Painter and illustrator known for her poetic visual language. She also creates short comics and designs book covers.
She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. Sztyma began her career as a press illustrator, working with most major Polish newspapers and magazines. Since 2012, she has focused primarily on book illustration, especially for children’s literature.
Her work has been repeatedly recognized in prestigious competitions, including the Polish IBBY Book of the Year and the Most Beautiful Books of the Year by the Polish Book Publishers Association (PTWK).
In 2022, her illustrations for the book The Cloud Weaver (Tkaczka chmur) were selected for the Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair—one of the most renowned international events dedicated to children’s publishing. In 2024, her illustrations were once again honored in Bologna, this time for the book Adina and the Windows, published by the Warsaw Ghetto Museum.
Her works have also been featured in retrospective exhibitions:
Gallery Satyrykon in Legnica (2021)
ZAMOSTEK Gallery in Opole (2022)
Masters of Illustration showcase at the Poznań Book Fair (2024)
Together with friends, she co-runs the POL_SZTYMA_WOLNA collective, designing collections of ceramic plates and vases.
When she’s not drawing, she watches clouds and mountains with a cat on her lap, cooks vegan meals, and grows rosemary and baobab.
She lives in a small village in the Izera Foothills (Pogórze Izerskie).
Group Shows:
Illustrative 2013, International ILLUSTRATIVE Festival, Berlin
Peek-a-Boo: Polish Illustration for Children, shown at EXPO 2017 in Astana and in Reykjavík (2017)
Painters of Illustration, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2013)
The ABCs of Polish Design, exhibited in Berlin, Budapest, Gdynia, Poznań, Warsaw (2020)
Illustrators Exhibition, Bologna Children’s Book Fair (2022, 2024)
Tales of Poland: Polish Children’s Book Illustration Today, European Parliament, Dublin (2025)
Solo Shows:
Gallery Satyrykon, Legnica (2021)
MBP ZAMOSTEK Gallery, Opole (2022)
Masters of Illustration, Poznań Book Fair (2024)
Ostrow Culture Center, Ostrów Wielkopolski (2023)
