Alisa Martynova (b. 1994 in Orenburg, Russia) is a documentary photographer currently based in Florence, Italy. After finishing her studies in Foreign Philology in her native country, in 2019 she graduates from a professional photography three year program at Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence, Italy.
She has worked on a number of contemporary stories, such as African migration in Europe, intricate relationship of humans and new technologies. Refusing direct approach to telling the story, she uses photography as a tool for creating parallel worlds and translating reality into the language of symbols, that she extracts from existent stories and the meticulous reserach on them. She is interested by the universal themes such as change, time and space, dreams.
She received awards such as Canon Young Photographers award (2019), World Press Photo award in Portraits Series section (2021), UNSTUCK award from Magenta Foundation (2022), LensCulture Emerging Talent award (2023) and Royal Photographic Society Documentary photography award (2023). She was nominated for Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomers award thrice (2020, 2022 and 2023), worked as an artist-in-residency for Planches Contact festival (2021) and Villa Perochon (2023-2024).
Her work was exhibited in the festivals and galleries such as Photo Brussels, Cortona on the move, Encontros da Imagem, Planches Contact, La Gacilly photography festival, Italian Culture Institute of Addis Abeba, Fisheye gallery, Reich für die Insel gallery, Leica galleries across Italy, Kuala Lumpur Exposure + festival and Helsinki photography festival.
Her work is published by Internazionale, D-Repubblica, Leica Fotografie International, Fisheye magazine and 20er magazine.
Exhibitions
2024 Villa Perochon, Niort, France
2023 OD photo prize exhibition, London, The UK
2023 (Un)Settled - migration stories in the 21st century by World Press Photo foundation, Nowhere Near, MMAG Foundation, Amman, Jordan
2023 Exposure + photography festival, Nowhere Near, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2023 Helsinki photography festival, Nowhere Near, Helsinki, Finland
2023 La Gacilly photography festival, Nowhere Near, Baden, Austria
2023 Out of frame, Nowhere Near, Villa Altieri, Rome, Italy
2022 Korridor – Preis für Dokumentarfotografie, Nowhere Near, solo show, Reich für die Insel, Innsbruck, Austria
2022 Leica Gallerie Milano, Questo mare è pieno di voci, questo cielo è pieno di visioni, group show, Milano, Italy
2022 Portici public exhibition, via Vittorio Emmanuele II, Nowhere Near, group exhibition, Torino, Italy
2022 Fisheye gallery, Nowhere Near, group show, Paris, France
2022 In-Cadaques, Nowhere Near, group show, Cadaques, Spain
2022 La Gacilly photography festival, prix Nouvelles écritures de la photographie environnementale, Nowhere Near, group show, La Gacilly, France
2022 (Un)Settled - migration stories in the 21st century by World Press Photo foundation, Nowhere Near, Novi Sad Liberty Square, group show, Novi Sad, Serbia
2022 Eyes on Tomorrow, Nowhere Near, Italian Culture Institute, group show, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
2021 Casa dos Cubos, Nowhere Near, group show, Tomar, Portugal
2021 Encontros da Imagem, Nowhere Near, solo show, Braga, Portugal
2021 Planches Contact, Tremplin Jeunes Talents, artist -in-residency program, Where the sons of eternity singing, group show, Deauville, France
2021 Giovane Fotografia Italiana, Cortona on the Move, Nowhere Near, group show, Cortona, Italy
2021 Giovane Fotografia Italiana, Fotografia Europea, Nowhere Near, group show, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2021 World Press Photo, Nowhere Near, group show, worldwide exhibitions
2021 Istituto degli innocenti, Alien Life Form, Dis-connessi, group show, Florence, Italy
2021 Murate Art District, I guess this river never knew, RIVA, group show, Florence, Italy
2021 The World Within, Photo Brussels 05, Sleeping Pill, Hangar gallery, group show, Brussels, Belgium
2019 PH museum Women Photographers Grant, Nowhere Near, PhotoVogue, group show, Milano, Italy
2019 Cortona On the Move, Premio Canon Young Photographers, Nowhere Near, group show, Cortona, Italy
2019 Les Rencontres d’Arles, Nowhere Near, opening night projection, group show, Arles, France
2019 Blob art gallery, Nowhere Near, Premio Combat, group show, Livorno, Italy
2017 Leica Store Florence, Shared environment, projection, Florence, Italy
