Ghana’s first photojournalist joins Martin Parr, Graciela Iturbide and Sebastião Salgado. A retrospective of more than 50 works opens at Somerset House in April.
A Life Behind the Lens
James Barnor is the 2027 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography title at the Sony World Photography Awards. The news arrives as the awards mark their 20th edition, so the timing feels fitting. Born in Ghana in 1929, he has spent more than seven decades photographing Black life in Accra and London. Today, his images hold a key place in the story of modern African photography.
His portraits are famous for their warmth and style. Between the 1950s and the 1970s, he photographed people at their best, from studio sitters to models on London streets. As a result, his archive now reads like a family album of a changing world. In addition, it shows how people chose to present themselves during years of great change.
His archive reads like a family album of a changing world.
Three Chapters of a Career
The award honours a career that moved between two continents. Each stage added something new to his work. Here are three moments that shaped it.
Ghana’s First Photojournalist
In 1950, Barnor became the first staff photographer at Ghana’s new Daily Graphic. He went on to cover rallies, parades and Kwame Nkrumah’s declaration of independence in 1957.
Swinging London
After moving to the UK in 1959, he studied colour photography in Kent. Meanwhile, his portraits of Black models appeared on the covers of Drum magazine.
A Colour Pioneer
Later, after training with Agfa-Gevaert in Belgium and Germany, he returned home. There, he set up Ghana’s first colour processing laboratory.
From Accra to London
The Ever Young Studio
In 1953, Barnor opened the Ever Young studio in Accra’s Jamestown district. Shop assistants, students and traffic officers came to sit for him. Judges and politicians came too, so the studio became a mirror of a whole society. Through these pictures, Ghanaians saw themselves on their own terms.
Covers for Drum
Drum was an influential Black South African magazine that reported on the fight against apartheid. While living in London, Barnor shot covers and fashion pages for it. His pictures helped build a new visual language for Africa and its diaspora. For decades afterwards, photographers and artists returned to them for ideas.
A Legacy Still Growing
Barnor settled back in London in the early 1990s, and he still lives there today. Since then, major museums have shown his work, including the Serpentine in London and MoMA in New York. His photographs also belong to collections such as Tate, the Centre Pompidou and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Meanwhile, the James Barnor Prize now supports young African photographers.
With this award, he joins a remarkable group of past winners. Martin Parr, Graciela Iturbide, Sebastião Salgado and Joel Meyerowitz are among them. On 15 April 2027, Barnor will receive the honour at a gala ceremony in London.
See the Retrospective
A special presentation of more than 50 works will open at Somerset House the next day. The show follows his path from Accra to London and back again. Alongside the prints, visitors will also find printed matter and other material from his long career. For New York readers planning a spring trip to London, it is well worth the detour.
Plan Your Visit
James Barnor at the Sony World Photography Awards 2027
- Dates
- 16 April – 3 May 2027
- Venue
- Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
- Award ceremony
- 15 April 2027, London
- Tickets and hours
- Details coming soon on the website
- Info
- worldphoto.org
