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Viewing Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at National Portrait Gallery

The Wick Culture - Mel from the series The Outside of the Inside, October 2024 © Martina Holmberg

Above Mel from the series The Outside of the Inside, October 2024 © Martina Holmberg

The Wick Culture - The Farmhands Son by William Sheepskin, 2024 © William Sheepskin

Above The Farmhands Son by William Sheepskin, 2024 © William Sheepskin

The Wick Culture - Boss Morris from the series Hoydenish, April 2024 © Hollie Fernando

Above Boss Morris from the series Hoydenish, April 2024 © Hollie Fernando

The Wick Culture - We Dare to Hug from the series Call Me by Your Name, March 2025 © Luan Davide Gray

Above We Dare to Hug from the series Call Me by Your Name, March 2025 © Luan Davide Gray

The Wick Culture - Jaidi Play from the series Bunga dan Tembok, April 2025 © Byron Mohammad Hamzah

Above Jaidi Play from the series Bunga dan Tembok, April 2025 © Byron Mohammad Hamzah

Above Mel from the series The Outside of the Inside, October 2024 © Martina Holmberg

Above The Farmhands Son by William Sheepskin, 2024 © William Sheepskin

Above Boss Morris from the series Hoydenish, April 2024 © Hollie Fernando

Above We Dare to Hug from the series Call Me by Your Name, March 2025 © Luan Davide Gray

Above Jaidi Play from the series Bunga dan Tembok, April 2025 © Byron Mohammad Hamzah

Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize

National Portrait Gallery
13 November 2025 – 8 February 2026

The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, held at London’s National Portrait Gallery, is a powerful celebration of contemporary portrait photography. One of the world’s most prestigious and competitive photography awards, it honors both established and emerging photographers, with a broad and inclusive definition of portraiture that emphasizes personal identity. This year, more than 5,900 images were submitted by over 2,000 photographers from around the globe. After rigorous judging by the panel — artists Sunil Gupta and Tim Walker, art historian and author Katy Hessel, and the NPG’s Sabina Jaskot-Gill, 54 works by 51 photographers were selected for the final exhibition.

At a special ceremony last week, the top prize of £15,000 was awarded to Martina Holmberg for her portrait Mel, from her series The Outside of the Inside. The photo sensitively captures Mel, a burn survivor, in a contemplative state, highlighting themes of resilience, identity, and the diversity of human appearance. Second place (£3,000) went to Luan Davide Gray for We Dare to Hug, an intimate black-and-white image of two older men embracing while third prize (£2,000) was awarded to Byron Mohammad Hamzah for Jaidi Playing, documenting stateless youth in Sabah. In addition, an £8,000 commission was granted to Hollie Fernando for her work Boss Morris, a portrait exploring gender and folk tradition.

The Taylor Wessing Prize continues to provide a vital platform for voices and stories that might otherwise remain unseen — reinforcing photography’s power to document, humanize, and challenge societal norms.

Viewing Anna Ancher: Painting Light at Dulwich Picture Gallery

The Wick Culture - Anna Ancher, A Field Sermon, 1903. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

Above Anna Ancher, A Field Sermon, 1903. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

The Wick Culture - Anna Ancher, A Girl in the Garden in Summertime. Skagen, 1914. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

Above Anna Ancher, A Girl in the Garden in Summertime. Skagen, 1914. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

The Wick Culture - Anna Ancher, Interior. Brøndum's Annex, 1916. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

Above Anna Ancher, Interior. Brøndum’s Annex, 1916. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

The Wick Culture - Anna Ancher, Sunlight in the blue room, 1891. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of Skagens Museum

Above Anna Ancher, Sunlight in the blue room, 1891. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of Skagens Museum

The Wick Culture - Anna Ancher, The Maid in the Kitchen, 1883 – 1886. Courtesy of The Hirschsprung Collection

Above Anna Ancher, The Maid in the Kitchen, 1883 – 1886. Courtesy of The Hirschsprung Collection

Above Anna Ancher, A Field Sermon, 1903. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

Above Anna Ancher, A Girl in the Garden in Summertime. Skagen, 1914. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

Above Anna Ancher, Interior. Brøndum’s Annex, 1916. Courtesy of Skagens Museum.

