Fifty outstanding works have been selected as finalists for the 2025 William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, one of Australia’s highest regarded photography prizes.


Ali Tayahori: Sisterhood (Broken) 2025, from the series Archive of longing; UV print on glass, hand-cut glass, silicone on aluminium; courtesy of the artist.

The nominated works come from more than 750 entries to the 20th Bowness Photography Prize. They offer a compelling view of what’s happening in contemporary photography in Australia, with competing artists exploring every dimension of how to make a photograph. Glass, metal, paper and screens feature among the surfaces and textures of these artworks, utilised to powerful effect. This year the prize winnings have grown to a total of $70,000, an increase made possible due to a generous one-million-dollar gift from the Bowness Family Foundation. This gift establishes the prize as Australia’s richest award for photography and cements the importance of photographic practice into the future.

Finalists include Hoda Afshar, Riste Andrievski, Lilah Benetti, Jane E Brown, Jane Burton, Isabella Capezio, Dave Carswell, Zoё Croggon, Zo Damage, J Davies, Gerwyn Davies, Tamara Dean, Rianon Dillon, Ella Dreyfus, Stephen Dupont, Odette England, Guy Grabowsky, Yvette Hamilton, Siri Hayes, Anna Higgins, Naomi Hobson, Ingvar Kenne, Nur Aishah Abdullah Farid Kenton, Shea Kirk, Thomas Ling, Morganna Magee, Sean McKenzie, Gerrie Mifsud, Kent Morris, Phuong Nguyen Le, Kojiro Oishi, SEANOKKAI., Jill Orr, Sonia Payes, Stanislava Pinchuk, Izabela Pluta, Zorica Purlija, Eugenia Raskopoulos, Sarah Rhodes, Elvis Richardson, Jessica Schwientek, Dean Sewell, Ali Tahayori, Cyrus Tang, James Tylor, Justine Varga, Pete Volich, Kai Wasikowski, Wei Weng and Meng-Yu Yan. This year’s judging panel consists of photographers, Anne Zahalka and Shaune Lakin plus the MAPh Director, Anouska Phizacklea.

The winner of the prize will receive $50,000, and their work will be acquired into MAPh’s collection.  The judges will also select two Honourable Mentions, who will each receive $2500. The artist selected for the Wai Tang Commissioning Award will receive $10,000 and the opportunity to exhibit a body of work throughout next year’s Bowness Photography Prize season. The Community Bank Pinewood People’s Choice winner will be awarded a $5000 cash prize: voting will commence from the exhibition’s opening night. Click here for more information.