Discover the Finalists of Sarajevo Photography Festival 2026

With great excitement, we present the finalists of the Sarajevo Photography Festival 2026: a selection of works that stood out across this year’s eight competition categories.

Bringing together submissions from photographers around the world, this year’s open call once again revealed the extraordinary capacity of photography to observe, interpret, and challenge contemporary reality. The selected projects move across intimate personal narratives, social landscapes, constructed worlds, and documentary testimonies, reminding us that photography today operates as a language of inquiry.

These works investigate memory, identity, power, vulnerability, and the fragile relationship between truth and perception, inviting us to look longer, question deeper, and remain present with what images can still reveal.

This year’s jury — Simone Azzoni, Marko Drobnjaković, Teresa Freitas, Šejla Kamerić, Timotej Letonja, Coline Plançon, Fernanda Prado Verčič, and Ionuț Trandafirescu — approached the selection process through a wide spectrum of curatorial, editorial, artistic, and documentary perspectives.

Reviewing works across all categories, the jury engaged with practices ranging from experimental image-making and conceptual approaches to socially engaged documentary work and contemporary visual storytelling. The selected finalists ultimately stood out not only for their technical and aesthetic strength, but for the clarity of their voice, conceptual depth, and ability to create lasting resonance beyond the image itself.

With heartfelt congratulations to all selected photographers, we are pleased to present the finalists of the Sarajevo Photography Festival 2026:

Agostiño Iglesias, Alex Bex, Alma Štrkljević Matešan, Anđela Livančić, Angelika Kollin, Angélique Delabre, Anton Azev, Anya Tsaruk, Armin Graca, Artur Leão, Athanasios Fitsios, Bart Rubik, Belmin Islam, Chen Tianqiutao, Claudio Menna, Cléa Rekhou, Darko Duckin, David Lombeida, Dejan Mijović, Dileep SS, Emmanuel Annor Sarfo, Fanni Eszter Luzsicza, Fedor Vučemilović, Filip Pechevski, Filippo Poli, Frédérique Gélinas, Giancarlo Pagetti, Gregor Radonjič, Guillermo Gutierrez, Harun Özalp, Igor Schiller, Ioana Rusu, Irina Kovalchuk, Jesús Umbría Brito, Jordi Roca Zanuy, Josefine Rauch, Linda Zhengová, Lisa Hu, Liz Miller Kovacs, Luce Storić, Ludo Luykx, Ludovica Limido, Luna Jovanović, Marcos Azulay, Metin Aktaş, Miloš Kostić, Mitar Simikić, Mitja Križman, Nataliya Golyzhbina, Nicola Muirhead, Nina Pacherová, Nirish Shakya, Nora Obergeschwandner, Olaf Wipperfürth, Olga Zaverzhenets, Raj Alaya, Roman Popov, Sabrina Losso, Sara Heidinger, Sarah Fuchs, Savas Onur Sen, Sebastian Szczepanowski, Senja Vild, Sofía Moro Valentín Gamazo, Solène Richard, Somenath Mukhopadhyay, Stefan Mogolyanov, Su Cassiano, Tara Đukić, Umberto Diecinove, Valentina Bunić, Valentina Sinis, Vedad Divović, Veronica Lombeida, Xiaoping Lin, Yasser Alaa Mobarak, Zsolt Balázs

The Grand Prix winner will receive a cash prize of €2,000, while the winners of each category will be awarded prizes sponsored by Canon, along with the prestigious festival statuette. The total prize fund for the festival amounts to €10,000.

The names of the category winners and the recipient of the Grand Prix will be revealed at the official awards ceremony that will take place at the National Theatre Sarajevo on Thursday, June 4th 2026.

The finalist exhibition will be unveiled at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo on the same day.

Please note: the opening night at the National Theatre is a closed event, by invitation only, while the exhibition will be open to the public.