Joanna Szproch, born in Warsaw (14.06.1979), is a Berlin-based mother, visual artist, art mediator, and activist. Her projects create a universe of fantasy that explores female sensuality, autonomy, and joy through photography, performance, text, drawing, and objects. Ordinary acts such as play, curiosity, and ritual serve as tools of creative dissent against the objectifying gaze.
Artist Statement
My work explores human experience through the female body, highlighting its complexity and wholeness. I work primarily with analog photography, self-portraiture, and biographical projects, blending them with performance, drawing, writing, objects, and archival materials. Through art books, installations, and participatory projects, I develop practices that embrace life in its totality. They support women’s self-determination, oppose martyrdom, encourage fearless experimentation, and unapologetic self-expression.
Color is central to my practice, as a sensory connector that anchors beauty and feeling. I prioritize the female gaze over objectification, blending childlike curiosity with mature libido, highlighting joy and awe from embodied and transcendent encounters. My images inhabit a liminal space between the potent and the wise, the tender and the brave—blurring the boundaries of artist and muse, document and spectacle. Relationality extends beyond the interpersonal to form a network among images, objects, and bodies—carriers of memory and affect —creating meaning through their juxtaposition.
I see art as a sister to freedom and a search for élan vital—a vital force restricted by patriarchy. My work emphasizes that joy, play, and wonder are vital to human well-being yet are often denied to women, who are expected to nurture everyone but themselves. Healing starts from within, and becoming self-aware is a radical act. For me, fantasy is a playful way to resist oppressive systems and an avenue for subjective photography as a form of dissent.
Education
Certificate Program on "Women’s Empowerment through Art and Political Education", Schillerwerkstatt e.V., Spore, Berlin, DE
Mentoring Program with Ann Shelton, Centre de la photographie Genève, Geneva, CH
Certificate Program on "Artistic Research in the Context of Local History and Culture of Remembrance" in cooperation with WeTeK gGmbH and SFBB, Berlin, DE
Year-long Certificate Program on "Cultural Education Professional Development" at WeTeK Berlin gGmbH in cooperation with SFBB, Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, DE
PolMotion Mentoring Program for Women (year-long program), concluding with Joanna Szproch's Artist Talk with Curator Maj Smoszna on Female Gaze and Gender Equality, Berlin, DE
M.A. in Graphic Arts, Academy of Fine Arts, Łódź, PL Major in Photography under Prof. Grzegorz Przyborek; Minor in Woodcut and Art Book Techniques under Prof. Andrzej Bartczak
Solo Exhibitions
Alltagsfantasie, Feelings and Photography Open Call, Internationale Photoszene Köln, Gemeine Köln, DE
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Wahre Liebe Tut Niemals Weh, Rathaus Neukölln, Berlin, DE
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@smilefomedaddy, 317/84 Studio, Berlin, DE
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@smilefomedaddy, A Pop Up Exhibition + Artist Talk, GlogauAir, Berlin, DE
Life is not a gif, A One Day Show, Caffè Internazionale, Palermo, IT
Dreams Come True, A One Day Show, Balera, Berlin, DE
My Vagina Has Many Fans... , A One Day Show, Del Rex, Berlin, DE
