Jungle is the theme for the twelfth cycle of Prix Pictet
Prix Pictet themes have always revolved around one word — from Water and Disorder to Space, Fire and Storm. One powerful word highlighting a particular facet of sustainability, open to countless interpretations.
On Thursday 9 July, in the Théâtre Antique during the opening week of Rencontres d’Arles. Jungle was announced as the theme for the twelfth cycle of the Prix Pictet.
‘The world’s jungles are the great green lungs of the planet. These huge carbon sinks play a crucial role in regulating and helping to stabilise the planet’s climate. Yet across the globe jungles are in crisis - forests are threatened by deforestation, fires, and degradation; surface water has been lost; and rivers are increasingly disconnected and polluted. The implications of any loss or degradation of these densely interconnected ecosystems extend well beyond changes in land use. Nothing in a jungle exists alone. They are complex interconnected systems that we only vaguely understand. The jungle is a place of mystery and secrets. It is a place of legendary lost cities and civilisations of economic adventures and many broken dreams. In this way, the jungle mirrors contemporary human environments more than we might expect. Cities, digital networks and social ecosystems have their own undergrowth: layers of complexity that obscure as much as they reveal.’
Over the coming months the Prix Pictet’s global network of over 350 nominators will identify portfolios of work responding to the twelfth theme.
These portfolios will then be reviewed by the award’s independent jury, chaired by Sir Tim Smit, and a shortlist of twelve photographers will be announced in summer 2027.
In the meantime, Storm, Prix Pictet's touring exhibition (currently in Beijing and Chicago) will travel across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Prix Pictet will also exhibit a selection of past laureates of the award at Paris Photo, in November 2026.
After the announcement, Alfredo Jaar appeared alone on stage. He discussed The End, his award-winning series, which focuses on Utah's Great Salt Lake, and reflected on newer projects that extend into ecology and the power of images.