The Portrait of Britain Vol. 8 Winners

From 12 January, Britain’s everyday landscapes take on a new role. High streets become exhibition halls. Bus shelters become frames. Railway platforms and shopping centres transform into places of quiet reflection. With the launch of Portrait of Britain Vol. 8, photography steps out of the gallery and into public life—where it belongs.

Presented by the British Journal of Photography in partnership with JCDecaux UK, this year’s edition brings 100 winning portraits to digital Out-of-Home screens across the country. Drawn from 200 shortlisted images, all featured in the newly released Portrait of Britain Vol. 8 photobook, the exhibition offers a powerful snapshot of the nation as it is now: complex, plural, intimate, and defiantly human.


A Nation Seen Up Close
Since its inception in 2016, Portrait of Britain has sought to redefine how—and where—we encounter photography. Rather than asking audiences to come to art, the project brings art to audiences, embedding portraits into the rhythm of daily life. Vol. 8 continues this mission with conviction.

This year’s winners remind us that Britain’s most compelling stories are rarely found in spectacle, but in people. Veterans and scientists, fishmongers and farmers, ballerinas and market traders all appear, photographed with sensitivity and intent. The images move geographically—from Glastonbury to Glencoe, Royal Festival Hall to Barras Market—and emotionally, capturing moments of pride, vulnerability, resilience, and belonging.

Crucially, these are not portraits of a single idea of “Britishness.” They include those born here, those who arrived as children, and those simply passing through. Together, they form a visual chorus that speaks to migration, memory, labour, identity, and community.


Public Space, Public Attention, Public Stories
Displayed from 12 January until 08 February 2026, the portraits will appear across JCDecaux UK’s digital screens—from London bus shelters and rail stations to shopping centres and an airport. In these transient spaces, usually dominated by advertising and motion, the images ask for pause. They interrupt routine commutes and shopping trips with faces that invite recognition rather than consumption.

This commitment to public storytelling is central to Portrait of Britain. It is photography not as decoration, but as conversation—art that meets people where they are and reflects them back to themselves.


The Book That Holds It All Together
While 100 portraits take over the streets, all 200 shortlisted images live together in the Portrait of Britain Vol. 8 photobook. Published by Bluecoat Press and sponsored by WePresent, the arts platform of WeTransfer, the book offers a deeper, more contemplative way to experience the project. It stands as both an archive of this year’s exhibition and a lasting document of Britain at this moment in time.

Judged by Voices That Shape Photography
The selection was guided by an exceptional panel of judges spanning photography, publishing, curating, and culture, including Rene Matić, Dennis Morris, Sophie Parker, Claire Rees, Alice Zoo, Vivienne Gamble, and leaders from BJP, JCDecaux UK, and Bluecoat Press. Their collective expertise ensures that the final selection balances artistic excellence with cultural resonance.


Why Portrait of Britain Still Matters
At a time when images are endlessly scrolled past and quickly forgotten, Portrait of Britain insists on slowness, attention, and empathy. Its scale is ambitious, but its power lies in intimacy: a single face encountered unexpectedly on the way to work; a story glimpsed between stops.

Vol. 8 doesn’t attempt to define Britain—it listens to it. And by placing those voices in public space, it reminds us that photography can still shape how a nation sees itself.

Portrait of Britain Vol. 8 is now live across the UK, and the photobook is available to purchase. Whether encountered on a screen in passing or on the page at home, these portraits offer something increasingly rare: a shared moment of recognition.