The Royal Photographic Society’s International Photography Exhibition (IPE) returns this summer for its 166th edition, cementing its place as the world’s longest-running photography exhibition.
For the first time, the exhibition will be hosted at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London, England, running from August 05 to September 18 2025 with free admission.
This year, 51 photographers have been selected from over 4,000 submissions worldwide, showcasing 113 works that span a compelling range of subjects; from identity, community, and family to environmental change and cultural heritage.
The IPE has always reflected the times, and this year’s selection is especially rich in personal storytelling and visual urgency.
British photographic artist Lydia Goldblatt received the IPE Award for her quietly powerful series Fugue, which explores the complexity of motherhood; love and grief, presence and absence, tenderness and distance. The images, made over four years within her domestic space, are hauntingly intimate and honest without being sentimental.
I saw Goldblatt speak about Fugue at BOP (Books on Photography) in Bristol, UK, last year, and it remains one of the most affecting presentations I’ve attended. Her insight into the emotional terrain of motherhood offers a perspective we need to see more of: deeply felt, unflinching, and grounded in lived experience.
The Under 30s Award was presented to Keerthana Kunnath for her bold and timely series, Not What You Saw, which documents South Indian female bodybuilders. In challenging mainstream narratives around femininity and strength, Kunnath’s work reclaims space for bodies and stories that are too often marginalized or misunderstood.
In addition to the award winners, plenty more exceptional photographers will be on display. One of them is Murray Ballard, featuring images from his exceptional body of work Ghosts in the Field, documenting the devastation of the local Olive Trees in Salento, Italy, and its impact on the surrounding region.
With its anonymous and rigorous selection process, the IPE continues to spotlight a diverse range of voices from emerging artists to established names. This year’s move to the Saatchi Gallery will help bring the work to a wider audience, and the broad themes represented feel especially resonant in today’s climate.
Whether you're drawn to visual poetry, social critique, or raw storytelling, the 166th IPE offers a snapshot of the very best photography today.
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