VOLHA SHUKAILA

Volha Shukaila is a Belarusian photographer, photojournalist, and photo editor based in Warsaw, Poland. She was born in Minsk, Belarus, in 1988, and started her career as a photojournalist at the end of 2012.

She graduated from the Minsk State Technological College with a degree in photography and from the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts with a degree in culturology.

At the beginning of her career, Volha assisted wedding and commercial photographers and ran workshops on the basics of studio photography. She has been curating photos for personal and group exhibitions, as well as taking part in the organization process. From 2019 to 2020, she was a guest lecturer on photo editing at the Belarusian State University (Faculty of Advanced Studies and Retraining).

Volha began her career at TUT.BY Media, the largest independent online media in Belarus, in 2014 as a photo editor and part-time photo reporter. From 2017 to June 2021, she worked as a staff photo reporter at TUT.BY, covering events both in Belarus and abroad. On May 18, 2021, the authorities blocked and destroyed TUT.BY, and 15 of her colleagues, including the CEO, editor-in-chief, and journalists, were arrested. For safety reasons, Volha was forced to leave the country.

In Poland, Volha's primary focus is now on commercial photography, specializing in portraits, events, business breakfasts, conferences, and other types of shoots for private clients, businesses, and NGOs. She also continues to collaborate with media and an international photo agency, with professional interests that include migration, human rights, social issues, and women's empowerment.

Volha is open to working and collaboration opportunities in Poland and the EU.

PUBLICATIONS

TUT.BY, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Stern, National Geographic Poland, Vanity Fair, SLEEK Magazine, and others.

LANGUAGES
Belarusian, English, Polish, Russian