Anton Zdanovich Wins 2026 Lenscratch Honorable Mention for 'Numto'

Key facts

• Anton Zdanovich won the 2026 Lenscratch Student Prize Honorable Mention for his project 'Numto'.
• The prize includes a $500 cash award, a feature on Lenscratch, a mini exhibition on the Curated Fridge, and a Lenscratch T-shirt and tote.
• Zdanovich is a third-year student at the Academy of Documentary and Art Photography 'Fotografika' in Saint Petersburg.
• The project documents Indigenous Khanty and Nenets communities near Lake Numto in Western Siberia.
• The work addresses historical trauma, including the Kazym uprising of the late 1920s, and contemporary issues like wolf predation on reindeer herds and language loss.
• Zdanovich's photographs have been exhibited at the State Hermitage Museum and the VAiF25 Visual Arts International Festival in Thessaloniki, where he won.
• His work has appeared in Takie Dela, Verstka, Zapovednik, F-Stop Magazine, and Progressive-Street Magazine.
• Zdanovich began photography in 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• He credits Ekaterina Bogachevskaya, director of Fotografika, as a major influence.
• He plans to return to the Kazym River basin in August to continue his project.