Nadya Tolokonnikova

Nadya was born in Siberia, and attended University of Moscow. She was part of the performance art group “Voina”, along with Peter Verzilov and Kat from 2008-2011, and went on to create Pussy Riot in 2011 – with a desire to imbue feminist ideas into the performance art space.

Pussy Riot gained world attention in 2012 when their “Punk Prayer” video challenged Putin’s third presidential term, and called upon the Virgin Mary to become a feminist and chase Putin away. Though three members of the group, including Nadya, were tried in court for hooliganism, and served close to 2 years in jail, Pussy Riot grew into a decentralized movement, as well as receiving honors and awards such as the Hannah Arendt Prize, Time Woman of the Year, Woody Guthrie Prize and an honorary doctorate from RISD.

In 2023, Nadya’s Putin’s Ashes film and gallery show + performance at Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles, led to her being added to Russia’s “Most Wanted List”.

She has raised funds for Reproductive Rights, Freedom of press with MediaZona, Female and LGBTIQ+ artists, and support of Ukraine.