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  1. Ela Polkowska is a photographer from Poland, based in Sweden, interested in documenting people, places and objects on the margins of everyday life and subjects relegated from the dominant public memory or hidden from consciousness. She studied Art History and Film Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. From 2013 to 2014 she participated in the Mentorship Programme by Sputnik Photos, in 2019 graduated from the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava, the Czech Republic. She was a participant of the 2nd cycle of PARALLEL - European Photo based Platform (2018-2019). Currently studies at Valand Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden.

    Exhibitons:

    2020: RESET, Futures Digital Festival
    2020: What are the emerging artists talking about in Europe today?, Futures Digital Festival
    2020: Assembled horizons, HDK-Valand, Gothenburg, Sweden
    2020: Athens Photo Festival 2020, Benaki Museum / Pireos, Athens, Greece
    2020: Photometria 2020 - Parallel Voices, Soufari Serai, Ioannina, Greece
    2020: THE CENSORED EXHIBITION, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Kopenhagen, Denmark
    2020: The Nature of The Beast, Riga Photomonth, Riga, Latvia
    2020: Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards, Aperture Gallery, New York, USA
    2019: PARALLEL Review, Lisbon, Portugal
    2019: Bird in Flight Prize ‘19, Set Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
    2019: Valley of the Strange, ISSP Gallery, Riga, Latvia
    2019:  Zeitgeist, The Capa Center, Budapest, Hungary
    2018: Parallel Intersection, Organ Vida - International Photography Festival, Zagreb, Croatia
    2017: When Objects Are Always Similar - Potencja Gallery, Krakow, Poland (solo)
    2017: No problem, Potencja Gallery, Krakow, Poland
    2015: Hunter, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Format Festival, Derby, England

    Grants and awards:

    Futures photography platform (nominated by Photofestival Łódź)
    Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award - Splinter shortlisted in Documentary category
    Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award - Firmly Pinch The Skin Together shortlisted in Conceptual category
    Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award - 3 images shortlisted in One Shot category
    2019 Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Award for Splinter
    14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers honarable mention for Splinter
    Bird in Flight Prize '19 shortlisted for Splinter
    Bird in Flight’s Panasonic Readers’ Choice Award shortlisted for Splinter
    Bird in Flight’s Panasonic Readers’ Choice Award shortlisted for Firmly Pinch The Skin Together
    Polish Culture Around the World grant, 2019
    Selected Artist, PARALLEL - European Photo Based Platform, 2nd Cycle
    2018 Gomma Grant shortlisted for Splinter

    Publications:

    Verk. Nr 1 - 2021: Reflection
    Futures 2020 selected artists         - e-zine published by Photo Romania Festival
    British Journal of Photography, Futures unveils its first digital photography festival
    Futures Platform, Ela Polkowska
    Futures Platform, Fotofestiwal Lodz announces its talents for 2020
    F-Stop Magazine, Still Life 2020
    Vogue Polska, To jest ich rok
    Valley of the Strange – exhibition catalogue, ISSP Gallery, ed. Eric Lawton, Riga 2019
    Parallel Atlas, Lisbon 2019
    FK Magazine - Firmly Pinch The Skin Together
    Der Greif, Guest-Room curated by Matthew Leifheit
    GUP60 - „Splinter” published in the Porfolio section of the GUP magazine, no 60, 2019
    GUP Magazine, Splinter
    NO.03 – a group publication of Sputnik Photos Mentoring Program, Warsaw 2015