Lecturer shortlisted for prestigious European photography award

Dr Amak Mahmoodian, senior lecturer in photography at UWE Bristol, is one of four artists to be shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026.

Established in 1996, the prize honours those who have made a significant contribution to photography through an exhibition or publication in Europe within the past 12 months. It is renowned for showcasing outstanding and innovative work and celebrating leading international photographers.

Dr Mahmoodian is shortlisted for her exhibition ‘One Hundred and Twenty Minutes’ presented at the Bristol Photo Festival in 2024, examining the experience of dreaming for individuals living in exile.

Working with 16 collaborators from 14 countries, all of whom are exiled from their native countries and living in the UK, Dr Mahmoodian used photography, poetry, drawing and video to explore the new lives created through dreams, as well as the ways in which dreaming enables individuals to return to a past that cannot be reached while awake. The title ‘One Hundred and Twenty Minutes’ refers to the average time a person spends dreaming each night.

“I feel deeply thrilled and excited to have been shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026,” said Dr Mahmoodian. “This project belongs to a community I care for, live with, and dream alongside.”

A multidisciplinary artist and educator, Dr Mahmoodian began her career in Iran as a research-based photographer; she has been based in the UK since 2010, unable to return to her home country.

She practices as a visual artist at the intersection of conceptual image-making and documentary photography, working with photographs, text, video, drawing, archives and sound. Her practice explores the presentation of gender, identity and displacement, bridging a space between personal and political across platforms and formats including installation, books and films.

An exhibition featuring all the shortlisted projects will open at The Photographers’ Gallery in London from 6 March to 7 June 2026, before travelling to the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.

The winner, who will receive £30,000, will be announced on Thursday 14 May 2026, with each of the remaining shortlisted artists awarded £5,000.