London curatorial group Which Witch Collective opened their exhibition They Call Me WITCH on November 13th.
During the opening night, a packed audience filled the atmospheric The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras New Church, in central London.
In the dark crypt lit only by flickering candlelight, they watched a series of performances, including poetry readings, dance, and performance. Then, guests were able to explore the exhibition seeing the work of eleven women and non-binary artists from China, the UK, and across the world while drinking refreshments provided.
The goal of the exhibition is to rethink the figure of “witch” not as a folkloric or mystical character but as a historically and politically charged identity.
Drawing on feminist and queer theory, They Call Me WITCH investigates how systems of naming and categorisation shape identity, and how these structures can be resisted or transformed.
Speaking to China Minutes, curator Wenqi Zhang said the opening night was “Incredibly energising and affirming”.
Adding that “seeing the performances activate the space and witnessing how the audience engaged, both emotionally and physically, was deeply meaningful.”
“It was moving to see the themes of the exhibition come alive through the artists’ bodies and voices, and to feel that resonance ripple through the room. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who supported us and helped shape the night into something truly special.”
The Which Witch Collective was founded by Wenqi Zhang as the Which Witch Film Festival in Glasgow in 2023. It has since evolved into a cross-disciplinary platform that engages artists through exhibitions, screenings, workshops, and collective inquiry.
She explained: “This exhibition is something I’ve long wanted to bring into being, and the theme resonates deeply with the key concerns of Which Witch Collective. For me, the figure of the ‘witch’ is not a trope but a framework. It speaks to embodied knowledge, feminist agency, and the histories of women and gender-marginalized people who have resisted through imagination, care, and self-determined power.”
Wenqi Zhang curated the exhibition along with Xinxin Li, and Liyuan Sun.
They present the works of Dr WhiteFeather Hunter, Elisha Enfield, Ashleigh Fisk, Byuka aka Fortune Tailed Beast, Zaozao Zhang, Patricia Petersen, Anna Lawrence, Ayshe-Mira Yashin, Xinqiao Fu, Isabella Marie Galante, and Wenjun Xie.
On the opening night, there were live performances by Lanyun Huang and Ling Huang.
Through the weekend, special workshops will be presented by Kefan Wang, Geraldine Hudson and Molly Piper Greaves.
The exhibition will run until November 19th.
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