Ann-Chris­tine Woehrl 

Witch­es in Exile 

Photo exhi­bi­tion of women from Ghana stig­ma­tized and out­cast as witches.

April 21 - May 27, 2023

■ In 43 coun­tries world­wide, women are accused of witch­craft. In Ghana, super­sti­tion and witch­craft per­se­cu­tion are still wide­spread. Hun­dreds of women are accused of witch­craft every year and forced to leave their fam­i­lies. They find refuge in spe­cial­ly found­ed vil­lages, mostly older and wid­owed women, but also younger ones with their children.

■ Be it the death of a rel­a­tive, a bad dream, droughts or ill­ness, any con­ceiv­able kind of mis­for­tune is enough to find some­one to blame, not least to cope with their own fears. Sto­ries cir­cu­late of eco­nom­i­cal­ly suc­cess­ful women who were denounced, per­se­cut­ed and tor­tured by rel­a­tives or other envi­ous people, and only the escape to remote vil­lages saved their lives.

■ The German-French pho­tog­ra­ph­er Ann-Chris­tine Woehrl vis­it­ed them in the vil­lages of Gam­ba­ga and Gushiegu, took their por­traits and record­ed their sto­ries. Her large-format images against a black back­ground give the stig­ma­tized and per­se­cut­ed women back their dignity.

Ann-Chris­tine Woehrl stud­ied pho­tog­ra­phy in Paris and worked as an assis­tant for pho­to­jour­nal­ists David Turn­ley and Reza, as well as at the Magnum agency. The focus of her work is on social issues, wom­en’s rights and reli­gions in Latin America.

At Centre Cul­turel Français Freiburg, Im Korn­haus, Mün­ster­platz 11 

Mo, Di, Do 9:00 – 17:15, Mi 10:00 – 17:15, Sa 10:00 – 13:00 am 22.04. u. 06.05.