Leica has named the winners of the 2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award, the company's flagship photography prize, with 2026's edition awarded to three photographers across the main award, the newcomer prize and a new women's grant.
The Oskar Barnack Award matters because it rewards a body of work rather than a single image. That focus on a series, and on the relationship between photographer and subject, is why its winners list reads as a survey of contemporary documentary photography rather than a competition for one striking frame.
The main Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2026 goes to Emad Samir for his series In a Foreign Land. The Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award 2026 goes to Adilson Ferrero for his series Mothers and Daughters. The first Leica Women Grant goes to Lina Gasch for her series A Dream Within a Dream. Each winner receives a Leica camera and a cash prize: €40,000 for the main award, €10,000 for the newcomer, and €10,000 for the women's grant.
A strong, serious set of winners for a prize that continues to reward sustained documentary work.
