MoM creates, produces, and presents artistic, educational and cultural content that studies and supports women, mothers, and those exploring reproductive identity.
MoM seeks to marry education, herstory, creativity, culture, and community for the benefit of all with a special emphasis on women who are mothers by amplifying their voices. By collecting examples of the scope and breadth of the massive contributions m/others make, their works become recognized and generations benefit from the legacy and documentation of the collective cultural voice.
MoM seeks to highlight women’s achievements and honor their courage through the promotion of the creation of artistic and cultural content. Namely, we seek to educate and celebrate diverse M/others’ stories through ‘Motherhood In Motion’ exhibits, publications, presentations, artistic displays, and community gatherings that will result in a permanent home, in perpetuity, for the Museum Of Motherhood.
Onsite MoM displays and presentations are made visible through pop-ups, private showings, exhibitions, educational content, large-scale group gatherings, hosted events, presentations, partnerships, journals, media, conferences, university relationships, and online.
In fact, we have been doing this since 1997 when we first identified a ‘mother’s art movement’ through the MomsRock legacy pioneered by the band Housewives On Prozac (1997), then through the formation of the International Festival Series MaMaPaLooZa (2002), which evolved to include our first New York Non-Profit; Motherhood Foundation Inc. (2005), and finally through our creation of our Florida Non-Profit MOM Art Annex (2019) and our ongoing work through the Museum of Motherhood. Since those early days, we have proudly participated in the active development of a body of work inspired by the experiences of the people at the center of the m/other, mothering, and motherhood experience.
The Museum of Motherhood the ProCreate Project and MoM Egg Literary Review (MER) launched a monthly international exchange of ideas and art beginning in 2015. This discourse has intersected with artists from around the world to better explore the wonder and the challenges of motherhood. Using words and art to connect new pathways between the academic, the para-academic, the digital, and the real, as well as the everyday: the Art of Motherhood is made manifest. MoM continues to add to her collections. Click here or the MAMA banner to submit.
The Mother Tree is a seven-foot tall handmade paper installation by Helen Hiebert featuring single strands of thread which have been crocheted by over 400 participants around the world. Helen is an internationally acclaimed artist, author and educator. The Mother Tree is impactful, lovely, and represents the connection we have to the earth, our families, and our community. We are so pleased to announce the conclusion of our successful acquisition campaign purchasing MT for our permanent collection. Thanks to all those who donated to fund the Mother Tree in the interest of preserving her legacy. Thanks too, artist Helen Hiebert. MORE
In 2019 the Richard Saltoun Gallery mounted a show titled Matrescence curated by Catherine McCormack, academic and expert in the field of maternal themes in art. This two-part exhibition explored maternal experience and subjectivity. The exhibit features two prominent works which are part of the Museum of Motherhood’s permanent collection. The Helen Knowles (pictured back wall) pixilated still of from a You Tube home birth titled ‘The Natural Way of Birth’ (2012) was acquired in 2013 at the discretion of its creator. Jo Spence’s photograph Remodeling Photo History (1981-81) is a key series that Jo Spence made in collaboration with Terry Dennett in an attempts to deconstruct some of the assumed and institutionally accepted genres of photography: the portrait, landscape, and still life to name a few. MoM acquired this piece in 2022. Link to Exhibit
Mother the Job has been part of MoM’s main collection on permanent loan to the Museum of Motherhood since 2011 by artist and creator Alexia Nye Jackson. Alexia began developing MOTHER: THE JOB in 2002, receiving a great deal of community support and interest. Extracted pieces of the exhibit have been shown at venues such as The Oakland Museum in California and at The Women’s Media Center in New York City, highlighting the exhibit’s short film, All Day. The main theme present in Alexia’s message driven art and live concept pieces is the economic value of the work of mothers, embracing all mothers – in the home and out of it. MTJ is currently on display at the MoM Art Annex in St. Petersburg, FL.
Interactive Not-Quite-Ready-For Prime Time, Student Project on Art Herstory. Giavanna Hahn invites you to contribute to this ongoing project beginning May 2023. This project, undertaken in the Fall of 2022, is an interactive Art Map intended to be a collaborative project which may be added to. The map attempts to trace a timeline of mother -made art. Contact us at INFO@MOMmuseum.org if you would like to contribute (Ongoing). Log into Figma, create an account. Request permission to edit our shared file: Info is below.
Polly Wood is a multidisciplinary artist who creates song, visual art, dance, and writing which embodies and explores the role of the Sacred Feminine in global culture. Polly encourages and celebrates expressions and perspectives on the Sacred Feminine. It is said that ‘She Is Everywhere’… will you look for her with me?
Polly Wood, For Museum of Motherhood; Sacred Feminine Exhibit, 2010 Full Exhibit PDF
Complete List of MoM’s Art Collection
Student Project by Giavanna Hahn – Mother Made Art
This is an introduction for future editors of the Museum of Motherhood Family Tree of
artists, mothers, feminists, and all in between. Below are instructions for adding the pictures and
stories submitted through the form to add to the continuous timeline. Reading through this
project you will find introductory information of contributors to the feminist art scene that can
inspire you for further research. The big idea of this project is to create an expansive family tree
of individuals, from all over the world, that align with the mission of the Museum of
Motherhood. This is a perpetual timeline of feminists who are adding to the documentation of the
feminist movement with the goal of creating a solid idea of what it means to be a mother in
today’s society. FIGMA INSTRUCTIONS TO PARTICIPATE and contribute to this online exhibit.
The Birth Flag symbolizes our ‘birth’ symbolically. Walk through the brightly colored strips of fabric. Reach your hands up, feeling the sensations as they initiate you through the doorway to the museum. The Birth Flag was conceived by Martha Joy Rose and woven together by Elizabeth Cole Sheehan and Martha Joy Rose in 2011. New sculptures were put together in 2019 after being exposed to the elements since its original inception.
