Iwona Wilczek. Kuloodporni

Disability is not an obstacle to achieving sporting dreams. Photographic portraits of footballers from the championship league Amputee Football team “Kuloodporni” in Bielsko-Biała .

This photographic project offers a naturalistic portrayal of one of just five such teams in Poland. The photographs of the players and coaches are complemented by shots from training practices, which emphasize movement and heroic stamina.
Following the series PolKA, which depicted contemporary women, Kuloodporni is another project by Iwona Wilczek that focuses mainly on humankind. The team’s motto: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, disability is no obstacle to sporting dreams” has become the central message of the new exhibition.  

Amputee Football is one of the fastest growing sports disciplines for disabled individuals. Anyone with an amputated or disabled limb can join such a team, regardless of sex or age. A lower limb amputee can become a field player, and a person missing an upper limb a goalkeeper. In September 2018, Kuloodporni Bielsko-Biała became the vice champion of Poland. The main goal of Kuloodporni is the inclusion of disabled individuals in sports activities. The team also dream of winning the title of the Polish National Amputee Football Champion.


Iwona Wilczek – was born in 1987. A graduate of the Faculty of Photography at Collegium Da Vinci in Poznań, as well as the Cultural Studies Department at the University of Opole and European studies at the  University of Technology in Opole. Currently a PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. She uses photography as an artistic medium to exercise imagination, including experimentation with colour and form. In her projects, the artist mainly focuses on people and their emotions. She is fascinated by folklore.  
Solo exhibitions including: CuDOWNe DZIECI (Galeria DK Włókniarzy, Bielsko-Biała, 2019), „koBBiety” (Galeria Na Piętrze, Bielsko-Biała, 2019), Nieoczywistości (The Maria Skalicka Museum, Ustroń, 2019; Jasienica, Rudzica, Galeria Trzy Filary, Strzelce Opolskie, 2018), „PolKA” (Galeria ARTadres, Skoczów, 2018), Kuloodporni (The Maria Skalicka Museum in Ustroń, 2018/2019). Numerous group exhibitions. The artist lives and works in Bielsko-Biała.

Exhibition in the Cafe Club Aquarium from 1 to 25 April, 2019.
Vernissage: Monday, 1 April, 6 pm
with an opportunity to meet members of the amputee football team from Bielsko-Biała.

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