Hop, Hug, Hooray! Illustration Connects Us

Hashtag (topic)

#photography & visual arts

#language & literature

#design

#Features

Nagłówek super artykułu

Title on page in header

Hop, Hug, Hooray!
Illustration Connects Us

Image or video

sokolowska_03_copy_3.jpg

Podpis dla multimediów

An illustration for the book ‘To Jest Maks’ (This Is Max), illustrations: Justyna Sokołowska, text: Patryk Pufelski, photo: Dwie Siostry (Two Sisters) publishing house

Header text color

rgb(255, 255, 255)

Enable audio for video

Off

Negative header audio button

Wyłączony

Negative side audio button

Wyłączony

Zawartość (treść strony Super Artykułu)

Tekst

They’re young, ambitious, and already accomplished – and yet they continue to want more. Fifteen Polish artists, shaping the aesthetic taste and sensitivity of youngsters and adults alike, are setting out to conquer the hearts and imaginations of the Bolognese audience. They have been invited to cooperate with Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna, an art critic and historian. The researcher has curated the project titled Hi! Picture This!, for the purposes of which Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka created her own visual interpretation of Bologna (‘Bologna a testa in su’) and Urszula Palusińska prepared a poster; on top of that, the project includes workshops (one with Gosia Herba in Salaborsa and one with Anna Kaźmirak w MAMbo) as well as Paweł Mildener’s individual exhibition in the Inuit gallery. The highlight of the programme is an exposition titled Hop, Hug, Hooray! New Children’s Book Illutration from Poland. The events have been facilitated by a collaboration between the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Italian Hamelin Association.

Text size

standard fonts size

Fullscreen gallery items

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book 'My Grandma, My Grandpa,' text by Małgorzata Swędrowska, illustrations by Joanna Bartosik, photo by Wytwórnia Publishing House.

Text position

left bottom

Tekst

Wincencjusz-Patyna, author of numerous studies devoted to illustration, had no doubts that the exhibition ought to take place in Bologna – the world centre of children’s book – and that it should coincide with the annual international Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Happily, everything worked out. We visited a few prospective venues, eventually settling on Teatro Testoni, an institution specialising in performances for children and adolescents, one that has cooperated with the fair for a long time now

– informs the curator. At the same time, she wanted to avoid creating something akin to portfolios of particular artists. Once she had known that the space she would have at her disposal would include three halls forming an enfilade, her idea metamorphosed into a concrete plan:

Text size

standard fonts size

My guiding idea was that of togetherness. That’s why one of the halls is for celebrating together, the second one – for living together: working, playing, spending time with each other. And, finally, we’re in nature and for nature together. Nature has always been a strong presence in Polish illustration, even in its traditional, pre-World War Two iteration, afterwards especially in its post-war golden age, but also now – and not only on the wave of increasing environmental consciousness.

Text size

standard fonts size

Fullscreen gallery items

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book 'Holidays All Year Round', illustrations by Gosia Kulik, photo: Wytwórnia Publishing House

Text position

left top

Tekst

When enquired about the distinguishing characteristics of Polish school of illustration, a phenomenon lasting throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, Wincencjusz-Patyna starts off by listing – paradoxically – variety. She adds:

Text size

standard fonts size

Of course, then one can search for commonalities, such as humour, intellect, striving to employ the kind of shorthand that’s characteristic for poster art – which resulted from the designers’ activity in a variety of fields – as well as the references to Poland’s rich folklore.

And it’s variety that continues to be a major strength of Polish illustration. I hope that the exhibition conveys that

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

– the curator concludes. The works of Polish illustrators will be featured in Teatro Testoni from 20 March to 15 April 2025.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Urszula Palusińska: to keep up with change

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

The keyword ‘together’ corresponds to the guiding idea of Polish Presidency of the EU Council. The cultural events organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute are taking place under the banner ‘Culture sparks unity’.

Right column

The technique we employed to print the poster allowed for the layering and intermingling of patches of colour and typography.

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Is It Long, or Short?’, illustrations: Urszula Palusińska, text: Izabela Zięba, photo: Dwie Siostry (Two Sisters) publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

Urszula started off in the field of animation, in which she saw a future for herself. Shortly after graduation, she heard that the Czulent Jewish Association was looking for an illustrator for a Yiddish poetry collection. She submitted her portfolio and was invited to cooperate with them. She was entrusted with the creation of images to accompany Jehoszue Kaminski’s lyrics, which present the Jewish alphabet. Urszula created expressive drawings in a style resembling the technique of woodblock printing. The book Majn Alef Bejs won the first prize in the non-fiction category at world’s most prestigious children’s book illustration competition. 'By virtue of the masterful design, the book strikes one as simultaneously traditional and contemporary' – said the jury in their justification. 2024 Bologna Ragazzi Award proved to be a turning point in the artist’s career. In conversation with Culture.pl, she confesses:

Text size

standard fonts size

At that point, illustration comprised only a small part of my artistic activity. I didn’t yet understand the potential of children’s books and didn’t expect to be professionally involved with it long-term. It was only in Bologna that I saw this form of art for what it is, when I came into contact with small-scale publishers experimenting with the poetics of picture books for which there really is no upper age limit. It was quite a discovery for me.

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

For a certain period of time, illustration became her main area of artistic and professional pursuits. However, in her case, the word ‘variety’ isn’t just a catchphrase.

