IT’S dusk in Fremantle and witches are lurking in alleyways and cackling in the gloom.
No it’s not a new themed pub where you drink Swan Lager out a cauldron, it’s a left-field tour with a coven of singing witches.
Part of the 10 Nights in Port festival, Coven is the brainchild of Felicity Groom and a bunch of other female creatives.
Under the gaze of a full moon, folk will follow six witches (participating artists) around Freo as they recite spells and poems and unveil their spooky installation art.
“There’s six different witches and they’ve pulled in their own references and their own things they wanted to display,” Groom says.
“Annick Akanni is an incredible textile artist and she’s done something about her West African lineage.
“She wanted to represent some of the voodooism of West African culture that is part of her ancestry.
“There’s the earth witch, the fire witch, the water witch, the air witch, which is me, the spirit witch and the void witch.”
At the end of the tour, the coven will gather around a fire pit, where they will write down things they want to exorcise on a piece of paper.
“We’re going to burn them in the fire pit and talk about the things we want to replace them with,” Groom says.
“Our final witch, Della Rae Morrison, will be on hand to share her song.
“We’ll be singing with the witches and the Fremantle Women’s Choir are joining us.”
• Music maker and producer Felicity Groom.
Groom says the tour was inspired by her love of witchy podcasts, her ancestral links to Europe, and a desire to showcase middle-aged female artists.
“I was listening to this incredible podcast on the BBC called Witch with India Rakusen, who also did a podcast called 28ish Days Later, which was amazing too,” Groom says.
“A lot of the artists involved in Coven are in their 40s and 50s or around that age.
“I wanted to give a face to middle-aged women.
“Witches were regarded as these kind of crones, who were evil and out to get people, but I think that’s to do with gender stereotypes of middle-aged women.
“You know, women who are no longer in their childbearing years.”
Groom says the Freo coven could be a form of healing for the disenfranchised and disenchanted.
“With the state of the world at the moment,I felt like I needed to make some positive art with a nice message that brought the community together,” she says.
Particpating witches include Groom, Della Rae Morrison, Annick Akanni, Lucky Lee, Joni Hogan and Tara John.
Coven is on 6pm-7:30pm on Saturday August 9. For more info and tix see 10nightsinport.com.au. And don’t forget your broom and pointy hat.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK