Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar was announced, 25 September, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, as the winner of the eleventh cycle of the Prix Pictet, the global award for photography and sustainability. Receiving the prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs (126,000 USD / 107,000 EUR), Jaar was selected by an independent jury from a shortlist of twelve photographers for his 2025 series The End.

The End focuses on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, described by scientists as an ‘environmental nuclear bomb’. The lake is a keystone ecosystem in the western hemisphere but is being destroyed by excessive water extraction. It has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area since the mid-nineteenth century, exposing toxic dust and driving salinity to dangerous levels. Saline lake loss triggers a long-term cycle of environmental, health and economic suffering and without a dramatic increase in water flow, the Great Salt Lake risks disappearing altogether, causing immense damage to Utah’s public health, environment and economy.

The lake and its wetlands provide minerals for Utah’s industries and sustain thousands of local jobs, supporting $2.5 billion in direct economic activity yearly. It also increases rainfall and sustains 80% of Utah’s wetlands, providing a habitat for ten million migratory birds. This unfolding disaster may be past the point of no return, a potential tragedy of incalculable magnitude and a sign of things to come.

The series was selected in response to this year’s theme Storm, encompassing both the natural phenomenon and as a metaphor for the growing volatility of our age, from environmental collapse to political upheaval and conflict.

About his series, Jaar said:

‘My objective in this series is to show the tragic fate of the lake and simultaneously reveal its extraordinary beauty and potential. In spite of the dire situation we are in, I wanted to create images of great beauty and sadness. In the face of the magnitude of this tragedy, I decided to print these images in a small, unspectacular format, as a kind of visual whisper, a lament for our dying planet.’

An exhibition featuring the work of the twelve photographers shortlisted for the award is on view at The Pictet Gallery at the V&A South Kensington, London, until 19 October 2025. The exhibition will then tour to over a dozen venues, bringing the work of the shortlisted photographers to an international audience, starting with exhibitions at Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai (17 October to 13 December 2025); TOP Museum, Tokyo (12 December 2025 to 25 January 2026); and Luma Westbau, Zurich (6 March to 5 April 2026).

To accompany the exhibition, Hatje Cantz has published a book featuring the work of all twelve shortlisted photographers, as well as outstanding images by other nominated photographers. The publication also features newly commissioned essays by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz and Mariana Mazzucato, as well as a special interview between Michael Benson and Don McCullin.

The theme for the 2025 prize is Storm. It invites reflections on the growing volatility of our age, forever poised on the brink of the next crisis. The 12 shortlisted photographers will have their work exhibited at the V&A’s Photography Centre.

Storm is both a natural phenomenon and a metaphor for the unseen and relentless forces shaping our world today. As a theme, it speaks to the growing volatility of our age, encompassing environmental collapse, political upheaval, economic instability, and social unrest, where we seem forever poised on the brink of the next crisis.

The theme challenges photographers to capture the raw energy and profound consequences of these turbulent times. Whether focusing on the devastation of climate disasters, displacement, or the simmering tensions within divided societies, Storm reveals not only disruption but also the generative force within, the possibility of transformation, renewal, and hope that emerges in its wake.

Takashi Arai » Exposed in a Hundred Suns, 2011– ongoing
Marina Caneve » Are They Rocks or Clouds?, 2015–19
Tom Fecht » Luciferines — entre chien et loup (Luciferins — Between Dog and Wolf), 2015–25
Balázs Gárdi » The Storm, 2020–21
Roberto Huarcaya » Amazogramas, 2014
Alfredo Jaar » The End, 2025
Belal Khaled » Hands Tell Stories, 2023–24
Hannah Modigh » Hurricane Season, 2012–16
Baudouin Mouanda » Le ciel de saison (Seasonal Sky), 2020
Camille Seaman » Camille Seaman, The Big Cloud, 2008–14
Laetitia Vançon » Tribute to Odesa, 2022
Patrizia Zelano » Acqua Alta a Venezia (High Water in Venice), 2019