This exhibition brings together twenty portraits and twenty stories of Polish women who have made their lives in the United Kingdom. These are voices rarely heard, yet they speak powerfully of resilience, transformation, and the many meanings of freedom. Each woman has chosen how she wishes to be seen, selecting her own portrait and sharing her own words. This act of choice and self- representation lies at the heart
of the work, inviting viewers to engage with these stories not as passive observers but as active participants in the dialogue of identity and belonging.

What connects these women is resilience; what differentiates them is everything else: age, class, background, the rhythm of their speech, the timbre of their longing. Together, they form a collective portrait of Polish womanhood abroad: strong yet tender, proud yet humble, rooted in memory yet reaching towards the future.

They are teachers, artists, cleaners, mothers, entrepreneurs, carers, office workers, dreamers and many others. Some came decades ago, others more recently. Some fled broken marriages or political systems; others followed love, hope, or curiosity. Their paths differ, yet they share a quiet dignity and an unyielding will to survive.

Our conversations also reached back into history. Poland’s turbulent past of war, shifting borders, and migration, forms a powerful backdrop to these stories. From wartime and post-war journeys, through the wave of migration following 2004, to the most recent mobilities, the Polish experience has always been entwined with the search for safety, identity, and belonging.

By bringing these portraits into public spaces, I invite you to encounter these women not within the walls of a gallery, but in the everyday landscape of the city. This is where community lives and where art can meet people directly.

This project is both a collective portrait and a gesture of recognition. It honours the courage of Polish women who have made Hounslow their home. They are not only Polish migrants, but an integral part of the rich tapestry of the United Kingdom’s diversity.

Through these conversations, I have learnt that freedom is not a single act or a political concept, but a daily practice of choosing oneself again and again, even when life feels uncertain. They remind us that bravery can take the form of a smile, a night shift, a walk by the sea, a funfair, a coffee with a friend, a note from a stranger, or the decision to start anew at fifty.

Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the twenty women who took part in this project. Special thanks to Malwina Kukaj for her help throughout. My thanks also go to Prof. Michał P. Garapich and Prof. Rafał
Soborski, for their ongoing guidance and support and to the team at Watermans Art Centre: Klio Krajewska, Jan Lennox, Thom Stanbury, Antony Pickthall and Simon Spearing.