Éva Szombat

Éva Szombat is a Hungarian photographer and lecturer at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) in Budapest. She holds a Master's degree in Photography from MOME (2012) and studied Visual Communication at Esag Penninghain in Paris. Currently pursuing her PhD while teaching across Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral programs in the Photography Department.

• Master's Degree in Photography, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (2012)
• Visual Communication studies at Esag Penninghain, Paris
• PhD candidate at MOME

Szombat's research focuses on photography as a medium for exploring happiness phenomena, mental well-being, and women's sexuality in Eastern European contexts. Her work critically examines how societal taboos around sexuality persist in Eastern Europe despite its media representation, with particular attention to women's liberation, trauma, and identity. She investigates how visual media can make the invisible visible and separate shame from sexuality through photographic practice.

Her most significant publication, I Want Orgasms, Not Roses (2022), represents a culmination of her research into women's sexuality, featuring portraits and interviews that document trauma, shame, desire, acceptance, and rebellion. This body of work has defined her recent artistic trajectory and established her as a significant voice in contemporary photography addressing gender and sexuality issues in Eastern Europe.

• Robert Capa Grand Prize, 2021
• Futures Talent, 2018
• Pécsi József Photography Grant
• Belfast Photo Festival Photo-Book Award 2023

Szombat has published her photographic work in major international publications including Vice, Huffington Post, GUP magazine, Vanity Fair Italy, and Vogue Spain. Her exhibitions have traveled internationally to Budapest, New York, Jerusalem, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lisbon, and Bogotá, with recent notable shows including SHADES OF HER at PUNCTUM Gallery in Tallinn (2024) and BODYSCAPE - Nude in Contemporary Hungarian Photography at the Budapest Photo Festival (2023). She maintains an active artistic practice while contributing to photography education at MOME.