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 Premio Combat (2019), Canon Young Photographers award (2019), World Press Photo award in Portraits Series section (2021), Korridor Preis für Dokumentarfotografie award in collaboration with the 20er magazine (2022) and UNSTUCK award from Magenta Foundation (2022). She was nominated for Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomers award twice (2020 and 2022), was shortlisted for Photolux award (2019), PH museum women photographers grant (2019) and Aftermath grant (2022). Her work was exhibited in the festivals and galleries such as Photo Brussels (2021, Belgium), Cortona on the move (2021, Italy), Encontros da Imagem (2021, Portugal), Planches Contact, Tremplin Jeunes Talents (2021, France), La Gacilly photography festival (2022, France), Italian Culture Institute of Addis Abeba (2022, Ethiopia), Fisheye gallery (2022, France), Reich für die Insel gallery (2022, Austria) and Leica galleries (2023, Italy).
Her work is published by Internazionale, D-Repubblica, Leica Fotografie International, Fisheye magazine and 20er magazine.
Exhibitions
2023 Nowhere Near, La Gacilly photography festival, Baden, Austria
2023 Nowhere Near, Out of frame, Villa Altieri, Rome, Italy
2022 Nowhere Near, Korridor – Preis für Dokumentarfotografie, solo show, Innsbruck, Austria
2022 Questo mare è pieno di voci, questo cielo è pieno di visioni, Leica Gallerie Milano, group show, Milano, Italy
2022 Nowhere Near, Portici public exhibition, via Vittorio Emmanuele II, group exhibition, Torino, Italy
2022 Nowhere Near, Fisheye gallery, group show, Paris, France
2022 Nowhere Near, In-Cadaques, group show, Cadaques, Spain
2022 Nowhere Near, La Gacilly photography festival, prix Nouvelles écritures de la photographie environnementale, group show, La Gacilly, France
2022 Nowhere Near, (Un)Settled - migration stories in the 21st century by World Press Photo foundation, Novi Sad Liberty Square, group show, Novi Sad, Serbia
2022 Nowhere Near, Eyes on Tomorrow, Italian Culture Institute, group show, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
2021 Nowhere Near, Casa dos Cubos, group show, Tomar, Portugal
2021 Nowhere Near, Encontros da Imagem, solo show, Braga, Portugal
2021 Where the sons of eternity singing, Planches Contact, Tremplin Jeunes Talents, artist -in-residency program, group show, Deauville, France
2021 Nowhere Near, Giovane Fotografia Italiana, Cortona on the Move, group show, Cortona, Italy
2021 Nowhere Near, Giovane Fotografia Italiana, Fotografia Europea, group show, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2021 Nowhere Near, World Press Photo, group show, worldwide exhibitions
2021 Alien Life Form, Dis-connessi, Istituto degli innocenti, group show, Florence, Italy
2021 I guess this river never knew, RIVA, Murate Art District, group show, Florence, Italy
2021 Sleeping Pill, The World Within, Photo Brussels 05, Hangar gallery, group show, Brussels, Belgium
2019 Nowhere Near, Ph museum Women Photographers Grant, PhotoVogue, group show, Milano, Italy
2019 Nowhere Near, Cortona On the Move, Premio Canon Young Photographers, group show, Cortona, Italy
2019 Nowhere Near, Les Rencontres d’Arles, opening night projection, group show, Arles, France
2019 Nowhere Near, Blob art gallery, Premio Combat, group show, Livorno, Italy
2017 Shared environment, Leica Store Florence, group show, Florence, Italy
Awards
2023 Nowhere Near, Helsinki photo festival, winner
2023 Nowhere Near, Lensculture Portrait Award, finalist
2023 Nowhere Near, Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival, winnner
2023 High fire in the forest heart, Leica Oscar Barnack Award nominee
2023 Nowhere Near, Felix Schoeller Photo Award, finalist
2023 Nowhere Near, CAP Centre for African Photography prize, finalist
2022 Nowhere Near, UNSTUCK grant, Magenta Foundation, winner
2022 Nowhere Near, Korridor – Preis für Dokumentarfotografie Innsbruck, winner
2022 Nowhere Near, In-Cadaques, finalist
2022 High fire in the forest’s heart, Cortona on the move award, finalist
2022 High fire in the forest's heart, Aftermath project Grant, finalist
2021 High fire in the forest’s heart, Leica Oscar Barnack Award, Newcomers award nominee
2021 Nowhere Near, Premio Francesco Fabbri, finalist
2021 Nowhere Near, OD-photo prize, shortlisted
2021 Nowhere Near, ISPA Italian Sustainability Award, finalist
2021 Nowhere Near, Bird in Flight, finalist
2021 Nowhere Near, World Press Photo, Portraits Series, winner
2021 Nowhere near, BUP book award, shorlisted
2021 Nowhere Near, Intersection Vol.1, finalist
2021 Nowhere Near, Gomma Grant, finalist
2020 Sleeping Pill, the World Within, Hangar gallery, laureate
2020 Nowhere Near, Leica Oscar Barnack Award, Newcomers award nominée
2019 Nowhere Near, Winner of Zine Tonic book Award
2019 Nowhere Near, Photolux Award, shortlisted
2019 Nowhere Near, PH museum Women Photographers Grant, shortlisted
2019 Nowhere Near, Canon Young Photographers Award, winner
2019 Nowhere Near, photography section of Premio Combat, 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
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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
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Interviews and online publications
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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
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