About
Kristina Syrchikova (b.1992) is a visual artist, a curator, an educator. Her work primarily focuses on social and human rights issues in post-Soviet space.
Kristina studied information technology in parallel with contemporary photography at the FotoDepartament.Institute and post-documentary photography at the DocDocDoc School in St Petersburg.
Kristina's work has been recognized with many industry awards such as New Talents, The Kolga Photo Award, Efremov Report Photography Competition, ESPY Photography Award, Young photographers of Russia among others.
Books by Kristina are in the collections of Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Russia), TATE (UK), Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (USA), Photo Elysée (Switzerland), Hasselblad Foundation (Sweden), Phoenix Art Museum (USA), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (France).
Based in Samara, Russia.
Kristina Syrchikova:
"I'm a visual artist working with photography and installation.
My artistic practice is based on documentary photography, I believe that reality is more creative than any fiction. I develop Diane Arbus's method of 'scrutiny' in everyday life, but in contemporary context. I make images that create personal narrative of ordinary people from Russian regions. I am especially interested in such human issues as family memories, separation, religion, pain, acceptance and non-acceptance of fate.
I also curate a school of photography in Victoria, a gallery of contemporary art situated in Samara, Russia. I help ordinary local residents to create personal art projects on significant topics: masculinity, influence of environment, collective and personal traumas, corporeality and death. At the end of each school year together with the workshop participants we create an exhibition, I help emerging artists to edit their projects and select the most appropriate exposition form for their artworks.
All my art practice can be expressed in the phrase: "The 'little man's' stories are worth to be told".
Based in Samara, Russia
CV.pdf
kristina@syrchikova.name
Publications
Musee Magazine (USA), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), Der Greif (Germany), COLTA.RU (Russia), Takie Dela (Russia), IM Magazine, F-Stop Magazine, Positive Magazine, Echo of Moscow (Russia), Snob (Russia), Expert, DOT photozine (USA), Foto&video, dekoder, Science and Life (Russia), Russian reporter, PERFORMANCE, Lenscratch, Splash & Grab, Bird In Flight, Dodho Magazine, Lenta.ru, Plateform magazine, FOG (Germany), London Independent Photography, Russian Life.
Exhibitions and screens (selected)
| Year | Exhibition |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Nizina, Prografika, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| 2023 | Zherdela, Center for Contemporary Art Makaronka, Rostov-on-Don, Russia |
| 2022–2023 | Photobook: document, history, object, Pennlab gallery, Moscow, Russia |
| 2022 | Koreshki, Fab.8 space, Novosibirsk, Russia |
| 2022 | Koreshki, CCA Ogon, Irkutsk, Russia |
| 2021 | Alternative Realities, Projektraum Galerie M, Berlin |
| 2021 | Family Values, as part of the VII Moscow International Biennale For Young Art, On Peschanaya Exhibition Hall Gallery, Moscow, Russia |
| 2020 | Post/DIGITAL/, Tolyatti |
| 2019 | 30 Under 30 Women Photographers, Galerie Claude Samuel, Paris, France |
| 2019 | Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award 2018, After Nyne Gallery, London, England |
| 2019 | 30 Under 30 Women Photographers, Maison de la Photographie, Lille, France |
| 2019 | Not Passing Witness, HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival, Vega and Cinemateket, Oslo, Norway |
| 2018 | Reverse perspective, organised by Contemporary Art Festival Art subject, Vladimir, Russia |
| 2017 | Asian Women Photographers' Showcase, Objectifs, Chapel Gallery, Singapore |
| 2017 | R-evolution — Immagina Lanciano 2017, Polo Museale Santo Spirito, Lanciano, Italy |
| 2017 | Orvieto Fotografia 2017, Palazzo Coelli, Orvieto, Italy |
| 2016 | Invasion, PhotoVisa, Typography Cultural Center, Krasnodar, Russia |
| 2016 | Third Documentary Photography Days, Photography Foundation of Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey (screen) |
| 2016 | Evolution of sight. 1991–2016, Photobiennale 2016, Central exhibition hall Manege, Moscow, Russia (screen) |
| 2016 | Micro Slideluck Graz, Graz, Austria (screen) |
| 2016 | The Kolga Photo Award, organised by Kolga Tbilisi Award, Georgia |
