The Photographers' Gallery in London is launching a ten-year programme to give emerging photographers a sustained platform, staging a solo exhibition by one selected artist every two years. The initiative is funded by what the not-for-profit gallery describes as a very generous grant from the UK-based John Kobal Foundation. The gallery's director, Shoair Mavlian, declined to say how much the grant is worth, but told The Art Newspaper it will cover the full cost of mounting the shows.

The exhibitions will take place in the gallery's second-floor space, which is being renamed the John Kobal Foundation Gallery. The first artist will be announced later this year, and the opening solo show will run from 23 June to 26 September 2027. By committing to a biennial rhythm over a decade, the programme offers something unusual in a sector where support for early-career artists often arrives as a single prize or a one-off group show.

The John Kobal Foundation was established in 1990, a year before the death of the film historian and photography collector whose name it carries. Its backing arrives as the gallery continues to build on a renewed three-year grant from Arts Council England awarded in 2023. The Photographers' Gallery has long championed new talent through initiatives such as its TPG New Talent showcase, and the new programme extends that work into a longer-term commitment.

For emerging photographers, a solo exhibition at a central London institution can change a career, offering visibility to curators, collectors and publishers that group shows rarely match. The gallery has not yet said how artists will be selected for the biennial slots, or whether there will be an open call. Those details, and the identity of the first artist, are expected when the programme is formally launched later this year.