Xposure 2026 launches the “Legacy Awards” in 3 categories

These awards are a significant addition, being launched for the first time as part of the tenth edition of the Xposure 2026 Festival, and are awarded exclusively to exhibitions participating in the festival's official programme. The Xposure Legacy Awards are divided into three main categories: the Noor Ali Rashid Documentary Legacy Award, the Saleh Al-Ustad Artistic Legacy Award, and the Bee’ah Natural Legacy Conservation Award. The awards employ an evaluation model that combines public engagement with expert critique, enhancing their cultural credibility.

The winners will be announced at the closing ceremony of the Xposure 2026 Festival on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. The launch of the Legacy Awards coincides with the tenth edition of the festival, held under the theme “A Decade of Visual Storytelling,” from January 29 to February 4, 2026, at Aljada, Sharjah, marking a pivotal moment that reflects the festival’s growing maturity and development.

Visual storytelling: universally human language

Regarding the Xposure Legacy Awards, Her Excellency Alia Bu Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Director of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, said: “The Xposure Legacy Awards’ vision stems from a broad understanding of the concept of cultural Legacy. It does not view the past as a finished time or an isolated historical accumulation, but rather as a living legacy that extends through time. True Legacy is what remains present in consciousness, what continues to educate, interpret, and question, and what provides successive generations with new tools to understand the world through images. From this perspective, we believe that visual storytelling, when presented responsibly and knowledgeably, transforms into a universally human language, capable of building collective memory, deepening human understanding, and strengthening the role of the image as a sustainable cultural and intellectual force.”
 
Noor Ali Rashid Documentary Legacy Award
 
The award is named after the late Emirati photographer Noor Ali Rashid, a pioneer of photojournalism in the United Arab Emirates, whose work contributed to establishing the role of the image as a visual testimony to people, places, and social transformations. The award, themed "Truth Through the Lens," honours documentary exhibitions that offer authentic visual narratives, address human issues within their complex contexts, and contribute to building a visual memory capable of preserving and transmitting human experience to future generations.

The Saleh Al-Ustad Award for Artistic Legacy

The Saleh Al-Ustad Award for Artistic Legacy is dedicated to honoring exhibitions that embody creative excellence and artistic innovation in photography. It bears the name of Saleh Al-Ustad, one of the most prominent pioneers of the art movement in the UAE and the founder of a unique school of photography. The award celebrates exhibitions that use photography as a platform for imagination and interpretation, expanding the horizons of expressive visual storytelling.

Bee'ah Award for Natural Legacy Preservation

Under the theme "Protecting Our World," the Bee'ah Award for Natural Legacy Preservation, sponsored by the Bee'ah Group, honors exhibitions that deepen environmental awareness, highlight the beauty and fragility of nature, and support humanity's responsibility towards protecting the environment and preserving natural Legacy. The award focuses on visual storytelling as a powerful tool for promoting sustainability. It honours exhibitions that present nature as a living system requiring understanding and protection, transforming the image into an invitation to reflection, action, and shared responsibility.

Xposure 2026… global platform for visual storytelling

The Xposure Awards, across their various categories, contribute to establishing the concept of the image as a cultural force that transcends its status as a mere artistic product, and support artworks capable of effecting change.

The tenth edition of the Xposure International Photography Festival will feature over 420 photographers, filmmakers, and visual artists from around the world, presenting 95 exhibitions comprising more than 3,200 artworks, alongside a cultural program of over 570 events, including specialized talks and workshops, reaffirming Sharjah's position as a global hub for cultural dialogue and visual storytelling.