Contact
General: katyailinaphoto@gmail.com
Biography
Katya Ilina is an artist, photographer and filmmaker. Her works explore themes of identity, human experience and gender expression. She captures candid impressions that immerse the viewer in the interconnectedness of times, cultures, and facets of the self.
Central to Katya's work is the desire to challenge barriers that divide, turning lens to overlooked stories and imperfect yet universal aspects of our shared humanity. Her images fuse spontaneity with conceptual depth, weaving rational and irrational moments together into revealing, open-ended photographs. Katya often works with women and queer people, emphasizing empowerment, joy and self-determination.
Katya has exhibited in the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and South Korea. In 2021, she won the third prize at The National Portrait Gallery's Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. In 2023, Katya's works were published in Portrait of Britain Vol.6 book by British Journal of Photography and Bluecoat Press. She studied Photography at Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada) and University of Westminster (UK).
Awards & Honours
2024 Global Photographic Portraiture Competition “The Human Element", TIME x American Society of Media Photographers, First Prize, Open Category
2023 Portrait of Britain vol.6, British Journal of Photography, Shortlist
2023 Open Walls Arles, British Journal of Photography, Winner
2022 Maria Medeiros Research Travel Award, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 Roloff Beny Foundation Photography Award, Toronto Metropolitan University
2021 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, The National Portrait Gallery, Third Prize
2021 The Independent Photographer, Portrait Award, Editor's Pick
2021 International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention (Fine Art, Portrait)
2020 Bennett Entrance Award, Toronto Metropolitan University
Selected Exhibitions
2025 Guest Room: Dynamic Perspective, Curated by Iris Sikking and Fleurie Kloostra, Der Greif, Germany
2024 Through Empathy, A Story Unfolds, Curated by Ozan Turkylmaz and Ilaria Sponda, Der Greif Studio x mirror, Munich, Germany
2024 You is for Unity, Curated by Ashleigh Kane and Daphne Chouliaraki Milner, Photobook Café Gallery, London, UK
2023 OpenWalls Arles (British Journal of Photography), Galerie Huit Arles, Arles, France
2022-2023 International Photography Exhibition 163, The Royal Photographic Society, Bristol/Gloucester, UK
2022 Rosemary & Thyme, Curated by Maria Kanellopoulos, Kunstmatrix, Germany/Canada/virtual
2022 Humdinger, London Gallery West, London, UK
2021 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize (The National Portrait Gallery), Cromwell Place, London, UK
2021 ROUGHER Film and Digital Media Festival, Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada
2021 MaxEx, CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto, Canada
2020-2021 International Photography Exhibition 162, The Royal Photographic Society, London/ Bristol/Birmingham, UK
Selected Publications & Clients
TIME
Dazed
BBC
WeTransfer
Getty Images
Iberia Airlines
Der Greif
The Guardian
Evening Standard
British Journal of Photography
The Royal Photographic Society Journal
Books
2023 Portrait of Britain Vol.6 - Bluecoat Press
2022 Rosemary & Thyme - Self-published
2020 Night Shift - Self-published
Public Collections
The Royal Photographic Society, UK
Toronto Metropolitan University, Special Collections & Rare Books, ON, Canada
Member of American Society of Media Photographers and Diversify Photo.