Talents 2026 at Photo Museum Ireland

Photo Museum Ireland presents an exhibition showcasing five of Ireland’s most exciting emerging photographic artists.

Overview

Bringing together distinct and ambitious new work, Talents 2026 offers a compelling view of the perspectives and approaches shaping contemporary photography in Ireland today. Exhibited artists are Ronan Callahan, Inés Pesado Catrufo, Laura Dunwoody, James Mahon, working in collaboration with Antoinette Foley, and Ewan Power.

Moving between personal narratives and wider social concerns, their projects explore youth and community, masculinity and institutional memory, queer identity and belonging, grief and loss, and the realities of addiction and recovery. Working across documentary, portraiture, analogue practice, and collaborative approaches, the artists examine how lived experience is shaped by family, place, community, and wider social structures. Together, their work demonstrates the breadth of approaches emerging within Irish photography and its capacity to engage meaningfully with contemporary life.

The works in TALENTS 2026 have been developed through Photo Museum Ireland’s artist residencies and commissions, which provide tailored support at key stages in an artist’s practice. This year’s exhibition brings together artists supported through the Sigma Talents Artist Awards, PMI’s Diversity Residency, and Irish Photo Network Residency, delivered with Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast Exposed, and Source Magazine, supported by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. Through mentoring, training, curatorial engagement, and specialised production assistance, these programmes give artists the resources and space to develop ambitious new work while supporting new talent and underrepresented voices.