POSK Gallery

Emigration. Will I Make It? Joanna Ciechanowska: A Retrospective Exhibition (1970-2024)

The exhibition traces Ciechanowska’s rich and versatile creative output in the context of her vicissitudes and the itinerary of her life journey as an émigré woman artist together with key formative influences. Having left Poland during the communist regime in 1977, Joanna came to Britain where she met her English civil engineer husband. Together they were sent to many international postings – from Iran, through Africa (including the Kingdom of Lesotho and Egypt) to Hong Kong, and post-communist Poland, where Ciechanowska was able to re-connect with her Polish roots, before settling down in Great Britain. By the 1980s Ciechanowska became a distinguished international illustrator and graphic designer, before taking on the role of POSK Gallery Director, promoting and mentoring Polish artists in the UK.