About
Kristina Syrchikova (b.1992) is a visual artist, curator, and educator. She is the curator of the independent project Hidden Garden and the head of the School of Project Photography at the Victoria Gallery of Contemporary Art (Samara).
She holds an MA in Curatorial Practices in Contemporary Art from the joint programme of HSE University and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (2024), and a BA in Information Systems and Technologies from Samara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (2015).
She also studied contemporary photography at the FotoDepartament.Institute and post-documentary photography at the Docdocdoc School of Contemporary Photography, both in Saint Petersburg.
Her solo exhibition was held at Pennlab Gallery (Moscow, 2024–2025). She has participated in exhibitions including the 16th Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale (Krasnoyarsk, 2025), the 2nd Chuvash Biennale of Contemporary Art (Cheboksary, 2025), the 7th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art (Moscow, 2021), and the Asian Women Photographers' Showcase at Objectifs, Chapel Gallery (Singapore, 2017). Her work has also been recognized by The Month of Photography Festival (Slovakia), the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award (United Kingdom), the Kolga Photo Award (Georgia), and New Talents (Serbia).
Her works are held in the collections of Tate Library (United Kingdom), the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Russia), Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (USA), Photo Elysée (Switzerland), Hasselblad Foundation (Sweden), Phoenix Art Museum (USA), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (France), and AZ Museum (Russia).
Her artistic practice explores everyday life and personal narratives in the post-Soviet space. She works across photography, installation, photobooks, and artist's zines.
She lives and works in Samara, Russia.
Artist Statement
Kristina Syrchikova:
"I live and work in Russia, in Eastern Europe—a region where local histories and the voices of ordinary people have long remained largely invisible within official culture. Here, personal memory rarely aligns with official history, while the past survives in private archives, everyday objects, and family photographs.
I am a regional artist. I live in central Russia, nearly a thousand kilometres from the capital, where time seems to move more slowly. In contrast to the pace of the capital, where everything changes rapidly, I choose to observe and work slowly. I practice decentralization as a way of shifting attention toward the personal, the small-scale, the local, and the everyday. This perspective allows me to approach collective memory and social structures from within, beyond official narratives and institutional frameworks.
Photography is my primary medium because it allows moments to be suspended in time. I work with my own photographs, images made by others, and found vernacular photography. Through photobooks, artist's zines, installations, and objects, photography acquires a physical presence beyond the image itself. My practice is rooted in the tradition of post-documentary photography, situated at the intersection of contemporary art and visual anthropology.
Since 2016, I have also led the School of Project Photography, an independent educational programme bringing together Russian-speaking artists with diverse artistic and life experiences. The programme explores photography as a tool for engaging with local contexts and personal stories as part of a shared collective experience. At the end of each academic year, participants present their projects in the form of installations, artist's zines, and objects.
Among my key influences is the writer Svetlana Alexievich. Her polyphonic approach, built from the voices of ordinary people and the construction of history from below, has profoundly shaped my practice. These stories form the true fabric of time. I also feel a strong affinity with Christian Boltanski, whose use of clothing, photographs, and light transforms material traces into carriers of memory."
Personal exhibitions (selected)
| Year | Exhibition |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Hand Memory: Rest During the Polar Night, solo exhibition, PolArt Arctic Art Residency, Norilsk (22 May – 18 June 2026) |
| 2024–2025 | Marks of Kinship, solo exhibition, Pennlab Gallery, Moscow (13 November 2024 – 15 January 2025) |
| 2015 | Burial Dress, solo exhibition as part of the International Photo Festival Photo Parade in Uglich, Uglich |
Group exhibitions and screens (selected)
| Year | Exhibition |
|---|---|
| 2025–2026 | The Principle of Hope, 16th Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale, Ploshchad Mira Museum Centre, Krasnoyarsk (25 September 2025 – 15 February 2026) |
| 2025 | Unhurried Time, Vaults, Moscow (1 October – 9 November 2025) |
| 2025 | The House with Seven Wings, 2nd Chuvash Biennale of Contemporary Art, Chuvash Ivanov Drama Theatre, Cheboksary |
| 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 |
| 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 | 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 | Three views, Museum of Art Nouveau, Samara, Russia |
| 2013 | Young photographers of Russia-2013, Plyos, 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) |
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
AZ Museum, Russia
Education
| Years | Institution |
|---|---|
| 2022–2024 | MA in Curatorial Practices in Contemporary Art from the joint programme of HSE University and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia |
| 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 | BA in Information Systems and Technologies from Samara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, 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– | School of Project Photography, Victoria Gallery of Contemporary Art, Samara, Russia |
| 2017 | Visiting lecturer, School of vangard, Samara, Russia |