Agata Szymanek

Agata Szymanek is a Doctor of Arts and Lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, where she co-runs the studio Art in Action / Social Therapy / Drawing as a Message with Professor Jolanta Jastrząb. Her work focuses on creating experimental pedagogical tools for artistic workshops, blending words and images to translate knowledge into artistic experiences.

• Education: Painting and doctoral studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice; Environmental Doctoral Studies program
• Collaborations: Institutions like Temporary Gallery (Cologne), Pilipczuk Gallery (Copenhagen), Stiftung Künstlerdorf (Schöppingen), and Zachęta National Gallery of Art (Warsaw)

Her research explores interdisciplinary intersections of art, education, and social therapy. She has received awards such as the 2021 Equal Award at the Lubelska Wiosna Biennale and the 2020 Silesian Voivodeship Cultural Scholarship. Szymanek founded the Otwarta Przestrzeń Mysłowice Foundation and leads projects like art-therapeutic workshops for oncology patients and queer-ecological initiatives.

• 2024: Art Basis - Gyumri AIR Residency
• 2023: ACC Galerie Weimar and Cologne Research Residency
• 2022: Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen Residency