Belmond Enlists Tyler Mitchell, Chris Rhodes and Sarah Meister to Judge Photo Award

by · WWD
Image shot by Chris Rhodes at Splendido.Courtesy

LONDON — Belmond, the luxury travel company and brand owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, on Tuesday unveiled the jury lineup for its 2026 Belmond Photo Award, an annual, jury-led prize championing new perspectives in travel photography.

Formerly known as the Belmond Photography Residency, the award is open to early-career artists and received more than 2,000 applications this year.

This year’s jury brings together Aperture executive director Sarah Meister’s curatorial eye, leading voices in photography from Tyler Mitchell and Chris Rhodes, and a Belmond perspective from Arnaud Champenois, senior vice president of brand marketing and communication at the company.

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They will meet in New York this week to judge the award and decide on a winner, who will be revealed during Paris Photo next week. The winner will receive a residency at a Belmond property and financial support to create a new body of work.

Jonathan Openshaw, Belmond’s global brand and content director, said when the brand launched the award three years ago, it was a way to “show support for emerging artists and new voices.”

“We were really blown away by the reception to the program, and it’s rapidly grown to well over 2,000 quality applications this year. The jury is a key part of this success, drawn from Belmond’s wide network in the field,” he said, adding that getting strong external voices from curators, editors or photographers “really push the award into new areas.”

Blue Bushell, Belmond’s global brand and art director, also noted that the award seeks a photographer whose work offers “a distinctive point of view that reveals something moving and unexpected about a place.”

The jurors, she said, help champion talent while supporting the craft of photography.

The jury announcement comes as Belmond is hosting a separate New York cultural event: a preview and book launch on Tuesday at the new Aperture space for “Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino,” photographed by Rhodes.

The award and Rhodes’ book project are not linked, though both form part of Belmond’s cultural programming in the city this week.