LCFE student Gabriela Koscielniak wins Photographer of the Year at the Smedias

Gabriela Koscielniak and her piece The Dreaming pictured above 

Also receiving an award was first year student Kate Harty who won in the News Photographer category

Limerick College of Further Education photography student Gabriela Koscielniak has wons Photographer of the Year at the Smedias.

Gabriela Koscielniak, originally comes from a small village called Ostreznica near Krakow in Poland. Back at her homeland she graduated in Sociology, but she always loved and admired the artistic side of life. When she was a child she dreamed about publishing her own poetry book, what happened years later when she finally decided to achieve her goals. She published a small poetry book under the name ‘Anahtar Cennet: At the Edge of Reality and Dream’.

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A year later she met a special man for who she decided to follow her heart and move to Ireland. Shortly after she graduated in Art, but she felt that the photography is something that she would love to bond her life with. Music, dark art, literature, nature and famous photographers are what inspires her to create her own works.

During her second year of studying Photography in LCFE, Gabriela decided to submit her works to the Smedias 2022 – National Student Media Awards – in the category Photographer of the Year. She was nominated with her classmate Ciara Sheridan in the category Photographer of the Year, but it was Gabriela who was lucky enough to win. She said: “I had the great honour to win the category Photographer of the Year 2022 representing LCFE in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin last Thursday, April 28. 

Also receiving an award was first year student Kate Harty who won in the News Photographer category.

What defines Gabriela’s art is: alienation, being alone, distortion, distance, surrealism, movement, blur, light, darkness and division. The titles of her photographs are: The Dreaming, Beyond the Sphere of Touch, Emotional Overload. Her favourite type of art is dark surrealism because in her opinion it helps her to go beyond the real world and deconstruct reality, offers the chance to create something impossible possible. She dreams to have her own photography business in the near future and also help animals in shelters.

Gabriela said, “I did not expect that at all and I felt ridiculous, because I did not know what to say to the audience. I wanted to thank LCFE photography teachers Eoin, Aine and Dan for their support.” 

Congrats to all involved!

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