Over the last ten years, the figure of the witch has made her presence impossible to ignore in Nordic cultural life. This tendency is contextualized by the return of patriarchal and misogynist views on women and women’s body in politics and public discourse. In the United States, women's abortion rights are being tightened, and here at home, several politicians have issued statements asking Norwegian women to give birth to more children. When the female body becomes a battlefield for political interests, the witch becomes an opposing force. She is non-normative and uninhibited by society's expectations.
Heksefest tracks this tendency culturally and politically, unfolding as a two-day seminar and cultural event dedicated to the witch – historically, politically, mythologically and popularly. The program consists of lectures, conversations, film screenings and musical performances.
Contributors: Mensah Adinkrah, Silje Baer, Anja Breien, Eili Bråstad, Benjamin Christensen, Silvia Federici, Thea Grant, Bredo Greve, Itonje Guttormsen, Úna Hamilton Helle, Maja Holand og Witch Club Satan, Jenny Hval, Marin Håskjold, Nora Joung, Gaspar Noé, Christelle Taraud, Orfee Schuijt, Ane Barstad Solvang, Martin Miguel Almagro Tonne, Håvard Volden and Liv Helene Willumsen.
Heksefest is a co-production between Amftirite Produksjon AS and Vega Scene, and realized with the support of Arts and Culture Norway and the Fritt Ord Foundtaion. The festival is curated by Una Mathiesen Gjerde.