Prix Pictet Exhibition Makes U.S. Debut at MoCP

The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) will present Prix Pictet Storm from May 29 through August 22, 2026, marking the U.S. debut of the internationally touring exhibition dedicated to photography and sustainability. Organized in partnership with Prix Pictet — widely recognized as the world’s leading award focused on photography and sustainability — the exhibition brings together twelve exceptional contemporary photographers whose work explores environmental instability, political unrest, social tension, and the fragile state of the modern world.

Founded in 2008 by the Geneva-based Pictet Group, Prix Pictet was created to harness the power of photography to raise awareness around critical global sustainability issues. Each edition of the award centers on a specific theme addressing urgent contemporary concerns. The eleventh cycle, titled Storm, examines both literal and metaphorical turbulence: from climate disasters and ecological collapse to political upheaval, war, displacement, and collective anxiety.

As environmental and social systems worldwide appear increasingly unstable, Storm reflects on the forces reshaping life across the globe. Yet beyond destruction and crisis, the exhibition also reveals resilience, transformation, and the possibility of renewal emerging from chaos.


This marks the sixth Prix Pictet exhibition to travel to the United States and the first presentation of the prestigious award in Chicago. The exhibition features works by shortlisted photographers Takashi Arai, Marina Caneve, Tom Fecht, Balazs Gardi, Roberto Huarcaya, Alfredo Jaar, Belal Khaled, Hannah Modigh, Baudouin Mouanda, Camille Seaman, Laetitia Vançon, and Patrizia Zelano — artists selected by an international network of curators, critics, and photography specialists for their compelling visual narratives and artistic excellence.

Among the most striking projects included in the exhibition is The End (2025) by Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar, winner of Prix Pictet Storm, which documents the environmental destruction of Utah’s Great Salt Lake due to excessive water extraction. Roberto Huarcaya’s monumental Amazogramas transforms the Amazon rainforest into massive camera-less images created with flashes of lightning, while Balazs Gardi’s The Storm chronicles the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Elsewhere, Camille Seaman photographs terrifying supercell storms across the American landscape, and Marina Caneve investigates the threat of future environmental catastrophe in northern Italy.



The exhibition also highlights deeply personal and poetic responses to crisis. Belal Khaled’s Hands Tell Stories focuses on the emotional scars carried in human gestures and touch, while Hannah Modigh’s Hurricane Season captures the atmosphere of uncertainty and quiet tension in southern Louisiana. Laetitia Vançon’s Tribute to Odesa reflects on resilience amid war in Ukraine, and Patrizia Zelano’s Acqua Alta a Venezia documents books rescued from Venice’s devastating floods.

Karen Irvine, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of MoCP, described the exhibition as part of the museum’s commitment to presenting photography that engages directly with urgent global issues. Through these powerful bodies of work, visitors are invited to critically reflect on the environmental and political realities shaping contemporary life.

In addition to the exhibition itself, MoCP will organize public programming throughout the summer, including guided tours, discussions about collective climate action, and virtual artist talks with featured photographers Marina Caneve and Hannah Modigh.

After its presentation in Chicago, Prix Pictet Storm will continue its international tour to major venues around the world, including Luma Westbau in Zurich and the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei, further expanding the global conversation around photography, sustainability, and the future of our planet.

With a prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs awarded to the winning photographer, Prix Pictet remains one of the most important and influential photography awards in the world today. More than a competition, it has become a vital platform for artists confronting the defining crises of our time through visual storytelling.

At a moment when climate emergencies, political instability, and social fragmentation dominate global headlines, Prix Pictet Storm demonstrates the unique ability of photography not only to document upheaval, but also to challenge, provoke, and inspire hope amid uncertainty.



© Patrizia Zelano, Acqua Alta a Venezia #24 (2019). From the series Acqua Alta a Venezia (High Water in Venice) (2019). Image courtesy of the artist and Zamagni Galleria d'Arte, Rimini