Side Effects Of Too Much Tumblr, A One Day Show, Untertitel, Berlin, DE
Warsaw Joy Star System, A Solo Exhibition in “Likus” Gallery, Warsaw, PL
Princess Lena, “Przeciag” Gallery, Warsaw, PL
Early Endeavors, “Enklawa” Klub, Warsaw, PL
My Mythology, “Melon” Gallery, Warsaw, PL
Group Exhibitions
Circulation(s), Festival of Young European Photography, cur. Carine Dolek, 104 Paris, FR, 2026
Art and Cooperation in Gropiusstadt, Bauhaus Archive/Gropiusstadt Neighborhood Center, Berlin, DE
International Photography and Media Art Festival, Kaunas, LT
PrzeglądAnie (się), Laboratorium Sztuki, Kalisz Biennale of Art, PL
Not Your Choice!, Group Exhibition, A.K.T., Pforzheim, DE
Traces of Solidarity, Group Exhibition, Grolman Gallery, Berlin, DE
Mine Eyes Bees Deceive, Photo Book Reading Room, Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, PL
Badass, FLINTA Self-Organized Pop-Up Show, Berlin, DE
Rebounder - A Group Exhibition with ArtConnect artists, Her, Berlin, DE
Photofestival Tiff, Presentation of 15 shortlisted finalists, Wroclaw, PL
Exposure, Art Auction and A Group Exhibition, Weserhalle, Berlin, DE
Porn Forest by Pornceptual, A Wall-sized Collage for the Installation Room by Curated By Girls, Alte Münze, Berlin, DE
New Femininity 3Curated By Girls, Melkweg Expo, Amsterdam, NL
Sync, Psych, Self (sic), The Self Portrait Group Exhibition, F.K.Kollektiv, Berlin, DE
Curated By Girls, Mutuo Galerie, Barcelona, SP
Curated By Girls, Vogelball Festival, Hamburg, DE
Curated By Girls, Whole - United Queer Festival, Berlin, DE
Come As You Are - Curated By Girls - A Group Exhibition, St. George, Berlin, DE
A Story The World Needs To See - Curated by Girls, Berlin Feminist Film Week, Agora, Berlin, DE
Kunsthalle Palermo - Art Space Fairs, Caffè Internazionale, Palermo, IT
Art Verona - ART PROJECT FAIR, Caffè Internazionale Pavillon, Verona, IT
Gold Train, K-Salon, Berlin, DE
Alter Angle, Somos Gallery, Berlin, DE
The Photocopy Club, Urban Spree Gallery, Berlin, DE
Der Greif, Neue Galerie im Höhmannhaus, Augsburg, DE
Immortal Yearning, Galerie Su De Coucou, Berlin, DE
Irene Erotic Zine, A Presentation and a Group Exhibition, Galerie OFR, Paris, FR
Tissue No.1, Presentation, Societé de 032c, Workshop, Berlin, DE
Follow Me, Galerie Su de Coucou, Berlin, DE
Job Market in the Culture Sector, Krakow, PL
IV International Biennale of Artistic Photography Child, Poznan, PL
VI Photofestival, Lodz, PL
Artistic Collaborations
Bodywholeness, Intermedial Performance, Collaboration with choreographer Mateusz Czyczerski and curator Agata Ciastoń, Kultur Forum Berlin-Wrocław, GlogauAIR, Berlin, DE
Bodywholeness, Intermedial Performance, Collaboration with choreographer Mateusz Czyczerski and curator Agata Ciastoń, Kultur Forum Berlin-Wrocław, Tiff Center, Wrocław, PL
Bigbul, self-published publication, Berlin, DE
Urban Witches Not Bitches, Live Shooting Performance, A Collaboration with House of Doll, Neurotitan Gallery, Berlin, DE
Video Glitch collaboration with Vero Manchego, Screening, Balera, Berlin, DE
Prima Facie, a video-collaboration with Tarren Johnson, Ackerpalace, Berlin, DE
Alltagsfantasie Book Launch, Artist Talk with Isabelle Meiffert and Nora Cristea, A.P. Bookstore, Berlin, DE
Artist's presentation as part of the workshop for Hermann Ehlers Schule, Berlin, DE
Artist's presentation as part of the workshop for Ernst Litfass Schule, Berlin, DE
Alltagsfantasie, AIR WRO - Art Residency, Wrocław, PL
Artist Talk for Bodywholeness, Kultur Forum Berlin-Wrocław, GlogauAIR, Berlin, DE
Bodywholeness, AIR WRO - Art Residency, Wrocław, PL
