Draft:Masha Sviatahor

{{Infobox artist

| name = Masha Sviatahor

| image = Маша Святагор.jpg

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1989|05|12}}

| birth_place = Minsk, Belarus

| alma_mater = Belarusian State University

| known_for = visual arts

| movement = Surrealism

| website = [https://mashasviatahor.com/ mashasviatahor.com]

| module =

}}

Masha Sviatahor ({{Langx|be|Маша Святагор|italic=default}}), born on 12 may 1989 in Minsk is a Belarusian visual artist and author whose work combines photography, collage, and mixed media. Her practice frequently engages with themes of historical memory, political critique, and post-Soviet identity{{Cite web |title=Masha Sviatahor {{!}} Nominated by Fotofestiwal Lodz |url=https://www.futures-photography.com/profile/masha-svyatogor |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.futures-photography.com |language=en}}.

Early Life and Education

Sviatahor was born in 1989 in Minsk, then part of the Byelorussian SSR. She studied Philology at the Belarusian State University and graduated in 2013.

Career

Sviatahor began her artistic career in 2017 with a solo exhibition at CECH Art Space in Minsk. She has since exhibited internationally, including in France, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, and Kosovo. Her work often juxtaposes archival Soviet imagery with contemporary events, creating layered compositions that blur distinctions between fact and fiction{{Cite web |title=Masha Svyatogor / Маша Святагор |url=https://secondaryarchive.org/artists/masha-svyatogor/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=Secondary Archive |language=pl}}.

From 2023 to 2025, she is participating in an artist residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Exhibition – Displacements and Torrents - Where the Dnipro and the Elbe Meet |url=https://www.citedesartsparis.net/en/displacements-and-torrents-where-the-dnipro-and-the-elbe-meet |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=Cité internationale des arts}}.

Artistic Themes and Practice

File:Prix-Levallois-2021-01.jpg

Sviatahor’s work critically examines the visual language of Soviet propaganda, blending historical materials with personal photographs and found images. Her collages explore the interplay between logic and absurdity, and frequently engage with collective memory and cultural narratives in post-Soviet societies{{Cite web|lang=be|url=https://34mag.net/post/lyuboy-da-kurasoy|title=Любоў да Курасоў – інтэрв’ю з фатографкай Машай Святагор|website=34mag.net|access-date=2025-03-17}}.

Her long-term series include Kurasoushchyna, My Love (2015–2017){{Cite web |title=Kurasoushchyna, my love {{!}} Masha Sviatahor |url=https://www.futures-photography.com/artist-projects/kurasoushchyna-my-love |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.futures-photography.com |language=en}} and Everybody Dance! (2018–present){{Cite web|lang=en-US|url=https://gupmagazine.com/portfolios/masha-svyatogor-everybody-dance/|title=MASHA SVYATOGOR: EVERYBODY DANCE!|website=GUP Magazine|date=2020-02-07|access-date=2025-03-17}}, both of which reflect on Belarusian identity through a surreal visual vocabulary{{Cite web|url=https://spacekx.com/SVYATOGOR|title=SVYATOGOR — KX Space|website=spacekx.com|access-date=2025-03-17}}.

Selected Exhibitions

2024–2025: Displacements and Torrents, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France.
2023: Fotofestiwal, Łódź, Poland.
2022: When The Sun Is Low – The Shadows Are Long, GfZK, Leipzig, Germany and Arsenał Gallery, Białystok, Poland
2022: UNFAIR, Amsterdam, Netherlands{{Cite web|lang=en|url=https://unfair.nl/masha-svyatogor/|title=Masha Svyatogor|website=unfair.nl|access-date=2025-03-17}}.
2022: Secondary Archive, Manifesta 14, Prishtina, Kosovo.
2021: Prix Levallois, France{{Cite web |date=2022-01-21 |title=Prix Levallois 2021 - Prix Levallois |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205628/https://prix-levallois.com/en/concours/prix-levallois-2021/preselect/271 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=web.archive.org}}.
2021: KVOST, Berlin, Germany{{Cite web |date=2021-03-13 |title=KVOST SchauFenster . Masha Svyatogor |url=https://kvost.de/en/exhibition/kvost-schaufenster-masha-svyatogor/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=KVOST |language=en-GB}}.
2020: Circulation(s) Festival, Paris, France{{Cite web|lang=en-GB|url=https://www.festival-circulations.com/artiste/svyatogor-masha-2/|title=SVYATOGOR Masha|website=Circulations|access-date=2025-03-17}}.
2018: Obscura Festival of Photography, Penang, Malaysia.
2017: Fotopub Festival, Slovenia; Queering Yerevan Festival, Armenia.

Awards and Recognitions

2021: Prince Claus Seed Award{{Cite web|lang=en|url=https://princeclausfund.nl/awardees/masha-svyatogor|title=Masha Svyatogor|website=Prince Claus Fund|access-date=2025-03-17}}.
2021: "Ones to Watch," British Journal of Photography{{Cite web|lang=en-GB|url=https://www.1854.photography/2021/08/ones-to-watch-2021-masha-svyatogor/|title=Ones to Watch 2021: Masha Svyatogor - 1854 Photography|first=Diane|last=Smyth|website=www.1854.photography|access-date=2025-03-17}}.
2021: Special Mention Prize, Prix Levallois.
2020: Future Talent.

Books

Everybody Dance! (2025), TAMAKA Publishing. The book compiles a multi-year exploration of Belarusian history through photomontage and collage.

Gallery

File:Mashasvyatogor everybodydance 017.jpg|Masha Svyatogor, "EVERYBODY DANCE!"

File:Masha-Svyatogor-Braid-2023.jpg|Masha Svyatogor, "ČYRVONY LES!"

File:Masha-Svyatogor-In-the-woods-2021.jpg|Masha Svyatogor, "ČYRVONY LES"