Nadya is a Russian dissident visual artist. She graduated from BHSAD (University of Hertfordshire; B.A. in Fine Arts, 2020).
Most of the exhibitions Raplya participated in in her home country were underground in nature and dedicated to protesting against Putin’s regime and political oppression in Russia. She was one of the first artists in the AXYXY community (“The Worst Artists’ Association”), which brings together hundreds of dissident artists, many of whom are now being persecuted by the Russian government.
After the war broke out in 2022, Nadya Raplya was forced to leave Russia. She now lives in Berlin, works at an art startup, is part of the production team at the All Rights Reversed gallery, and participates in exhibitions across Europe. One of the most significant is “Artists Against the Kremlin” at De Balie in Amsterdam in August 2024. Recently, the production team, in collaboration with The Moscow Times, published a book with the same title—a catalog of protest art.
“In my practice, I use symbolism as a universal tool, not only to encode meanings, but to forge a direct emotional and intellectual connection with the viewer. My works explore migrant identity, repression, collective and personal memory, and the feeling of losing one’s homeland. However, unlike formalist strategies in contemporary art, I consciously construct my visual and conceptual system so that it is understandable not only to professional circles but also to a broader audience. Contemporary political art requires accessibility.”