Teen Portrait Competition, 2025
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery presents the winners and finalists of the 2025 Teen Portrait Competition, a triennial exhibition inspired by the museum’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. This showcase highlights the next wave of contemporary portraiture by teen photographers, featuring 19 finalists selected from more than 1,100 entries submitted by students aged 13–17 from across the United States and its territories. The exhibition runs from January 24 through August 30, 2026, on the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery, and is displayed as a video presentation alongside the museum’s concurrent “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today” exhibition.
When: January 24, 2026 through August 30, 2026.
Venue: National Portrait Gallery, Second Floor | North Galleries, Washington, D.C.
Description: The competition is open to students ages 13–17 residing in the United States and its territories. An anonymous open call drew over 1,100 entries from 48 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. The Teen Museum Council—a group of high school students from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia—narrowed submissions to 40 semi‑finalists. Three council members, joined by artist Caitlin Teal Price (based in Washington, D.C., and New York), juried the final round to select the 19 exhibiting artists and name the winners. Winners were chosen from two age groups: ages 13–15 and ages 16–17.
Winners: Matilda Myers of Maryland won the top prize in the 13–15 age group for her photograph “Rest,” which compares the masculine and feminine by depicting a ballerina resting with a pickaxe. Kate Stermer of California won in the 16–17 age group for her black‑and‑white portrait “The Cost of Conformity,” which shows a teenage girl as a puppeteer manipulating markers of success (cars) with marionette strings.
2025 Competition Finalists (Age 13–15): Leah Beaudet – “His Favorite Role Model”; Irene Chang – “Reflection in a TV Screen”; Celine Ding – “The Daily Cut”; Ella Kurhajec – “Sisters”; Aubree Meyer – “Forget Her”; Serra Zeyneb Sablak – “My Star”; Caydence Silva – “Sound Waves”; Stellar Slentz‑Baeb – “Reflection”; Ashley Slingluff – “Lacrosse Royalty”.
2025 Competition Finalists (Age 16–17): Catherine Buchholz – “Sonder”; Rylie Chanthavong – “Untitled”; Sarah Fernandez – “Come on, Smile!”; Ethan Fabrizio Hoyos Hernandez – “Untitled”; Sophia Eren Laming – “A Surface of Reflection”; Kimberly Nadler – “Alone in the Underbrush”; Rain Pair – “Feeling Blue”; Aissatou Toure – “The Beauty of Seasons”.
Photographs: All 19 finalist works are photographic portraits created in 2024, courtesy of the artists. The images address topical issues such as tradition, mental health, sibling relationships, and identity as seen through the eyes of teens.
Run time and showtimes: The exhibition is presented as a video loop on the second floor during regular museum hours; no specific showtime schedule is given.
Ages: The competition and exhibition are geared toward teen participants and general audiences. No age restriction for viewing is mentioned.
Price: Admission is free (museum entry is free, and no ticket is required for this exhibition).
Accessibility: The National Portrait Gallery is a Smithsonian museum; standard accessibility services (wheelchair access, assistive listening devices, etc.) are available. Contact the museum for specific accommodations.
Note: The exhibition is displayed in the same location as “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today,” which features finalists aged 18 and older. The Teen Portrait Competition focuses exclusively on photographic works by teen artists.