HANNA KRISTALL
LIFE IS
MEANT
TO BE
LIVED
Chapter 1
I was a dreamer, because I needed it
My name is Hanna.
I was baptized Hanna Guadalupe Winiarczyk-Illoldi.
Today I am called Hanna Kristall.
I changed my surname to Kristall as a symbol of transformation, similar to a snake shedding its skin as part of a natural process, symbolizing growth and a new beginning.
I am the daughter of a
Mexican teacher / health care manager and a Polish musician / conductor.
I was born in Austria, but raised traveling Mexico, Italy, Poland and many other parts of the world, while on tour with my dad.
My brother Karol is older than me, but numbers never really mattered: we were like twins. And still are. We had a very happy childhood.
My brother instilled that kind of self confidence in me, that you can wear like an invisible, protective coat.
When I was 11, my parents divorced.
When my dad left something inside me went with him. He left a void I've been learning to understand ever since. I had always been curious, full of life and confident in who I was - but his absence changed me. On the outside I might have seemed fine, but inside I felt broken.
But life is always in balance and where there is darkness there is also light.
My dad did not come back, but what came to me is a deep love for writing and music.
I started writing songs when I was 11 years old.
This is the moment I became an artist.
WTF
WE
THE
FIGHTERS
I spent my teenage years reading, writing and trying to make sense of life.
For many reasons, I lived in a kind of isolation, and I did not feel seen by the people around me.
Partly because that's how teenagers feel.
Partly because the absence of my dad cracked something open that not many in my surrounding had experienced - or if they had, they recovered quickly and went on to daily 'business'.
While they were concerned about their weekends and having fun, I was trying to find my place in this world.
ARE YOU WHO YOU ARE
I did not feel seen by my surrounding, but I felt connected to anyone with a strong and genuine spirit. By those, who had felt life deeply and were curious about life.
I met them through books, music and movies. I loved reading biographies by artists, writers, designers, philosophers, entrepreneurs,...
All those things gave me deep inspiration, and it was all I needed.
ARE YOU
WHO
YOU ARE
I was a dreamer and I created a world on my own - a place where I felt connected, inspired and free.
The wounds were there, but I had found what I needed to go on.
My sadness and pain opened up the possibility for a deep understand of myself. And this gave me the ability to connect with other people in a meaningful way.
I know how special it feels to be understood.
And I know what it means to listen to the right song at the right time,
to feel connected to someone through a shared thought or feeling or to read that one line that explains your inner world so clearly that it makes you understand yourself better.
As a teenager, music was my refuge. It was my connection to the world.
Today, it's the place where I feel most alive. Music gives me energy and fills my life with meaning and drive.
When I first went on stage, at 15, it didn't feel like foreign ground. I moved as if I had always been there and I knew:
this is where I belong.
I found my place in this world.
There is success, and this is how it feels.
Chapter 2
The Gallery Siblings: Rock'n'Roll Business
My brother and I grew up surrounded by music, art and literature. We both carry a deep understanding, love and connection for all kinds of art... it is nurturing and enriching our lives in a way I cannot explain. It's a feeling, a mood, a lifestyle.
After finishing school we both moved to Vienna. My brother started studying architecture, me philosophy.
But what we really did back then was build up our gallery. We didn't have any business education, money or plan, but an insane amount of drive, passion and common sense. It was Rock'n'Roll.
We did everything ourselves, worked non-stop. We hired an old space in a hip surrounding.
During nighttime we worked on renovating the space and during the day we organized exhibitions and gave interviews.
When I was free I studied and worked side jobs. Soon our gallery became a hang for artists, collectors and people wanting to have a good conversation, fun times and some good wine.
One year later my brother was appointed gallerist of the year by the City of Vienna. Soon later he took off working with Tracey Emin, Marina Abramovic, Andreas Kronthaler, Cory Ancangel, Ellen von Unwerth, Matt Damon,...
Chapter 3
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Summer 2016
Mentored by Michael Jackson's brother Tito Jackson,
recording my album 'Lady Mechanic' and releasing it at the Viper Room on Sunset Strip.
But how did I get here?
To be continued, stay tuned! Because it all just started.
