Artist talk
27.06.2026, 18:00

A unique opportunity to meet the author of the Polska Britannica project during the artist’s first visit to Poland in over 50 years. Raised in the Polish immigrant community in Leicestershire, Siegieda began documenting the closed world of the Polish diaspora in the UK in his teens, continuing through his photography studies. In the 1970s, he created a moving and remarkably cohesive record of immigrant life – work, celebrations, gatherings, and family moments.

Although his work attracted interest at the time and exhibition offers followed, he chose to put the photographs away in his archive. He didn’t return to his photographs until 2016. Since then, Siegieda’s practice has gained international recognition, with his work featured in The Guardian and in the Martin Parr Foundation projects.

The conversation will focus on the artist’s story, the origins of Polska Britannica, and the lives of the people captured in his photographs – communities whose experiences long remained largely unseen in both Poland and the UK. Today, his images offer a way of understanding this diaspora as a vital part of Polish migration history and a distinctive record of its time.

The event will be hosted by Ula Urzędowska of RMF Classic.

The event will be held to mark the opening of Czesław Siegieda’s first solo exhibition in Poland.

Read more about Polska Britannica here