Beata Mak-Sobota

Beata Mak-Sobota serves as Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, while also holding positions on the Academy Senate and Faculty Council. Her academic leadership centers within the Glass Department's Integrative Design Studio where she supervises diploma-level students.

Educated at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Wrocław (graduated 1994), she specialized in Glass Design within the Ceramics and Glass program.

Mak-Sobota's research pioneers experimental approaches to glass as an artistic medium. She systematically explores flat glass's formal potential through kinetic objects and ultra-minimalist frameworks, employing thermal shaping techniques while integrating paints and hybrid materials like metal and paper. Her practice rigorously examines the visual impact achieved through precise material integration within defined functional and technical parameters. This work bridges traditional craftsmanship with contemporary conceptual art through material innovation.

Her recent publications and exhibitions demonstrate a clear trajectory toward interdisciplinary material exploration, particularly the fusion of glass with new media technologies and textual elements. The evolution from kinetic glass objects (2016) to audiovisual/transliteral works (2017-2018) reveals increasing complexity in material interactions and sensory engagement.

Her distinguished recognition includes:

• Good Design Award of the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw (1995)

As head of the Integrative Design Studio, Mak-Sobota mentors diploma students in advanced glass techniques and conceptual development. Her academic leadership is evidenced through Senate responsibilities and active conference participation, though specific grant funding details remain unreported in available sources.

She directs the Integrative Design Studio within the Glass Department, fostering experimental approaches that merge traditional glass craftsmanship with contemporary design methodologies and new media technologies.