Agnieszka Kołodziejczak

Emilio Ferreiro 27.9.26
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Agnieszka Kołodziejczak (also known artistically as Egnee) is a Deaf Polish art historian, painter, curator, and social activist affiliated with the University of Łódź, where she works as a research assistant in the Department of the History of Painting and Sculpture at the Institute of Art History. In December 2024, she became the second person in Poland to publicly defend a doctoral dissertation.

Quick Facts

Education

Kołodziejczak is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and of the University of Łódź[1][3]. During the 2003/2004 academic year, she held a scholarship from the government of Norway at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design (Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen)[6]. In 2024, she completed a doctorate in the humanities (doktor nauk humanistycznych) at the University of Łódź[1][2].

Doctoral dissertation and its defense

Kołodziejczak's doctoral dissertation was titled "Problem dostępności informacji w instytucjach publicznych oraz podmiotach ekonomii społecznej w obszarze kultury i sztuki dla osób słabo- i niesłyszących w Polsce. Rekomendacje i standardy" ("The problem of information accessibility in public institutions and social economy entities in the field of culture and art for hard-of-hearing and deaf people in Poland. Recommendations and standards"). The dissertation addressed the accessibility of cultural and artistic information for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Poland and proposed recommendations and standards to improve it[2][4].

The dissertation was publicly defended on 12 December 2024 at the meeting room of the Faculty of Philosophy and History Council at the University of Łódź. The defense was conducted in a bilingual format—spoken Polish and Polish Sign Language—and was made accessible through live subtitles, a team of interpreters, and an induction loop system for hard-of-hearing attendees. The University of Łódź described it as only the second defense of its kind in Poland[2].

Academic and research career

Kołodziejczak works as a research assistant in the Department of the History of Painting and Sculpture at the Institute of Art History, University of Łódź. She has authored and led numerous pioneering initiatives and grant-funded projects in Poland relating to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, including the creation and coordination of an original encyclopedia project on social economy and the "third sector" in Polish Sign Language (in two parts), as well as a project on the history of art presented in Polish Sign Language[1].

She was awarded a Preludium grant from Poland's National Science Centre (Narodowe Centrum Nauki, NCN) for a research project titled "Sztuka osób głuchych w Polsce – historia i analiza" ("The art of deaf people in Poland – history and analysis"), conducted through the Faculty of Philosophy and History at the University of Łódź[7]. As part of this project, her research into comics created by Deaf illustrators has included curating the first exhibition in Poland of comics by Polish Deaf creators, shown at the Gallery above the Stairs (Galeria nad schodami) of the Institute of Art History, University of Łódź, as part of a cultural project funded by the "Patriotism of Tomorrow 2024" programme of the Museum of Polish History and carried out by the Ucieleśnienie ("Embodiment") Foundation; an expanded version of the exhibition was subsequently shown in 2025 at the Elektor Gallery of the Mazovian Institute of Culture in Warsaw[8].

In 2022, she curated the exhibition Głusza ("Deafness"/"Wilderness," a play on words) at the Silesian Museum in Katowice (2022–2023), presenting the history of Poland's Deaf linguistic-cultural minority[1][8]. The exhibition was described by organizers as the first in Katowice to present the history of the Deaf linguistic and cultural minority, aiming to draw attention to Deaf culture, sign languages, and the international Deaf activist movement; it is credited with inspiring further initiatives showcasing Deaf creativity, sign languages, and communication accessibility in the region[8].

Kołodziejczak has co-founded several organizations supporting Deaf artists and culture, including the Group of Deaf Artists (Grupa Artystów Głuchych, GAG), the MEOK Gallery, and the Ucieleśnienie ("Embodiment") Foundation, where she has served as project specialist and vice-president[1][6].

Artistic practice

As a visual artist working under the name Egnee, Kołodziejczak has participated in numerous artistic plein-air events (plenery) and exhibitions in Poland and abroad[1][3].
Her artistic interests include painting, icon writing, creative writing, drawing, comics, and collage, and she has described herself as enjoying the exploration of new craft techniques[1][3]. Her work, including a series of zines from the project "Alphabet of Deaf Creators" (Alfabet głuchych twórców, produced by the Ucieleśnienie Foundation under the Museum of Polish History's "Patriotism of Tomorrow 2024" programme), was exhibited in May 2025 at the Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, in Kraków[6].