Right column

Urszula works as an academic teacher at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at Jan Matejko Academy of Arts in Kraków, which is where she obtained her degree. During our conversation at the end of February, I asked who her inspirations were.

Tekst

What she values most about animation is the opportunity to work via multiple channels: image, sound, time. However, she points to the prolonged process of creation, due to which 'film doesn’t keep up with how the person changes':

Text size

standard fonts size

The process, due to being stretched over time, causes me to lose the ability to make decisions confidently. That’s why I started to intuitively select techniques and materials that require consistency and don’t allow me to backtrack on my choices. Working digitally allows for constant changes – unlike ceramics, which I currently pursue. Each stage of work is frozen, each shape, once baked, cannot be altered, the process of glazing cannot be undone either. There’s an element of surprise here, of lack of control.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Is It Long, or Short?’, illustrations: Urszula Palusińska, text: Izabela Zięba, photo: Dwie Siostry (Two Sisters) publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

The book Is It Long, or Short?, written by Izabela Zięba and illustrated by Urszula Palusińska, concerns the relativity of time. 30-minutes on a walk with one’s dog can pass quickly when the weather is brilliant and one can have a chat with a friend, but it can feel like a long time when it rains, 'and the dog crosses paths with two cats, and the three have a wrestling session in the mud' [trans. AP]. The flawless combination of humour and philosophical reflection is enhanced by contrastive images composed largely of black blots of ink. The artist informs that the illustrations were a result of 'improvising with paintbrush and ink, searching for a form and shape for the characters.' Finished elements were then digitally rendered – proportion were changed, colour was added – and yet brush strokes and lack of total control are still noticeable. The artist’s trademark move is to enrich the black-and-white composition with one dominant colour, sometimes complemented by a touch of another one.

Text size

standard fonts size

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a weakness for yellow. During adolescence, I felt ashamed of this rather obvious choice and searched for a quirkier colour preference. When I grew up, I returned to yellow, whose energetic quality suits me best. In my work, I’m particularly drawn to strong contrasts in terms of colour, form, and composition.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

This fascination and consistency are visible in Urszula’s book Lazing About, Facing the Sky (one in a yellow cover) in which daily activities – such as reading the newspaper, fixing the roof, or learning to swim – are presented from two complementary yet non-obvious perspectives. The artist creates her illustrations at home and makes her ceramic pieces in a space she shares with a few other people. Although artsy chaos can be charming, she does her best not to succumb to it – she likes to start her work by sitting down at a tidy desk. She collects coloured paper sheets – sometimes she buys them, often she paints them herself; her drawer is full of scraps of paper. Moreover, she confesses:

Text size

standard fonts size

I’m not a tool fetishist. There are many people who are highly skilled at their art medium and they meticulously explore different tools, searching for ones they like best. I approach tools somewhat nonchalantly, which might change at some appoint. Maybe it’s because I change my medium often, and so I haven’t immersed myself in any specific technique enough to become an enthusiast of any particular tool.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Paweł Mildner: the engineer poet

Tasting Ice Cream in All Flavours, one can immerse oneself in dreamland. For Paweł Mildner, author of the picture book of this title, the creation process starts from the very moment the pencil touches paper. He made his first drawing, depicting a train, on the wall over his bed. His mature works, too, have a certain imperfect, childlike quality of a handmade drawing, but they also exhibit nonchalance and a sense of freedom, as well as indomitable joy of creation. Studying art history at the University of Wrocław, he learned, for instance, that an image is constructed in a specific way, how it affects the viewer, and that it’s anchored in a broader cultural context.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Ice Cream in All Flavours’, illustration and text: Paweł Mildner, photo: Dwie Siostry (Two Sisters) publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

That’s one of the things he discusses in an interview conducted by Patryk Mogilnicki for the book Nie Ma Się Co Obrażać: Nowa Polska Ilustracja (No Use Taking Offence: New Polish Illustration). He also mentions that he had been taught 'how to by think up intricate connections between a long-forgotten Talking Heads album, New York graffiti art scene of the 1970s, a certain shoe model, and one comic book – with flair that impresses everyone around' And although 'there was almost no mention of illustration or graphic design' while he was at university, he ended up embarking on this very career path.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Ice Cream in All Flavours’, illustrations and text: Paweł Mildner, photo: Dwie Siostry (Two Sisters) publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

Paweł begins his creative process with visual research: he leafs through his sketchbooks, browses the web, watches old detective films, closely observes the world. He values a clever idea more than uniqueness of form. Toe avoid getting stuck in a rut, he works on multiple projects at the same time. He says he’s 'a little like a poet, a little like an engineer,' referring not to technique but the relationship between craftsmanship and content. In Ice Cream in All Flavours, he shows daily life filtered through the ungovernable imagination of the child protagonists, Oskar and Ola. It’s a book of wishes: 'To have a strong friend,' 'To be all spotted,' or 'To visit a snail’s shell.'

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Justyna Sokołowska: evoking emotions

'This is Maks.' Until recently, he had lived in Kharkiv, where a boy would drive him around in a toy truck. When the war broke out, they had to leave their homeland, and so they took a train to Poland. When he was afraid, Maks could hide in his shell – he’s a giant African snail and the protagonist of a book by Patryk Pufelski, illustrated by Justyna Sokołowska. It’s a touching story of a lost home, the diversity of other-than-human creatures, and our shared need for security.

