From initiative to exhibition: Faces of Decision Makers debuts at Fabryka Norblina and Varso Place

13:09 31 July 2026

Post by: WBJ

Does a beauty brand have to talk exclusively about beauty?

Orivène, an original Polish luxury skincare brand, answers this question with its “Faces of Decision Makers” project. The initiative begins with the skin but goes much further, opening a conversation about responsibility, stress, mental well-being, the body, and the experiences that shape us as human beings.

Eleven leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals were invited to take part in “Faces of Decision Makers.” They were not asked about their positions, performance, or strategies. Instead, the conversations focused on what happens to someone who spends years making decisions not only for themselves.

Their stories were captured by Masza Kubiak. The unedited black-and-white photographs are neither conventional business portraits nor an attempt to create yet another idealized image of a leader. Their subject is the person: their face, skin, expression, gestures, and moments that cannot be scheduled in a calendar.

Masza Kubiak’s attentiveness also made it possible to capture what appears between the elements of a consciously constructed image: concentration, tension, reflection, calm, fatigue, or a smile.

Renata Bogacka-Andrzejewska

An important context for the project is the relationship between the mind, the nervous system, the body, and the skin. Prolonged stress, tension, fatigue, and lack of sleep are not merely psychological experiences. They affect the functioning of the entire body, while the skin, as one of its most reactive organs, is where these experiences invariably leave their mark.

“We were not interested in creating yet another instant, idealized image of the world. We were interested in the person behind the decision, together with all the experiences that this responsibility leaves within them. We chose a format based on conversation and unretouched photographs because the skin is not merely a surface, and a person is never limited to what they show the world,” says Gosia Agnieszka Stankiewicz, the project’s initiator.

The project began as an original initiative by a Polish beauty brand, but it quickly extended beyond the skincare industry. The participants’ stories, published on LinkedIn, became the starting point for conversations involving people working in business, management, HR, People & Culture, and employer branding, among other fields. A community has developed around the project, interested not only in what leadership looks like, but also in the consequences it has for the person behind it.

Pawel Dudziak

In August and September 2026, “Faces of Decision Makers” will be presented in two locations representing two different sides of Warsaw.

The first edition of the exhibition will take place at Fabryka Norblina from August 20 to September 2, 2026. It is a place where Warsaw’s industrial history has not been confined to the past but has been given a new life. Preserved traces of the former factory coexist with contemporary architecture, culture, business, and urban life. This is precisely why Fabryka Norblina provides a distinctive setting for a project about decisions whose impact does not end when they are made. Their consequences remain in our memories, our experiences, and within us as human beings.

Joanna Zdanowicz

From September 9 to 22, 2026, the same story will be presented in a second edition at Varso Place, a space symbolizing contemporary Warsaw: dynamic, open, and focused on the future. It is a place where people, ideas, and different worlds meet every day, and where business, culture, and urban life coexist. In this setting, the project asks us to consider the person behind the decision, regardless of their position, role, or personal history.

Two locations. One story. Faces of Decision Makers.