Ioana Cîrlig is an artist working with photography. She studied Cinematography and started working as a photojournalist during school. Since 2012 she has been working as a freelance photographer and developing personal long-term projects. She also works as a photo editor and she co-founded a photo collective for projects focusing on environmental issues.
Projects
2012 – Ongoing, Post-Industrial Stories is a visual exploration of mining communities in Romania during the deindustrialization era. The project won multiple awards, including the Circulations Festival award (Paris) in 2019, the LensCulture Exposure Award (2nd place, 2014), and the Fotofilmic award (2015). It was exhibited internationally in cities such as Venice, London, New York, Vancouver, Seoul, The Hague, Kuala Lumpur, and more. The project was also published in Der Spiegel, The Guardian, F-Stop Magazine, Inge Morath Magazine, LensCulture, Vice, and others
2015 – Ongoing, This project is a visual exploration of the connection between humans and nature, myths, traditions, and beliefs in traditional communities across Romania
2016 – 2023, Co-founded the Documentary Photography Center with Petruț Călinescu, Ioana Călinescu, and Marin Raica. This association focused on independent documentary photography projects by artists from Romania and Moldova, supporting the production of over 20 new documentary projects and publishing several photo books
2017 – Ongoing, Initially focused on rare plant species in Romania and involving research centers in botany, this project evolved into a larger endeavor with essays, a podcast episode, and collaborations with artists working with visual and sound media. It was exhibited in France and presented at various festivals
2024, FRONT War Photography Exhibition Curated the war photography exhibition FRONT (23.02-24.03) featuring works by Vadim Ghirda and Larisa Kalik at Rezidența 9
2024 – Ongoing, FOC Collective Co-founded the FOC artist collective, which focuses on environmental projects at the intersection of documentary, art, and activism
Exhibitions and Contributions
2018 – Present, Photo Editor at Scena9
2021 Solo Exhibition at Fisheye Gallery, Paris
2022 Exhibited at ImageSingulières, Sete & USIMAGES, Creil
2022 Nature/Future? exhibition in Prague, Berlin, Stuttgart
2023 My Rhino is Not a Myth, Art Encounters Biennale, Timișoara
2021 – 2024, Participated in Reflexions 2.0 Photography Masterclass
2024 Ecology of the After Life Anca Poterasu Gallery
Zâne Breda Photo Biennale in the Netherlands
