Anna Kurtycz Explained

Anna Kurtycz
Nationality:	Mexican-Polish

Anna Kurtycz (1970-2019) was a Mexican-Polish graphic artist specializing in wood engraving.^[1]

Biography

Kurtycz was born in Mexico in 1970, as the eldest daughter of the Polish-Mexican avant-garde performance artist Marcos Kurtycz and Mexican economist and author Mercedes Escamilla, and lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for most of her youth. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Guadalajara and she obtained a PhD in Communication from Paris University XIII.

From 1990 through 2003 Kurtycz pursued her career as an artist, often combining her artistic talents with her training in Biology and the environment to develop educational programs and materials to promote sustainable development in Latin America. She worked as a consultant in communication and education for Unesco on a number of projects,^[2] as well as a correspondent for the Mexican journal El Occidental (2000-2001), and as a freelance contributor to the Mexican newspapers El Jaliscience,^[3] PuntoG and Público,^[4] all while pursuing her career as a graphic artist. Her work has been exhibited in Benin, Ghana, Canada, France, Mexico, The Netherlands, the United States and in Spain. She has often collaborated with the Dutch artist RUDEK on various projects. Kurtycz died in 2019 in the Hague, Netherlands.

Kurtycz lived and worked in Africa, in Ghana and Benin, from 2008 to 2015. There she created exhibitions, art projects and printing workshops for adults and children. Her work using printing and graphic arts was sponsored by NGOs and local organizations.

In 2016, she presented the monograph Marcos Kurtycz. Vida y muerte de un impresor on the work of Marcos Kurtycz at the Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico.^[5]

Kurtycz's work is catalogued in the French Association for Contemporary Engraving ‘Graver maintenant’,^[6] the Contemporary Artists Catalogue of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France,^[7] and the Printers Association “Graver Maintenant” (France).^[8]

Selected exhibitions

• The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born (Ghana, 2012). In collaboration with the Goethe Institut.^[9]
• Petit et GRAND. (Sucy en Brie, France, 2012). Avec Association Graver Maintenant.
• Filles en uniforme (Benin, 2015). In collaboration with the French Cultural Institute.
• Chale Wote 2015 (Ghana, 2015).^[10]
• Broadening Horizons at Victor Laurentius Art Gallery (The Netherlands, 2016).
• African Perspectives (The Netherlands, 2017). In collaboration with the Africa Studies Center, University of Leiden.^{[11] [12]}
• Movimiento (The Netherlands, 2019). In collaboration with the Mexican Embassy to The Netherlands.^[13]
• Graphic Dialogues (The Netherlands, 2020). A retrospective of works by Marcos and Anna Kurtycz. In collaboration with the Embassy of Mexico to The Netherlands

Publications

• “The Ocean has told me” (published in three languages)^[14]
• "El Agua" (Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua, 1997)^[15]
• "Let’s Make our Own Business: Microscale Enterprises for Young People"
• "Hidroalfabeta" (OCLA, Guadalajara, 1992)^[16]
• "Del Uno al Doce" (OCLA, Guadalajara, 1992)^[17]
• "Cancionero del Agua" (OCLA, Guadalajara, 1991)^[18]
• "Agua pasa por mi Jalisco" (OCLA, Guadalajara, 1991)^[19]
• Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Newsletter, Conception, graphic design and illustrations (UNESCO, 1999)^[20]
• "Hablemos del Agua" (OCLA, Guadalajara, 2000)^[21]
• "Le comportement environnemental responsable par rapport à l’eau comme une innovation" (Communication, Volume 20/2, 2001, Laval University, Quebec, Canada)^[22]
• “Water participation for Poverty Alleviation. The Case of Meseta Purépecha México” en Water Science and technology 47 (6) 145-148 (IWA 2003) in collaboration with Escamilla M. and van der Helm R^[23]
• "Understanding environmental behavioral change through communication: a new perspective of Environment and Sustainable Development" (Canada, 2005)^[24]
• "Imágenes de Ghana" (Luvina, Volume 55, Guadalajara, 2009)^[25]

