If you haven't heard of the Saltzman-Leibovitz Photography Prize yet, now's the time to pay attention. Launched in 2025 by New York photographer and philanthropist Lisa Saltzman, through the Saltzman Family Foundation, and created in collaboration with Annie Leibovitz, it's explicitly designed to spotlight emerging female photographers at a pivotal point in their careers. It comes with real money ($15,000 for the winner, $5,000 for the runner-up), a serious jury and, crucially, an exhibition at Photo London. Only in its second year, it's already making a strong case for itself.
The 2026 edition takes Leibovitz's book Women as its inspiration, with five international nominators each putting forward a candidate, whose work is then judged by a panel of experts. This year's winner is Marisol Mendez, a photographer and researcher from Cochabamba, Bolivia, whose project MADRE takes the $15,000 top prize. And it's worth listening to how Mendez explains her own practice.
