Kamil Iwanicki is a scholar of Silesian studies, researcher of Upper Silesia, city guide and advocate for greater public awareness of the region. A graduate of Silesian Studies at the University of Silesia, he has for many years been professionally associated with the Victoria Cultural Centre in Gliwice, where he develops projects promoting the cultural heritage and identity of Upper Silesia.
He is the author and originator of numerous regional initiatives, including “Familoki”, “Gliwicka Mapa Tajemnic” and “Śląskie Stwory i Potwory”. His work explores the complex, multi-layered heritage of Upper Silesia, combining an academic approach with accessible popular scholarship aimed at a broad audience.
For more than five years, workers’ housing estates have occupied a particular place in his research. He uses them as a starting point for a broader exploration of the traditions, everyday life and social transformations experienced by the region’s inhabitants. As part of the “Familoki” project, he leads popular guided walks through workers’ housing estates, combining education with first-hand engagement with place and local history.
In October 2023, he published his debut book, Familoki. Śląskie mikrokosmosy, an accessible account of the history of workers’ housing estates in Silesia and the Dąbrowa Basin, exploring their origins, inhabitants and everyday life in a world that has largely disappeared and is increasingly fading from memory. The book inspired numerous events, author talks, exhibitions and community engagement initiatives devoted to familoki throughout the Silesian Voivodeship.
His second book, Śląsk, którego nie ma, was published in February 2025 and explores the lost worlds of Silesia. Iwanicki takes readers on a journey through forgotten industrial sites, workers’ settlements that no longer exist, abandoned palaces and overlooked traces left by former inhabitants of Upper Silesia, creating a moving account of loss, memory and identity.