Categories
Art Caregiving Education Events Featured Feminism History International Media MOM Art Annex Sociology Spiritual Motherhood

Special Holiday Hours

MoM wishes you and yours all the best of health, wealth, and wisdom during these last few weeks of the 2023 season, and of course into the new year.

With our year-end fundraiser going strong and the first four months at The Factory in St. Pete under our belt, it’s time to rock forward into all kinds of new adventures. By, the way, did you know that recent evidence suggests museums improve our psychological, social, and spiritual sense of well-being?

If you think you might want to visit between now and the new year, please call ahead, or write first. Though drop-ins are welcome, our hours might be affected as our volunteers take care of their own busy lives. Call 877-711-MOMS (6667) or INFO@MOMmusem.org. We’ll get back to you asap.

Museums Are Good For You

Over the past few years, Britain has added a focus on non-medical interventions that address psychosocial wellbeing which includes connecting people with museums and other cultural organizations. They are working to shift from a deficit-based approach toward care, to finding new ways to support health and wellbeing. “A growing body of evidence shows that museums can bring benefits to individual and community health and wellbeing in their role as public forums for debate and learning, their work with specific audiences through targeted programmes, and by contributing to positive wellbeing and resilience by helping people to make sense of the world and their place within it,” suggests Mind, Body, Spirit: How museums Impact Health and Wellbeing. This relates to all museum collections, whether they be art, history, or science. Link to article.

By The Numbers

Since we opened at The Factory, we have been averaging about 1,200 guests a month. But, because we are free and open to the public, our solvency depends on fundraising. We are currently looking to raise the funds for rent and utilities through 2024. We did the math – if 1,398 friends, family, and followers donate $20 we will get there! Can you help? Every dollar makes the dream happen. We need you, each of you, now! Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. We are a 501c3 non-profit.

MoM Loves You!

Oh, and our website is now ADA compliant! Yay. We hope you love that too. Look for the little pop-up symbol.

Categories
Activism Art Birth Caregiving Classes Conferences Education Events Featured Feminism Fundraiser International JourMS MOM Art Annex MOM Conference motherhood st petersburg The Factory, St Pete

This Is How We Do It: One Person, One Day At A Time With Inspiration For All – SUPPORT MoM! We NEED YOU NOW.

Can you answer this question? How many people wept tears of gratitude on Saturday at the Museum of Motherhood, either because they felt ‘seen’, ‘heard’, or because they accessed the information they’d been seeking?

The answer is THREE, in addition to the other amazing people we had the pleasure of interacting with. We witnessed the overwhelmed military mom, a traveler from Dallas, and a son who recently lost his mother and was looking for connection. They all dabbed tears from their eyes. Since moving to The Factory in St Pete, we are greeting approximately 1,200 people a month with a mission of informing and inspiring lives while remaining free and open to the public. We are able to do this because of your generous donations.

The non-profit world is hard. It’s a fact that many museums struggle to maintain their collections, buildings and staff. MoM currently has over a dozen community volunteers, a devoted director, a strategic team for infrastructure building and fiscal growth, a commendable collection of mother-made art, and a mission of taking our rightful place in the museum world.

For twenty years, on a shoestring budget, with an unrelenting commitment to thrive, founder Martha Joy Rose has championed the Museum of Motherhood, first through its New York non-profit status with the Motherhood Foundation Inc, to the MaMaPaLooZa Festival, to the streets of Seneca Falls, to Manhattan College, to the Department of Gender and Sexuality at USF in Tampa, to St Petersburg, Florida.

In 2019, the MOM Art Annex 501c3 was approved for Florida non-profit status. Then, the pandemic. MoM pivoted to mentor eighteen interns from around the world with a variety of projects and made its facility available to over a dozen artists in residence supporting mother made art, literature, and performance. Post-pandemic, from 2022-2023, we conducted over 178 in-home tours featuring the artifacts in our permanent collection, hosted healthy community suppers for families in need, and participated in Localtopia. We were able to purchase the Mother Tree for our permanent collection in 2023 and make the transition from the MOM Art Annex office to The Factory in the Arts District of St. Pete.

The Time For MoM’s Sustainability Is Now

We are poised for success. Our ducks are in a row, our noses are clean and our strategy for success is in place. All we need now are the partnerships, dollars, and donors to take this museum production to legacy status. Our goals are to continue to build out community partnerships. This year we added the Fairgrounds St Pete, Heiress Gallery, Girls Rock St Pete, and Naaman Creative to our team of community collaborators.

Our space at The Factory is staffed and ready to greet you. Exhibitions since our opening in September have included Amy Wolf’s wearable collection, and Alexia Nye Jackson’s Mother: The Job. Plans are underway for our annual spring MoM Conference, and future exhibits with Madison Hendry and Christen Clifford.

Please Donate Today

Our Go Fund Me has launched with a goal of raising $30K. (These dollars have already been matched for our 2023 budget). Now we need to raise the rest! We will be using this money to pay our rent, keep our lights and phone on, and to make our website ADA compliant.

