Dominika Kulczyk’s documentaries will show the image of contemporary female spirituality in various parts of the world, a series of workshops will allow all participants to release female energy, and inspiring meetings will redefine the image of witches. This is what the program section Witches looks like.

Malta will demystify the image of witches, which is one of the goals of the festival’s patron, Dominika Kulczyk:
“By opposing discrimination and inequalities affecting the female gender around the world, together with the Kulczyk Foundation, we are inaugurating a program about extraordinary, bold, and wise women driving social change. Women who inspire girls from all over the world to develop and acquire knowledge”
– announces Kulczyk and adds:
“Malta witches represent different areas of life, but they have one thing in common – knowledge. Talented, bold, and at the same time authentic. One of many.”

Archaic superstitions about witches have led to real acts of cruelty and violence against women for hundreds of years. However, there are many indications that in our cultural circle the word witch has positive connotations and comes from the word know .

– The etymology of “witch” is not clearly defined. Linguists believe that the word “witch” may be a loanword from the Ukrainian language from the 16th century or come from a Proto-Slavic word meaning “one who knows” – but also uses her knowledge (the suffix “-ma” means a doer). The witch would therefore be a woman who is a doer, says Michał Rusinek, literary scholar and president of the Wisława Szymborska Foundation.

The redefinition of the understanding of who witches actually are will begin on the first day of Malta Festival 2024. It is worth noting that one of the first documented executions at the stake of an alleged witch took place in modern Poznań. This inspired Ewa Łowżył, an artist and activist from Poznań, to create a sculpture commemorating the victim of this lynching. The sculpture Alicja Biała is now creating is to be placed in the Stare Koryto Warty park, in Chwaliszewo, and symbolically inaugurate the Malta Witches project. That day there will also be a performance by the Witches’ Choir, led by Ewa Łowżył.

 An integral part of the witch program will be the screening of 2 episodes of the series “Soul Sisters. Awakening” produced by the patron of the Malta Festival – Dominika Kulczyk. The entire series takes a closer look at the intriguing topic of women’s spirituality, and the 2 displayed parts focus on its practice in Poland and Scotland. These are stories about ceremonies and rituals, returning to nature and strengthening bonds with Mother Earth. Dominika Kulczyk is a guide here who meets with contemporary Witches – women who know and who will personally share their experiences with the festival participants.

The witch program also includes numerous workshops and an exhibition “Untangling” by Krystyna Piotrowska. You can read about all events in the “Program” tab.