Winner, Emerging Curators’ Choice.
The Danny Wilson Memorial Awards return for Photo Fringe 2026, celebrating photographers and exhibitors across group, solo and online exhibitions.
The awards were established to commemorate the life and work of Danny Wilson, the late Director of Brighton Photo Fringe, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in 2008.
For 2026, the Danny Wilson Memorial Awards comprise two awards across a range of exhibition categories.
Professionals’ Choice
Selected by a panel of industry professionals, the Professionals’ Choice awards will recognise work in three categories:
- Group exhibition
- Solo exhibition
- Online exhibition
Each Professionals’ Choice winner will receive £200 in cash, mentoring sessions with a Photo Fringe team member or industry professional, and the opportunity to take part in a Photo Fringe artist’s talk during 2027.
The professional choice prize also wins:
- One year’s free Photofusion membership
- Two free darkroom days/sessions if they are an analogue photographer; or
- Two free studio days/sessions if they work digitally at Photofusion
The 2026 Professionals’ Choice panel includes Danit Ariel, Curator, Photoworks; Nina Emett, POST; Ricardo Reverón Blanco, Producer; Jenni Grainger, Director of Photofusion, and Rebecca Drew, Chair, Photo Fringe.
Exhibitors’ Choice
The Exhibitors’ Choice awards are selected by Photo Fringe 2026 exhibitors and will recognise:
- In-venue exhibition
- Online exhibition
Each Exhibitors’ Choice winner will receive a portfolio review with a Photo Fringe team member, as well as an interview and feature on the Photo Fringe website.
Awards Ceremony
The winning photographers will be announced at our closing Awards Ceremony on Friday 30 October, following the Photo Fringe closing Symposium at POST, Hove.
See the Event pages for the latest information.
Remembering Danny Wilson
“Danny Wilson was the soul of the Fringe and we honour him in this award. The prize celebrates the DIY ethos of Photo Fringe, its can-do attitude and collective spirit.”
— Rebecca Drew, Chair, Photo Fringe
Our sincere thanks to our partners Photoworks, POST and Photofusion for their support of this year’s Danny Wilson Memorial Awards.
You can also look back at the Photo Fringe 2024 Danny Wilson Memorial Award winners.
Judges
Danit Ariel
Danit Ariel is an artist, writer and curator, whose practice looks into how art can create new ways of meeting. She is the author of Nayah: Empathy as an Act of Resistance which explores the role of gender in practices of empathy; and All the Tables are Brown, looking more specifically at language as both a bridge and barrier between communities. As Photoworks’curator, she mentors artists, develops opportunities for practitioners and audiences to engage
with photography, and curates exhibitions nationally and internationally.
Rebecca Drew
Rebecca is Chair of Photo Fringe. She was Deputy Director of Photoworks from 2003-2012, producing numerous commissions, the Photoworks magazine and the Photoworks Monograph series. She was a co-founder and Trustee of Brighton Photo Biennial. She subsequently worked on European projects at Fabrica, Brighton and was General Manager of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. She is currently Head of Finance and Operations at Hastings Contemporary.
Nina Emett
Nina Emett is a British social entrepreneur, curator, educator and documentary photographer. Most recently, she has co-founded (2025) a photography & film hub in the UK city of Brighton & Hove called POST, which focuses on creativity, collaboration and community with its year-round programme of lens-based arts events and workshops.
She is also co-founder (2012) of FotoDocument, a social enterprise harnessing powerful documentary photography narratives to foster active global citizenship for positive impact. Clients include CARE International, City Hall London, BNPParibas, and House of Commons London. She received a ‘People Environment Achievement’ (PEA) Award in 2015 for conceiving and curating FotoDocument’s acclaimed “One Planet City” project.
Nina also co-founded (2017) the prestigious Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award – an international documentary photography award for women, supported by Nikon. She has managed the archive of the late 20th century photographer, Marilyn Stafford, since 2014, and is co-editor of “Marilyn Stafford – A Life in Photography” published by Bluecoat Press.
Nina’s own documentary photography practice focuses on women, memory & archives. She has worked on several projects over the years, including with SEWA’s women’s cooperative in Gujarat, India, and most recently with remote Himalayan communities. She is currently working on an extended photo essay in Finland, intertwining geo-political issues in the wider region with her historical family archive.
Previously, she held leading roles in the public & voluntary sectors including implementing community cohesion measures in collaboration with Sussex Police (2005-2009), and she was CEO of education charity Salusbury World Refugee Centre (1999-2003).
Nina holds the following qualifications: Level 3 Teaching Award in Education & Training (2017); Fellow of School for Social Entrepreneurs (2011); MSc in International Development, University of London (2006); Postgraduate Diploma in Photojournalism, University of the Arts, London, (1997), Advanced Photography Certificate, Central St Martins London (1995); BA Hons degree in French (1991).
Jenni Grainger
Jenni Grainger is the Director of London-based Photography Resource Centre, Photofusion. Photofusion, established over 34 years ago, is a registered charity and is London’s largest all-encompassing photography centre; with darkrooms, film processing services, digital production facilities, galleries, a studio, on-site shop (Parallax), strong membership programme and many educational and outreach courses. Prior to joining Photofusion, Jenni has been a Producer and Executive Director in the Arts Sector for the last 23 years, predominantly working in Performing Arts before moving to Visual Arts in 2024. As Director, Jenni is responsible for the strategic vision, financial sustainability, and artistic excellence of the company, in a strong partnership approach with staff, customers, artists, partners, and funders. In her spare time she also serves as a Trustee for a City Farm in South London.
Ricardo Reverón Blanco is an award-winning writer, curator and mentor. He has curated contemporary exhibitions and artistic programmes for organisations such as Aspex Portsmouth, Photoworks and Peckham24. He is one of four co-founders of UnderExposed, a photography platform and collective dedicated to encouraging artistic collaboration. Ricardo’s practice is informed by collectivity and supportive methodologies for artistic production, dissemination and assimilation.