We are deeply saddened to share the news that our colleague and friend, Marta Kwasniewska, passed away in December after a courageous journey with a brain tumour.

Marta was our Online Creative Projects Manager during her three years at Collingwood, and in that time she made an extraordinary impact on our work and on all of us who had the privilege of knowing her.

A Creative Talent From the Start

Marta graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 2018 with first‑class honours and a Masters in Arts and Animation. Even early in her career, her talent shone brightly. She won both the Nick Park Award (Head of Animation at Aardman) in 2017 and the RTS Yorkshire Student Television Award in 2018 for her short animation ‘Growth’.

Before joining Collingwood, Marta worked as Illustration Team Leader at Twinkl Educational Publishing and as a 2D Animator & Illustrator at EDLounge Ltd, blending her expertise in both education and animation.

Her move to Collingwood came when she felt she needed to protect her passion for illustration and animation by stepping into a new challenge. As our work expanded into media‑based, digital, and global projects—particularly through our partnership with Diageo—Marta’s project management skills, creativity, and multilingual abilities made her the perfect fit.

A Powerhouse at Collingwood

Marta took our online projects to a new level. She worked closely with global markets to bring the Smashed project online, developing websites and e‑learning programmes for countries around the world. Her organisation was meticulous, her standards were high, and she took no prisoners when it came to keeping projects on track.

But alongside her fierce work ethic was a wonderfully dry sense of humour. She delivered sharp, understated one‑liners that caught everyone off guard, and she was refreshingly honest about not always being a “lover” of human interaction. Her WhatsApp strapline simply read: “No.” It still makes us laugh.

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The Marta We Knew and Loved

Marta adored cats—luckily a shared interest across Collingwood. We all remember the excitement when she brought home her kittens, Salt and Pepper, and the steady stream of updates about their mischief.

She was also a passionate baker. Whenever she visited the office, she almost always arrived with homemade treats. One of our fondest memories is tasting her delicious Polish pierogi.

Driving to the office, however, was not one of her passions. She regularly declared her hatred for the country roads around Holmfirth, and every winter journey seemed to produce a new horror story.

She also held the unofficial title of “Last Person Standing” at any Christmas party or team get‑together.

One story we still laugh about is the infamous “short walk” to King’s Cross. After a meeting at Diageo’s London office ran over, Amrit insisted the station was only a quick stroll away. Marta—who strongly preferred public transport—reluctantly agreed. The walk was neither short nor quick. By the time they arrived, just in time for Marta to catch her train, she made her displeasure abundantly clear through pointed looks and increasingly vocal commentary. We laughed about it for months.

Marta was also a proud ‘Swiftie’. When Taylor Swift announced her world tour, she blocked out large chunks of her calendar to secure tickets. She did get them—but heartbreakingly, she became too ill to attend.

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Facing Illness with Defiance and Spirit

In May 2024, Marta was suddenly diagnosed with a high‑grade brain tumour. Having only recently bought her own house, car, and kittens, she had to give everything up and return home, where her family cared for her with immense love.

She faced her illness exactly as we expected: with defiance, resilience, and a refusal to sugar‑coat her frustration. She found it inconvenient, annoying, and made no secret of it.

For her 30th birthday in October, we took her to her favourite carvery pub. She ordered a Yorkshire pudding the size of her head, and we shared a chocolate cake. She was unimpressed—though tolerant—of our loud rendition of “Happy Birthday” in the middle of the pub, but took it in good humour, as she always did.

We will always remember her love of bright colours, bold fashion, and ever‑changing statement hair. Her bright orange locks, captured in her Collingwood headshot, are how many of us will picture her forever.

Memories of Marta:

“Marta was a keen gamer, and she and I would often devote a little time in our weekly catch-ups to how she was progressing in Baldur’s Gate (a fantasy role-playing video game).

We also shared a love of cooking and baking. She loved to bake a sweet treat and occasionally shared pictures of the results. She was also one of my most active followers of my foodie pics on Instagram, rarely would I not get a ‘like’ from her when I posted one of my culinary masterpieces!”

Andy Summers, Director Smashed

“I’ll always remember Marta for how much of a Swifty she was, and when Taylor Swift announced her tour, Marta blocked off most of the time in her work calendar to make sure she could get tickets! We’d always compare our thoughts on new album releases and singles.’

Katie Broomhead, Live Creative Projects Manager

“I remember her love and talent of baking! And her fantastic, colour fashion sense ”

Meg, Projects Coordinator

“Marta was a straight-talking, funny and generous human being who made a huge contribution to the work of Collingwood Learning and the impact of her work will be felt here for a very long time to come.

I always enjoyed spending time with Marta and am deeply saddened that her life was cut so short when she had so much more to live for. Marta lit up every room she entered with her creativity, personality and love of bright colour, and her integrity and sense of social justice shone through everything she turned her hand to.

Outside our time working together on Collingwood projects we bonded over many things, particularly our mutual adoration for cats, pierogi and cake! Those of us at Collingwood who were lucky enough to have known Marta will remember her with great affection – not only for her professional capabilities but for her warmth, humour and candour, and her belief in the power of culture to change lives and speak truth to power.”

Katy May, Development Director

“When I think of Marta, I think of someone who was fiercely independently minded and creative in her approach to work and life. She was a passionate believer in education that empowers people as learners, which is why she was such a great part of the Collingwood team. I think she brought her own innate curiosity and playfulness to learning, matched with unrivalled people and organisational skills, helping us at a critical time in our development to grow our work across the globe. We had only really started to tap into her creative potential as a graphic artist, and I believe her direction lay in ever more creative endeavours with us.

As a person she was a complete joy. One of those people that wants to get the most out of life every day, whether it be learning something new, helping someone out, creating something, connecting with people, baking a cake – she never stopped bringing joy in the world. Always positive, funny, proactive and kind in every conversation she had. Her journey was tragically short, but a journey it was, and a lesson in life to us all. She was an inspiration to me in life, and her wonderful spirit of adventure will continue in everything we do at Collingwood.”

Chris Simes, Managing Director

In loving memory of our friend and colleague, Marta Kwasniewska — 1995–2025.