Two decades of photography. Hundreds of thousands of images. And another opportunity for photographers around the world to show what they see, how they see it and why it matters.
The Sony World Photography Awards has announced the jury for its 20th edition, alongside dates for its 2027 exhibition at Somerset House in London.
The exhibition will run from 15 April to 3 May 2027, beginning an international journey that will showcase a selection of winning and shortlisted work from the landmark edition.
A Landmark 20th Edition
Over its two-decade history, the Sony World Photography Awards has established itself as a major platform for contemporary visual storytelling.
The Awards celebrate the creativity and dedication of photographers working today, while highlighting the many ways photography can tell stories and reflect the world around us.
Organised by Creo, the Awards form a core part of the photography programming of the World Photography Organisation. Sony supports the Awards by providing an international platform for photographers and contributing to the global conversation around the medium.
The scale of participation continues to underline the reach of the competition.
The 2026 edition received more than 430,000 images.
Now, as the Awards enter their landmark 20th edition, photographers can submit their work for free.
Monica Allende Returns as Jury Chair
For 2027, Monica Allende returns as Chair of the Jury for the Series competition and curator of the London exhibition at Somerset House.
She will be joined by specialists from across the global visual arts landscape, bringing different areas of expertise, perspectives and experience to the judging process.
The 2027 Series Competition jury comprises:
- 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
Other competitions will have dedicated judges.
Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen, Managing Director of Copenhagen Photo Festival in Denmark, will judge the Single Image and Youth competitions.
The Student competition will be judged by Menno Liauw, Founder and Director of the FUTURES Foundation in the Netherlands.
New Categories Open New Creative Doors
The 2027 edition also introduces new categories across the competitions.
The changes expand the Awards’ scope and create additional opportunities for photographers to present different approaches to visual storytelling.
The Series competition, previously known as Professional, and the Single Image competition, previously known as Open, have also been renamed to clarify their respective scopes.
Photographers can enter different projects into both competitions. This means those with varied portfolios can submit work from across their practice, whether that work takes the form of an extended series or a powerful single photograph.
Histories
A new Series competition category, Histories, invites photographers to explore the ways personal, cultural and collective histories shape the world today.
The category covers traditions, everyday rituals, events and forces that have left their mark on nations and peoples.
It is open to projects that engage with or re-examine the past, as well as contemporary work viewed through a historical lens.
Archival and found-image interventions are also welcomed, particularly projects that revisit, re-contextualise or bring new life to the past.
Animal Portraits
The new Single Image category, Animal Portraits, turns the lens towards the animal kingdom.
The category celebrates the beauty, personality and spirit of animals through portraiture.
Entries can feature everything from beloved pets and majestic wildlife to marine life, reptiles and insects.
The focus is on images that capture expression and character while showcasing the remarkable diversity of the animal kingdom.
London Sets the Stage for 2027
The first stop for the Sony World Photography Awards 2027 exhibition will be Somerset House in London, running from 15 April to 3 May 2027.
The exhibition, curated by Monica Allende, will feature a selection of winning and shortlisted images from the 2027 Awards.
It will also include special presentations.
These will feature Photographer of the Year 2026 Citlali Fabián, alongside the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography 2027, who will be announced in November.
Johannesburg Hosts the 2026 Exhibition
While the 2027 exhibition looks ahead to London, South Africa currently has its own place in the Awards’ international exhibition journey.
The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 is on view in Johannesburg until 22 January 2027 at the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography.
The exhibition marks the Awards’ debut presentation in South Africa.
The wider 2026 travelling exhibition schedule also includes:
- 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
For Johannesburg audiences, the exhibition therefore offers an opportunity to experience the 2026 Awards while the next landmark edition takes shape.
The Countdown to Submission
Submissions for the 2027 Sony World Photography Awards opened on 1 June 2026.
The four competitions have different closing dates:
| Competition | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Student | 27 November 2026, 16:00 GMT |
| Single Image | 5 January 2027, 16:00 GMT |
| Youth | 5 January 2027, 16:00 GMT |
| Series | 12 January 2027, 16:00 GMT |
The Awards are free to enter.
For photographers considering an entry, the new categories offer additional ways to present a body of work or a single image, depending on the competition and project.
The Prizes
Winning can also bring opportunities beyond the competition itself.
Category winners across the Series, Single Image, Youth and Student competitions will receive digital imaging equipment from Sony.
The prestigious Photographer of the Year will receive a US$25,000 cash prize and a solo presentation of their work as part of the following year’s Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London.
The Single Image Competition Winner and Sustainability Prize winner will each receive US$5,000.
Winning and shortlisted photographers will have their projects exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards exhibition in London before the exhibition travels internationally.
Their winning images will also be published in the annual Awards book, which will be sold at the exhibition and made available online.
Series category winners and finalists will additionally be invited to Insights, a day of tailored sessions with leading industry figures in London.
These sessions bring together experts from commercial, curatorial and institutional backgrounds, offering specialised guidance focused on expanding photographers’ networks and practices.
The Next Picture Could Tell the Story
With the 20th edition now underway, the Sony World Photography Awards is opening another chapter in its celebration of contemporary photography.
New categories invite fresh perspectives. An international jury brings together specialists from different corners of the visual arts. And the 2027 exhibition already has its London dates locked in.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg is still hosting the 2026 exhibition at the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography until 22 January 2027.
For photographers, the message is simple: the next story is waiting to be captured.
And the next defining image could already be in someone’s camera, archive or portfolio.
More information, competition details and upcoming announcements are available at World Photography Organisation.
