A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.
SAIC faculty member Marzena Abrahamik.

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Marzena Abrahamik

Associate Professor, Adjunct

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Bio

MARZENA ABRAHAMIK (b. Poland, grew up in Greece) (she/her) lives and works in Chicago, IL. She received a MFA in Photography from Yale University and a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Loyola University. Driven by photography’s ability to change our visual sensibility, her work draws on personal experiences to address the intersection of photography, feminist modes of identification and portraiture. Abrahamik explores historical, social and political themes, with a focus on photography as an objective form of representation.

Awards

"Fulbright Scholar Award," New York, NY, 2023–2024; "William Bronson Mitchell and Grayce Slovet Mitchell Enhancement Fund Award," Chicago, IL, 2023; "Chicagoland Seen Award," Villa Albertine Foundation, New York, NY, 2023; "Diversity Infusion Grant," Chicago, IL, 2023; "Studies and Research Grant," The Kosciuszko Foudnation, New York, NY, 2022; "Individual Artist Support – Artist Project (IAS/AP) Grant," Chicago, IL, 2020–2022; "Faculty Enrichment Grant," SAIC, Chicago, IL, 2021–2022; "John Ferguson Weir Award," Yale University, New Haven, CT, 2013. 

Publications

Bibliography: Women Photograph Annual 2024, Women Photograph, Sara Ickow, 2025; Śląsk 1978–1983, Tychy Photography Club KRON, Ralph Goetz and Maciej Szymanowicz, City Museum in Tychy, 2023; The Family, exhibition catalogue, 2023; Sacrosanct, Laurie Simmons, Silent Face Projects, 2022; The Art of Mushrooms, Francesca Gavin, Fundação de Serralves, 2022; Resilience: Chicago Public Schools in a Time of Quarantine, exhibition catalogue, CPS Lives, 2022; Your body is a battleground, exhibition catalogue, Weinberg/Newton Gallery, 2016.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions: Underground, Galeria Szklarnia 1, Łódź, Poland, 2023; Summer in the Light, Winter in the Shade, Summer in the Light, Winter in the Shade, Soho House, Chicago, IL, 2021; Girl Play, Hoxton Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2019; Waves on High, Lula Cafe, Chicago, IL, 2018; Girl Play, Johalla Projects, Chicago, IL, 2017; A l'ouest, Johalla Projects, Chicago, IL, 2015. 

Selected Group Exhibitions: Opening Passages: Photographers Respond to Chicago and Paris, with Jonathan Michael Castillo, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas o’neal, Tonika Johnson, Sasha Phyars-Burgess, Gilberto Guiza-Rojas, Karim Kal, Assia Labbas, Marion Poussier, and Rebecca Topakian, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, 2024; Feeding a Swan to a Wolf, Dancing with the lion, video collaboration with Rebecca Kressley, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria, 2024; Opening Passages: Photographers Respond to Chicago and Paris, with Jonathan Michael Castillo, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas o’neal, Tonika Johnson, Sasha Phyars-Burgess, Gilberto Guiza-Rojas, Karim Kal, Assia Labbas, Marion Poussier, and Rebecca Topakian, 6018|North, Chicago, IL, 2024; the Family, Millepiani, Rome, IT, 2023; For Those Without Choice, Weinberg/Newton Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2023; Sacrosanct, Special Feature, Chicago, IL, 2022; Class of 2022, CPS Lives, Ignition Project Space, Chicago, IL, 2022; Darkroom, Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP), Chicago, IL, 2022; Dependency, booth installation, EXPO Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2022; In Good Company, Monira Foundation, MANA Contemporary Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2022; Still Life, The Franklin, Chicago, IL, 2021. 

Personal Statement

I am a visual artist, driven by photography’s ability to change our visual sensibility. My art practice uses documentary style and narrative photographic traditions as tools for social change. I am visually inspired by personal histories, attachments to unachievable and necessary-for-survival fantasies, to further investigate communal formations and transformations, with particular attention paid to the intersection of environment, gender, and labor. I work through photographic series where images are anchored in historical events, my formal interests in lighting, color, movement, and gesture, connect individual images into unimaginable bodies of work. My approach to structuring and conceptualizing my work has been defined by my immigration history. I believe that my engagement with nonverbal language in different cultures, formed my interests in identity expression and photographic practices. My cultural heritage informs me as an artist and educator, and my biography is a motivating resource that provides insight and empathy to otherwise abstracted issues.

Portfolio

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

This foundational course introduces students to photography as a tool for creative expression and critical inquiry. Through hands-on assignments, students develop technical skills in camera operation, composition, and digital printing while exploring photography¿s evolving nature and impact on perception. Readings, screenings, and discussions provide a critical framework for analyzing images¿both personal and cultural. Emphasizing both conceptual growth and practical application, the course encourages experimentation across genres and prepares students for advanced photographic study. Required for all subsequent photo courses.

Class Number

1510

Credits

3

Description

Light is a powerful tool for creative control. In this course, students learn to observe, measure, and manipulate light to enhance their photographic work. Through hands-on practice, they explore the interplay of natural, ambient, and artificial light sources¿including on-camera and hand-held flash¿within existing conditions. By understanding metering and light mixing techniques, students gain the skills to shape mood, depth, and atmosphere in their images. This course provides a strong foundation in lighting, equipping students with practical techniques to elevate their work with confidence and precision.

Class Number

1522

Credits

3

Description

Light is a powerful tool for creative control. In this course, students learn to observe, measure, and manipulate light to enhance their photographic work. Through hands-on practice, they explore the interplay of natural, ambient, and artificial light sources¿including on-camera and hand-held flash¿within existing conditions. By understanding metering and light mixing techniques, students gain the skills to shape mood, depth, and atmosphere in their images. This course provides a strong foundation in lighting, equipping students with practical techniques to elevate their work with confidence and precision.

Class Number

1579

Credits

3

Description

In this course, students will explore and create their own definitions of success, starting with their preconceived notions of what it means to be a successful artist. We will break down outdated expectations and myths and will rebuild unique, personal, and fulfilling plans for a creative life. Through writing, mentoring, and research students will explore career paths and what it means to live the flexible and nuanced life of an artist.

We will investigate a number of topics and tools that support a career in the arts, including: mind-mapping, goal-setting, creating professional materials (CV, statement, bio), applying to professional opportunities such as grants and residencies, studio visits, and working with galleries. Course material will include artists¿ personal accounts of leading a creative life and tools they use to make projects more rich.

This course involves numerous written assignments; students must be prepared to write and edit their work. Students will choose from a vast menu of short projects in order to tailor their experience in the class to their career goals. Final assignments will include 1) a clear personal vision of success; 2) steps for achieving short and long-term goals, and 3) refined professional materials suitable for application.

Class Number

2424

Credits

3