Notes and References

1. Web site: ANNA ROSA KURTYCZ ESCAMILLA. Kurtycz. Anna. 2017-05-01. The Hague Artists. 2020-02-09.
2. Web site: Let's make our own business: microscale enterprises for young people. live. 2021-11-13. unesdoc.unesco.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20000229141618/http://unesdoc.unesco.org:80/ . 2000-02-29 .
3. Web site: Periódicos. 2021-10-02. biblioteca.cide.edu.
4. Web site: Jalisco, Las Noticias de Guadalajara - Grupo Milenio. 2021-11-12. www.milenio.com. es-MX.
5. Web site: Marcos Kurtycz; cuerpo y gráfica. 2016-10-04. Excélsior. es. 2020-02-09.
6. Web site: Anna Kurtycz (1970-2019) - Graver Maintenant. www.gravermaintenant.com. 2020-02-09.
7. Web site: BnF Catalogue général. catalogue.bnf.fr. fr. 2020-02-09.
8. Web site: Anna Rosa Kurtycz. data.bnf.fr. 2020-02-09.
9. Web site: Studio Kurtycz partners Goethe Institute to revive Ghana's art industry. Modern Ghana. en. 2020-02-09.
10. Web site: The CHALE WOTE 2015 Festival Program. ADA. 2015-08-18. ACCRA [dot] ALT Radio. en-US. 2020-02-09.
11. Web site: Anna Kurtycz. 2016-12-20. African Studies Centre Leiden. en. 2020-02-09.
12. Web site: 2016-12-09. Exhibition: 'Neither Black Nor White revisited'. 2021-12-26. African Studies Centre Leiden. en.
13. Web site: Orígenes enero-febrero 2019. Issuu. en. 2020-02-09.
14. Web site: [Planet Society: Hay un mundo que construir]]. live. 2021-11-12. unesdoc.unesco.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20000229141618/http://unesdoc.unesco.org:80/ . 2000-02-29 .
15. Web site: El Agua. live. 2021-11-13. repositorio.imta.mx. es. https://web.archive.org/web/20170707220246/http://repositorio.imta.mx/ . 2017-07-07 .
16. Oficina de Comunicación del Lago (OCLA), A. Postal 5-687 Guadalajara, Jalisco 45050 Mexico.
17. Oficina de Comunicación del Lago (OCLA), A. Postal 5-687 Guadalajara, Jalisco 45050 Mexico.
18. Oficina de Comunicación del Lago (OCLA), A. Postal 5-687 Guadalajara, Jalisco 45050 Mexico.
19. Oficina de Comunicación del Lago (OCLA), A. Postal 5-687 Guadalajara, Jalisco 45050 Mexico.
20. Web site: Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Newsletter (UNESCO, 1999, 20 p.): Tell us what you think. 2021-12-26. www.nzdl.org.
21. Oficina de Comunicación del Lago (OCLA), A. Postal 5-687 Guadalajara, Jalisco 45050 Mexico.
22. Kurtycz. Anna. 2001-07-15. Le comportement environnemental responsable par rapport à l'eau comme une innovation. Communication. Information médias théories pratiques. fr. 20. 2. 98–112. 10.4000/communication.6554. 1189-3788. free.
23. Escamilla. M.. Kurtycz. A.. van der Helm. R.. 2003-03-01. Water participation for poverty alleviation - the case of Meseta Purépecha, Mexico. Water Science and Technology. 47. 6. 145–148. 10.2166/wst.2003.0380. 0273-1223.
24. Kurtycz. Anna. 2005-01-01. Understanding environmental behavioural change through communication: A new perspective of environmental education. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development. 4. 35 . 10.1504/IJESD.2005.006772.
25. Web site: Kurtycz. Anna. 2009-05-30. Imágenes de Ghana / Anna Kurtycz. live. 2021-12-28. LUVINA. es. https://web.archive.org/web/20211228011436/https://luvina.com.mx/imagenes-de-ghana-anna-kurtycz/ . 2021-12-28 .