Justyna obtained a degree in Polish studies from the University of Warsaw and one in graphic design from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. She creates graphic designs for books for children and adults alike; on top of that, she designs corporate visual identities, typography, and posters. She has authored animated illustrations for the play Wierna Wataha (A Loyal Pack) staged in the Helena Modrzejewska Theatre in Legnica.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘To Jest Maks’, illustrations: Justyna Sokołowska, text: Patryk Pufelski, photo: Dwie Siostry publishing house

Picture width

large [1450 px]

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

The visual layer of To Jest Maks perfectly reflects the tension, fear of the unknown, fragility of material things, and the sense of ubiquitous danger. The dominance of black and white together with the minimalistic colour scheme emphasise the boundaries between the familiar and the unfamiliar, what’s present and what’s past. In her aesthetically sophisticated drawings, Justyna made use of the language of photography: she employed graininess to enhance the subtlety and protrusion of individual elements; compositions resembling a negative image bring to mind something impermanent that hasn’t yet been developed or that has just disappeared. Zoom-ins and distance shots together with the strong contrast all contribute to the visual narrative’s dramatic effect. The story culminates in an image that harmoniously combines previously used colours and with the words: 'Home is only home when we’re in it. Without us, home is just an empty shell.'

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Gosia Herba: a watchful eye

No One Is Home by Gosia Herba and Mikołaj Pasiński is a story of a completely different kind: joyful, dense, shimmering with humour and cheerful energy. The book’s protagonists are well-familiar to the readers of Balonowa 5 and Van Dog. Gosia’s illustrations have been featured at Bologna’s International Children’s Book Fair numerous times.

Text size

standard fonts size

Simple Gallery Items

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘No One Is Home’, illustrations: Gosia Herba, text: Mikołaj Pasiński, photo: Harber Collins Polska

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘No One Is Home’, illustrations: Gosia Herba, text: Mikołaj Pasiński, photo: Harber Collins Polska

Tekst

For over a decade, the artist has successfully pursued storytelling through images. Her childhood attempts at utilising her artistic flair were somewhat peculiar: her first drawing depicted a sad Immanuel Kant with a dog tied to a kennel with a chain (an idea influenced by readings selected at random from her family’s home library). Having graduated an art-focused high school, Gosia chose to study art history at the University of Wrocław, which helped her develop 'a watchful eye.' As she herself informs, it was during her studies that she decided to become an illustrator. Since then, she’s already cooperated with world’s most renown magazines, newspapers, and publishers.

She likes to combine traditional techniques – gouache, linocut, and cut-out – with digital drawings. She scans her images, meticulously designed in a sketchbook, into a computer programme. Then she utilises graphic design tools, most of which she has developed herself. She derives greatest pleasure from creating comic strips and children’s book illustrations. Discussing her work in conversation with Patryk Mogilnicki, she says: 'My style and the subjects I tackle are a result of my daily work, reflections, and research. Everything takes place naturally and freely. […] However, it’s the children who are the source of greatest surprises. Their interpretations have the power to move and to comfort. They’re probably the most acute viewers: sensitive to visually conveyed emotions, attuned to the most minute details.'

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Klaudia Kozińska: to bite into the text

A pencil, a coloured pencil, a marker pen, ink. These classic tools enable Klaudia Kozińska to reconcile realism and abstraction. Regardless of the form – whether it’s a painting, an illustration, or a poster – her works stand out by virtue of their spontaneity, blaze of colour, pronounced contours, soft lines, and disproportionately large hands of the characters, which introduce a humorous element. The artist studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, obtaining a degree in painting and book design.

She cooperates with the SPATiF club, Carnaval Sztukmistrzów (Conjurer’s Carnaval) in Lublin, and Dwie Siostry (Two Sisters) publishing house. It was the latter that published Dobra Nasza! Polska: Przewodnik dla Dzieci (Good for Us! Children’s Guide to Poland), written by Małgorzata Ruszkowska, a book which was recognised by the Polish Section of IBBY. Klaudia’s illustrations and graphic design received an honourable mention in the Book of the Year 2022 competition.

Text size

standard fonts size

Simple Gallery Items

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘Dobra Nasza! Polska’, illustrations: Klaudia Kozińska, text: Małgorzata Ruszkowska, photo: Dwie Siostry publishing house

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘Dobra Nasza! Polska’, illustrations: Klaudia Kozińska, text: Małgorzata Ruszkowska, photo: Dwie Siostry publishing house

Tekst

Unlike in the case of No One Is Home – with its centrefolds filled to the brim – in this visual journey through Poland, the images attempt to bite into the text, to carve out a piece of blank space for an outline of a landmark, a recognisable symbol, or a humorous scene. While Gosia’s narrative of a journey through the city is a simultaneous one, Kozińska’s narration unfolds over time. Due to its guidebook format, it’s more jagged, thanks to which there’s more breathing space. Dobra Nasza! does a great job at depicting Poland’s geographical and architectural local colour, while the amassment legends and fun facts goes well with the artist’s surrealistic lines.

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

Flourishing

Right column

An expansion of small, private publishing houses, which curate their offer with consistency. The reader’s openness too, and even demand for, good Polish publications.

