Lecture of Kateryna Dysa “Ukrainian Witches: From Trials to Folk Tales”

On Friday, October 31 at 18:30, we invite you to a lecture by Kateryna Dysa — “Ukrainian Witches: From Trials to Folk Tales” — held within the framework of the exhibition “The Beast Came Out of the Forest.”

The event will take place on the 2nd floor, near the reception of the PinchukArtCentre. Participation is free with prior registration. The number of seats is limited.

The exhibition “The Beast Came Out of the Forest” explores the place of magical practices and rituals in the modern world. Among other works, it features the documentary film “Esoteric Life of Ukraine or You Just Know It’s White” in which Ukrainian witches share their personal stories, talk about their work and rituals, and reflect on how the war has transformed their lives and practices.

During the lecture, Kateryna Dysa will delve into historical testimonies and trace the evolution of the image of Ukrainian witches, shedding light on who the “witches” tried in Ukrainian cities of the 17th–18th centuries actually were. What kinds of harm or supernatural powers were associated with them? What other magical practices appear in court records? She will also explore how, centuries after the end of witch trials, witches were represented in folk tales collected by late 19th-century folklorists.

About the lecturer:
Kateryna Dysa — PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of History, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Translator.
She has been a research fellow at Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and Sorbonne universities, and a guest lecturer at the University of Basel.
Author of “A Story with Witches: Witchcraft Trials in the Ukrainian Provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th–18th Centuries” and numerous articles on the history of witchcraft and sexuality in early modern Ukraine. Currently, she is working on a monograph about the image of Kyiv in travel literature of the 18th to early 20th centuries.