Oksana Parafeniuk

Oksana Parafeniuk (she/her) is an independent photographer based in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she explores the manifestations of human strength and dignity among people facing hardship. In addition to her personal projects, Oksana has worked with and published her work in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Die Zeit, NPR, NBC News, Libération, and many other outlets. She has also collaborated with Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, and other international humanitarian organizations.

She held a solo exhibition, War Threads, at the ICP Incubator Space in New York City in the summer of 2025, and another in Marseille, France, from February to April 2023. She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in Ukraine and in Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United States, and other countries.

Oksana’s photographs have been published in the following collective books: “War Chronicles: Ukraine 2014–2025,” FotoEvidence, 2025; “Ukraine: Love+War,” FotoEvidence, 2024; “Ukraine: A War Crime,” FotoEvidence, 2023; and “What We See: Women & Nonbinary Perspectives Through the Lens,” White Lion Publishing, 2023. She was a recipient of the Women Photograph Grant in 2024.

She is a member of Women Photograph and The Journal Collective. Oksana was an instructor at the National Geographic Photo Camp in Moldova in May 2023. She has completed Hostile Environment First Aid Training (HEFAT) and is PADI Advanced Open Water Diving certified. Oksana speaks fluent English, French, and Russian in addition to her native Ukrainian.