Die Nominatoren
A group of more than 130 renowned photography experts from around 50 countries have submitted their nominations for the main category of LOBA 2026. The nominators come from various fields of photography, including museums and galleries, festivals, science and research, newspapers and magazines, picture editing, publishing, art direction and project management. The photographers include numerous former LOBA winners.
Mustafah Abdulaziz (USA), photographer, LOBA winner 2019
José Luis Amores (Spain), curator and cultural manager
Federica Angelucci (Italy), Director at Stevenson
Ana María Arévalo Gosen (Venezuela), photographer, LOBA winner 2021
Ragnar Axelsson (Iceland), photographer
Carla Bacelar Ferreira (Portugal), Vice-President of the Board, Director and Producer of Encontros da Imagem, Braga
Ofir Barak (Israel), photographer
Pablo Bartholomew (India), photographer
Dimitri Beck (France), Director of Photography Polka Magazine
Maxime Bertocchi (Switzerland), Communications Project Manager–Prix Pictet
Julio Bittencourt (Brazil), photographer, LOBA winner 2007
Roland Breitschuh (Germany), photographer, BFF board member
Manila Camarini (Italy), Senior Picture Editor, D – la Repubblica and DLUI Magazine
Krzysztof Candrowicz (Poland/Portugal), curator and researcher
Koral Carballo (Mexico), photojournalist, documentary photographer, visual artist
Claudi Carreras Guillén (Spain), photo editor, curator
Elinor Carucci (USA/Israel), fine art photographer
Alejandro Cegarra (Venezuela), photographer, LOBA Newcomer winner 2014 and LOBA winner 2025
Lionel Charrier (France), Director of Photography Libération
Zelda Cheatle (United Kingdom), curator, editor
Stefen Chow (Malaysia/China), photographer
Julia Dean (USA), photographer, educator, writer, and founder and former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Center of Photography, Director of The L.A. Project
Simindokht Dehghani (Iran), Director of the Ag Galeria, Teheran
Arturo Delgado (Mexico), Founder and Curator of Galería Almanaque
Claire di Felice (Luxembourg), Curator and Researcher at CNA (Centre national de l’audiovisuel) Luxembourg
Misha Domozhilov (Russia), photographer, curator
Benedetta Donato (Italy), curator, Director of the RCIPA (Romano Cagnoni International Photojournalism Award)
Stinus Duch (Denmark), publisher and Founder of Disko Bay
Yasemin Elçi (Turkey), curator, journalist
Santiago Escobar-Jaramillo (Colombia), photographer, editor at Raya Editorial
Ismail Ferdous (Bangladesh), photographer, LOBA winner 2023
Gonçalo Fonseca (Portugal), photographer, LOBA Newcomer winner 2020
Alice Gabriner (USA), photo editor
Cale Garrido (Spain/Germany), curator, photo editor, author
Laura González Flores (Mexico), researcher Contemporary Art and Photography at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Masaru Goto (Japan), photographer, Director of Reminders Photography Stronghold (RPS), Tokyo
Yumi Goto (Japan), researcher, consultant, editor, curator
Howard Greenberg (USA), gallery owner
Héctor Guerrero (Mexico), photojournalist, photo editor, filmmaker
Per Gylfe (USA), Director of Education at the International Center of Photography (ICP)
David Hagger (Australia), curator
Markus Hartmann (Germany), Founder of Hartmann Books and Hartmann Projects
Kiana Hayeri (Canada), photographer, Senior TED fellow, National Geographic Explorer grantee, LOBA 2022 winner
Yining He (China), researcher, curator, writer
Mathias Heng (France), photographer
Nadine Isabelle Henrich (Germany), Curator, House of Photography, Deichtorhallen Hamburg
Stephanie Herrmann (Germany), Curatorial Director Zephyr, Head of Collection Forum International Photography Reiss-Engelhorn-Museum
Curt Holtz (Germany), Editor-in-Chief for Photography and Architecture at Prestel Publishing
