Kate Middleton’s Quarantine-Inspired Photography Exhibit is Live—Here’s How To See The Winning Images

Back in May, Kate Middleton announced that she’d be partnering with the UK’s National Portrait Gallery to host a digital photography exhibit inspired by COVID-19, inviting UK residents to submit their own original photos detailing life amid the global pandemic. Inviting shutterbugs of all skill levels and ages, the Hold Still exhibit aimed to encapsulate one or more of the following themes: “Helpers and Heroes,” “Your New Normal,” and “Acts of Kindness.”

At long last, the winning photos have been chosen, and the Hold Still gallery is available to view online. With more than 31,000 submissions from across the UK, the Duchess of Cambridge helped choose 100 winners, whose snapshots show the challenges and joyful little moments so many families have experienced during the pandemic. From grandparents offering kisses to little one through the safety of glass windows (aptly titled “Glass Kisses”) to the joy of a lockdown wedding—and, of course, the many trying times experienced by frontline workers as they navigated the pandemic, providing care to patients of all ages. Each winning submission features the story behind the image, providing an emotional glimpse into life in lockdown through the eyes of those living it.

In a statement announcing the winners on the Kensington Royal Instagram page, Middleton wrote, “The images present a unique record of our shared and individual experiences during this extraordinary period of history, conveying humour and grief, creativity and kindness, tragedy and hope.”

Both Middleton (an art history major and patron of the National Portrait Gallery since 2012) and the Portrait Gallery have shared some of the winning images on Instagram, with the entire exhibition available to view here. You can also view the submissions on social media through #HoldStill2020 to see more.