Wellcome Photography Prize

Wellcome Photography Prize

Celebrating compelling imagery that captures stories of health, science and human experience since 1997.

Returning for 2025 the prize brings together different perspectives, using photography and biomedical imaging that together reveal how health and science shape lives around the world.

Each year, the competition calls for entries that explore urgent themes such as mental health, infectious disease, climate change, and discovery research, to celebrate artistic excellence but also to provoke meaningful conversation and inspire positive change.

Discover the Top 25 

Entry information 

Previous winners 

Participatory photography projects 

2025 saw the introduction of photography workshops with young people to explore health and wellbeing in their community. Their striking images and personal captions offer a powerful lens on local life in Western Cape, South Africa.

Eh!woza - Things We Left Unseen

The Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 commissioned 17 young people from Khayelitsha, Western Cape, South Africa empowering them to explore health and wellbeing in their community.

Commissions 

From 2019-2021 a photographic commission was developed alongside the competition, featuring the work of one or more photographers and focusing on a specific theme. 

Contact us