The V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography 2025

The V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography is an annual initiative dedicated to identifying, supporting, and championing innovative women artists working in the field of contemporary photography.

Overview

Launched in 2022, the Prize is conceived as part of the V&A's Parasol Foundation Women in Photography curatorial program, which seeks to foreground, sustain and support women's practice in contemporary photography and highlight the role women have played throughout the history of the medium. The Prize is produced in partnership with Peckham 24, south London's innovative photography festival. The prize has been made possible by the support of Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and The Parasol Foundation Trust.

This year the V&A Parasol Prize for Women in Photography invites photographers to respond to the concept of Unity. They encourage submissions which explore how communities, individuals, and even nature come together to heal, reconcile, and find peaceful resolution. Photographers are encouraged to focus on stories of hope, collaboration, compassion, and the shared human experience. Images should reflect photography's transformative qualities, showcasing contemporary imagery which transcends boundaries, mends division, and fosters harmony.

Practical Info

Applicants must submit up to 20 images from an ongoing or existing body of work, plus accompanying statements, biography and a draft installation plan of the proposed exhibition at Peckham 24 festival. Work submitted must have been created in the last 3 years and should not have previously been exhibited in London.

Four selected artists will be included in a group exhibition at Peckham 24 festival, alongside accompanying events and public programming. International travel and two nights' accommodation expenses will be covered for exhibiting artists to attend the festival in London, in May 2025. Plus, each exhibiting artist will be granted a £2,000 bursary.

The selection committee is composed by Dr Charmaine Toh (Senior Curator, International Art at Tate), Thyago Nogueira (Head of the Contemporary Photography Department at Instituto Moreira Salles) and Gillian Wearing (Artist).

About V&A

The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity. Our mission is to champion design and creativity in all its forms, advance cultural knowledge, and inspire makers, creators and innovators everywhere. We share a 5,000 year old story of creativity through exhibitions, events, educational programmes, digital experiences, conservation, research and an ever-evolving national collection of over 2.8 million objects spanning every creative discipline.