The Prix Niépce Gens d’images 2026 has been awarded to Alexandra Catiere.
Created in 1955 by Albert Plécy, the Prix Niépce Gens d’images is the first professional photography prize launched in France. Its founder’s twofold objective was to bring photographers out of anonymity and to help them extend their influence among the general public through the press and publishing, among other means.
The Prix Niépce Gens d’images recognises, each year, the work of an established photographer under the age of 50, who is French or has been resident in France for more than three years. It is supported by Picto Foundation, ADAGP, the Ministère de la Culture, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Jeu de Paume Tours and the Galerie Dityvon at the Université d’Angers.
Born in Minsk in 1978, Alexandra Catiere moved to the United States after studying modern languages, in order to follow a photography programme at the International Center of Photography in New York. She subsequently worked in Irving Penn’s studio.
She settled in France in 2008. In 2011, Alexandra Catiere received the BMW Residency prize at the Musée Nicéphore-Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône and exhibited at the Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles. Since then, her work has been presented in numerous institutions, including the Centre national de l’audiovisuel in Luxembourg, the Photoforum Pasquart in Biel (Switzerland), the Museo di arte contemporanea in Rome and the Musée Nicéphore-Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône in 2019.
Alexandra Catiere’s borderless journey reflects her desire to strive towards the universal. From the former Soviet Union to France by way of the United States, the photographer makes timelessness one of the defining aspects of her work. Reviving the humanist tradition, her images are those of sensations and atmospheres that she succeeds in capturing. Never confining herself to the genres of portrait or reportage alone, for Alexandra the camera is the instrument of her empathy for human nature and life itself.
Alexandra Catiere’s candidacy was sponsored by Solenn Laurent, independent exhibition curator.
The jury, chaired by Héloïse Conésa, Curator of Contemporary Photography at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, deliberated on Monday 18 May 2026 at the Direction générale de la création artistique. It was composed of figures from the various professions involved in the creation, production, review and publishing of photography.
The Prix Niépce Gens d’images 2026 award comprises:
- A sum of €15,000 contributed in equal parts by Picto Foundation, ADAGP and the Ministère de la Culture ;
- An Atelier Gens d’images a conference at ADAGP in Paris on Wednesday 17 June 2026 to present the laureate’s work ;
- An exhibition at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, François-Mitterrand site, from December 2026 to March 2027, and an exhibition at the Jeu de Paume Tours during the summer of 2027, both supported by the Ministère de la Culture ;
- An exhibition from January to March 2028, with author’s rights of €2,000, organised by the Galerie Dityvon – Université d’Angers ;
- The acquisition of prints by the Département des Estampes et de la Photographie of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The Prix Niépce Gens d’images was announced on Wednesday 20 May 2026 at the Bibliothèque nationale de France – Richelieu site.
On Wednesday 17 June 2026 at 7 pm, the ADAGP auditorium will host the Atelier Gens d’images dedicated to Alexandra Catiere, laureate of the Prix Niépce Gens d’images 2026. This event is free and open to all.