Caroline Hunter (United Kingdom), Picture Editor for The Guardian Saturday Magazine
Claudia Ioan (Italy), photographer, curator
Zeynab Jahan (Azerbaijan), curator, editor, author
Joanna Janisiewicz (Poland), Lecturer at Akademia Anima Mundi
Toomas Järvet (Estonia), curator, gallerist, Co-founder of the Juhan Kuus Foundation
Sarah Kahloun (Mexico/France), publishing director Kahl Editions
Jeong Eun Kim (South Korea), publisher
Simone Klein (Germany), independent appraiser and advisor specializing in photography
Yoshiaki Koga (Japan), editor
Martin Kollar (Slovak Republic), photographer, cinematographer, LOBA winner 2014
Matjaž Krivic (Slovenia), photographer
Trish Lambe (Ireland), Artistic Director Photo Museum Ireland
Lois Lammerhuber (Austria), Founder of the Festival La Gacilly-Baden Photo, owner of Edition Lammerhuber
Eyal Landesman (Israel), Founder and Artistic Director of the Israeli Photography Festival
Lau Tung-Pui (Hong Kong), curator
David Y. Lee (USA), Senior Program Officer, Storytelling at the National Geographic Society
Steven Lee (Malaysia), photographer, Director of the Kuala Lumpur Photography Awards
Sarah Leen (USA), photo editor
Anastasia Leonova (Ukraine), publisher, art manager, curator, Co-founder of IST Publishing
Luca Locatelli (Italy), photographer, LOBA winner 2020
Stephan Macháč (Germany), Coordination Officer for Photography, City of Düsseldorf
Santiago Martínez Alberú (Mexico), Suave magazine
Nadja Masri (Germany), photo editor, consultant, lecturer
Sergey Melnitchenko (Ukraine), photographer, Founder of the MYPH School of Photography, teacher, curator, LOBA Newcomer winner 2017
Wiktoria Michałkiewicz (Portugal/Poland/Sweden), artists’ agent, Founder of REZO Agency & Art Advisory
Stefano Mirabella (Italy), photographer
Patricia Morvan (France), Cultural Projects and Exhibitions, Agency VU’
Mina Mostefa (France/Morocco), Founder and Director of the Rencontres photo de Tanger
Katharina Mouratidi (Germany), Artistic Director and Managing Director, f3 – Freiraum für Fotografie, Berlin
Igor Mukhin (Russia), photographer, Teacher at the Rodchenko Moscow School of Photography and Multimedia
Saeed Nassouri (United Arab Emirates), photographer
Veronica Nicolardi (Italy), Director Cortona on the Move and Co-director Yeast Photo Festival
Musuk Nolte (Peru), photographer, editor and publisher (KWY Ediciones)
Nii Obodai (Ghana), photographer
Naoko Ohta (Japan), Founder of Tokyo Curiosity
Silvia Omedes (Spain), curator, photo editor
Søren Pagter (Denmark), Educational Coordinator at the Photography department of the Danish School of Media and Photojournalism (DMJX)
Alessia Paladini (Italy), gallerist
Sophie Parker (United Kingdom), Director Photo London
Jens Pepper (Poland), curator, writer, photographer
Benjamin Petit (USA), documentary photographer, Co-founder of Dysturb
Max Pinckers (Belgium), photographer, LOBA Winner 2018
Fernanda Prado Verčič (Slovenia/Brazil), Founder and Director Kranj Foto Fest
Rui Prata (Portugal), Director of the Imago Festival, Lisbon
Rebecca Anne Proctor (United Arab Emirates), journalist, cultural advisor, formerly Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar Art & Interiors
Kateryna Radchenko (Ukraine), curator, Director of Odesa Photo Festival
Isidro Ramírez (Singapore), photographer, Lecturer with the LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
Arianna Rinaldo (Italy), Curator PhEST (International festival of photography and arts, Monopoli)
Federico Ríos Escobar (Colombia), photographer
Manuel Rivera-Ortiz (France), photographer, Founder of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for Documentary Photography & Film
Carla Rosorius (Germany), Director of Photography Geo magazine
Laura Roumanos (USA), Executive Director and Co-founder of Photoville
