Photo: Mathilde Tijen Hansen
Tanya Sharapova, born in Russia, is a Berlin-based artist whose practice spans documentary photography and expressive photographic image-making using composite techniques. She deploys both modes in order to examine the complex relationships between individuals and society—a central concern of her practice—from a variety of angles. In recent projects, which have centered on life in Russia and Germany, she has explored isolation and displacement, the nature of belonging, collective memory, and experiences of calamity and uncertainty.
After beginning her career as a photo editor, travel photographer, and writer, Tanya pursued a formal education in photography at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin. This period marked a shift in her focus from travel photography to documentary storytelling and experimenting with the possibilities of the medium itself.
Awards
2024 - Emerging Photographer Award DGPh - Nominated
2024 - KOLGA Tbilisi Photo, Finalist
2024 - Athens Photo Festival, Finalist
2024 - Otto-Steinert Preis, DGPh Förderpreis für Fotografie - Finalist
2023 - VG Bild-Kunst / Kulturwerk Foundation Grant - Winner
2023 - Belfast Photo Festival - Shortlisted
2023 - Revela'T Festival - Finalist
2022 - Cortona On The Move | PhMuseum 2022 Photography Grant
2021 - OpenWalls Arles - Winner
2020 - Pandemic Healing grant, Berlin- Winner
Exhibitions
Upcoming: 2025 - Cadavre Exquis, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, DE
2024 - "Deadly matters", Friedhöfe Friedenstraße, Berlin, DE
2024 - KOLGA Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi, GE
2024 - Jahrgang ACHTZEHN, Konnekt Berlin, DE
2023 - "East from Where", Studio Hanniball, Berlin, DE
2023 - "Entlang der Oder", Schloss Neuhardenberg, DE
2023 - "Entlang der Oder", Pader Kultour for Kulturamt Paderborn, DE
2023 - "Drängende Gegenwart", European Month of Photography Berlin, DE
2022 - "Entlang der Oder", Kurpark Bad Saarow, DE
2022 - "Strangers", Ori Galerie, Berlin, DE
2022 - "Ukraine Moments", House of Lucie Gallery, Budapest, HU
2021 - "Then & Now", OpenWalls Arles, Galerie Huit, FR
Education
2021- 2024 - Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie, Berlin, DE
2022 - Noor–Nikon Advanced Storytelling Workshop, Düsseldorf, DE
2022 - International Summer Academy for Art und Design Pentiment, Hamburg, DE
2021 - Filmworkshop „Portrait of a Protagonist" by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, Berlin, DE
2021 - Canon Student Program of Visa Pour L'Image (Online)
2019 - ASX+Void Laboratory with Mark Power in Athens, GR
After beginning her career as a photo editor, travel photographer, and writer, Tanya pursued a formal education in photography at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin. This period marked a shift in her focus from travel photography to documentary storytelling and experimenting with the possibilities of the medium itself.
Awards
2024 - Emerging Photographer Award DGPh - Nominated
2024 - KOLGA Tbilisi Photo, Finalist
2024 - Athens Photo Festival, Finalist
2024 - Otto-Steinert Preis, DGPh Förderpreis für Fotografie - Finalist
2023 - VG Bild-Kunst / Kulturwerk Foundation Grant - Winner
2023 - Belfast Photo Festival - Shortlisted
2023 - Revela'T Festival - Finalist
2022 - Cortona On The Move | PhMuseum 2022 Photography Grant
2021 - OpenWalls Arles - Winner
2020 - Pandemic Healing grant, Berlin- Winner
Exhibitions
Upcoming: 2025 - Cadavre Exquis, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, DE
2024 - "Deadly matters", Friedhöfe Friedenstraße, Berlin, DE
2024 - KOLGA Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi, GE
2024 - Jahrgang ACHTZEHN, Konnekt Berlin, DE
2023 - "East from Where", Studio Hanniball, Berlin, DE
2023 - "Entlang der Oder", Schloss Neuhardenberg, DE
2023 - "Entlang der Oder", Pader Kultour for Kulturamt Paderborn, DE
2023 - "Drängende Gegenwart", European Month of Photography Berlin, DE
2022 - "Entlang der Oder", Kurpark Bad Saarow, DE
2022 - "Strangers", Ori Galerie, Berlin, DE
2022 - "Ukraine Moments", House of Lucie Gallery, Budapest, HU
2021 - "Then & Now", OpenWalls Arles, Galerie Huit, FR
Education
2021- 2024 - Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie, Berlin, DE
2022 - Noor–Nikon Advanced Storytelling Workshop, Düsseldorf, DE
2022 - International Summer Academy for Art und Design Pentiment, Hamburg, DE
2021 - Filmworkshop „Portrait of a Protagonist" by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, Berlin, DE
2021 - Canon Student Program of Visa Pour L'Image (Online)
2019 - ASX+Void Laboratory with Mark Power in Athens, GR