The Deutsches Kulturforum östliches Europa has nominated the German journalist and photograph Wolftraud de Concini as “Stadtschreiberin Pilsen 2015”.

Wolftraud de Concini née Schreiber was born in the year 1940 in Trautenau/Trutnov, a little town in in the Northeast of Bohemia. In June 1945 she was driven with her family out of her home country. She lived in Northern Germany and studied Philosophy and History of Art at the Munich University, then Ethnography and Romance at the Innsbruck University. Since 1964 she lives in Italy. She published books dedicated to many Italian regions and to linguistic minorities. She published also a photo-book dedicated to the life in a monk monastery. She has organized several exhibitions and translations from Italian to German and many art catalogues. Recently her book “Böhmen hin und zurück” (Bohemia there and back) has been published. It is a sort of memorial-book of her childhood in Bohemia and an analysis of her relationship to the Czech people today. It is written in German and Italian.

In Pilsen she wanted to deal, among others, with themes like the minorities living in the city and surroundings (Germans, Jews, gypsies), the abandoned villages near Pilsen, the interiors designed by Adolf Loos, the theatre life and the work of Jiři Trnka. She has met directors of museums, the bishop and other personalities, but also people “on the street”: persons which delivered her the pieces for a big Pilsen-mosaic to describe with blogs in German and Italian. With an internet-diary she spread an image of the varied and interesting history of the town and his monuments and the vivid current cultural life of Plzeň today, considering with attention also the works of young artists. The photos she took during the interviews and the walks in the city could be the material for exhibitions to show that Plzeň is much more than the “beer town”.

At the end of the residence of Mrs. de Concini, we could release beautiful book called "Stadtschreiberin Plzeň 2015". It consist of the best articles from Wolftraud´s blog and her authentic photographs.

The residency is kindly supported by KULTURFORUM - The Deutsches Kulturforum östliches Europa, check their websites here. 

Gallery