Awards
2023 Royal Photographic Society Documentary Awards, winner
2023 Lensculture Emerging Talent, Nowhere Near, winner
2023 Villa Perochon, 30 years later?, Alien life form, winner
2023 OD prize, Nowhere Near, Open Doors gallery, London, jurors pick
2023 Helsinki photo festival, Nowhere Near, winner
2023 Lensculture Portrait Award, Nowhere Near, finalist
2023 Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival, Nowhere Near, winnner
2023 Leica Oscar Barnack Award, High fire in the forest heart, nominee
2023 Felix Schoeller Photo Award, Nowhere Near, finalist
2023 CAP Centre for African Photography prize, Nowhere Near, finalist
2022 UNSTUCK grant, Nowhere Near, Magenta Foundation, winner
2022 Korridor – Preis für Dokumentarfotografie Innsbruck, Nowhere Near, winner
2022 In-Cadaques, Nowhere Near, finalist
2022 Cortona on the move award, High fire in the forest’s heart, finalist
2022 Aftermath project Grant, High fire in the forest's heart, finalist
2021 Leica Oscar Barnack Award, High fire in the forest’s heart, Newcomers award nominee
2021 Premio Francesco Fabbri, Nowhere Near, finalist
2021 OD-photo prize, Nowhere Near, shortlisted
2021 ISPA Italian Sustainability Award, Nowhere Near, finalist
2021 Bird in Flight, Nowhere Near, finalist
2021 World Press Photo, Portraits Series, Nowhere Near, winner
2021 BUP book award, Nowhere near, shorlisted
2021 Intersection Vol.1, Nowhere Near, finalist
2021 Gomma Grant, Nowhere Near, finalist
2020 The World Within, Sleeping Pill, Hangar gallery, laureate
2020 Leica Oscar Barnack Award, Nowhere Near, Newcomers award nominée
2019 Zine Tonic book Award, Nowhere Near, winner
2019 Photolux Award, Nowhere Near, shortlisted
2019 PH museum Women Photographers Grant,Nowhere Near, shortlisted
2019 Canon Young Photographers Award, Nowhere Near, winner
2019 Premio Combat, photography section, Nowhere Near, winner
Publications
2022 La meraviglia del possibile, LUISS press, 2 issue, FULU MIZIKI
2022 20er magazine, Nowhere Near, January issue, cover story
2022 Fisheye Magazine, Nowhere Near, May issue
2022 D la Repubblica, Nowhere Near, 15.01.2022
2021 D la Repubblica, Alien life form, Next Generation issue, 17.04.2021
2021 Dis-connessi, Alien life form, Istituto degli innocenti, Catalogue
2021 Giovane Fotografia Italiana, Nowhere Near, Fotografia Europea, Catalogue
2021 The World Within, Sleeping Pill, Photo Brussels 05, Catalogue
2021 RIVA, Murate Art District, I guess this river never knew, Catalogue
2021 LFI Magazine, Nowhere Near, February - March 2021 issue, cover story
2020 Phmuseum blog, The hope and heartache of African migrants, Nowhere Near
2020 LFI Magazine, Sleeping Pill, April 2020, issue
2020 Internazionale Extra Foto, Sleeping Pill, spring 2020
2019 D-Young special issue, Nowhere Near, 30.03.2019
Talks and lectures
2023 A fair and balanced representation of asylum seekers and refugees in the media, Charter of Rome, Trieste, IT
2023 Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Creative Light course, Florence, IT
2022 Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Creative and Technical writing for artistic practise course (12 h), Florence, IT
2021 University of Minnesota, Guest lecture on documentary photography, Florence, IT
2021 Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Orientation lecture for the third year students, Florence, IT
2021 Terra di Tutti Film Festival, Photography for human rights, Bologna, IT
2021 World Press Photo Expert Talk, Aethetics and Composition in documentary
Interviews and online publications
2023 Leica Fotografie International online https://leica-camera.blog/2023/10/02/hypnerotomachia-venetiae/
2022 Fisheye magazine https://fisheyemagazine.fr/article/latmosphere-du-sentiment/
2022 URBANAUTICA https://urbanautica.com/interview/alisa-martynova-nowhere-near/2555
2021 Internazionale online https://www.internazionale.it/notizie/giovanna-d-ascenzi/2021/07/23/galassie-vicine-alisa-martynova
2021 Seeds of Florence https://seedsofflorence.it/discovery/intervista-a-alisa-martynova-vincitrice-al-photo-contest-2021/
2021 Leica Fotografie International online https://lfi-online.de/ceemes/en/blog/alisa-martynova-nowhere-near-2377.html
2021 Leica Fotografie International online https://lfi-online.de/ceemes/en/blog/alisa-martynova-somewhere-in-the-mountains-somewhere-in-the-sea-2501.html
2020 Leica Camera https://leica-camera.blog/2020/07/20/sleeping-pill/
2020 Ph Museum https://phmuseum.com/news/hope-heartache-african-migrants