Acclaimed South African visual activist and photographer Zanele Muholi has been named the 2026 recipient of the prestigious Hasselblad Award, one of the highest honors in contemporary photography. Known for powerful and visually striking portraiture, Muholi’s work explores identity, belonging and visibility, shaping key conversations in contemporary image-making.
Based between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Muholi was born in Umlazi during the era of Apartheid. They studied advanced photography at the Market Photo Workshop before earning an MFA in documentary media at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada.
Over the past two decades, Muholi—represented by Yancey Richardson—has gained international recognition, with major exhibitions at institutions such as Tate Modern, the International Center of Photography, Fotografiska in Shanghai, and the Venice Biennale.
Photography as archive and activism
Muholi’s work operates at the intersection of art and activism. Through portraiture and documentary practice, they address the historical erasure and discrimination of Black queer communities, particularly in South Africa. Their images combine formal precision with political urgency, creating a visual archive that affirms dignity, presence and resilience.
Zanele Muholi receives the 2026 Hasselblad Award, honoring the artist’s powerful photographic work and influence in contemporary visual culture. 
Zanele Muholi receives the 2026 Hasselblad Award, honoring the artist’s powerful photographic work and influence in contemporary visual culture. 
Zanele Muholi receives the 2026 Hasselblad Award, honoring the artist’s powerful photographic work and influence in contemporary visual culture. 
Zanele Muholi receives the 2026 Hasselblad Award, honoring the artist’s powerful photographic work and influence in contemporary visual culture. 
Zanele Muholi receives the 2026 Hasselblad Award, honoring the artist’s powerful photographic work and influence in contemporary visual culture.
Reflecting on the recognition, Muholi emphasized the collective dimension of their work:
“For years, my work has been about visibility and resistance. It has been about creating an archive so that no one can say, ‘We did not know.’ When this honour comes, I receive it on behalf of my community; those who have been erased, those who are still here, and those who are yet to see themselves reflected with dignity.”
Landmark photographic series
Among Muholi’s most influential projects is Faces and Phases (2006–ongoing), a landmark portrait series documenting lesbian, transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals as an act of resistance against systemic violence.
Another widely recognized body of work, Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) (2018–ongoing), consists of dramatic self-portraits drawing on references from fashion photography, classical portraiture, labor imagery and ethnographic photography. The series explores themes of performance, empowerment and the politics of representation.
Exhibition and prize
The Hasselblad Award includes a prize of 2,000,000 SEK (approximately $217,790 USD), a gold medal and a camera from Hasselblad.
As part of the honor, Muholi will also be the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. The exhibition opens October 10 and runs through April 4, 2027.