Premio Combat Prize

Lodz - my city. Grey people, old age, grunge, dog poos in the lawns, reek pouring out from the tenements backyards, drinkers and mongrel rottweilers. I can’t complain anymore - I act. Ugliness may become beautiful and inspiring for a painter… a pedestrian painter.
By profession I’m a painter. I’ve been sharing all my life with colors. Lodz in the center of Poland is the city I was born in and where I still live and work. It looks dirty, grey and seems to be forlorn, without any action. The authorities do nothing… Homelessness and poverty surround us… Lodz used to be a powerful city with the mix of cultures (Russian, Jewish, German and Polish) that made life in the city totally colorful. Now there’s nothing but just memory of the past.
I hate to complain - I act!
My goal is to bring the color back to the city.
I don’t deal with the buildings (like graffiti does) but with the pavements and the ground. “Un-grey the city - paintings close to the ground” is a guerilla painting action using the city streets as a canvas for paintings. I’m trying to be a “Supercolour girl”, an undercover who, without any permission, fills the streets with colours. Little evening guerilla who feels much happier while filling puddles on the streets with colours. Having a lot of fun and making surprise for the citizens.
The first action took part in September 2011 on Targowa street in the center of Lodz. Then I decided to push my action forward. Now I want to un-grey every city in our grey world!!! I want to bring the colour back!!!
to un-grey the city status
to un-grey our existence
Involved in painting, installation, spatial form, enamel and jewelery.
The author of the „UN-GREY the city” project.
Works as an assistant in the Studio of Painting led by prof. M. Sak
in the Strzemiński Academy of Art in Łódź.

Aleksandra Ignasiak, (born 1982)
Graduated with honors from Jewelry – 2011r. ASP Łódź
Graduated with honors from Painting – 2007r. ASP Łódź
Individual exhibitions:
2013 - “Water tricks”, Biała Gallery, Lublin
2012 - „UN-GREY the city”, Backyard of Art, Biała Gallery, Lublin
2012 - „UN-GREY the city”, TVP 2, Level 2.0, Warsaw
2011 - „Defence” and the „UN-GREY the city”project, Bajkonur, Łódź
2011 - „O2”, The Institute of Polish Culture, Munich, Germany
2011 - cycle of paintings „Constellations”, O.K Tkacz, Meeting 3, Tomaszów Mazowiecki
2010 - „Little Exhibition”, Grim Works Gallery, Łódź
2009 - „Two Faces”, 7 Gallery, Niechorze
2008 - „Three Glances” , Stara Gallery, ŁDK, Łódź
2007 - cycle of paintings „Still Life”, Jazzga, Łódź
Chosen collectiva exhibitions:
2013 - Free City Festival, Flint, Michigan, USA
2013 - “Cosmobilities”, Rowan University Art Gallery, New Jersey, USA
2012 - Exhibition of the contess winners YICCA, Chemistry Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2012 - International Festival of Art Lumen, New York, USA
2012 - „Integrations”, jewelry exhibitions, MBP, Tomaszów Maz.
2012 - „So why…”, u Piotra Gallery, Bolestraszyce
2012 - „Horizon of Forty Years”, Ośrodek Propagandy Sztuki, Łódź
2012 - Best Diplomas 2011, Museum of Textiles , Łódź
2011 - Festival of Young Art „Przeciąg”, 13 Muz Gallery, Szczecin
2011 - International exhibition „From Zero to Infinity”, Kamienica, Tomaszów Maz.
2011 - International Biennale of Painting and Unique Fabric „Colors and Factures”, Museum of the City of Gdynia, Gdynia
2011 - exhibition of assistants from the Department of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture, Biała Ściana Gallery, Strzemiński Academy of Art, Łódź
2011 - festival „Open Exhibition”, Łódź
2010 - exhibition of works by educators from the Department of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture of the Strzemiński Academy of Art in Łódź, Nationa Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kiev, Ukraine
2010 - Exhibition of the Department of Jewelry, Łódź Strzemiński Academy of Art, Złoto, srebro, czas, Warsaw
2010 - Post-competition, IV M. Michalik National Competition for Painting by Young Painters, Municipal Art Gallery, Częstochowa
2010 - Post-competition exhibition, III National Painting Competition Zadra, Zadra Gallery, Warsaw
2010 - „Jewelry and Goldsmith forms”, Inorghenta, Munchen, Niemcy
2010 - „Student Painting Exhibition”, Kobro Galleru, ASP Łódź
2010 - „Graphics and Drawing”, U Jaksy Gallery, Miechów
2010 - exhibition of works by educators from the Department of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture of the Strzemiński Academy of Art in Łódź, the Museum of Ethnography and Industry of Art in the Institute of the National Academy of Sciences in Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
2009 - „Interactions”, Herne, Germany
2008 - „Best Diplomas 2008”, Museum of Textiles, Łódź
2007 - „Found Pictures”, Gallery in the BOK Rondo, Łódź
Scholarships, prizes and awards:
2013 - Major of Łódź Scholarship
2012 – One of the winners of the International Competition Yicca
(Young International Contest of Contemporary Art)
2011 – Prize of the Artluk magazine in III Festival of Young Art in Szczecin
2010 – 2011 – The Minister of Culture and National Heritage Scholarship for outstanding academic performance
2010 – Prize in III National Painting Competition Zadra 2010
2007 - taking part in XXIV edition of the Strzemiński Competition in Łódź
- Łódzki Dom Kultury award
- Łódź Art Center award
2006 – 2007 – The Minister of Culture and National Heritage Scholarship for outstanding academic performance
2006 - taking part in XXIII edition of the Strzemiński Competition in Łódź
- Marshal of the Łódzkie Voivodship award
- Museum in Łęczyca award
- Gallery in the BOK Rondo award
Research projects:
2012 – 2013 Research project – young educators „Use of ancient enamel technique in painting”
Symposiums:
International Enamel Symposium in Kecskemet, HU – 2012
Publications:
Shall rainbow puddles be hostes in our cities?
Eulalia Domanowska, ARTLUK 2012