Since childhood, she dreamed of living in France
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Hana Schiker was born on 19 April 1952 in Prague. She grew up in Modřany, her parents belonged to the so-called “working intelligentsia”. However, they soon divorced and Hana stayed with her mother. After finishing primary school, she went to work as an apprentice at Chirana, where she became a technical draughtswoman. She then graduated from the evening Secondary Vocational School of Art in Prague. At the same time, she worked in the promotion of the Film Enterprise and finally at the Institute of Housing and Clothing Culture. Since childhood she dreamed of living in France, so she took the first opportunity and went to Paris in 1982. However, because of her mother, she returned to Czechoslovakia after a few months. She did not go to France again until after her mother’s death two years later. She went through the refugee camp in Amiens and then worked in Paris as a photographer and artist. She worked as an art director in various advertising agencies until her retirement. In Paris she met the Czech poet and surrealist Petr Král, who had lived there since 1968, and whom she married. Thanks to him, she got to know well the famous Czech emigrants (Tigrid, Liehm, Kundera, Slavíček, Voskovec) and became involved in various activities connected with Svědectví publishing house. She first came to Czechoslovakia in 1990. In 2010 she moved permanently from Paris back to Prague.