Jacek Ambrożewski

(b. 1989) – a writer, illustrator, author of children’s books and educational albums. He graduated from the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

His first original book, “Mała ilustrowana kronika polskich zjawisk paranormalnych 1927–2012” (A Concise Illustrated Chronicle of Polish Paranormal Phenomena 1927-2012), came about as his graduation project at the Illustration Studio of Grażka Lange and Monika Hanulak at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 2015. It was presented at the exhibition “Coming Out 2015 – najlepsze dyplomy Akademii Sztuk Pięknych” in Warsaw. In 2018 he received the Młoda Polska (Young Poland) Scholarship from the Book Institute to go to Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

He created the graphic design for the book “Legendy żydowskiego Krakowa” (The Legends of Jewish Kraków, 2012) edited by Artur Kiela, which was translated into English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. He also illustrated Joanna Rudniańska’s poetic work “XY” (2012) and Tina Oziewicz’s science fiction short story “Pamiątka z Paryża” (A Souvenir from Paris, 2013). He contributed visuals to the book “Ilustrowany elementarz polskiego dizajnu, czyli 100 rzeczy narysowanych przez 25 ilustratorów” (The Illustrated Primer of Polish Design, or 100 Things Drawn by 25 Illustrators, 2017) by Agnieszka Kowalska, Ewa Solarz and Agata Szydłowska. He co-created the project “Psikusy” (Pranks, 2017), a manifesto written by Dorota Masłowska and illustrated by eight Polish artists.

He collaborated with designer and illustrator Zofia Frankowska on the futuristic book “Szkice z przyszłości” (Sketches from the Future) and designed the work “Podróżnicy. Wielkie wyprawy Polaków” (Travellers. The Great Journeys of Poles) by Andrzej Fedorowicz, for which they received the Graphic Award from the Polish Section of IBBY (2019) and the Polish Book Publishers’ Association Prize.

His illustrations for Izabella Kaluta’s “Man Zou. Chiny dla dociekliwych” (Man Zou. China for the Inquisitive, 2018), published by Dwie Siostry, received the Magellan Award from Książki magazine. His own educational album “Ale odlot! Rysunkowa historia lotnictwa” (published in English as Sky High!: A Soaring History of Aviation) received an award in the 2022 Book of the Year competition (Graphic category for an original picture book) organised by the Polish Section of IBBY and was shortlisted in the 2022 LOKOMOTYWA book blogger poll in the non-fiction category. It was included in the List of Treasures of the Children’s Literature Museum (2022) and the prestigious international White Ravens list (2023). Translations of Sky High! have been published so far in countries including the UK, Czechia, Spain and Italy. Ambrożewski’s illustrations for Łukasz Modelski’s book “Pyszne przypadki. Niewiarygodne historie słynnych dań” (Delicious Accidents. The Unbelievable Stories of Famous Dishes) received his second nomination for the Book of the Year competition (Graphic category) organised by the Polish Section of IBBY (2024).

His works have been shown at exhibitions including The Most Beautiful Polish Books (Taiwan, 2023), The Illustrated Primer of Polish Design (Polish Institute in Berlin, 2017) as well as at the post-competition exhibitions of BIBF Ananas International Illustration Exhibition (Beijing, 2019) and NAMI Concours (South Korea, 2017).