Trude Sojka returns to her nest

In a world where racism, antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and violence are still very latent, we need to get back to some fundamental human values like respect, resilience and peace. That can be transmitted through art, and in this case, through Trude Sojka's paintings and sculptures.

Trude Sojka was born in Berlin, in 1909, from Czech-Jewish parents. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, with the most prestigious teachers of the avant-garde movements of the 1920-1930's. When the war came, she went through at least 4 concentration camps. In 1946, after surviving the Holocaust, Trude Sojka emigrated to Ecuador to join her only remaining brother. There, she established herself as an artist, depicting her experience during the war, but also providing a message of peace and hope through her original paintings and sculptures, made out of Portland cement and recycled materials. Eleven years after her death, the Terezin Memorial in the Czech Republic (Sojka's family was deported to the Terezin Ghetto), has invited her family to exhibit her artworks, from March to June 2019. Around this event (after the opening of the exhibit), the Trude Sojka Cultural House plans to organize in the Czech Republic a series of workshops and conferences that will highlight the Ecuadorian culture and promote the above mentioned humanistic values.

We have support of the Museum System of Quito (SMQ), the Czech-Ecuadorian association Czecuspol, the Ecuador Ministry of Culture, the Czech Embassy and the Israeli Embassy in Ecuador.

It is important for us to show Sojka's paintings and sculptures in the country of her origins, because we believe Czech people must know more about the destiny of their Jewish people around the world, especially in Ecuador, a little-known country. Her artworks are also a great source of inspiration and a wonderful educational material to promote peace and creativity. As a non-profit organization, with almost no income, we need to collect funds to finance:

• The shipping and insurance of these valuable and very heavy paintings and sculptures from Quito to Terezin, which will cost about $ 2.300 dollars.
• Before they travel, the artworks needs to receive professional maintenance and be carefully packed. That will cost about $ 1.500 dollars.
• For the proper functioning of the workshops and conferences, we expect to spend about $ 2.200.

The total cost will be $ 6.000.

For more information about the Trude Sojka Cultural House:

https://www.facebook.com/Casa-Cultural-Trude-Sojka...

https://trudesojkaculturalhouse.wordpress.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tru

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294308-d1997277-Reviews-The_Trude_Sojka_Cultural_House-Quito_Pichincha_Province.html?m=19905e_Sojka

http://www.claimscon.org/what-we-do/allocations/red/education/south-america-ed/