Artist profile
Justyna Cwojdzinska
Justyna Cwojdzińska is a theatre practitioner, voice-over artist, and producer. She studied Theatre at Cultural College in Wrocław and holds an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Wrocław. Justyna has been involved in theatre productions since 2000 in Poland. When she moved to Ireland, she continued her work in the cultural sector, especially with local communities. She is the founder and artistic director of the Polish Arts Festival.
More about the artist
Justyna received an Outstanding Pole Award in the Culture Category for her work on the Festival from the Polish Government (Polish Promotional Emblem Foundation TERAZ POLSKA) under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland.
Here’s what Justyna had to say about being a Vital Spark Relationship Programme and Ideas Fund artist “I’m super excited about being part of Vital Spark since we share the same vision of a sector more representative of children today. I’m working on multilingual theatre performance embedding physical theatre and mask performance skills where children are part of the creation process. Working with Vital Spark will allow me to develop the idea further and take it to the next level, having access to all the experience and expertise they offer. I can’t wait to get started!”
In 2023, she was awarded the Arts Council Young People, Children, and Education Bursary Award and is currently working on multilingual theatre performances for children. Her bilingual works include “Nameless,” “Julia,” and “Elemental Tales Part 1 and 2.
What’s the idea
“I’m currently researching Celtic and Slavic mythology to explore correlations and see how these can be translated into the multilingual storytelling in order to create inclusive, exemplary experiences for young audiences. I’m also working on embedding physical acting and mask performance skills, and learning how to devise mask performance for young audiences. I want to test how I can make children part of this performance using gaming reality. My idea is bold, exciting, immersive and multilingual. I wish to tell a story that will represent the children’s way of looking at the world today with characters from both Celtic and Slavic origins.”
”I'm super excited about being part of Vital Spark since we share the same vision of a sector more representative of children today. I'm working on multilingual theatre performance embedding physical theatre and mask performance skills where children are part of the creation process.
Justyna CwojdzinskaRelationship Programme & Ideas Fund Artist
The Vital Spark behind everything we do
We believe that all children should be able to experience arts and culture, and that they should be able to see themselves represented in these experiences. This is not yet the case for every child and we’re committed to changing that.
Our response is Vital Spark, and it's at the heart of everything we do. Vital Spark is about challenging and changing the lack of diversity in children’s arts and culture; it’s about diverse-led artistic decision making; it’s about not being afraid to stand up for what’s right.
We do this by supporting artists who are currently underrepresented in children’s arts and culture. We also work with partner organisations to create world-class opportunities for these artists and share best practice.
