Sony supports the Awards to give an international platform to artists working in photography, and to push forward the global discourse on the medium today.
2027 JUDGES
Following the success of the 2026 edition, which received over 430,000 images, and now entering their second decade, the Awards are open for entries and free to all photographers. For the landmark 20th edition, the Awards welcomes back Monica Allende as Chair of the Jury for the Series competition and curator of the London exhibition at Somerset House.
Allende is accompanied by a panel of specialists in the visual arts from across the globe, all contributing their unique expertise, insights and perspectives. The 2027 jury comprises:
Series Competition:
- Monica Allende, Independent Curator and Photography Consultant, Chair of the Jury, UK
- Santiago Escobar-Jaramillo, Photographer & Editor at Raya Editorial, Colombia
- Peipei Han, Director of Exhibitions, Fotografiska Shanghai, China
- Candice Jansen, Manager, New Archival Visions Programme, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
- Amanda Renshaw, Independent Curator, Writer and Publishing Consultant, UK
- Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, Brooklyn Museum, USA
Single Image & Youth competitions: Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen, Managing Director, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Denmark
Student competition: Menno Liauw, Founder and Director of the FUTURES Foundation, Netherlands
NEW IN 2027
The 2027 edition broadens the Awards’ range through new categories across the competitions, presenting expanded opportunities for fresh perspectives on visual storytelling. The Series (previously Professional) and Single Image (previously Open) competitions are re-named, further defining and clarifying their scope. Photographers are welcome to enter different projects to both competitions, enabling those with diverse portfolios to enter work from across their practice, be it a series or a striking single photograph.
New Series competition Category
Histories: This category invites photographers to explore how histories – personal, cultural, and collective – shape our world today, from traditions and everyday rituals to the events and forces that have left their mark on nations and peoples. This category is for projects that engage, explore, or re-examine the past, as well as work that looks at the contemporary through a historical lens. We welcome archival and found image interventions that revisit, re-contextualise, or breathe new life into the past.
New Single Image competition Category
Animal Portraits: This category celebrates the beauty, personality, and spirit of animals through portraiture. Judges are looking for images that capture the subject’s expression and character, from beloved pets to majestic wildlife and marine life, to reptiles and insects; portraits that honour and showcase the remarkable diversity of the animal kingdom.
2027 LONDON EXHIBITION AND 2026 TRAVELLING EXHIBITION DATES
The Sony World Photography Awards 2027 exhibition begins its international journey at Somerset House, London, from 15 April to 3 May 2027. A fixture of the cultural calendar in London, the acclaimed exhibition, curated by Monica Allende, features a selection of winning and shortlisted images from the 2027 Awards, as well as special presentations by the Photographer of the Year 2026 Citlali Fabián and the Outstanding Contribution to Photography 2027, to be announced in November.
The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 is currently on view in Johannesburg, South Africa (until 22 January 2027), at the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography, marking the Awards’ debut presentation in South Africa. The exhibition then continues to travel to other destinations:
- Milan, Italy, 10 June – 4 October 2026
- Berlin, Germany, 8 October 2026 – 7 February 2027
- Matera, Italy, 14 November – 10 December 2026
- Bisceglie, Italy, 12 – 30 December 2026
To find out more about our exhibitions, please visit worldphoto.org
2027 DEADLINES AND PRIZES
The Sony World Photography Awards opened to submissions on 1 June 2026. Full competition and category descriptions can be found at worldphoto.org
Deadlines for submission to the four competitions are as follows:
Series: 12 January 2027 16:00 GMT
Single Image: 5 January 2027 16:00 GMT
Student: 27 November 2026 16:00 GMT
Youth: 5 January 2027 16:00 GMT
All category winners of the Series, Single Image, Youth and Student competitions receive Digital Imaging equipment from Sony. The prestigious Photographer of the Year receives a cash prize of $25,000 (USD) as well as a solo presentation of their work as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London the following year. The Single Image Competition Winner and the winner of the Sustainability Prize each receive $5,000 (USD). All winning and shortlisted photographers’ projects are exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London, and will then tour internationally. The winning images are also published in the annual Awards’ book, sold at the exhibition and available online. Series competition category winners and finalists are invited to Insights, a day of tailored sessions with leading industry figures in London. Coming from commercial, curatorial, and institutional backgrounds, these experts offer the photographers specialised guidance on expanding their network and practice.
For more information about the Sony World Photography Awards and upcoming announcements and events, please visit worldphoto.org