Mary Gelman is queer photographer, visual storyteller, and producer; born in Russia, she is represented internationally by VII Photo Agency.
After getting a degree in sociology, she was involved in photography. She often explores themes of identity and trauma, vulnerability and resilience, seeks to challenge stereotypes and prejudices. She also focuses on life and the ideology of alternative communities and different social groups facing discrimination. The most important part of her practice is diving deeper into the topics and interactions with people, where empathy, trust, and understanding are significant.
Mary has been a winner of different competitions. She's the recipient of the World Press Photo, Leica Oskar Barnack Award, Pictures of the Year, Istanbul Photo Awards, and so on. She was published in the Time, The Washington Post, Le Monde, Die Zeit, The New York Times, UNICEF, and many others.
Selected awards
2024 | World Press Photo, Jury Europe section
2022 | World Press Photo, Honorable mention
2022 | Global Peace Photo Award, winner
2022 | The 30 New + Emerging Photographer to watch
2021 | PHmuseum 2021 Photography Grant | finalist
2020 | Joop Swart Masterclass, World Press Photo
2020 | The Direct Look | 1st place in the problem category
2020 | Pictures of the Year International 77 | 1st place in the portrait category
2020 | "Life Framer-the human body| winner of 1st place
2020 | The Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards | winner
2019 | Selected for the 8th annual New York Portfolio Review
2019 | Imago Photo International Contest | winner of 1st place
2019 | Portraits-Hellerau Photography Award | winner of a residency grant
2018 | Leica Oskar Barnack Award | winner of Newcomer
2018 | Flash Forward Ward | winner
2017 | Istanbul Photo Awards | 1st place in the Portrait series category
2017 | International documentary film festival "ARTDOCFEST" | the director of the movie "Eternal memory"
2016 | Selected for Workshop with Mads Nissen and Mads Greve, Denmark
2016 | Vilnius Photo Circle | the finalist in the "Homework" category
Exhibitions and screening (selected)
2020 | Personal exhibition in Hellerau | Dresden, Germany
2020 | Aperture Gallery | NY, USA
2018 | Paris Photo, stand Leica | Paris, France
2018 | "Neuen Schule für Fotografie" | Berlin, Germany
2018 | Screening night of the Voies Off Festival | Arles, France
2018 | Center for Documentary Photography at Sakharov center | Moscow, Russia
2018 | Photographers Without Borders| Zahedan, Iran
2017 | International documentary film festival "ARTDOCFEST" | Moscow, Russia
2017 | U.N. headquarters | New York, USA
2017 | Cer Modern Arts Center | Ankara, Turkey
2017 | Folkart Gallery | Izmir, Turkey
2017 | Tophane-i-Amire Culture and Arts Centre | Istanbul, Turkey
2017 | Lumiere Brothers’ Center for Photography | Moscow, Russia
2017 | Kuala Lumpur International Photo awards | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2016 | Vilnius Photo Circle | Vilnius, Lithuania
Teaching, workshops, lectures, and other initiatives (selected)
2023 | Workshop for the Brussels Street Photography Festival
2020 | Photojournalism and documentary photography: VII Academy 12-week seminar with Mary Gelman and Maciek Nabrdalik | online
2019 | Artist Talk at the Arnulf Rainer Museum, Festival La Gacilly – Baden Photo | Baden (Austria)
2018 | Intensive workshop for journalists in Tomsk State University | Tomsk, Siberia
2018 | Book signing at the Paris Photo | Paris, France
2018 -2019 | Teaching own course of documentary photography at the "School of Academic Photography" | Saint Petersburg, Russia
2017 | Workshop for journalists in Tomsk State University | Tomsk, Siberia
2017 | Artist Talk at the Vilnius Photo Circle | Vilnius, Lithuania
Publications
Her works were published in Time, The Washington Post, Le Monde, Die Zeit, The New York Times, UNICEF, The Guardian, National Geographic and many others.
