MoM Art Auction
Four countries, 17 cities and 100% Mother-made art from multiple perspectives in partnership with OXH Gallery at The Spiral Staircase (a new gathering place of m/others): MoM is making HERstory once again!
The MoM Executive Board is pleased to present the 2nd MoM Art Auction, taking place Oct 22, 2024 from 6-8pm. Special invite registration only for this not-to-be-missed event.
If you have not received your email invitation, please reach out to team member Mary@MOMmuseum.org. Registration and auction preview: https://auctria.events/momartauction
Original art works by a curated mix of established, mid’ career and emerging artists will be auctioned at an exclusive catered event to raise funds to support the mission of the Museum of Motherhood to be followed with an exhibition at OXH Gallery co-curated by Courtney Kessel, Assistant Director of Experimental Design, COFA Scripps, University College and OXH Gallery founder/director Odeta Xheka. This pioneering party elevating the art of m/otherhood would not be possible without fundraising champion Mary Havlock of Little House non-profit.
Join this exciting opportunity to partner and participate with a visionary museum and leader in the field of Motherhood and Mother Studies. MoM collects, preserves, and disseminates Mother Made Art with a passion for the cultural, social, and historical issues and experiences that affect women, inclusive of all reproductive identities. This call to action to elucidate the art, science, and herstory of women, mothers, and families is at the forefront of the Museum’s mission and vision. More HERE.
MoM Is Moving
MoM is moving: Same street, different space, St Pete – in The Factory. MoM is excited to announce this move in response to the recent sale of The Factory to developers. “We aim for a soft opening with new murals being unveiled in an open, child-friendly area by Oct. 1, 2024 next to Florida Wildlife Corridor in Gallery Row,” says museum founder Martha Joy Rose. “We’ll be proximal to Leroy King of Art and in the new artist area adjacent to FloridRama.” Our last day in our current location will be Saturday, Sept 21, 2024 from 12-6PM: FREE MUSEUM DAY St Pete!
Visitors will be free to roam, interact with the murals, watch the videos on display, and lounge in the space whenever the Gallery doors are open to the public. “We’re still figuring out our new MoM hours,” says team member and community organizer Sierra Clark, “but the idea is that the space can be utilized for inspiration and and relaxation whether we are staffed or not.”
MoM’s newest feature will be it’s carefully designed ‘Escape Womb‘ experience. An obvious play on words, the Escape Womb highlights fun facts about conception, gestation and birth. The experience is a first of it’s kind and has been designed with teamwork in mind. Scholar and educator Jill Wood, Penn State U., has been pivotal in terms of the academic content, while MoM’s longtime curator, Rose has put her personal touches on the red room, adding “This summer, the MoM team visited Great Explorations Escape Room in St Pete for inspiration.” “Everyone had such a great time,” MoM executive board member and local mortgage broker Deanna Barcelona gushed. “We think this is going to be an incredible way for people to learn a lot of important stuff in a totally cool environment,” agreed board secretary and writer Barbara Lynch.
The escape womb will open on November 1st with advance tickets going on sale October 23. Prices for visitors are still being discussed. “We want to make it affordable to everyone but encourage an ongoing funding stream for our non-profit to thrive,” says Rose. “Excitement is at an all time high.” The room will be available for private bookings as well. Sneak Peek.
Journal of Mother Studies is Published
The Journal of Mother Studies is LIVE online! Shout out to each contributor for their brilliance, talents and labor – with a special shout out to Lead Editor, Meagan Welch for this year’s awesome publication.
So many people contributed to the 2024 Conference and then many of those individuals stuck with us over the last few months to organize the 2024 journal.
Art for all is a short video clip highlighting some of the creativity that was on display in March. Artists Courtney Kessel ‘Fabric of Life, Martha Joy Rose, Museum of Motherhood welcome, Vanessa Marr; Tokens of Resistance/A Mothers Work is Never Done, Madison Hendry; Womb Project, Judy Lyons Schneider & Alice Harrison (the Bag Ladies) intergenerational conversation, Christine Carrig; Proudly Shamed in the USA – Art Installation w/ invitation for community collaboration, Emily Fitzgerald and Molly Sherman; The People’s Republic for Reproductive Empathy Workshop, Batya Weinbaum paintings, Alicia Campos Massó arts, Vanessa Hansen; n You Are Not Alone, and Victoria Bailey spoken word as well as Ayakoh Furukawa-Leonart Flower of the Womb works were all on display, with installation assist from Liliana Beltran.
The academic presentations were thoughtful, provocative and as always thoroughly fascinating. Those who submitted papers are represented the journal.
Congrats to Christine Carrig for the Journal Cover Photo from her installation “Proudly Shamed in the USA”. The schedule of conference presentations are archived online, and links to the videos of presentations can be accessed from the same page. JourMS 2024: LINK TO THE ’24 JOURNAL.
Mother Studies
CFP 2025: 25th Annual Conference! Fun, Sex and Crying Out Loud: This international call for papers invites artists, scholars, poets, sociologists, maternal psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, women’s, sexuality, and gender studies professors, masculinity studies experts, birth-workers, doctors, researchers, students, and lay-people to share their work and tie it to this year’s theme. Works that are inclusive of all identities of birthing folx are encouraged.
Pls circulate widely & SHOUT IT! Deadline to submit Dec. 15th. LINK TO CFP
RECENT PUBLICATIONS: The Mother Wave from Demeter Press: Theorizing, Enacting and Representing Matricentric Feminism. Matricentric feminism seeks to make motherhood the business of feminism by positioning mothers’ needs and concerns as the starting point for a theory and politic on and for the empowerment of women as mothers. Based on the conviction that mothering is a verb, it understands that becoming and being a mother is not limited to biological mothers or cisgender women but rather to anyone who does the work of mothering as a central part of their life. The mother wave of matricentric feminism invites conversations with others and offers a praxis of feminism that aims to coexist, overlap, and intersect with others. Edited by Andrea O/Reilly and Fiona Joy Green. Read Martha Joy Rose’s chapter here too: ORDER HERE