Gabriele Stötzer (*1953, Emleben, DE) studied at the teacher training college in Erfurt where, in the mid-1970s, she was expelled on political grounds and imprisoned for a year. She began working as a freelance artist in 1980. In 1989, she was co-initiator of the first occupation of a Stasi (East German secret police) headquarters in Erfurt. Since 1990, she has published eight books and taken part in international exhibitions. She also teaches performance classes at the University of Erfurt and holds lectures on subjects such as feminist art and on being a contemporary witness.