Sebastian Wells (b. 1996, based between Berlin and Kyiv) merges documentary photography, writing, and publishing to investigate power structures, political staging and cultural production.

A member of OSTKREUZ photographer’s agency since 2019, he undertakes editorial and commercial assignments, participates in exhibitions, and produces his own publications, including Arena, published with Spector Books in 2026.

As co-founder of Solomiya Magazine, he navigates the artistic scenes of Kyiv, Berlin, and beyond, exploring magazine publishing as a political, artistic, and transnational practice.

Get in touch!

Press

NÉPSZAVA: Ukrán életigenlés az oroszok háborújában
ZEIT ONLINE: Vor Ort sieht Olympia so anders aus
Kitchen Conversations Podcast: From Berlin to Kyiv - A Magazine Journey
Courrier international: Ces semaines où Paris chantait : la fête olympique vue par Sebastian Wells
WePresent: Solomiya - The Ukrainian magazine helping artists to reckon with life at war
ZEIT ONLINE: Das waren die Olympischen Spiele
London Short Film Festival: Martyna Ratnik conversation with Ivanna Kozachenko and Sebastian Wells
The Guardian: ‘We created our own weapon’: the anti-invasion magazines defying Putin in Ukraine
Magculture: At work with Sebastian Wells, Solomiya
Digifotopro.nl: La Rada di Augusta van Sebastian Wells
Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Fotoblog „Across the Great Wall“ – Ein anderer Blick auf Olympia
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Fotograf Sebastian Wells: „Ich schlendere oft ziellos umher“
Lenscuture: Utopia - Feature
OSTKREUZ: Podcast - Kontinent - Auf der Suche nach Europa
Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Bewegende Bilder – was darf Sportfotografie?

Books

2026	Arena, Take 1: Facing the Spectacle, Spector Books, 2026

Selected Exhibitions

2026	Group Exhibition, Berlin on Camera - 100 Years of Photography and the Press, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin
2026	Solo Exhibition, ARENA, Galerie Springer, Berlin
2024	Solo Exhibition, Typ/Traube/Tross, Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin
2024	Solo Exhibition, La Rada di Augusta, Galerie Focale, Nyon
2024	Solo Exhibition, Eine Sportschau, Institut français, Berlin
2023	Group Exhibition, A Garden Of Roots, HSBI WERKSCHAU 2023, Bielefeld
2022	Artist Talk and Group Exhibition, Solomiya № 1, Galerie Springer, Berlin
2022	Group Exhibition, Kontinent, OSTKREUZ Agentur, Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, Frankfurt
2021	Group Exhibition, Kontinent, OSTKREUZ Agentur, Kunsthalle Erfurt
2021	Solo Exhibition, La Rada di Augusta, Artphilein Foundation, Lugano
2020	Group Exhibition, Kontinent, OSTKREUZ Agentur, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
2020	Group Exhibition, Framing Identity, Museum for Photography, Braunschweig
2019	Solo Exhibition, Anhänger, Galerie Fenster, Eberswalde
2018	Group Exhibition, Olympia, at Lumix Festival, Hannover
2018	Group Exhibition, Sharing Spaces, Feldfuenf Project Gallery, Berlin

Awards and Residencies

2025	Grand Prix, Art Directors Club Germany
2024	Artist in Residence, Cité internationale des Arts, Paris
2024	Gold, Art Directors Club Germany
2024	Gold, Art Directors Club Europe
2024	Distinction, Joseph Binder Award, Vienna
2023	German Peace Prize for Photography, Osnabrück
2023	Nomination for the Story of the Year, Stern Preis 2023, Hamburg
2023	Portraits Hellerau Photography Award, Dresden
2023	Gold, Art Directors Club Germany
2023	Distinction, Art Directors Club Germany
2023	Bronze, Art Directors Club Europe
2022	Award of the Jury, Les Boutographies, Montpellier
2019	Finalist, Leica Oscar Barnack Award, Berlin
2019	Winner, New Talent Award at Photo Month, Belgrade
2018	Winner, FOLA Photobook Award, Buenos Aires
2018	Winner, Art Competition, Münzenberg Forum, Berlin
2017	Young Talent Prize, Dumont Journalism Awards 2016, Halle an der Saale
2017	1st Prize, VDS Sportsphoto of the Year 2016, Dortmund

Curating

2025	Solomiya Studio, KVOST - Kunstverein Ost, Berlin
2025	After Now - Navigating Peace, Goethe Institut, Sarajevo

Imprint

Sebastian Wells
c/o OSTKREUZ – Photographer’s Agency
Behaimstraße 34
13086 Berlin
mail@ostkreuz.de

© for the photographs: Sebastian Wells, 2016-2025
© for the music: Doomscroll Shame by Poly Chain, 2025