Born in Poland, Ella Kowalska settled in France after living in the United States. After pursuing a double course of study in art history and law, she obtained a Master’s degree in Heritage History from the Sorbonne and a Master’s degree in Law from Université Paris Sud in 2011. Since then, she has continued to explore interdisciplinarity and hybridity, convinced that the most unlikely combinations are often the most fruitful.
She has contributed to the creation of numerous short films, selected for international festivals and broadcast on television. Her first feature film, Sun, produced by Rouge International and Les Produits Frais, was released in cinemas in July 2019.
Adding another string to her bow, she trained at Gobelins in 2022 and established herself as a photographer. Combining street photography, documentary and contemporary art, her work has received several awards and has been presented in numerous group exhibitions. In January 2024, she founded Street is a Woman, a collective of 200 women street photographers based across France.
AWARDS
Finalist, Women in Art, exhibition at The Roundhouse, London, 2024.
First Prize, Culture(s): between fusion(s) and contrast(s) competition, Arab World Festival, exhibition at Espace Aleph, Montreal, 2023.
Semi-finalist, Fujifilm GFX Challenge Grant Program, 2022.
CURATION
Elles par elles: 50 photographes, 50 regards — exhibition by the Street is a Woman collective: Les Camélias, Nice, 2024; Festival L’image publique, L’éclat, Rennes, 2025.
Her Side of the Street: French Connection — June 2024 edition of the blogzine dedicated to women street photographers.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Nikon Days: Women Photographers, Nikon Plaza, Paris, 2025.
In Search of the Light, MVAC du 7ème, Paris, 2025.
Art on a Postcard, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London, 2025. Auction in support of the fight against hepatitis C.
Paris Street Photo Festival (with Street Badass), Galerie Les Passeurs de Ruisseaux, Paris, 2025.
Seen by Her, DOSS Photo Gallery, Jakarta, 2025.
24 Hour Project: Photographers for Social Change, TBD, Hamburg, 2025.
La Chapelle, Halle Pajol, Paris, 2025.
100 Years, 100 Women, MVAC du 7ème, Paris, 2024.
Women Street Photographers: A Global Street Photography Exhibition, Objectifs – Centre for Photography & Film, Singapore, 2024.
PUBLICATIONS
Homesick, No. 5, Toronto, April 2025.
Street Photography France, No. 2, Paris, January 2024.
MEDIA
Interview on the Rob Boyd Street podcast, April 2025.
Featured in Reclaim the Streets, a documentary by Eleanor Church, produced by Waterbear Park Village and Nikon, March 2025. Watch the documentary
Interview on the Point of View YouTube channel, October 2024.