Nadya Tolokonnikova

Nadya Tolokonnikova is a conceptual artist, musician, wanted criminal and creator of the protest collective Pussy Riot. She spent two years in Russian jail for her protest performance “Punk Prayer” (2012), which is widely considered one of the defining works of performance art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Her 2023 performance “Putin’s Ashes” and exhibition (Jeffrey Deitch, Dallas Contemporary, CONTAINER, OK Linz, Neue Nationalgalerie) landed her back on Russia’s wanted list.

In 2025, “POLICE STATE” premiered at MOCA Warehouse Los Angeles, but was shut down due to the nearby National Guard and anti-ICE protests that erupted in a clash of life-imitates-art. The performance was listed as a Defining Artwork of 2025 by ARTNews and Best Art Shows Around the World by Hyperallergic. The performance was then shown at MCA Chicago in October 2025.

Among her accolades of Time Woman of the Year, the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought, LennonOno Grant for Peace, Woodie Guthrie Prize, an Honorary Doctorate from RISD, Nadya also wears as a badge of honor the 2025 designation of Pussy Riot as an Extremist Organization by the Russian Federation.

She dreams of a day when the world will wake up to the news that Putin has died and that Ukraine is victorious. She currently lives in exile, and chooses to remain geographically anonymous. "