Life on Assignment
Kuba Dąbrowski
exhibition
Life on Assignment
Kuba Dąbrowski
22.04 – 14.06.2026
Curator: Piotr Niepsuj
Photography assignments – especially in the world of fashion – serve as a kind of backstage pass. They open doors to spaces usually out of reach: behind the runway shows, inside VIP hotel rooms, private meetings, and the fleeting moments “between” staged events.
These spaces are temporary by design, yet fashion weeks return every few months, rhythmically and predictably. Cities change, but over time the surroundings become familiar: the same faces, recognisable gestures, recurring routines. After a few trips, maps become unnecessary. In every city, you find a corner bar, a favourite bookstore, and your own route from hotel to the show. Out of the logistical chaos and time pressure, a new routine emerges – makeshift, yet surprisingly enduring. New friendships form, rooted in shared experiences and the rhythm of travel. The temporary begins to feel permanent. Photographic work takes place in a world that is not quite home, yet gradually forms its own orbit of familiarity.
As with all homes, what appears in magazines often looks very different from reality. In Life on Assignment, Dąbrowski captures his daily life within these “not-quite-home” spaces. His work is attentive and discreet, documenting not the spectacle of fashion itself, but its margins: the moments when the production world reveals its theatricality, and bodies and emotions seek comfort.
For years, Dąbrowski has observed and translated this state of suspension into a photographic language where apparent spontaneity never means superficiality. In his images, business travel is not just a route between cities, but a way of existing in the nomadic world of assignments.
Kuba Dąbrowski
For 15 years – so, thirty seasons – he has worked for WWD, one of the world’s longest-running fashion publications, and for many top fashion brands. His daily routine includes photo shoots, fashion week coverage from Paris to New York, and street style photography capturing the latest trends.
At the same time, he is associated with first-person documentary projects exploring themes of everyday life, family, and close relationships. This is largely due to his groundbreaking 2014 exhibition at Zachęta, “A Drama Feature Film of Polish Production.” Not only was it one of the few solo exhibitions by a contemporary Polish photographer at the time – it also introduced unembellished everyday reality into a national gallery space. As well as his photobook “Tutejszy” (published by Wydałem), released last year, where he explores his returns to Poland and his experience of living and working “in-between” countries.
In “Life on Assignment,” Dąbrowski reveals the behind-the-scenes reality of his professional life over the past decade. The photographs from his work travels were selected together with Piotr Niepsuj, the exhibition’s curator.
Kolofon
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