Gulnara Lyabib Samoilova (USA), photographer, Founder and Curator of Women Street Photographers
María Santoyo (Spain), Director of PHotoESPAÑA festival, CEO of Curiosa
Ko Sasaki (Japan), photographer
Thomas Schäfer (Germany), Director of Exhibitions Fotografiska Berlin
Amélie Schneider (Germany), Head of the Picture Editorial Department Die Zeit
Roos Schouw (Netherlands), owner, publisher, Editor-in-Chief at Focus Publishing
Malin Schulz (Germany), Art Director Die Zeit and member of the Editorial Board
Aaron Schuman (USA), photographer, writer, curator, Professor
Laura Serani (France), curator, author
Shi Hantao (China), curator, publisher
Alex Snyder (USA), Senior Photo Editor at The Nature Conservancy, communications for The Photo Society
Horst Stasny (Austria), photographer
Barbara Stauss (Schweiz), Bildredakteurin Mare Magazin
Enrico Stefanelli (Italy), Artistic Director Photolux Festival
Gilles Steinmann (Switzerland), Director of Photography Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Olga Sviblova (Russia), Director of the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow
Kevin V. Ton (Czech Republic), photographer
Katrin Trautner (Germany), photo editor Geo magazine
Gaia Tripoli (Italy), Photo Editor The New York Times
Johan Trujillo Argüelles (Mexico), cultural manager, educator, curator, Director of the Centro de la Imagen
István Virágvölgyi (Hungary), Curator at the Robert Capa Center
Vineet Vohra (India), street photographer
Fiona Wachera (Kenya), media strategist, Photo Editor Everyday Africa
James Wellford (USA), Senior Photo Editor for Global Issues National Geographic
Paolo Woods (Italy), photographer, curator
Kaitlin Yarnall (USA), Chief Storytelling Officer, National Geographic Society
Yao Gaocai (China), Curator of the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing
Sinem Yoruk (Turkey), entrepreneur, Consultant, Qatar Museums, Tasweer Photo Festival, Founder of Elipsis Projects
Rony Zakaria (Indonesia), photographer
Daniella Zalcman (USA), photographer, Founder of Women Photograph
Adolf Zika (Czech Republic), photographer
The Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award 2026 will be selected by the jury in collaboration with and through the proposals of 28 international institutions and universities from 18 countries:
Australia: RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) School of Art
Austria: Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
Canada: Toronto Metropolitan University
China: China Academy of Arts (CCA), Hangzhou
Denmark: Danish School of Media and Photojournalism (DMJX), Aarhus/Copenhagen
Deutschland: Hochschule Düsseldorf, University of Applied Sciences
Germany: Hochschule Hannover, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Photojournalism and Documentary Photography
Germany: Merz Akademie Stuttgart
Germany: OKS, Ostkreuzschule, Berlin
Ghana: Dikan Center, Accra
Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi
Indonesia: PannaFoto Institute, Bekasi
Italy: RUFA, Rome University of Fine Arts
Japan: Tokyo Polytechnic University
Mexico: Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City
Puerto Rico: University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
Russia: Docdocdoc, School of Modern Photography, St Petersburg
Russia: Rodchenko Art School, Moscow
South Korea: Chung-Ang University, Seoul
Spain: LENS Escuela de Artes Visuales, Madrid
Ukraine: School of conceptual and art photography MYPH
United Kingdom: London College of Communication
USA: Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City
USA: International Center for Photography, New York City
USA: Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), Boston
USA: School of Visual Arts, New York
USA: University of California, Berkeley
USA: Wellesley College, Wellesley