Ilia Yefimovich (born 1988) is a Russian-born Israeli documentary photographer and photojournalist known for his extensive coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, social issues, and territorial conflicts across Russia and the Middle East. His work, often characterized by an empathetic and observational style, has been featured by major news agencies and exhibited internationally.
Career Ilia Yefimovich’s professional career in photojournalism began in the mid-2000s, focusing heavily on regions defined by geopolitical tension and conflict. He served as a staff photographer for the Russian News agency ITAR TASS from 2009 to 2014, where he covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He later worked as a freelance photographer for Getty Images (2011–2017), German Press Agency (DPA) (2017-2025). He is a staff photographer for Agence France-Presse from November 2025. His photographs frequently appear in international publications, documenting day-to-day life alongside significant news events. Yefimovich co-founded "The Archive Magazine," an Israeli platform dedicated to promoting and showcasing documentary photography. He has shared his expertise by teaching photography at the Minshar art school and the Massa Jewish Agency, and has served as a curator for the Local Testimony exhibition in Israel from 2025.
Awards
2011. POYI (Picture of the Year International): Award of Excellence for Spot News and Finalist Award for impact (Gaza-Israel). 2011. Local Testimony: Winner of the "Photo of the Year" 2011. Lead Award (Germany): Photo of the Year. 2013. International Arte Laguna Prize: 1st place in the Under 25 category (Venice, Italy). 2023. Roi Idan Prize for War Coverage. 2024. POY Asia: First Place in General News. 2024. Uri Avnery Award For Courageous Journalism.
Exhibitions Solo
+ Selected Solo Exhibitions Year Title Location Notes 2010 Thought observing Palestina Israeli Cultural Center, Moscow, Russia 2012 Searching Mode : Landscape #001 Tavi Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel 2013 Portraits in the Landscape Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA), Moscow, Russia Part of the Photo Biennale. 2014 Searching Mode: Recreation Tel-Aviv Opera, Tel-Aviv, Israel 2014 Baked Land Fab-Lab Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel 2014 Once upon a time there was a light, light so bright that no one could see Agripas 12 Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel 2015 Reliance Minshar Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel 2015 Hard To Remember Art-Villa Gallery, Tuscany, Italy 2016 Once upon a time there was a light… Photo-Bibleoteka, Art-Play, Moscow, Russia 2016 A-Local Tsekh Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine 2016 A-local Froots Gallery, Shanghai, China Focuses on his work regarding territory and conflict. 2017 A-local Froots Gallery, Beijing, China 2019 in-diebus-illis Rotterdam Photography Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2020 paradox-of-apocalypse Rotterdam Photo Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2021 in-diebus-illis Perm, Russia 2025 Dairy of War Rotterdam Photography Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands Exhibit documenting the Israel-Gaza conflict (2023–2024).
Group 2011 – Graduation exhibition, Minshar Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel.Eretz Israel Museum, artist CV (PDF). 2012 – Group show, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. 2012 – Foto8 Summer Show, Foto8 Gallery, London, United Kingdom. 2012 – III Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, Moscow, Russia. 2013 – 7th Arte Laguna Prize exhibition (Under 25), Venice, Italy. 2013 – IAAB residency exhibition, Basel, Switzerland. 2013 – Liquid Borders group exhibitions, Gdynia, Poland, and venues in Romania. 2013 – 10th‑anniversary exhibition, Local Testimony, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel. 2014 – Group exhibition, Laura Haber Art Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2014 – Liquid Borders, MECA, Spain. 2015 – Untitled, Untitled Gallery, Barcelona, Spain. 2015 – Tel Aviv Photo Fair, Port Gallery, Jaffa, Israel. 2016 – PhotoBook Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. 2016 – Tabellae Innocentium, International Photography Festival, Jaffa, Israel. 2016 – A‑Local, Shanghai Photo Fair, Shanghai, China. 2017 – Without Borders, Circle1 Gallery, Berlin, Germany. 2017 – Kolga Award exhibition, Tbilisi, Georgia.Kolga Tbilisi Photo, artist page. 2018 – Le forme dell’attesa, Spazio Don Chisciotte, Fondazione Bottari Lattes / Areacreativa42, Turin, Italy.Fondazione Bottari Lattes, Le forme dell’attesa exhibition text.Different Magazine, coverage mentioning Ilia Yefimovich.DiariodelWeb Torino, events listing including Le forme dell’attesa. 2018 – Transform Europe, Vienna, Austria. 2018 – Stand P26, CMB, London Art Fair, London, United Kingdom. 2024 – South Album, Petah Tikva Museum of Art, Petah Tikva, Israel. 2024 – October 7 (October Seventh), ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, Tel Aviv, Israel.ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, October Seventh exhibition page.ANU – development site version of October Seventh.Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, October Seventh: A Visual and Sound Journey program.
References
Notes