Tekst

Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka: the whole must dance

Each year, the Hamelin Association invites one selected artist to come to Bologna and depict the city, as seen through their own eyes, in a 16-page leaflet. This time, it was Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka who partook in the ‘Bologna a testa in su’ project. It’s her symbolic return to this place, with her book Kominiarz/Piekarz (Chimney Sweep, Baker) having received an honourable mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2019 competition.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Orkiestra’ (An Orchestra), text and illustrations: Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka, photo: Albus publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

The project’s title means ‘Bologna with one’s head up’. Google Translator supplies a slightly different interpretation of the phrase, which I really liked: ‘Bologna upside down’

– explains the artist. In December 2024, together with her husband and their four-year-old son, she undertook a week-long residency in northern Italy. Due to the rainy weather, they also needed to plan some ‘inside activities’, and it was then that she came up with the idea to literally depict the city ‘from the inside’. She recollects:

Text size

standard fonts size

I gave myself the freedom to sketch our daily life, intuitively, without pressure. After the arrival, with hooded jackets zipped up, we were sitting in a café under the arcades, waiting to check in at our hotel in Via San Vitale. This was my first visual observation. Then we looked up – in line with the project’s idea – and there they were: marching elephants, beautifully sculpted in the stone façade of the building. And that was it, the idea for my whole project, not a rabbit pulled out of a hat but one born from a real-life situation – which made me very happy, because, although my hat is quite capacious, I always prefer to proceed with my work in such a genuine, personal way.

Signature

Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

The centrefolds abound with the images of animals that one can encounter while roaming Bologna streets or visiting museums and galleries. The artist wished to convey two separate visions: that of the city as experienced by a child and as experienced by an adult.

Text size

standard fonts size

I think I succeeded – and by almost exclusively analogue means no less – at creating a book about the wonders that we can encounter in Bologna if only we lift our heads up sufficiently. And about love and attention we give to our children so that they can experience these wonders in a safe and carefree manner, and so that we eventually find a moment for ourselves and look up, too, high up towards the starry sky over Bologna…

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Orkiestra’ (Orchestra), text and illustrations: Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka, photo: Albus publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

Czerniak-Chojnacka was born in Słupca. Since 1893, this small Greater Poland town has been home to the Volunteer Fire Department’s Brass Band, from which the artist derived creative inspiration.

Their parades, costumes, majorettes’ dances – all this makes quite an impression. I wanted there to be a book that would depict such an orchestra: one composed mostly of amateur musicians playing a variety of instruments, collaborating to create a whole that looks well and sounds well.

Orkiestra has the format of a leporello, that is, a harmonica book. Onomatopoeic play combined with a lesson about the names of instruments 'will prove intriguing both for the tiny ones and for older children, and that’s because, behind the parading orchestra, there’s a town, and various things are happening there…' – supplies the author mysteriously. Czerniak-Chojnacka is an ethnologist and an anthropologist of culture. In 2018, she obtained a PhD in fine arts; she also graduated a two-tier music school. What did she get out of her music education?

Text size

standard fonts size

Above all, a different attitude to… time management. But on a more serious note, I think that learning music at such an advanced level, learning the ropes, the rules, the history, harmony, etc. changes one’s way of seeing reality as a whole. I think what I owe to this experience is greater attunement to rhythm and composition, to the placing of emphases.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

In her illustrations, she utilises a combination of techniques. She has success with poster art, her books receive national and international awards. What she likes about them the most…

Text size

standard fonts size

… is the fact that these projects incidentally respond to a large range of design problems. That they are multi-level challenges, composed not only of the visual content but also form, typography, colour, print. And that they are then ‘really’ present, out in the streets, in bookshops, where they attract and work as objects, both the flat ones and the not-so-flat ones. And, last but not least, that their reality can be expanded: through animation, by turning them into exhibitions, or going over them in the form of workshops and games for children and adolescents.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

During her corrections in Poster Studio I at the University of the Arts in Poznań, she heard the phrase 'z łapy,' ('off one’s mitt') which perfectly conveys the character of her works.

Text size

standard fonts size

'off one’s mitt' means: sweepingly, freehand, in a non-vector manner. It also means: with gusto, imaginatively, humorously, teasingly, rapaciously, maliciously, rudely even. And, what’s most interesting: not necessarily neatly or nicely. This freehand quality is like grabbing the viewer by the lapels. Like blowing into their eye. Sometimes I joke that these scrawls, these scattered letters, these cracks in the drawings are like little hooks – because they sort of turn the viewer against us. They don’t please. They clash with the neighbouring beautiful, tasteful – or perhaps aesthetically overdone? – yoga studio advertisement. No, scratch that – not even a yoga studio one. Next to our work, there’s a beautiful, tasteful advertisement of the new flavours of Kowalski’s cold meats! And this poster of ours, aesthetically unclasped, dishevelled, jars beautifully with these cold meats. It devours them all for breakfast.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

She adds that she’s a disciple of that Polish school of poster which makes the art form 'sing and tempt in the streets.'

Text size

standard fonts size

I try not to turn my posters into word puzzles, i.e. not to produce meanings by glueing one symbol to another. I’m attracted by both form and content. A poster is somewhat impoverished with content only. After all, the whole must also dance.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Gosia Kulik: choreography of the image

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

Illustration from the book ‘All Year Round Holidays’, illustrations: Gosia Kulik, text: Tomek Żarnecki, photo: Wytwórnia (Manufacture) publishing house

Right column

Boogying figurines and waddling statues invite the reader to celebrate together throughout the whole year.

