The Saltzman-Leibovitz photography prize, established in 2025 by philanthropist Lisa Saltzman and renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, honours the legacy of Ralph and Muriel Saltzman, dedicated art patrons. This prize celebrates the next generation of female visual storytellers, inspired by Leibovitz's book Women, and aims to spotlight emerging talent at pivotal moments in their creative journeys. The winning works will be displayed at Photo London, Olympia, from 13 to 17 May 2026.
Winner: Marisol Mendez
Bolivian photographer Marisol Mendez explores the tension between truth and fiction in her series MADRE. Her images challenge preconceived biases about women through their piercing gazes. Mendez collaborates with subjects to portray their desired representation, protesting unjust depictions that erase the nuances of womanhood in Bolivia, a country with a legacy of colonisation, patriarchy, and intertwined faiths.
One portrait features Carmen Paz, a Bolivian matriarch who never married or had children—an uncommon path for her generation. Yet she is recognised as the head of her family, her authority defined by presence and independence. Another image, Killa (the Quechua word for moon), evokes the Inca moon goddess Mama Quilla, traditionally a protector of women. Amid alarming gender violence in Bolivia, Mendez's work resists erasure by reworking religious and vernacular iconography into images of dignity and defiance.
Runner-Up: Miranda Barnes
Miranda Barnes's project Social Season offers a glimpse into African American cotillions. Her first contact with debutante culture came through research on Black traditions across the United States, including Juneteenth pageants, rodeos, church ceremonies, and homecomings. Her series The Debutantes' Ball (2022–2025), set in Detroit, Michigan, documents the community and anticipation surrounding this custom. Through colour photography, Barnes aims to showcase generational Black excellence and expression, reminding viewers that being a well-dressed, articulate Black person was once deemed inappropriate or even dangerous.
Other Featured Photographers
Cole Ndelu
Cole Ndelu's ongoing project Black Church investigates the Zulufication of Catholicism in KwaZulu-Natal, merging Zulu cosmology, ritual, and communal memory with Catholic doctrine. Her portfolio, created between 2020 and the present, explores themes of girlhood, womanhood, mother–daughter relationships, Zulu culture, Catholic faith, and fashion.
Lindeka Qampi
Lindeka Qampi, born in 1969 in Bolotwa, South Africa, is a self-taught photographer who began in 2006 with the community-based collective Iliso Labantu. She focuses on daily township life, particularly in Khayelitsha, capturing everything from land scarcity to children's play. Her work is held in collections including North-West University Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, and the University of Cape Town.
Bettina Pittaluga
French-Uruguayan photographer Bettina Pittaluga, based in Paris, describes her work as capturing beauty in authenticity. Her project No Body Is Just One Thing emerges from within the queer community, shaped by friendship and conversation. She seeks moments when subjects forget to perform, moving beyond urgency or spectacle to show laughter, love, and everyday presence.
The exhibition runs from 13 to 17 May 2026 at Photo London, Olympia.
