Faith is my great strength and hope in life
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Jiří Peša was born on 17 February 1948 to parents Josef Peša and Marie in Veselí nad Moravou, where he spent his childhood. In 1963 he was admitted to the School of Applied Arts in Uherské Hradiště, majoring in graphic arts. Afterwards he went to the compulsory military service as an engineer in Týn nad Vltavou. Soon he was transferred to the field printing department in Písek. During his basic military service, he experienced the occupation of the Warsaw Pact troops and actively participated in the production of dissenting leaflets. In 1970, he became an artist at the community centre in Veselí nad Moravou, where he worked on the creation of promotional materials, the decoration of cultural events and the organization of exhibitions. At the same time, he co-founded Skupina pěti (the Group of Five), an artistic association of five painters and graphic artists from Veselí, which also included Josef Kozumplík, Vladimír Groš, Josef Tomeček and Jaromír Hynšt. After the Velvet Revolution, he became a councillor for the Czechoslovak People’s Party in his hometown. He served for the next 12 years. In the 1990s, he participated in the reestablishment of the scouting organisation in Veselí nad Moravou, which his friends from the aforementioned Group of Five led him to do. In 2021 he lived in Veselí nad Moravou.
