Born in Poland. Studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw and obtained her degree from the School of the Chicago Art Institute. She joined the faculty of the University of British Columbia in 1969, where she taught Design, Textile Design and History of Costume in the rank of Associate Professor.

 

Ms Staniszkis received many distinctions and awards: she was the winner of the prestigious Saydie Bronfman Award in 1981, awarded the 125 Canada Confederation Medal in 1993, Canada Council's Awards in 2001 and 2004, Queens Golden Jubelee Medal in 2002. Joanna is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy for the Arts as well as the International Women's Forum. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions and specialized in creating large scale architectural textile commissions which can be found in lobbies and offices of mayor corporations in Canada as well as in public museums and private collections.

 

Fashion and designing one of a kind clothing, has been Joanna's latest passion. She applies a variety of textile techniques: printing, dyeing, stamping and pleating-methods which have been inspiring her students for over 3 decades.

 

Joanna shares her time between home in Vancouver, Canada and her atelier in Provence, France.