Ellina Zhanu

Ellina Zhanu was born in Nalchik, Russian Caucasus, in October 1988. She began painting at age 25 under the guidance of a locally prominent artist.

In 2016, Mihail Chemiakin, a prominent Russian nonconformist artist, selected Zhanu from over 100 applicants to participate in an exhibition at the National Museum of Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. In 2018, the Art Center in Nalchik hosted her first solo show, "Ellinizm: restarted," which took place on her thirtieth birthday. The opening event featured readings by Zhanu, her friends, theater actors, and local bloggers, along with jazz, rock, and R&B performances by the artist accompanied by local musicians, live classical music, and speeches.

In 2019, Zhanu was a special guest participant in the Roommates exhibition, which supported young and promising artists of the region. That year she also created illustrations for a published collection of musical miniatures now performed in Russian schools and for a poetry collection, and created graphic illustrations for film credits by a local documentary director.