Bolivian artist Marisol Mendez has been chosen as the winner of the 2026 Saltzman-Leibovitz Photography Prize for her work MADRE. Mendez will receive a cash prize of 15,000 USD and her winning work will be exhibited alongside other nominated artists at Photo London from 13 through 17 May.
Born and based in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Mendez’s research-driven practice probes traditional modes of representation and explores multiple narratives in Andean folklore and Catholic iconography while examining contemporary Bolivian identity and incorporating archival family photographs.
‘I remember being enamoured by [Annie Leibovitz’s] images’, Mendez says in a statement, ‘which led me to embrace fiction and storytelling in my own work… After all, it is usually easier to understand love or time through a poem or song than through a chemistry lesson or the manual of a clock.’
The Saltzman-Leibovitz prize was founded in 2025 by photographers Lisa Saltzman and Annie Leibovitz. Miranda Barnes received second place, while Cole Ndelu, Lindeka Qampi and Bettina Pittaluga were also nominees.