Activism and public engagement

Kołodziejczak has been active in public discussion of Deaf culture and accessibility in Poland. In November 2025, she gave a lecture titled "Deaf people on deaf people: Stories through comics and zines" ("Głusi o głuchych. Opowieści komiksem i zinem") at the first Silesia Sign-Fest – Deaf Art Festival (Silesia Sign-Fest – Festiwal Sztuki Głuchych) at Katowice Miasto Ogrodów on 22 November 2025, discussing comics created by Deaf illustrators from Poland and around the world as a means of representing Deaf culture and everyday Deaf experience. At the same festival, she also participated as one of eight Deaf artists featured in the accompanying exhibition "Deaf Art" (Sztuka Głuchych)[8]. She has also spoken publicly on the topic "Being a Deaf scientist is not easy" ("Bycie głuchym naukowcem nie jest łatwe") at an academic event in Kraków[10].

Timeline

2003–2004

Norwegian government scholarship

Holds a scholarship from the government of Norway at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design (Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen).

2022

Głusza exhibition curated

Curates the exhibition Głusza ("Deafness") at the Silesian Museum in Katowice, running through 2022–2023.

2024

Earning a Ph.D.

Carries out the research underlying her dissertation, from October 2019 to June 2024, as part of the University of Łódź Doctoral School of Humanities.

2025

Zine exhibition in Kraków

Her zine series from the "Alphabet of Deaf Creators" project is exhibited at the Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, in May.

Videos

References

  1. MEOK. (n.d.). O galerii – O mnie [About the gallery – About me]. meok.pl. https://meok.pl/o-galerii/
  2. University of Łódź. (2024, December 2). Public Defense of Doctoral Dissertation by Deaf Researcher Agnieszka Kołodziejczak. uni.lodz.pl. https://www.uni.lodz.pl/en/news/details/public-defense-of-doctoral-dissertation-by-deaf-researcher-agnieszka-kolodziejczak
  3. Kołodziejczak, A. (n.d.). ORCID record. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2339-9152
  4. University of Łódź, Centre for Persons with Disabilities. (2024). Public Defense of Doctoral Dissertation by Deaf Researcher Agnieszka Kołodziejczak / Publiczna obrona rozprawy doktorskiej niesłyszącej badaczki mgr Agnieszki Kołodziejczak. cyber.uni.lodz.pl. https://cyber.uni.lodz.pl/en/projects/public-defense-of-doctoral-dissertation-by-deaf-researcher-agnieszka-kolodziejczak
  5. University of Łódź. (n.d.). Pioneering Defense of Doctoral Dissertation in Sign Language at the University of Lodz. uni.lodz.pl. https://www.uni.lodz.pl/en/news/details/pioneering-defense-of-doctoral-dissertation-in-sign-language-at-the-university-of-lodz
  6. Kołodziejczak, A. (2025). "Próbuję opowiadać przez ziny" [exhibition materials, 24 May 2025, Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków]. kbpz.cm-uj.krakow.pl. https://kbpz.cm-uj.krakow.pl/cm/uploads/2025/04/ziny-A.-Kolodziejczak-wystawa-24-maja.pdf
  7. National Science Centre (Narodowe Centrum Nauki). (n.d.). Preludium 22 – Lista rankingowa [Preludium 22 – Ranking list]. ncn.gov.pl. https://www.ncn.gov.pl/sites/default/files/listy-rankingowe/preludium22-lr.pdf
  8. wKatowicach.eu. (2025, November 22). Silesia Sign-Fest Festiwal Sztuki Głuchych 2025 w Katowice Miasto Ogrodów. wkatowicach.eu. https://www.wkatowicach.eu/informacje/w-katowicach/Silesia-Sign-Fest-Festiwal-Sztuki-Gluchych-2025-w-Katowice-Miasto-Ogrodow/idn:9579
  9. ołodziejczak, A. (2022). The Issue of (Non)Integration of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in Relation to Art and Exhibitions in Poland. Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts, 24, 225–242. https://bazhum.muzhp.pl/authors/228368
  10. Kraków Branch of the Polish Society of Deaf People / academic conference materials. (2025). Uczestnicy – biogramy [Participants – biographies]. kbpz.cm-uj.krakow.pl. https://kbpz.cm-uj.krakow.pl/cm/uploads/2025/04/uczestnicy-biogramy-OP.pdf
Emilio Ferreiro

Posted by Emilio Ferreiro

E-learning Specialist | PhD student in Health Sciences | Deaf activist | Independent Blogger at Unusualverse

 
       

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