Anka Dabrowska: “my art is all I’ve got now”

Anka Dabrowska is an artist, illustrator and designer. Now she’s currently unable to work as a bartender, she spends her time working on her art from her studio in Walthamstow.

Anka was born in Warsaw, Poland and graduated from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle with a Masters Degree in Fine Art. “My practice is based on an ongoing research into urban living and architecture. I am interested in how the public intersects with the urban landscape. My drawings activate a fresh narrative on the urban and rural landscape, with issues surrounding identity, place, culture and self isolation during the Covid-19 crisis.”

“Focusing on the concept of shelter as a fortress of our bodies; an extension of ourselves. Questions about vulnerability and protection, the housing crisis, personal stories and the current physical sensations of anxiety.”

“Amid the pandemic, it’s difficult to find the words to articulate feelings in ways that aren’t trite. Nevertheless, as well as retreat into isolation to ‘flatten the curve’, many of us are privileged enough to have the space to explore art and the comfort and inspiration it can offer in crisis.” 

“Before the crisis I worked in hospitality as head bartender at Bistrotheque to pay the bills. Since March 16th I’ve been laid off. My art practice is all I’ve got now. Art as source of power, resistance, inspiration, waywardness, as a kind of antidote to anxiety and despair. Looking at isolation, loneliness, togetherness as a very special place.”

You can find out more about Anka on her website and her Instagram.