COLOGNE.- The August Sander Award for portrait photography, donated by Ulla Bartenbach and Prof. Dr. Kurt Bartenbach, will be awarded for the fifth time in 2026 in cooperation with Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne.

The idea behind the award is to promote young contemporary artistic approaches in the sense of objective and conceptual photography. Against the background of August Sander's important portrait photographs, the photographic works of the applicants should primarily relate to the theme of the human portrait. The prize is awarded every two years.

Eligible are national and international artists born as of January 1, 1986 with a focus on photography. The prize is endowed with 5,000 €. In addition, the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur will organize an exhibition of the award winner's work, if possible and by individual agreement.

For the submission is suitable already largely developed series, from which a maximum of 20 photographic prints should be sent. Only works that follow a thematically bound image group or sequence will be evaluated; individual images will not be considered. The works submitted should not have won a prize in other competitions.

The jury is composed of five members: Dr. Anja Bartenbach, sponsor family, Cologne; Dr. Franziska Brons, art historian, Berlin; Gabriele Conrath-Scholl, director, Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne; Jean-Paul Deridder, curator, Brussels; Andreas Mader, photographer, Winterthur.

A shortlist will be published in May 2026. The winner, resulting from the shortlist will be announced in June 2026.

The award ceremony will take place in September 2026 at Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur in a festive setting in Cologne.

The deadline for entries is 27 February 2026.