Above Anna Ancher, Sunlight in the blue room, 1891. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of Skagens Museum

Above Anna Ancher, The Maid in the Kitchen, 1883 – 1886. Courtesy of The Hirschsprung Collection

Anna Ancher: Painting Light

Dulwich Picture Gallery
4 Nov — 8 Mar 2026

Anna Ancher: Painting Light is the first major UK exhibition dedicated to the Danish painter Anna Ancher (1859–1935) and features over 40 paintings drawn from Danish institutions such as the Skagens Museum and the Hirschsprung Collection, moving from Ancher’s early realist works to later, more experimental treatments of light and form, showing how she masterfully bridged academic traditions and modernist impulses.

Ancher grew up in the fishing village of Skagen, where she became the only native member of the celebrated “Skagen Painters” community. Her work is characterised by a profound attention to light: in interiors, in everyday domestic scenes, and in the rugged Danish landscape. The exhibition emphasises how light becomes almost a character in its own right in her paintings—whether it’s the shimmering afternoon rays in Sunlight in the Blue Room or the pale northern glow of Skagen’s coast.

While widely celebrated in Denmark, Ancher remains relatively unknown in the UK. This exhibition addresses that gap, offering British audiences a chance to discover her bold use of colour, her sensitive portrayals of interior life, and her quietly radical position as a woman artist forging an international career at a time when women faced staunch constraints. Illuminating and contemplative, it’s the perfect show for the winter season.

Viewing Woolwich Print Fair at Woolwich Works

The Wick Culture - Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair 2024 (c)WCPF

Above Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair 2024 (c)WCPF

The Wick Culture - Lubaina Himid, 2025. Stone Lithograph on Fabriano Rosapina Avario (c) The Artist

Above Lubaina Himid, 2025. Stone Lithograph on Fabriano Rosapina Avario (c) The Artist

The Wick Culture - Chris Levine, Light is Love (ii), Published by Manifold Editions, 2025. (c) Chris Levine and Manifold Editions

Above Chris Levine, Light is Love (ii), Published by Manifold Editions, 2025. (c) Chris Levine and Manifold Editions

The Wick Culture - Gavin Turk, Still Life with Banana (Ultraviolet), Published by Manifold Editions, 2025. (c) Gavin Turk and Manifold Editions

Above Gavin Turk, Still Life with Banana (Ultraviolet), Published by Manifold Editions, 2025. (c) Gavin Turk and Manifold Editions

Above Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair 2024 (c)WCPF

Above Lubaina Himid, 2025. Stone Lithograph on Fabriano Rosapina Avario (c) The Artist

Above Chris Levine, Light is Love (ii), Published by Manifold Editions, 2025. (c) Chris Levine and Manifold Editions

Above Gavin Turk, Still Life with Banana (Ultraviolet), Published by Manifold Editions, 2025. (c) Gavin Turk and Manifold Editions

Woolwich Print Fair

Woolwich Works
13 – 16 November, 2025

The landmark 10th edition of the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair takes place this week at the historic Royal Arsenal in London. This year’s theme is “Art That Leaves an Imprint” — perfectly captures the fair’s mission to showcase the dynamic and evolving nature of modern and contemporary print art. With over 1,000 original works on display, the fair reaffirmed its position as the UK’s leading event dedicated exclusively to contemporary printmaking.

One of the defining aspects of the 2025 fair is its unique 50/50 model, dividing the exhibition space equally between specialist galleries and independent artists selected through an open call. This format maintains a balance between established names (such as Tracey Emin, David Shrigley, Grayson Perry and the like) and emerging talent, encouraging discovery, experimentation and dialogue. Don’t miss the fair’s much-anticipated “Curated Hang” of independent artists chosen from thousands of submissions, reinforcing Woolwich’s role as a vital launchpad for new creative talent.

The tenth edition of the fair also boasts an engaging programme of talks, demos and tours, and in an evolving market, Woolwich has developed practical and pragmatic solutions such as free entry for under 16s, complimentary UK shipping for unframed works, and financing options through the Own Art scheme – just some of the ways the fair are supporting the collecting infrastructure around the medium and making it more widely accessible. Here’s to another decade!