Toma Gerzha (b. 2003) grew up in Moscow, Kolchugino, Lukhovitsy, and still speaks Russian language. Her family moved to the Netherlands in 2009.
She has successfully completed her Photography Studies at the Dutch Academy for Visual Creation in 2019. Gerzha first gained public notice on the Internet with her project “.ru” (2023), which included photographic work created using artificial intelligence. Toma has become widely known for her animation-based reels. Currently she studies Art History at the University of Amsterdam.
Her works are in collection of Cultural Association MoCA, University of the Arts London, Saint Petersburg State University (Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences), Farm Cultural Park, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts.
Since 2023, Gerzha is an artist-resident at the creative studio Treehouse, located on the NDSM-Wharf in Amsterdam.
She has successfully completed her Photography Studies at the Dutch Academy for Visual Creation in 2019. Gerzha first gained public notice on the Internet with her project “.ru” (2023), which included photographic work created using artificial intelligence. Toma has become widely known for her animation-based reels. Currently she studies Art History at the University of Amsterdam.
Her works are in collection of Cultural Association MoCA, University of the Arts London, Saint Petersburg State University (Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences), Farm Cultural Park, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts.
Since 2023, Gerzha is an artist-resident at the creative studio Treehouse, located on the NDSM-Wharf in Amsterdam.
Grants & awards
2024
Nominee, Redkollegia Award (May)
2023
Finalist, Castelfiorentino Prize for the Arts
Juror’s Pick, OD Photo Prize
Finalist, Paris Photo: Carte Blanche Etudiants
Winner, Fotografia Calabria Award
Finalist, Encontros da Imagem: Discovery Awards
Honorable mention, CitiesToBe Photo Award
Winner, Rotterdam Photo Festival: Best Exhibition Award
Finalist, TPF: Social Documentary Photography Awards (Series)
Winner, TPF: Social Documentary Photography Awards (Single Image)
Partial Tuition Merit Scholarship, Chico Review
Winner, Arte Laguna Special Prize’17
Finalist, Arte Laguna Prize’17
Residencies
2023 - 2025: Treehouse, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2023: Farm Cultural Park, Mazzarino (Italy)
Lectures, workshops & open studios
2023
OPEN ATELIERS AMSTERDAM-NOORD, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NDSM OPEN, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Artist Talk about ‘Family Tree’ for Inaugural Conferences of Countless Cities, Mazzarino
24H NOORD: OPEN STUDIOS, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Artist Talk about ‘ctrl+r’ project for Rotterdam Photo Festival, Netherlands
Exhibitions & festivals (selected)
2024
THE LANGUAGE OF PICTURES, Festival OFF, Arles, France
FAR AWAY FROM HOME, 9:16 Gallery, Porto, Portugal (solo)
MANIFESTA’15, Barcelona, Spain
RIETVELD UNCUT, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
MUTANTX, Biennale de l’Image Possible, Liège, Belgium
2023
REGENERATE, Noorderlicht Fotofestival, Groningen, Netherlands
HEAD ON PHOTO FESTIVAL, Delmar Gallery, Sydney, Australia
CASTELFIORENTINO PRIZE, Teatro del Popolo, Castelfiorentino, Italy
OD PHOTO PRIZE, Photobook Café, London, UK
EI: DISCOVERY AWARDS, Encontros da Imagem, Braga, Portugal
KVARTIRKA, Upscale Galerie, Rotterdam, Netherlands (solo)
FAMILY TREE, Farm Cultural Park, Mazzarino, Italy (solo)
PAST & PRESENT, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
DOCA, IGUMO, Moscow, Russia
TPF: SOCIAL DOC. PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, Photobook Café, London, UK
ARTE LAGUNA PRIZE’17, Arsenale Nord, Venice, Italy
LIEBEN BELEBT, Smol Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
EXPOSITION DE NOËL, Hilton Hotel, Paris, France
CTRL+R, Rotterdam Photo, Rotterdam, Netherlands (solo)
АДРЕСА(Н)ТЫ, Pentagon, Vorkuta, Russia
2022
SPIEL ALLEIN, Gallery 46, London, UK
8x12, FLOOR_, Seoul, South Korea
ART MONDAY, Monday Studio, Copenhagen, Denmark
XSAMEN, Loods 6, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NAMELESS PEOPLE, NAMELESS COUNTRY, C-LAB, Amsterdam, Netherlands (solo)
Fairs
2024
POLYCOPIES, Paris, France
UNSEEN: PHOTOBOOK FAIR, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2023
POLYCOPIES, Paris, France
ART EXPLOSION, Assen, Netherlands
THE LAST BATH, Badhuis Oedipus, Amsterdam, Netherlands
THE CREATIVE LAB, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
FORMAT23: THE PERFORMING PHOTOBOOK, Derby Museum on The Wardwick, Derby, UK
Screenings
2024
RENCONTRES PHOTOGRAPHIE, Marrakech, Morocco
GASTREET SHOW, Sochi, Russia
