Elizaveta Podgornaia was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has a background at the design school and academical education of painting and drawing. After two years studying Design at the State Art Industry Academy, she decided to move to Germany, where in October 2011 she started to study Communication Design at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, and after three semesters she switched to their Photography Department, which she graduated in March 2017 mentored by Prof. Gisela Bullacher and Prof. Christopher Muller. During her studies she developed strong skills as a photographer herself, as well as an organizer and coordinator. She organized an annual student’s show of Photography Department and a group exhibition BLICKБЛИК [blickblick] in St. Petersburg, that become a part of the MANIFESTA 10’s official parallel program. Her curatorial and organizational interests she developed by working in the gallery for young artists – Baustelle Schaustelle. Additionally, she did an internship at the Photography Department of Museum Folkwang, Essen. There, she worked close to Florian Ebner, who is now a Head of Photography Collection in Centre Pompidou, Paris. As an artist, she took part in several international exhibitions and did some solo and duo shows.
Looking for the experiences in the new surroundings, Elizaveta moved to Vienna in 2018 and is opened to any collaborations and exhibition opportunities all over the world. Since October 2021 she is based in Strasbourg and Paris.
Elizaveta Podgornaia 