Established in 2026, the Benjamin Hall Photography Award celebrates photography as a powerful way of seeing and engaging with the world, recognising the role the medium plays in observing, recording and understanding people, places and events.

This award celebrates photography as a powerful way of seeing and engaging with the world. It is inspired by the legacy of Rod and Jenny Hall, passionate travellers and generous supporters of the arts who encouraged artists at the early stages of their careers.

The award continues their commitment to creativity, curiosity and artistic opportunity and is supported by Benjamin Hall in recognition of the role photography plays in observing, recording and understanding the world and is open to all photographers. 

In his career as a foreign correspondent Hall has seen how photographs can capture not only a moment in time, but the emotions, convictions, and realities of people, places, and communities. The award will look across all forms of photography - fine art, documentary, portraiture, landscape and beyond - to find the work that the judges agree best captures the power of the medium. 

The judges will select a shortlist of works to be exhibited, from which one photographer will be selected as the recipient of the award of £1,000.

Judges

Benjamin Hall is a British journalist and war correspondent known for reporting from conflict zones around the world. He has spent much of his career covering international affairs and frontline conflicts. In 2022, while reporting on the war in Ukraine for Fox News, Hall was critically injured in an attack that killed two of his colleagues. His survival and recovery became widely recognised as a testament to resilience and determination. He is a New York Times bestselling author of  the books Saved and Resolute charting his journeys through war and recovery.

Sheila Rock is a renowned British photographer best known for documenting the energy and style of the late-1970s punk and new-wave music scene. Her photographs captured many of the defining figures of the era, including members of The Clash and Blondie, offering an intimate perspective on a cultural movement that reshaped music and fashion. Her work is distinguished by its immediacy and sense of presence, revealing the personalities behind the icons of the period. Her photographs have been widely published and exhibited, forming an important visual archive of one of the most influential moments in contemporary music culture.

Rick Findler is an award-winning photojournalist based in London. His work documenting conflicts in countries such as Libya, Syria, Somalia and more recently the Israel/Palestine conflict have been widely published across all national publications from The Times to The Guardian. Rick is also co-founder of Story Picture Agency, a photo and video agency supplying content to local and global businesses.

Entry Criteria

Open to photographers working in any genre of photography including fine art, documentary, portraiture and landscape. Submitted work must be photographic in origin, meaning it is created through the act of photographing using a camera. Submitted works may be analogue or digital and may involve editing with the camera-made image remaining central to the finished work. Works that are primarily constructed in software - such as digital collages assembled from multiple photographic sources, or images built rather than photographed - are not eligible. Photographers worldwide are welcome to apply.

Holt Art Projects

Holt Art Projects invites submissions to its 2026 programme of contemporary art awards, culminating in a major exhibition in North Norfolk bringing together emerging and established artists from the UK and internationally. The awards continue the legacy of the Sir John Hurt Art Prize, founded in 2010 and inspired by the late actor and painter Sir John Hurt.

The programme now includes seven awards celebrating excellence across painting, portraiture, photography, ceramics, glass, environmental art and emerging practice. Shortlisted works will be exhibited as part of the Holt Art Projects annual exhibition programme in Holt and nearby Glandford, North Norfolk.

The exhibition opens with an awards reception on Sunday 19 July 2026, followed by a private view on Monday 20 July. It will then be open daily from 10am to 5pm until Saturday 1 August.

All works may be offered for sale unless otherwise specified by the artist. Holt Art Projects charges 28.2% commission (23.5% + VAT) on sales. The exhibition is promoted through press coverage, digital platforms and printed materials, attracting collectors, visitors and audiences interested in contemporary art.

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