Tekst

Acapulco Studio: micro-interactions

If anyone is under the impression that illustration and graphic design are individualistic pursuits, they’re bound to change their mind after even a brief conversation with Agata Dudek and Małgorzata Nowak, who form the Acapulco Studio. The artists have been friends since the time of their studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Their cooperation began in 2011, when they co-designed the children’s guide to the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw:

There were practical reasons behind it: I was meant to be responsible mostly for the graphic design, Agata for the illustrations. Then it all got mixed up a little, but we decided that we worked well together, and that working as a duo would enable us to combine various skills and perspectives

– says Gosia. Agata adds:

We trust each other and value each other’s abilities. One big advantage of the cooperation is the opportunity to talk about our work and to get a second pair of eyes on our ideas or ways of thinking. It often turns out that the other person has a fresher idea, or that they note an error on our part. These are the kind of micro-interactions that are missing when one works solo.

And what about the cons?

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

Gosia: Sometimes emotions get the best of us, and we end up having a fierce argument. Especially when it comes to colours! And, well, one must be able to tame one’s own ego and think more in terms of which solutions will work better in the project.

Right column

Agata: I would mostly calls these cons personality and moodiness. Sometimes one wants to be alone, because one’s in a militant mood and it’s easy to explode. But there are definitely more pros!

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Wszyscy Świętują’ (Everyone Is Celebrating), illustrations: Agata Dudek, Małgorzata Nowak (Acapulco Studio), text: Joanna Rzyska, photo: Druganoga publishing house

Picture width

large [1450 px]

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

They don’t create all of their projects together. Acapulco Studio has authored, for instance, Butelka Taty (‘Dad’s Bottle’), and now they’re about to publish Dół (Down), both illustrated by Agata, whereas Gosia has created graphic design for the book Pa, Pa, Baloniku! (‘Bye, Bye, Balloon!’).

On smaller-scale projects, such as individual illustrations, we work separately, though we always show each other the sketches and discuss them together. We try to give each other a lot of freedom in the choice of subjects we want to work on, not to force each other to take on commissions that we’re ‘not feeling’

– they say. They also admit that, after so many years of working together, they sometimes end up drawing an identical motif without consulting each other beforehand. They dream of authoring a book together, as Acapulco Studio. They are each other’s sources of motivation:

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

Gosia: I’m green with envy when Agata draws something beautiful! Other illustrators’ pieces push me to develop my skills and broaden my horizons, but I derive most of my inspirations from my surroundings.

Right column

Agata: I feel similarly to Gosia. Sometimes her morning drawings are so amazing, it gripes me that it wasn’t me who came up with the idea. Recently I’ve been looking at a lot of things from the perspective of colour combinations or interesting forms.

Tekst

Favourite pictures and books from your childhood?

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

Gosia: I’ve loved Moomins ever since I was a child. I could read those books over and over again, I love the characters and the beautiful illustrations.

Right column

Agata: I tell the same anecdote each time, but my beloved childhood book was Beata Krupska’s Sceny z Życia Smoków (Scenes from the Lives of Dragons), illustrated by Jacek Rupiński.

Tekst

Gosia: I also liked to look at all kinds of illustrated popular science books, especially those about geography, drawn realistically and including minute details. I was hypnotized by them. I refer to them a little in our work.

Agata: Just like Gosia, I liked the popular science books from the Incredible Cross-Sections series – I was intrigued by the abundance of meticulously-drawn details.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Wszyscy Świętują’ (Everyone Is Celebrating), illustrations: Agata Dudek, Małgorzata Nowak (Acapulco Studio), text: Joanna Rzyska, photo: Druganoga publishing house

Picture width

large [1450 px]

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

What certainly abounds in details is the book Wszyscy Świętują (‘Everyone Is Celebrating’). National and regional symbols, patterned fabrics, accurately conveyed textures of objects, scattered rose petals, visual renderings of movement and sound – all that came to be on paper first. Individual elements were drawn with ink and then transferred onto a computer, after which the authors worked on the text and on the images simultaneously. They key idea – to create a guide to original customs and holiday traditions cultivated in various corners of the world – resembles the one behind All Year Round Holidays. Conceptually, however, the book by Joanna Rzyska (who authored the text) and Acapulco Studio differs significantly from its younger sibling. This goes to show that a similar topic can be approached in several completely different ways.

Text size

standard fonts size

Our aim in Święta… was for the text to come alive. That’s why, on top of the main text – which discusses each event, describing its characteristics and meaning in the given cultural context – we’ve introduced a lot of speech bubbles with lines spoken by the characters in our illustrations

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

– reminisce Agata and Gosia. When asked about their favourite holidays, they reply:

Text size

standard fonts size

The most important holiday in Acapulco Studio is, hand down, Fat Thursday. Another important day is International Cat’s Day – we have four of them between us two. And when it comes to festivities around the world, I think the Surva festival or Barranquilla would be very interesting to experience. The carnival in Colombia is not quite as well-known as the one in Brazil, but it’s an incredible event, full of energy, colours, and joy – we think it would work very well in Poland. Even more so if combined with pączki!

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Jacek Ambrożewski: appetite for illustration

Although there’s no pączki recipe in Pyszne Przypadki (Delicious Accidents) by Łukasz Modelski (text) and Jacek Ambrożewski (illustrations), the reader’s appetite can be satisfied with eggs Benedict, chicken Parmentier, and tarte Tatin. Fun culinary facts from different corners of the world are a play on the cookbook convention. The humorous text has been skilfully integrated with the illustrations in such a way that each longer verbal narrative is accompanied by extensive drawings, whereas each fragment describing consecutive stages of preparing a given dish correspond to a compact graphic image. They resemble heavily cropped freeze-frames which, when combined, form a picture story.

