March 2022 Portrait of the Month — Stefania Podgorska

Stefania Podgorska

In honor of Women’s History Month we are featuring a portrait of rescuer and role model Stefania Podgorska. Stefania and her sister Helena hid 13 Jews during the Holocaust and were later named Righteous Among Nations by Yad Vashem for their bravery. They personify strength and inspire efforts we see today in their home country of Poland, where tens of thousands of Polish citizens are welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes.  You can read more about Stefania here.

Valeria M. created this portrait of Stefania and was very moved by the process. She reflected on her experience:

How did it feel to spend so much time observing a photograph and then making art based on the photo?

I felt like I owed it to her. I feel like she went through all that she did, and that I should at least do this for her.

Write a caption for the portrait that you made. It can say something about the person or something about your feelings making the portrait.

“She’s black and white”. Stefania’s photo was very bold and she was a bold person and I wanted to recreate her boldness with black and white.

What do you think you will remember about this experience? Why?

What I’ll remember about this is temporarily becoming Stefania. I embodied her and it was really inspiring to become another person – even if it was for 30 minutes.