Leica Launches LOBA Women Grant to Support Female Photographers in 2026

Submissions for the inaugural 2026 LOBA Women Grant ran from February 11 to March 15 and have now closed, marking the first concrete step in what Leica Camera AG has positioned as a permanent structural addition to its flagship award. The grant amounts to 10,000 euros, with the selected applicant also receiving a Leica Q camera and professional support throughout the project implementation and production period.

The new grant was first revealed during Leica's centenary celebrations under the banner "100 Years of Leica: Witness to a Century" and represents the first structural addition to the award beyond its longstanding Main and Newcomer categories. Unlike traditional LOBA prizes, which recognize completed bodies of work, the LOBA Women Grant is designed to support a project from proposal through to exhibition.

Building on the success of the Leica Women Foto Project Award, first introduced by Leica Camera USA in 2019, the new LOBA Women Grant expands this commitment on a global scale. Leica framed the shift explicitly: "Acknowledging the continuing gender imbalance within photography, the LOBA Women Grant aims to provide international recognition and visibility for women photographers."

Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director and Chief Representative of Leica Galleries International, who also leads the LOBA, explained the philosophy behind moving beyond the award's traditional scope. "LOBA has always celebrated completed photographic work, which remains essential," she said. "At the same time, we wanted to take a more proactive role in enabling new stories to emerge. By supporting an unfinished project as well as a project from the proposal stage through production and exhibition, the grant allows us to accompany an idea as it develops and to give photographers the time and resources needed to realize more ambitious and in-depth narratives."

She added that visibility sits at the core of the initiative. "A central objective of the LOBA Women Grant is the dedicated support of female photographers and the strengthening of their visibility and opportunities within the international photography community."

The grant is aimed at professional female photographers aged 21 and over. In contrast to the two existing LOBA awards, proposals for this competition will, for now, not be made by nominators; instead, applicants are free to submit their ideas accompanied by a meaningful project outline. Female photographers may apply with either a new project or an existing one.

Submissions must include a visual mood board, an English-language artist statement of up to 500 words outlining the project's thematic and societal relevance, and portrait photos of the applicant. The use of artificial intelligence for creating or editing photographs is strictly prohibited, and all entries must adhere to the formal LOBA guidelines.

On thematic scope, Rehn-Kaufmann was direct: "In addition to critically engaging with social, ecological, or political challenges, we encourage female photographers to submit projects that offer hopeful perspectives, document inspiring solutions, or visualize pathways to change. Series that encourage and highlight positive change are an equally important part of the discourse and are very welcome."

Following the submission phase, the LOBA jury, which changes every year, selects the candidate and facilitates completion of the project in time for the next LOBA round the following year. The LOBA Women Grant series will subsequently be included in the LOBA shortlist. As part of the LOBA award ceremony, the series of the first winner will be shown in Wetzlar in October 2027, following which it will be displayed at various Leica Galleries and featured at photography festivals.

The prize recipient will receive a grant of €10,000 for the implementation of her proposed project, a Leica Q camera worth approximately €6,000, and professional mentoring and tutoring during the project. That combined package of roughly €16,000 in financial and material support, plus a guaranteed global exhibition circuit, makes the LOBA Women Grant one of the more substantive project-funding opportunities currently open to documentary and editorial photographers working in the people-environment space.