The Witching of Art History – or How to Approach Women, Art and Esotericism
Roundtable seminar
August 20-21, 2025, Helsinki
This interdisciplinary seminar brings together scholars who have studied women artists interested in such esoteric currents as spiritualism, theosophy and magic. The goal is to highlight the important role of women artists in heterogeneous fields of occulture, while reflecting on theoretical and methodological issues. How does terminology (i.e. esotericism, witchcraft, mediumistic art) influence who is included in the history of art and esotericism? What can a focus on women (and perspectives that go beyond the gender binary) offer to the study of art and esotericism? The overall aim of the seminar is to contribute to the ongoing debates in the field of art and esotericism and extend the focus beyond the male-oriented art history.
The first day of the seminar is open to the public and will be held at the Ateneum Art Museum (Finnish National Gallery) on Wednesday 20th of August 2025. The second day, which is reserved only for researchers participating in the seminar, will be held at the university of Helsinki.
Keynote speakers for the open seminar day include:
- Dr. Victoria Ferentinou, University of Ioannina, Greece
- Dr. Michelle Foot, University of Edinburg, Scotland
- Dr. Amy Hale, Falmouth University, England
- Dr. Nina Kokkinen, The Donner Institute, Finland
A more detailed program and registration instructions for the open day of the seminar will be published later. The event will be accompanied with a special issue of the peer-reviewed open-access journal Approaching Religion, published later by the Donner Institute: https://journal.fi/ar.
The roundtable seminar is organized by the Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture in collaboration with the research project Northern Women, Art and Esotericism (Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery), and the research project Whose Angels? Enchantments, interpretations, and positions in the cyclical collaboration between art and research (University of Helsinki).
Image: Ellen Thesleff, Star, 1938, Ateneum Art Museum. Kansallisgalleria / Hannu Aaltonen