NUR NOW, The multimedia historical park, Kazan, Russia
2023
THE ADVENT VISUAL ART TOUR, Middelburg, Netherlands
15TO10, TIFF, Toronto, Canada
PAST & PRESENT, ZIRKA, Munich, Germany
REVELA’T: PATHS, Vilassar de Dalt, Spain
BECOMING MONUMENTAL, Autograph’s Gallery, London, UK
Selected publications
Takie Dela, De Volkskrant, FK, Villamedia, Marie Claire Belgique, Marie Claire Italia, ELLE Korea, RBC, Le Soir, British Journal of Photography, Paris Photo, Afisha
Selected clients
Universal Music Group, Dualtone Records, Anton tut ryadom, Warner Records, Promised Land Music, Sony Music France, Nationale Opera & Ballet, Animatsia i Kinofilmi
Education
BA Art History
· University of Amsterdam, 2026
BA (Hons) Photography
· Gerrit Rietveld Academie, 2024
· University of Arts London, 2023
Photography Studies
· Dutch Academy for Visual Creation, 2019
2024
Nominee, Redkollegia Award (May)
2023
Finalist, Castelfiorentino Prize for the Arts
Juror’s Pick, OD Photo Prize
Finalist, Paris Photo: Carte Blanche Etudiants
Winner, Fotografia Calabria Award
Finalist, Encontros da Imagem: Discovery Awards
Honorable mention, CitiesToBe Photo Award
Winner, Rotterdam Photo Festival: Best Exhibition Award
Finalist, TPF: Social Documentary Photography Awards (Series)
Winner, TPF: Social Documentary Photography Awards (Single Image)
Partial Tuition Merit Scholarship, Chico Review
Winner, Arte Laguna Special Prize’17
Finalist, Arte Laguna Prize’17
Residencies
2023 - 2025: Treehouse, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2023: Farm Cultural Park, Mazzarino (Italy)
Lectures, workshops & open studios
2023
OPEN ATELIERS AMSTERDAM-NOORD, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NDSM OPEN, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Artist Talk about ‘Family Tree’ for Inaugural Conferences of Countless Cities, Mazzarino
24H NOORD: OPEN STUDIOS, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Artist Talk about ‘ctrl+r’ project for Rotterdam Photo Festival, Netherlands
Exhibitions & festivals (selected)
2024
THE LANGUAGE OF PICTURES, Festival OFF, Arles, France
FAR AWAY FROM HOME, 9:16 Gallery, Porto, Portugal (solo)
MANIFESTA’15, Barcelona, Spain
RIETVELD UNCUT, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
MUTANTX, Biennale de l’Image Possible, Liège, Belgium
2023
REGENERATE, Noorderlicht Fotofestival, Groningen, Netherlands
HEAD ON PHOTO FESTIVAL, Delmar Gallery, Sydney, Australia
CASTELFIORENTINO PRIZE, Teatro del Popolo, Castelfiorentino, Italy
OD PHOTO PRIZE, Photobook Café, London, UK
EI: DISCOVERY AWARDS, Encontros da Imagem, Braga, Portugal
KVARTIRKA, Upscale Galerie, Rotterdam, Netherlands (solo)
FAMILY TREE, Farm Cultural Park, Mazzarino, Italy (solo)
PAST & PRESENT, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
DOCA, IGUMO, Moscow, Russia
TPF: SOCIAL DOC. PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, Photobook Café, London, UK
ARTE LAGUNA PRIZE’17, Arsenale Nord, Venice, Italy
LIEBEN BELEBT, Smol Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
EXPOSITION DE NOËL, Hilton Hotel, Paris, France
CTRL+R, Rotterdam Photo, Rotterdam, Netherlands (solo)
АДРЕСА(Н)ТЫ, Pentagon, Vorkuta, Russia
2022
SPIEL ALLEIN, Gallery 46, London, UK
8x12, FLOOR_, Seoul, South Korea
ART MONDAY, Monday Studio, Copenhagen, Denmark
XSAMEN, Loods 6, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NAMELESS PEOPLE, NAMELESS COUNTRY, C-LAB, Amsterdam, Netherlands (solo)
Fairs
2024
POLYCOPIES, Paris, France
UNSEEN: PHOTOBOOK FAIR, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2023
POLYCOPIES, Paris, France
ART EXPLOSION, Assen, Netherlands
THE LAST BATH, Badhuis Oedipus, Amsterdam, Netherlands
THE CREATIVE LAB, Treehouse, Amsterdam, Netherlands
FORMAT23: THE PERFORMING PHOTOBOOK, Derby Museum on The Wardwick, Derby, UK
Screenings
2024
RENCONTRES PHOTOGRAPHIE, Marrakech, Morocco
GASTREET SHOW, Sochi, Russia
NUR NOW, The multimedia historical park, Kazan, Russia
2023
THE ADVENT VISUAL ART TOUR, Middelburg, Netherlands
15TO10, TIFF, Toronto, Canada
PAST & PRESENT, ZIRKA, Munich, Germany
REVELA’T: PATHS, Vilassar de Dalt, Spain
BECOMING MONUMENTAL, Autograph’s Gallery, London, UK
Selected publications
Takie Dela, De Volkskrant, FK, Villamedia, Marie Claire Belgique, Marie Claire Italia, ELLE Korea, RBC, Le Soir, British Journal of Photography, Paris Photo, Afisha
Selected clients
Universal Music Group, Dualtone Records, Anton tut ryadom, Warner Records, Promised Land Music, Sony Music France, Nationale Opera & Ballet, Animatsia i Kinofilmi
Education
BA Art History
· University of Amsterdam, 2026
BA (Hons) Photography
· Gerrit Rietveld Academie, 2024
· University of Arts London, 2023
Photography Studies
· Dutch Academy for Visual Creation, 2019