Artist Talk with Curator Maj Smoszna on Female Gaze and Gender Equality, PolMotion Program, GlogauAir, Berlin, DE
@smilefomedaddy, Artist Talk, Weserhalle, Berlin, DE
Awards
Distinction, Photo Publication of the Year for Alltagsfantasie, Łódź Fotofestiwal, PL
FEP Award for Alltagsfantasie, IT
Catalog Funding for Alltagsfantasie, Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe, DE
Catalog Funding for Alltagsfantasie, Stiftung Kunstfonds, DE
Distinction, Dummy Award for Alltagsfantasie, Fotofestiwal, Łódź, PL
Nomination to Photobook Dummy Star Awards, SP
Shortlist of finalists at Photofestival Tiff, Wroclaw, PL
Grand Prix and silver medal in "The Child" photo award, Poznan, PL
2 Second Prizes in "Fotoplastikon" photo award, Warsaw, PL
Prize in "Arctic Paper" photo award, Lodz, PL
Workshops and Seminars
Photobox for Move the Streets 447, Gangway Neukölln/Wutzkyallee Youth Center, Berlin, DE
Photo workshop for DiaDeWutzky, Neighborhood Festival, Wutzkyallee Youth Center, Berlin, DE
Being Different Together, Workshop for Not Your Choice finissage, A.K.T., Pforzheim, DE
Guest Lecture, Photography Seminar with Artist's Presentation, Hochschule Pforzheim, DE
In Unserer Hood Fantasieren, Workshop, Mäusebunker Festival, Berlin, DE
Gemeinsam Anders Sein, Participatory Photo Project, Wilde Hütte, Berlin, DE
Ready to Enter, School Project with a Pop-Up Exhibition on Gender in Art, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, DE
In Meinem Garten der Fantasie, Youth Photography Course, YAN Dammweg, Berlin, DE
Visual Literacy in the Context of Global Learning, Workshops, GfHF e.V., Berlin, DE
„Alltag Phantasie“ - (Everyday Phantasy) - A Participatory Photography Project for adolescent and young adults and the Exhibition, Haus der Jugend Zehlendorf, Berlin, DE
Photography Workshop on Diverse Visual Perspectives in the Context of Global Learning, Hermann Ehlers Schule, Berlin, DE
Cultural Mediation: Guided Exhibition Tour, Nadine Ijewere, C/O Berlin, with Students from Hermann Ehlers Schule, Berlin, DE
3 modules Photography Workshop "Wir Leben Vielfalt" (We Live Diversity), Ernst Litfass Schule, Berlin, DE
Mixed media Workshop "Bodywholeness" about being wholesome in the body, GlogauAir, Berlin, DE
Mixed media Workshop "Bodywholeness" about being wholesome in the body, Tiff, Wroclaw, PL
Seminar “Photography”, summer semester, HTK Design School Berlin, DE
Photography and Art Direction Workshop “Haloween”, HTK Design School Berlin, DE
Seminar “Photography”, winter and summer semester, HTK Design School Berlin, DE
Seminar “Photography and Art Direction”, summer and winter semester, HTK Design School Berlin, DE
About Blank • Venue Acker Palace • Venue Appaloosa • Band Ballady I Romanse • Band Berglind Agustsdottir • Musician Berlin Community • Radio Buttwrap • Underwear C-Heads • Magazine Converse • Footwear Contributor • Magazine D - la Repubblica • Magazine Dream Nation • Clothing Dr. Irena Eris • Cosmetics and Spa Dysnea Boys • Band Elle Pl • Magazine Frozen Bird • Band Gaby Gila • Artist Hanne Lippard • Artist Heinrich Barth • Cosmetics House of Doll • Fashion Designer Isabella Scorupco • Actress Jakkoo Eino Kalevi • Singer Mary Komasa • Singer Mossless • Book Nike • Sportwear Novembre • Magazine Odeur • Clothing Pedro Lourenco • Fashion Designer Shameless Limitless • Organization Sense of Beauty • Magazine Tarren Johnson • Creative Movement Director Temporary Showroom Tissue • Magazine Whitelies • Magazine Urban Spree • Venue 4SEE • Magazine
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