Hi Ashley and Brit, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you ever wondered what true crime and oil paint have in common \u2013 and whether art could actually help find missing persons? I\u2019m guessing probably not \u2013 but regardless, I\u2019m here to answer those questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name is Zuzanna, and I\u2019m a Crime Junkie from Poland. I graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krak\u00f3w, and as you can imagine, painting involves a lot of long, quiet hours \u2013 perfect for listening to podcasts \u2013 Crime Junkie for instance. Back in 2019, listening to one of your episodes, a question popped into my head: is there a way I could get involved in missing persons cases myself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These kinds of cases are something very personal to me. Years ago, a close family member \u2013 my brother \u2013 went missing. It was only for a dozen or so hours, but those hours were filled with fear and helplessness I\u2019ll never forget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That experience, combined with the stories I heard on your podcast, led to an idea: what if a painted portrait of a missing person could reach people in a different, deeper way than a poster ever could?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I reached out to the Itaka Foundation, Poland\u2019s largest NGO focused on missing persons, and proposed a collaboration. That\u2019s how this project was born. The goal was to highlight four real cases of missing people in Poland \u2013 not just by retelling their stories, but by capturing them in paint, in the last places they were seen. I visited those places myself to better understand the people behind the names. The result is a series of paintings that aims not only to give visibility to the missing and their families, but also to spark reflection on what disappearance really means \u2013 the emptiness, the uncertainty, the unanswered questions. I don\u2019t know if these paintings will help solve any of these cases. But I do believe the stories matter. Raising awareness matters. And anyone can do that \u2013 even a painter from Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re curious to see the paintings, I\u2019ve attached some documentation of the project, and you can also find more on my Instagram (@zpi_art). And if you ever feel like crossing the ocean, the exhibition will be on display in Krak\u00f3w from August 14 to 30. You\u2019re more than just invited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you\u2019re ever interested in covering (another) case from Poland, I volunteer to be your personal Crime Junkie, helping however I can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you for everything you do, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Crime Junkie from Poland, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zuzanna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi Ashley and Brit, Have you ever wondered what true crime and oil paint have in common \u2013 and whether art could actually help find missing persons? I\u2019m guessing probably not \u2013 but regardless, I\u2019m here to answer those questions. My name is Zuzanna, and I\u2019m a Crime Junkie from Poland. I graduated in painting from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":25980815,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"good":[],"class_list":["post-25980814","the-good","type-the-good","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n