Text size

standard fonts size

Simple Gallery Items

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Pyszne Przypadki’ (Delicious Accidents), illustrations: Jacek Ambrożewski, text: Łukasz Modelski, photo: Dwie Siostry publishing house

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Pyszne Przypadki’ (Delicious Accidents), illustrations: Jacek Ambrożewski, text: Łukasz Modelski, photo: Dwie Siostry publishing house

Tekst

Jacek is said to use comic lines, but he himself refutes this view, explaining in interviews that the comic book tradition is fairly foreign to him. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he studied graphic design, he works as a graphic designer and illustrator. An award-winning artist, he partook in collective exhibitions in China, North Korea, Berlin, and Taiwan. His own book Sky High! A Soaring History of Aviation was included in the list of White Ravens, i.e. the most noteworthy children’s books from all over the world.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Anna Kaźmierak: a pageant of traditions

The techniques I like the most are those based on accidental developments, those in which there’s space for productive error. Nothing contributes to creative expression quite as much as an element of unpredictability

– claims Anna Kaźmierak. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, she was raised in the countryside. Influenced by folk art and children’s painting, she experiments with colours and textures in her work.

Text size

standard fonts size

The pictorial world of my imagination is constituted by a salon of rejected folk artist. 1970s’ tapestries, painted photographic backgrounds, and the works of outsider ‘naïve artists’ – they form my landscape of influences which never leaves me indifferent. I’m familiar, of course, with the masters of Polish illustration, but neither Szancer nor Butenko inspire me quite as much as folk creators do.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Are You Hiding, Little Rooster?’, text and illustrations: Anna Kaźmierak, photo: Wytwórnia publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

Her fascination with Polish folklore has been going on for over a decade now. It assumes a variety of forms: the singing of old songs, attending country dances, and carolling at various times throughout the ritual year.

Text size

standard fonts size

The most important subject for me are folk masquerades. For these last ten years, I’ve regularly gone carolling and visited carol-singers in various areas of the country. It’s a hugely diverse phenomenon, but it’s not in its scale that the appeal of the custom lies. A ritual wherein a group of singers with masks on their faces visits all the inhabitants of a given village with a song and Christmas greetings, carolling is an exchange of gifts, it’s an essence of getting together – the latter a foundation of any and every tradition. Besides, it’s a phenomenon that rarely finds its way into collective consciousness. That’s why folk masqueraders became protagonists of the book that became my gateway to the world of publishing

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

– says the author of award-winning book Turons, Żandars, Herods. Visiting the countryside, Anna collects experiences, which she later conveys in her books:

Most of what I painted for my books I have seen with my own eyes. Fact-checking and the attempts to systematise the information are the most arduous part of the process. I often ask ethnographers for substantive assistance. Personally, I don’t approach culture from an academic point of view. I believe that culture, including rural culture, rides a horse much faster than the attempts at description.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Are You Hiding, Little Rooster?’, text and illustrations: Anna Kaźmierak, photo: Wytwórnia publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

The artist emphasises that traditional Polish children’s culture is just as attractive as all the princesses and dragons, since 'in both of these cases we refer to myths and symbols, and folk symbols are really charming, not least in their visual aspect.' She demonstrates this in her colourful, expressive ethnographic journey through Poland – her publication Are You Hiding, Little Rooster? She explains:

Text size

standard fonts size

Little Rooster is the most charming figure in Polish folklore. He quickly won the casting to act, or rather crow, as the representative of various kinds of traditional folk crafts in my book, and that’s because he’s pretty much a ubiquitous motif. He’s our first association with folk craftsmanship. Young readers search the book for his charming, colourful figure, the older ones are guided by sentiment and nostalgia evoked by the logo of Cepelia. And that’s because the book appeals to nostalgia, utilising the myth of peaceful, merry countryside. And very colourful too. But let’s not forget that rural lyrics were often multi-layered. Figures of animals were often means for concealing lewd themes from children. And the rooster is a magic symbol of fertility…

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

The book requires the reader be actively involved, although – as the artist emphasises – both her publication and the workshops she conducts are based on play:

Over the years of participating in traditional rural events I’ve picked up a lot of old children’s games, which I now incorporate into my library meetings. Our emotions enable us to memorise things, and play is the easiest way to manufacture positive emotions. I have just as much fun during my workshops as the participants themselves. Play often undeservedly becomes an exclusive property of children’s world.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Breakthrough

The curator of the Hop, Hug, Hooray! exhibition points to the year 2008 as the symbolic breakthrough for Polish illustration. It was then that an anthology of poems by Julian Tuwim published by Wytwórnia won the main Bologna Ragazzi Award in the category of poetry. Responsible for the graphic design of the volume were seven graduates of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts: Małgorzata Gurowska, Monika Hanulak, Marta Ignerska, Agnieszka Kucharska-Zajkowska, Anna Niemierko, Gosia Urbańska-Macias and Justyna Wróblewska. Two other poetry collections fit the conceptual-editorial framework developed at that time: the poems of Jan Brzechwa and those of Ludwik Jerzy Kern. 'These three anthologies are a point of convergence for certain phenomena and artistic strategies present in contemporary Polish book illustration. First of all, these strategies are informed by (neo-)avant-garde experiments, for instance in their formal integration of the visual and textual layer. They also build from the long tradition of experiments in book illustrations aimed at young readers, as well as utilise the possibilities offered by contemporary graphic design' – elaborates Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna in the article Polska Szkoła Ilustracji 2.0? (Polish School of Illustration 2.0?). In conversation with Culture.pl, she adds that ever since then, Polish illustration has been celebrated internationally on a regular basis:

