The August Sander Prize for Portrait Photography, donated by Ulla Bartenbach and Prof. Dr. Kurt Bartenbach, will be awarded for the fifth time in 2026 in collaboration with the Photographische Sammlung/ SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne.
The idea behind the award is to promote young contemporary artistic approaches in the sense of objective and conceptual photography. Against the background of August Sander’s important portrait photographs, the photographic works of the applicants should primarily relate to the subject of the human portrait. The prize is awarded every two years.
National and international artists born on or after January 1, 1986 with a focus on photography are eligible to participate. The prize is endowed with € 5,000. In addition, the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur will organize an exhibition with works by the prizewinner, if possible and by individual agreement.
A series that has already been largely developed is suitable for submission, from which a maximum of 20 photographic prints should be sent in. Only works that follow a thematically linked image group or sequence will be considered; individual images will not be taken into account. The submitted works should not have won a prize in other competitions.
The jury is made up of five members: Dr. Anja Bartenbach, donor family, Cologne; Dr. Franziska Brons, art historian, Berlin; Gabriele Conrath-Scholl, Head of The Photographic Collection/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne; Jean-Paul Deridder, curator, Brussels; Andreas Mader, photographer, Winterthur.
A shortlist will be published in May 2026. The winner resulting from the shortlist will be announced in June 2026.
The award ceremony will take place in September 2026 at the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur in Cologne.
Application deadline: February 27, 2026