RADEK POLAK
BIO
I am a graduate of Photography at the Multimedia Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Poland. I am focused on portraiture and documentary photography. I am interested in male identity and traditional communities. Photography is a my mean of bonding with people. For the last years i have been working on documentary projects in Poland and Georgia, encountering a variety of characters and human stories. As a commercial photographer I regularly photographs celebrities from the world of music , culture, science and politics. My work is published in national press both in Poland and in Georgia (Elle, Esquire, Gala, MALE MAN, Twój Styl, Anabechdi and Hot Chocolate). Music inspires me so I am working with polish and georgian musicians ( i.e. Soft Eject or Green Room). Between 2008 and 2011 I was a lecturer in Warsaw Academy of Photography. In 2008 I was granted the first prize at Best lifestyle cover category of the Grand Front Awards, Poland. in 2009 I was a jury member of Kolga Photo Festival in Tbilisi. Between 2012 and 2014 I formed a creative team with Maja Kaszkur. We came up with two photographic documentaries series . One of our stories was awarded a honorable mention at the International Photography Awards and then published in aCurator magazine. With my friend Vaho Babunashvilli - author and musician in 2012 I started a 3-years’ photographic work on „Georgian Taste”, a book on Georgian culture, people and cuisine, published in Poland in 2015.
The book was sold in 6000 copies.
SELECTED EXIBITIONS: 2004 -Polska Diary” Polak/Pruska/Długosz - Lille, France
2005 - Polska Diary Polak/Pruska/Długosz - Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
2005 - Antyfotografie - IV Photo Biennal, Poznan, Poland
2006 - POLAND NOW - Yours Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2008 - Photo Month Krakow, Poland
2014 - Untitled Open Air Festival, Sieradz, Poland
2015 - Untitled - Photo Festival Sopot, Poland
2016 - I am my father’s brother - Photo Festival Sopot, Poland
GRANTS:
2007 - 6 months scholarship from Polish Ministry of Culture for young artists
2012 - grant from Polish Ministry of Culture for publishing Georgian Taste book
WORKSHOPS:
2017/2018 - NORTHERN LIGHTS MASTERCLASS - led by Jim Casber, Lars Boering and Marc Proust