Text size

standard fonts size

The world has as if shrunk. Illustrators are doing amazingly well, presenting their portfolios on industry platforms. They enter international cooperations – for instance, Gosia Herba illustrates the most renown overseas magazines and creates designs for book series released by London publishing houses. Marysia Dek’s own books have entered the Spanish and French markets. Astonishing is the phenomenon of Iwona Chmielewska and her Korean success – it was there that many of her books had their first release. And I could go on and on with these examples.

Signature

Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Emilia Dziubak: pictures of nature

Martin Widmark, one of Sweden’s most acclaimed authors of children’s books, cooperates permanently with Emilia Dziubak. One of the duo’s newest publications (co-written by Emma Karinsdotter) is titled The Lady of the Forest. The story about the healing power of nature is set in the eponymous forest, which looks as if taken straight out of a 19^th century European landscape painting. Realistic depictions, attention to detail, efficient making use of space, and masterful light and shadow play turn these illustrations into three-dimensional images. Sharp contrasts and embracing dark blotches of colour – but without sacrificing any details – help emphasise the dread evoked by the scenes being depicted.

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

Illustration from the book ‘The Lady of the Forest’, illustrations: Emilia Dziubak, text: Martin Widmark, Emma Karinsdotter, photo: Mamania publishing house

Right column

Illustration from the book ‘The Lady of the Forest’, illustrations: Emilia Dziubak, text: Martin Widmark, Emma Karinsdotter, photo: Mamania publishing house

Tekst

Nature is a recurring motif in the works of Emilia Dziubak, an illustrator and author of books, born in Dęblin. In her childhood, she was surrounded by classical and Impressionist rather than avant-garde art. However, in conversation with Sebastian Frąckiewicz included in the book Ten Łokieć Źle Się Zgina (This Elbow Doesn’t Bend Right), she admitts: '[…] although I do love painting, I neither think like a painter, in terms of blotches, nor do I view the world through the prism of colour; my technique isn’t as good either. My vision is mostly monochromatic, I’m much better at drawing than painting. I also prefer to work with qualities than with colours. And, after all, it’s in graphic art, not in painting, that I completed my degree.'

Emilia graduated from a fine-art academy in Poznań. She quickly abandoned comic books and press illustration to pursue creating visual designs for children’s books. Her oeuvre includes several dozen of those. Books illustrated by illustrated are published across Europe and in Asia. 'There’s some commonality between my aesthetic taste and the style of classic Scandinavian illustrators – for instance, our shared enthusiasm for depicting nature and forests and love of miniature worlds,' she says in the aforementioned interview.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Katarzyna Walentynowicz: a paper menagerie

Katarzyna Walentynowicz’s illustrated worlds are ones of ornamental retro design. Her drawings feature not only in books but also on textiles, windows, labels, packagings, posters, paper stage designs, and board games. She had meant to become a doctor – instead, she ended up being admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She spent half a year studying at Escola Superior de Artes e Design in Porto as an Erasmus exchange student. She also graduated from the International School of Costume & Fashion Design in Warsaw, as well as from the SWPS University of Social Science and Humanities, where she obtained a degree in design management. She approaches her projects comprehensively; she values diversity. Together with Magda Stadnik, as a duo under the name Zagrywki, they created a series of board games devoted to extraordinary and endangered animals.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Poławiacz Cieni’ (The Shadow Hunter), illustrations: Katarzyna Walentynowicz, text: Erna Rosenstein, photo: Wolno publishing house

Picture width

large [1450 px]

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

Her animal protagonists and plant designs inhabit the pages of The Shadow Hunter, a book of fairy tales written by Erna Rosenstein, a Polish surrealist painter and poet. The style of Katarzyna’s illustrations for the book refers to old prints. The toned-down – as opposed to extravagant – colour scheme endows the visual layer with a more reflective character, which makes it resonate with the writer’s tales full of magic.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Joanna Bartosik: the depth of watercolour

Building from The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, Anna Paszkiewicz wrote a story in tune with the ecocritical discourse. Fish and other creatures inhabiting a lake must share their space with plastic straws, aluminium cans, glass containers, and plastic bags, in which it’s easy to get entangled and stuck. When the human protagonists catch the goldfish, she voices her demands… Trzy Życzenia (‘Three Wishes’), illustrated by Joanna Bartosik, is an invitation to the underwater realm of watercolour blotches, gentle transitions between colours, and oblong shapes with fineliner or ink contours, which add character to the pictures.

