Premiere of the book Lajkarze and meeting with the authors: Małgorzata Czyńska and Katarzyna Gębarowska
19.10.2025 | 16:00
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Culture Center, Kościelecki Square 6, Bydgoszcz
The event will be held in Polish.
The profession of the Leica street photographer—known in Poland as a lajkarz—was both new and modern, a true symbol of the dynamic times. It emerged in the second half of the 1920s, when the Leica camera appeared on the market, making it possible to capture images in motion. Soon photographers with small cameras pressed to their eyes could be found on city streets, seaside promenades, and beaches. Family albums quickly filled with small prints—informal, unposed snapshots.
Decades later, these hastily taken photographs form a portrait of the city and its inhabitants. Images once kept in private albums have acquired the quality of documentary photography: they record the interiors of streets and squares, the displays and signs of shops and cafés, as well as customs and fashions of the time.
Katarzyna Gębarowska – PhD of Art Sciences, a researcher in the history of photography, a curator of photographic exhibitions, a publisher of books, and the president of the Fotografistka Foundation. She specializes in the history and critique of photography, particularly focusing on early photography. In her research, she concentrates on vernacular photography and herstory. She has curated exhibitions such as "Eros and Thanatos: Bydgoszcz Pioneers of Professional Photography 1888–1945" (MOB 2019) and "A View from Above: The Archive of Wanda Rutkiewicz" (Silesian Museum 2023). She is a co-author of the books "Women of Photon" (2018) and "Profession: Fotografistka" (2019). Since 2015, she has been the director of the Vintage Photo Festival - an International Festival for Analog Photography Lovers. Since 2023, she has served as an assistant at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Nicolaus Copernicus University.
Małgorzata Czyńska (b. 1975) – Polish writer, journalist, art historian, and exhibition curator. She graduated in art history from the Jagiellonian University. She has published in Wysokie Obcasy and collaborated with magazines devoted to interiors, design, and fashion. A recipient of a scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. She is the author of numerous books, including Kobro. Skok w przestrzeń (Kobro. A Leap into Space, 2016, awarded the Upper Silesian Literary Prize “Juliusz”) and Berezowska. Nagość dla wszystkich (Berezowska. Nudity for Everyone, 2018). In 2020, her bestseller Kobiety z obrazów (Women from Paintings) was published by Marginesy Publishing, followed by Kobiety z obrazów. Nowe historie (Women from Paintings. New Stories, 2021), Witkacy i kobiety (Witkacy and Women, 2022), Kobiety z obrazów. Polki (Women from Paintings. Polish Stories, 2022), Julia Keilowa. Metaloplastyczka na nowe czasy (Julia Keilowa. Metalwork Artist for a New Era, 2024), and Zgiełk serca. Opowieść o Marii Pawlikowskiej-Jasnorzewskiej (The Clamor of the Heart. A Story of Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, 2025).