Dara Petrova (Documentary Practice '25, Online) is the recipient of the 2026 Inge Morath Award, presented by Magnum Foundation, Magnum Photos, and the Inge Morath Estate. It is for Circle, a project she developed during her time in ICP's online program while based in Ukraine. Given annually to a woman or nonbinary photographer under the age of 30, the award honors the legacy of Magnum Photos member Inge Morath and was selected from a pool of over 100 applications. Petrova will receive a $7,500 production grant to support the completion of Circle.
Circle captures the gaze of a local woman on everyday life in Ukraine during the war years, who, “like all the others, feels guilty for being alive, guilty for not contributing enough, guilty for not winning, guilty for being a woman and escaping conscription so easily.” Documenting Kyiv techno raves held between curfews, veteran rehabilitation, soldier tattoos, and funeral ceremonies, Circle channels the internal state of those living through the conflict, exploring the guilt, grief, and acts of survival that define daily life.
“The pain is no longer only in the physical or material damage of the war, it is in what we inflict on ourselves to show that we are still alive.”
Petrova's project Circle was also shortlisted by the Sony World Photography Awards and exhibited at Somerset House, London; Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini, Milan; and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo, as part of the Sony World Photography Awards Travelling Exhibition (2026).
Born in Izmail, Ukraine, Petrova is a documentary photographer who obtained a Master's degree in Law from Odesa Law Academy in 2020, specializing in Social Security Law. She began photographing after fleeing Ukraine, and her work is driven by an interest in how individuals invent new forms of solidarity, exhaust themselves, fall into depression, or love one another.
"This programme will allow me to devote myself much more calmly and freely to my photography without having to juggle it with my day job. The spotlight on this series will also make it easier for me to gain access to certain institutions so that I can photograph them. Having only taken up photography three years ago, I didn't have enough of a track record to demonstrate the seriousness of my work," Dara Petrova told Magnum Foundation.
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Images: Dara Petrova
Dara Petrova
