ARTIST
Arkadiusz Kubisiak
ARTIST WEBSITE
Arkadiusz Kubisiak
LOCATION
Poland
Laundry Room
People with intellectual disabilities make up about 3% of the population of Poland. The same is true for Pionki, a town in Masovian Voivodeship in Poland.
These persons could often be seen wandering the town's streets, prompting city authorities to establish the Center almost 25 years ago to provide them with the necessary assistance. A puppet theater was also created there, where they became actors.
This marked the beginning of a new chapter for them.
The theater is now located in a room that was formerly a laundry room, hence the name “Laundry Room”.
The actor wears the puppet like a costume to give it personality and bring it to life. The Theater stages classic fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White. Over all these years, they have prepared and developed eight different fairy tale performances and created numerous puppets.
Most theater plays take place outdoors, primarily for children. The troupe also organizes street parades. Sometimes, they even travel across the country to present a show when invited.
The Center's staff have created a close-knit team that functions like a family. They organize kayaking regattas and participate in forest cleanup events on World Earth Day. They also exercise at the gym together and celebrate each other's birthdays. Almost everyone knows them, and they serve the community.
Arkadiusz Kubisiak is an independent documentary and portrait photographer. He studied photography at the European Academy of Photography in Warsaw. He participated in numerous workshops, like
Transmission pour l’Image in Perpignan, France.
His work won several awards, for instance, PX3, Prix De La Photographie Paris, Grand Press Photo, National Geographic Poland Photography Competition, SIPA Competition, Tokyo International Foto Award, BZ WBK Press Foto, Honorable Mention at International Photography Award. The work was shown in The Art of Photography Show in The USA, NEY Gallery in Warsaw, Masovian Center of Contemporary Art, Poland, and Warsaw Festival for Photographic Arts, Poland.
Arkadiusz published his work in The Eye of Photography Magazine, Paris, France, Black & White Magazine, USA, Silvershotz Magazine in Australia, National Geographic Poland, Digital Camera Poland, Edge of Humanity in The USA in Duży Format, and anywhere.pl, Live & Travel, Plus-Minus, Rzeczpospolita, Poland and in books: Punished Town, Passing Shadows, and group work Poland and its People, published by Press.
Arkadiusz works mostly on long-term projects.