Text size

standard fonts size

Simple Gallery Items

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Trzy Życzenia’ (Three Wishes), illustrations: Joanna Bartosik, text: Anna Paszkiewicz, photo: Widnokrąg publishing house

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book ‘Trzy Życzenia’ (Three Wishes), illustrations: Joanna Bartosik, text: Anna Paszkiewicz, photo: Widnokrąg publishing house

Tekst

A graduate of the University of the Arts Poznań and member of illustrators’ cooperative Ilu Nas Jest (How Many Are We), Joanna has designed and illustrated several dozen books. She’s a frequent visitor to second-hand bookshops, museums, and art galleries, although, as she herself admits, she derives most inspiration from the daily life, especially from people-watching and eavesdropping. She’s conscious of the crucial role of the illustrator in the shaping of aesthetic sensibilities and tastes of young viewers and readers; at the same time, she values freedom in creating new worlds. Trzy Życzenia seems to balance this sense of responsibility with creative liberty.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Maria Dek: a squirrel on a sequoia

Maria’s three wishes? Let’s try and guess. An illustrator and picture book author, she graduated from the University of the Arts London and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. As a child, she preferred to listen to bedtime stories than look at illustrations:

Text size

standard fonts size

Columns style

both columns static

Left column

My dad would tell me stories about Bajbuza the clever monkey, who would explain how different animal species had come to be.

Right column

I spent my childhood between two places – autumn and winter in the city, spring and summer outside the city, in a house that I call my family home, because most of my early memories are associated with that place: playing in a brook, swimming in a pond

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘Kiedy Urosnę’ (When I Grow Up), illustrations and text: Maria Dek, photo: Bernardinum publishing house

Picture width

full width

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

Currently, the artist lives in the countryside, in the Białowieża Forest.

Text size

standard fonts size

I had painted thickets, bushes, and animals even before I came here nine years ago, but the proximity of the primeval forest certainly has great influence on my art. I marvel at the miniature worlds of mossy tree trunks, sloughs, innumerable species of birds, beetles, and animals. Then, I put all these raptures down on paper.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

Contact with nature has been important to her ever since she was a child, and it was this very childhood love that gave birth to Maria’s first book W Lesie (‘In the Forest’) – one that teaches attentiveness and helps develop children’s attunement to nature. The author employs emotions in her construction of space and characters and, although she maintains that children enjoy being scared – a fact she utilises in her works – what resonates with her more is the need for light-heartedness and joy:

That’s why my illustrations are so full of fun. It brings me immense pleasure to playfully employ absurdity, to give my audience a rougish wink.

She admits that what poses an enormous challenge in her work are the incredible capabilities of children’s minds, and hence the awareness of creating for a demanding but open-minded target audience:

Text size

standard fonts size

Working with children’s imaginations is a challenge as well as a great honour. I believe that everyone who creates works for the youngest readers and viewers should not only keep developing artistically but also learn the ropes of psychology and pedagogy. Another challenge is the immortal Inner Critic, present inside many of us. Does this guy like to put one down, especially after one dares to be happy with one’s work for five minutes! Of course, these never-ending doubts also motivate growth.

Text size

standard fonts size

Tekst

She would like her illustrations to provide moments of joy and respite. She treats children’s books as spaces of encounter:

I would like my books to ignite conversations between people reading them together, to inspire them to make plans for future adventures. I treat my work as a means of inviting people to embrace life’s little joys.

Text size

standard fonts size

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from ‘Kiedy Urosnę’ (When I Grow Up), illustrations and text: Maria Dek, photo: Bernardinum publishing house

Picture width

large [1450 px]

Display image with no height limit

Off

Tekst

The book Kiedy Będę Duży / Kiedy Będę Duża (‘When I’m All Grown Up’) conquered the hearts of European and Asian readers. Shortly after, it piqued the interest of Polish publishers. The continuation is titled Kiedy Urosnę (‘When I Grow Up’) – a number lesson encapsulated in children’s dreams:

My American publisher convinced me to create part two. I knew it had to be better than the first one to preserve the lightness and novelty.

She successfully implemented an element of play, of absurdity, as well as managed to instill interest in nature in the reader, and to draw attention to human’s relationship to nature. 'When I grow up… I’ll create a garden where carrots will grow, and cucumbers, and funny-shaped radishes, and pumpkins' or 'I’ll watch over 65 trees in a huge forest' and 'my dreams will always grow up together with me.' And what does Maria dream about?

Text size

standard fonts size

For a long time, I wanted to become a squirrel and a shopkeeper. I like these dreams. When you think about it, being an illustrator entails looking at the world as if it was a kiosk of a kind – filled with billions of highly necessary knick-knacks. And a squirrel… a squirrel must collect all that and tuck it away in the tree hollow of memory, because it might be of use for the next book. Now I dream about gentleness, peace, and spontaneity. I would also like to climb a sequoia. Very much!

_{Translated from Polish by Anna Potoczny}

Text size

standard fonts size

Fullscreen gallery items

Text

The exhibition 'Hop, Hug, Hooray! New Children’s Book Illustration from Poland' is open from March 20 to April 15, 2025, at Teatro Testoni Ragazzi in Bologna.

Organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in collaboration with the Hamelin Association and Teatro Testoni Ragazzi, it is part of the cultural program of Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The curator of the exhibition and the entire 'Hi! Picture This!' project — which also includes workshops — is Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna.

Illustrators participating in the exhibition: Jacek Ambrożewski, Joanna Bartosik, Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka, Maria Dek, Agata Dudek, Emilia Dziubak, Gosia Herba, Anna Kaźmierak, Klaudia Kozińska, Gosia Kulik, Paweł Mildner, Małgorzata Nowak, Urszula Palusińska, Justyna Sokołowska, Katarzyna Walentynowicz.

Podpis obrazka

Illustration from the book *'My Grandma, My Grandpa'*, text by Małgorzata Swędrowska, illustrations by Joanna Bartosik, photo courtesy of Wytwórnia publishing house.

Text position

left top