Jutta Benzenberg studied photography at the “Staatliche Fachakademie für Fotodesign” München (Germany) and worked afterwards as a photographer for different magazines
and theatres. Additionally, she worked with some TV- stations such first as a camera assistant and at the private TV as a cameraman as well. In 1991 she travelled for the
first time through Albania with the Albanian writer Ardian Klosi to shoot photographies of those upset times, to capture Albanian portraits and landscapes. Jutta Benzenberg and
Ardian Klosi published a book in spring 1993 in Salzburg, Austria, under the title: “Albanisches Überleben” (Albanian Survival). Since then Jutta had many exhibitions in different
cities of Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Albania. Jutta Benzenberg’s and Ardian Klosi’s second book „Bukuri e rëndë“ (Sombre Beauty) was published in
Tirana in 2004. With the photographies of this book she exhibited at the Biennial Arts Festival Tirana, Think Pink (Prishtina), Goethe Institut (Thessaloniki and Athens)
among others. In 2011 their last book ”Ahead with the Past” was published by Fotohof Salzburg (Austria). Her last Solo and Group Exhibitions were held in Rumania, Austria,
Kosovo, Greece, Germany, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, in USA,(Washington DC) and in Latin America..
How I got into political photography
My husbands best friend asked me to portray him when he ran the election campaign in 2013. I am not much into politics, but I accepted it because he was the
connection to the husband that I lost. Their thoughts were so similar, and in this case, there was big hope to change Albania. I didn’t have a clue what to do. But I thought I would not only
focus on politicians but on the people like I always do. I wanted to honour them. In 2013, when he was Prime Minister, Edi Rama invited me to be his Peter Susa, the personal photographer of
Barack Obama. After one year of travelling together, I told him I needed to return to the basics. This meant going back to photographing the people and circumstances ofAlbania.
But when there are big political events I come back to political photography, not out of interest in the politicians but to record the event historically.
Jutta Benzenberg
