There seemed to be a consensus among visitors to the eleventh edition of Photo London that the move to its new venue at the venerable Olympia exhibition hall in Kensington was a positive one. The historic space provided a more cohesive setting for an impressive group of galleries, which included newcomers from as far afield as India and Africa, and continued to innovate with new curated sections for solo and regional presentations, a significantly extended publishing section, and a dedicated artists’ screening room (Photo London 2026).
This year’s Photo London Master of Photography was the legendary American fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who, despite his phenomenal output — in one year alone he produced twenty-eight Vogue covers — has rarely spoken in the press or maintained a social media presence (Benson 2026). He was deservedly given a prime space on the first floor, overlooking the rest of the hall, with monumental black-and-white prints drawn from his first professional assignment in London. The centrepiece was Anglo-Saxon Attitude (1993), the British Vogue series he shot with stylist Isabella Blow, whose circle of London society girls — among them Stella Tennant, Bella Freud, Plum Sykes, and Honor Fraser — embodied the city’s anarchic, irreverent spirit at the time. Also included was a 1993 portrait of Twiggy, one of several images Meisel had made of her across his career. His graphically assured, unflinching portraits captured London’s then-ungovernable sense of fashion (Benson 2026).
The Autograph gallery and arts centre continued its groundbreaking mission by presenting We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For (2026), a compelling group exhibition of women and non-binary artists from its collection. Curated by Bindi Vora, the exhibition traced a cross-generational lineage of image-makers — from the incisive self-portraiture of Zanele Muholi to the pioneering conceptual practice of Carrie Mae Weems — who have reshaped the visual language of photography over the past four decades (Autograph 2026).
Elsewhere, in the enhanced edition of Positions — the section for artists without gallery representation — one could not help being drawn to the photographic work of Barbara Ayozie Fu Safira, a multidisciplinary artist of Italian-Nigerian heritage working across fine art, photography, fashion and performance. Presented under the title Creed: Doctrine of Presence (2026) and shot on a medium-format camera from 1956, her practice explores identity, heritage and cultural narrative through a layered and visually distinctive language that resists conventional sharpness, the prints evoking the surface quality of painting while remaining firmly rooted in the photographic (ANSA 2026).
The Photo London Student Award, working with UK universities offering photography degrees, highlighted the most exciting early-career talent within the industry, bringing their portfolios to international attention. The winner was Akanksya Dahal’s, with A Moment Left Unsaid: Stillness Amidst the Crowd, exploring the quiet, often overlooked moments that shape everyday life. Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at The Guardian, commented on behalf of the judging panel: “We really felt that Akanksya’s work brought a very tender quality; it was so unusual. There was a specific tone about her work that made it distinct from the other entries. It is invigorating when you are a picture editor or a curator, and you see so many images, to discover something so special. Naturally, we also felt that all the other shortlisted students had very strong entries, and it is important to recognise that.”
The singular work of Jane Evelyn Atwood, represented by the Paris-based In Camera gallery, reflects a deep involvement with her subjects over long periods of time. Fascinated by people and by the idea of exclusion, she has managed to penetrate worlds that most of us do not know, or choose to ignore: among them, the women’s prison in Metz, France, from the ten-year project that would become the definitive photographic record of female incarceration. One image in particular stops the visitor — a couple embracing during visiting time, the urgency of the gesture pressing against everything the institution withholds (In Camera n.d.; Atwood 2000).
The new venue also provided more space for established publishers, now sharing the floor with independent presses and leading photography galleries, thus championing a vibrant and diverse community and cementing the photobook as a central artefact within the photography ecosystem. Highlights included Kehrer Verlag of Heidelberg presenting new publications including Frank Horvat’s The Birth of a Photographer (2026), documenting his journeys through India and Pakistan at the outset of his career; Atelier EXB of Paris presenting Sophie Calle’s On the Hunt (2024–25), a work first conceived for the Musée de la Chasse in 2017 and now in its expanded final form; and Dewi Lewis Publishing of Stockport bringing titles from the past twelve months as well as a range of collector’s editions and rare books including work by Tom Wood, Simon Norfolk, Brian Griffin, and Fay Godwin (Photo London 2026). Also making its debut at the fair was Foto Libros, a new collective of publishers based in Latin America, formed specifically to exhibit there.
Photo London 2026 at Kensington Olympia ran from 14–17 May 2026. The programme is available at photolondon.org.
Photo London at Kensington Olympia, 14–17 May 2026
Bibliography
ANSA 2026, ‘L’artista italo-nigeriana Fu Safira espone a Photo London’, ANSA, 15 May, viewed 16 May 2026, https://www.ansa.it.
Autograph 2026, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, exhibition information, Autograph, London, viewed 16 May 2026, https://autograph.org.uk/exhibitions/we-are-the-ones-we-have-been-waiting-for.
Benson, M 2026, quoted in ‘Photo London Celebrates Steven Meisel as Master of Photography’, AnOther Magazine, 15 May, viewed 16 May 2026, https://www.anothermag.com.
In Camera n.d., Jane Evelyn Atwood, In Camera gallery, Paris, viewed 16 May 2026, https://www.incamera.fr/en/artists/jane-evelyn-atwood/.
Photo London 2026, Exhibitors Announced for Photo London 2026, Photo London, London, viewed 16 May 2026, https://photolondon.org/exhibitors-announced-for-photo-london-2026/.
Photo London 2026, Steven Meisel: Master of Photography 2026, Photo London, London, viewed 16 May 2026, https://photolondon.org/event/steven-meisel-master-of-photography-2026/.
Images courtesy photo London 2026 © as per photo / Julio Etchart
