Xposure 2026 Photography Awards Honour Global Winners And Set Record With 29,000 Entries

The Xposure International Photography Awards 2026 celebrated global talent with a ceremony at the Xposure International Photography Festival’s tenth edition, where Myanmar’s Myat Hein received the overall Photography Award for the image ‘A Portrait of Resilience’, recognised by the jury for its strong emotion, clear narrative, and striking visual impact among thousands of entries from across the world.

This year’s awards, a main feature of Xposure 2026 under the theme "A Decade of Visual Storytelling", attracted more than 29,000 submissions from over 60 countries, marking the highest participation so far and highlighting the diversity of genres on display, from architecture and sports to mobile, street, junior work, and visual storytelling.

The ceremony at the Xposure Auditorium brought together photographers, industry figures, and guests, as the audience applauded winners and runners-up from multiple categories. Awards were presented on stage by Tariq Saeed Allay, Director-General of Sharjah Government Media Bureau, and Alya Al Suwaidi, Director of Sharjah Government Media Bureau, while respected photojournalist Giles Clarke read the jury notes and addressed each recipient.

Many of the recognised photographs focused on natural scenes and human interaction with the environment. In Nature & Landscape, UAE photographer Preeti John took first place for ‘The Conversationalists’, while Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov’s ‘Elephant at Sunset’ was runner-up. Architectural Photography saw Germany’s Hans Wichmann win for ‘Antinori Winery’, with Czech photographer Olga Nezmeskalova placing second for ‘David and Goliath’.

Mobile Photography honoured Myanmar’s Si Thu Ye Myint, whose image ‘A Day in the Life of a Farmer Family’ earned first place, and Chinese photographer Yajun Hu, runner-up for ‘A Gazing Cat’. In Portraiture, Myanmar’s Aung Kyaw Zaw secured the top position for ‘The Two Face’, with Malaysian photographer Yuji Haikal recognised for ‘Lost in Translation’ for sensitive character study.

Low-light and digital creativity were strongly represented. Night Photography went to Slovak photographer Marian Kuric for ‘Fairy Tale’, while Myanmar’s Htin Lin placed second for ‘Night of Fishermen’. The Photo-manipulation and AI category produced two Iranian winners, with Maryam Sadat Ahmadi’s ‘Myself’ awarded first prize, just ahead of compatriot Saeed Rezvanian’s image ‘Untitled’.

Action-based work was also recognised. In Sports Photography, Jordan’s Ahmad Damra earned first place for the pole-vault image ‘Strength in the Curve of Challenge’. Runner-up in the same category was Oman’s Muhammad Al-Jalandi for ‘Dreams Beyond Limit’. Street Photography honoured Mexican photographer Antonio Flores for ‘Dance with the Giant of the Fire’, while China’s Aimin Chen received the runner-up position for ‘Walk on Stilts’.

Within Visual Storytelling, United States photographer Bob Miller took first place with ‘The Last Generation’, praised by the audience for its clear narrative thread. Nigerian photographer Etinosa Yvonne’s work ‘It’s All in My Head’ was named runner-up and also drew strong applause, underlining the category’s focus on long-form, emotionally driven photographic stories that address complex social themes.

The Junior Photography category, open to UAE residents aged 7–17, was split into Lower Junior and Upper Junior groups, encouraging young photographers to present work about daily life, culture, and imagination. In the Lower Junior (7–13 years) section, Ishaan Shyjith won for ‘Pathways in Motion’ and Abdalla AlSuwaidi was runner-up for ‘Heritage and Culture’, while in the Upper Junior (14–17 years) group, first place went to Neel Anil for ‘The March and the Mimics’, followed by Badr Alsayed’s ‘The Silent Custodian’.

As Xposure reaches its tenth edition, organisers stated that the Xposure International Photography Awards 2026 mirror how the festival has grown into a global meeting point for visual culture and discussion, with its expanding list of categories and record participation reinforcing Sharjah’s growing role as an international centre for photography and visual storytelling across different generations.

All shortlisted and winning entries are now exhibited in the ‘Hall of Fame’ in Zone 11 of the festival site, directly in front of the Xposure Auditorium, and the evening programme ended with formal thanks to the jury members, partners, and the wider photography community, whose continued engagement supports Xposure’s position on the international cultural calendar.

With inputs from WAM