The works in the National Photographic Portrait Prize provide a powerful visual record of the year, reflecting a particular time in Australian culture, both socially and artistically. In 2025, forty-eight finalists capture old-time tailors, scissors in hand, ready to cut, stitch, and press anything that comes through the door; sharehouse and boarding house living; a hardworking mother resting on the couch with her cigarette; commentary on First Nations youth (in)justice system; womanhood; masculinity; Australia’s oldest performing drag queen; tweens standing at the edge of adolescence; artists at home, and more.
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025 Finalist: Tanja Bruckner, Artist Thom Roberts, 2025, type C photograph on paper, 118.7 × 78.5cm (image), 150 × 100cm (sheet), 125 × 85cm (frame). Courtesy the artist and National Portrait Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
National Portrait Gallery
16 August to 12 October 2025
Australian Capital Territory
