Hello,

I am Khatia Nikabadze, a documentary photographer and filmmaker from Georgia, South Caucasus. I completed bachelor's degree in philosophy with a minor program in classical philology, and master's degree in educational psychology. In different years, I worked in private and public schools, both in Tbilisi and in mountainous regions, in small villages. I taught Georgian language to Azerbaijani students, I was a tutor and also a teacher of students with special needs. During my master's degree, I worked as a librarian in the library of Ilia State University. My active working period in documentary photography and short documentaries covers the years 2019 - 2021. During this time I lived in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti and photographed the daily life of local Azerbaijanis and Doukhobors and their special days - holidays, rituals, customs. My photos have participated in a number of international and local competitions and exhibitions (see below).
Now I am raising my only child.
I think I've been a photographer all my life without having a camera or knowing photography. My memory is filled with pictures that it has captured forever from my deepest childhood. I tried to turn documentary photography into a profession quite late. But still, all this time, I am always busy with other work and in my imagination or in my dreams I'm going to photograph wherever my heart takes me. That's why I sometimes call myself a mental photographer and traveler.
Photo story “Georgian Azerbaijanis and The Spring Jubilee” is published in the first printed photo book of Chai Khana Media – “Fragments of a Whole”. Book cover image by Tako Robakidze.
Photo story “Georgian Azerbaijanis and The Spring Jubilee” is published in the first printed photo book of Chai Khana Media – “Fragments of a Whole”. Book cover image by Tako Robakidze.
Photo "The Young Lambs at a Livestock Market" published in KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO BOOK
Photo "The Young Lambs at a Livestock Market" published in KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO BOOK
Photo “Crescent Moon From My Balcony” is published in Pretty Vacant Magazine. Left Image by Ika Margania.
Photo “Crescent Moon From My Balcony” is published in Pretty Vacant Magazine. Left Image by Ika Margania.
No Man's Land #18 EYESHOT MAGAZINE The #18 issue of Eyeshot Magazine is a bold and intimate tribute to women in street and documentary photography. Titled “No Man’s Land” this edition is entirely dedicated to celebrating the female presence in public space — as a political gesture, an everyday stance, a spontaneous act, or a deliberate intervention.
No Man's Land #18 EYESHOT MAGAZINE The #18 issue of Eyeshot Magazine is a bold and intimate tribute to women in street and documentary photography. Titled “No Man’s Land” this edition is entirely dedicated to celebrating the female presence in public space — as a political gesture, an everyday stance, a spontaneous act, or a deliberate intervention.
Awards:

Shortlisted for the Witness Your Country Photo Contest by Leica Camera Central Azia and Caucasus, 2026:

CEWE Photo Award 2025: 

3rd public prize at Swiss Photo Club (SPC) Photo Awards Geneve, June 2025: 

Honorable mention in the category Best Documentary Photo Reflecting Eu Values at Eu Prize for Journalism 2023: 

Preselected talent among 50 professional women photographers for IWPA Award 2023:
https://iwpa.fr/edition-2023/

Shortlisted for the Global Peace Photo Award 2022:
https://globalpeacephotoaward.org/submissions/shortlist-2022

Silver winner in People/Culture category at Budapest Photo Awards 2021:
https://budapestfotoawards.com/winners/bifa/2021/5870/

Shortlisted in One Shot category at Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award 2020:
https://kolga.ge/users/khatia-nikabadze

Finalist of National Geographic Instagram photography contest “natgeo100contest” 2019:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/natgeo100-photo-contest-winners



Exhibitions:

Swiss Photo Club (SPC) Photo Awards Geneve, Galerie Renaissance, June 2025:
Xposure International Photography Festival 9 - 15 February 2023, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, represented by Global Peace Photo Award:

Going East: A visual journey into the new Eastern Europe. Project by ImageNation Paris, exhibition at Photon Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022:

New Eyes: New waves of the Eastern contemporary photography. Project by ImageNation Paris, exhibition at Galerie Joseph Le Palais, Paris, France, 2022:

Within the European week “Do you know Georgia?” my personal photo exhibition “Caucasian landscapes – Georgia” and screening of my short documentary movie “Dasha” at the university of Regensburg, Germany, 2022:

Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival at the section of Women Street Photographers, Malaysia, 2021:
https://www.womenstreetphotographers.com/photographers-iii#/khatia-nikabadze/

Fragments of a whole - Book launch and photo exhibition of Chai Khana media with Kolga Tbilisi Photo at Artarea, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2021:
https://chaikhana.media/en/news/event/151


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