| 2016 | Slideluck Bydgoszcz, Vintage Photo Festival 2016, Bydgoszcz, Poland (screen) |
| 2015 | ESPY award, Elysium Gallery, Swansea, Great Britain (screen) |
| 2015 | Portrait Salon 2015, The Embassy Tea Gallery, London |
| 2015 | Funeral dress, solo exhibition in the framework of International festival of photography "Photoparade in Uglich", Uglich, Russia |
| 2015 | Photomania, The Baltic Photo Biennale, Kalinigrad, Russia |
| 2015 | Young man in the 21st century, Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 2015 | The 5th World Biennial of Student Photography, Novi Sad, Serbia |
| 2015 | Young photographers of Russia-2015, Pushchino, Russia |
| 2015 | SLIDELUCK Manila II, Quezon City, Philippines (screen) |
| 2014 | PhotoVisa, Krasnodar, Russia |
| 2014 | Young photographers of Russia-2014, Plyos, Russia |
| 2013 | Young photographers of Russia, Vilnius Gallery of Photography, Vilnius, Lithuania |
| 2013 | Without barriers, Gallery "FotoSoyuz", Moscow, Russia |
| 2013 | Three views, Museum of Art Nouveau, Samara, Russia |
| 2013 | Young photographers of Russia-2013, Plyos, Russia |
| 2012 | Youth of Russia-2012, Moscow, Russia |
Grants and awards (selected)
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 30 Under 30 Women Photographers (selected) |
| 2018 | The Month of Photography Festival 2018, Slovakia (finalist) |
| 2018 | Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award 2018, England (shortlisted) |
| 2017 | XVI Youth Delphic Games Russia (gold medal) |
| 2016 | XV Youth Delphic Games Russia (gold medal) |
| 2016 | The Kolga Photo Award, organised by Kolga Tbilisi Award, Georgia (shortlisted) |
| 2016 | New Talents, organised by Belgrade Photo Month, Serbia (shortlisted) |
| 2015 | ND Awards 2015, Photojournalism / Story nomination (honorable mention) |
| 2015 | Efremov Report Photography Competition, Federal reportage nomination (second place) |
| 2015 | X Open Youth Delphic Games of the CIS Member States (gold medal) |
| 2015 | XIV Youth Delphic Games Russia (gold medal) |
| 2015 | MIFA Photo Awards 2015, Editorial-Photo Essay nomination (honorable mention) |
| 2014 | Young photographers of Russia 2014 (winner) |
| 2014 | International festival of photography "Photoparade in Uglich" (winner of portfolio review) |
| 2014 | XIII Youth Delphic Games Russia (gold medal) |
| 2014 | I Open Youth European Delphic Games (gold medal) |
| 2013 | State grant in the arts and culture for creative projects |
| 2013 | XII Youth Delphic Games Russia (gold medal) |
| 2013 | VIII Open Youth Delphic Games of the CIS Member States (gold medal) |
| 2013 | Young photographers of Russia 2013 (winner) |
| 2012 | Russian photo contest "Youth of Russia-2012" (grand prix) |
Collections
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Russia
TATE Library, UK
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, USA
Photo Elysée, Switzerland
Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden
Phoenix Art Museum, USA
Josef Chladek, Austria
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, France
Perm Museum of Contemporary Art (PERMM), Russia
The State Russian Museum, Russia
Education
| Years | Institution |
|---|---|
| 2018–2020 | "Sreda Obucheniya" Higher School — Contemporary art, Moscow, Russia |
| 2016–2017 | School of Modern Photography Docdocdoc, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| 2014–2017 | Fotodepartament Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| 2009–2015 | Samara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering — Information Systems and Technology, Samara, Russia |
| 2010–2014 | Academy for Photography, Samara, Russia |
Curatorial projects
| Year | Project |
|---|---|
| 2022 | After photography, Victoria art gallery, Samara, Russia |
| 2021 | Habitat, Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia, co-curated by Ksenia Kasko, Ekaterina Lazareva and Anastasia Senozatskaya |
| 2020 | Glow of (Im)possible, Hidden Garden, London, UK, co-curated by Ksenia Kasko and Anastasia Senozatskaya |
| 2019 | New artists, Victoria art gallery, Samara, Russia, co-curated by Sergey Balandin and Oksana Stogova |
| 2018 | New artists, Victoria art gallery, Samara, Russia, co-curated by Sergey Balandin and Oksana Stogova |
| 2017 | New artists, Victoria art gallery, Samara, Russia, co-curated by Sergey Balandin and Oksana Stogova |
Teaching experience (selected)
| Years | Position |
|---|---|
| 2016–2022 | Victoria art gallery, Samara, Russia |
| 2017 | Visiting lecturer, School of vangard, Samara, Russia |