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Two Polish photographers have been recognized in this year’s edition of The Alexia Grants — one of the most important international competitions and grant programs supporting documentary photography and photojournalism. The Alexia supports photographers and filmmakers addressing social, humanitarian, and political issues, promoting work that — as the organizers emphasize — “informs, fosters cultural understanding and inspires meaningful change.” The awards have been presented since 1991 by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

The competition was established by the Tsairis family in memory of Alexia Tsairis — a photography student at the Newhouse School who was killed at the age of 20 in the Pan Am bombing. Over the past three decades, the program has awarded more than $1.7 million in support to over 170 photographers and filmmakers from around the world.

This year’s edition received submissions from more than 110 countries. Recipients and finalists were selected from hundreds of entries following a multi-stage jury process.

Two Awards for Aleksandra Kossowska

Aleksandra Kossowska is a documentary photographer and photojournalist, a member of Women Photograph, and co-founder of the Poleczki.art Foundation.

In this year’s edition, she received:

The Alexia Portrait Series Mentor Grant — a grant in the newly launched mentor category, combined with a year-long mentorship program led by Gregory Heisler, photographer of more than 70 TIME magazine covers whose work is included in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Runner-up — The Alexia Health Grant, sponsored by David Sutherland (Alexia Tsairis’s longtime educator and the first director of the grant program) in memory of his wife, Pei Lin Huang.

Both awards were granted for The World by Touch — a long-term photographic project exploring the experiences of blind individuals and the ways reality is perceived through touch, memory, and sensory experience.

Two Awards for Ania Kłosek

Ania Kłosek is a documentary and street photographer, recipient of Grand Press Photo and the Krzysztof Miller Award, a scholarship holder of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, a member of Women Photograph, and a juror in major international street photography competitions, including Leica Street Photo, Miami Street Photography Festival, and London Street Photography Festival.

Our paths have crossed with Ania’s for several years — in October 2024 she led a workshop at Poleczki.art during the Wielka Warszawska event at the Służewiec Racetrack, and we have also been studying together for several years at the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava. Her awards in this year’s edition of The Alexia are a particular source of pride for us.

Ania received:

The Alexia Green Space Grant (Student) — sponsored by Phil Ashwood — as the main recipient of the category.
Award of Excellence — The Alexia Vision Grant (Student)

The awards were granted for There Was a Border — a project documenting communities living along the former Polish-Soviet border in present-day Ukraine.

The Alexia 2026 Recipients

PROFESSIONAL Category

Jeffrey McWhorter (USA) — The Boys of Booker T — The Alexia Vision Grant
Miguel Serrano Ruiz (Spain) — Of Salt and Sand — The Alexia Conservation Grant
Alex Welsh (USA) — The Salton Sea — The Alexia Environmental Change Grant
Snezhana von Büdingen-Dyba (Germany) — When Doors Close — The Alexia Health Grant

STUDENT Category

Arisa Haboshi (Japan) — New York Baye Falls — The Alexia Vision Grant
Natalie Peoples (USA) — Holding the Nest — The Alexia Conservation Grant
Daniel Holt (USA) — Dejar Viuda — The Alexia Faith Grant
Ania Kłosek (Poland) — There Was a Border — The Alexia Green Space Grant
Macarena Pérez (Spain) — Girls and Mothers — The Alexia Health Grant
Ben Ackman (USA) — Only the Finest Raise Pigeons — The Alexia Sports Grant

Mentor Grants

This year, The Alexia also introduced mentor grants for the first time, developed in collaboration with internationally recognized photographers and editors.

The recipients included:

Sky Shuyang Zhuang (China) — Deaf New Americans — mentor: Lynn Johnson
Dominic Di Palermo (USA) — Saying Without Speaking — mentor: Sandra M. Stevenson
Santanu Dey (India) — Tracing Her Tread — mentor: Whitney LaTorre
Mashruk Ahmed (Bangladesh) — Broken Promises — mentor: Ed Kashi
Aleksandra Kossowska (Poland) — The World by Touch — mentor: Gregory Heisler
Beihua Guo (China) — “−·· −−− −· · (DONE)” — mentor: Stephen Wilkes

Full presentations of the awarded projects, together with photographs, can be viewed on the official Alexia Grants 2026 website.

ALEKSANDRA KOSSOWSKA AND ANIA KŁOSEK AMONG THE RECIPIENTS OF THE ALEXIA GRANTS 2026