Donations can be made by Check and addressed to 538 28th St. N. St Petersburg, FL 33713, through our Go Fund Me, or on our website. Your support is critical to our success. LINK TO OUR GO FUND ME IS HERE.

Join our year-end fundraiser for the Museum of Motherhood! We need your support to keep the rent paid and the lights on!
Fundraiser Museum of Motherhood end of year 2023
Categories
Activism Art Birth Blog breastfeeding Caregiving Classes Conferences Education Featured Feminism Fl Fundraiser health home MOM Art Annex motherhood The Factory, St Pete

#GivingTuesday: Mothers Give Everyday: what Rosalynn Carter said about caregiving

“There are only four kinds of people in the world—those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” Rosalynn Carter.

What is a m/other, if not someone who sees to the wellbeing of her family whenever and if-ever possible? From birth on, the person who both gave us life and also the person who often sees to our care and upbringing are forever linked through body, mind, and psyche to the one’s whom they are connected.

Through our biologies, our relationships and our care-work, we are all connected in unfathomable ways

Our children’s cells live on in our brains. Whether we are caregiving forward towards our offspring or adopted children, or our neighborhood, or caring backward for a parent or grandparent , the circle of life involves constant attention to our collective well-being.

Research shows women who live near each other affect the other’s reproductive cycles. It is also scientifically proven that we share more than just our pregnant bodies with our offspring. “Women have microchimeric cells both from their mother, as well as from their own pregnancies” (Link). These remain in our bodies throughout our lives. We are indeed present in not only our physical reality but also our energetic one.

We honor the work of Rosalynn Carter and of all the mothers and others who have devoted large portions of their lives to caring for others: this can mean mental health care, infant care, healthcare, domestic care, professional care, partner care, community care, parent care and even environmental and pet care.

MoM needs your help as we nurture the nurturers and empower the future caregivers of the world

At the Museum of Motherhood we work everyday, round the clock to share the art, science and herstory of mothers. In September, we moved to a new 1,000 sq. ft venue in the arts district of St. Petersburg, Florida!

With over a dozen volunteers who reach thousands of individuals each month, we require the dollars to stay open, accessible, and free to the public.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Fundraiser Museum of Motherhood end of year 2023

Our ‘Mothers Give Everyday’ Campaign is a call to raise $30K:

Can you help us pay the rent and utilities in 2024 at our new venue?

Can you help us make our website ADA compliant.

Will you add a name to our Tribute page?

MAKE A LEGACY DONATION IN THE NAME OF SOMEONE YOU LOVE ON OUR TRIBUTE PAGE! Donate here [Link at bottom) or on our GoFundMe page!

Join this campaign in memory of your mother, grandmother, and those people you hold near & dear: the blended families, the non-traditional families and the individuals that have nurtured you. Or, honor a professional who has impacted your life by taking care of your reproductive health: the midwives, obstetricians, nurses, doulas, and pediatricians. The teachers, aunties, and other mothers who have and are impacting the future leaders of our world!

After 20 years of creating conferences, working with students around the world, mentoring young women (and men), and creating a safe and then significant space for family members, we have landed:

HELLO ST PETERSBURG WE HAVE JOINED THE CITY OF MUSEUMS!

Make a tax deductible donation in any amount to the MOM Art Annex 591c3 for the Museum of Motherhood .

MoM loves you and values your participation.

Remember there is only one degree of separation between YOU and MOM.

Categories
Activism Art Caregiving Conferences Dads Education Featured Featured Artists Feminism gender health History Media MOM Art Annex motherhood Policy Social Justice Sociology Spiritual Motherhood The Factory, St Pete

Mother: the Job at MoM- featuring the art of Alexia Nye Jackson Nov 2023- Jan 24

We are pleased to announce our second quarterly exhibit at our new space in The Factory, featuring Mother: the Job by Alexia Nye Jackson.

From the artist: We at Mother: the Job knows that Mothers are the mighty engine behind the human workforce that fuels the economy, as well as the nucleus of our society’s integrity. We embrace mothers in the workplace and mothers at home, advocating change in social policy and in the corporate culture so that mothers and their families can thrive. MTJ shows the undeniable social and economic value of the care giving work and labor of mothers. We know that by raising her child from infancy to adulthood, and that child’s productivity in the marketplace and in society thereafter, she is a producer of “human capital” and of the good citizen as well.

Mother: The Job – Building Human Capital, Building Human Beings is a multi-media exhibit, quite likely the first of its kind that includes a short black and white film of mother’s hands at task. Black and white photos of the sixteen main jobs mothers perform, writings by mothers and children, and other integrated art forms. These combine to portray the day-to-day life of a mother and her intricate relationship with her child. By recognizing the passion, intelligence and intuition that goes into Mothering, the world’s most important job, we exalt nurturing and care giving to an art form. That art form gives way to a final understanding of the highly evolved skill set needed to ultimately raise a child to maturity – physically, mentally and emotionally- prepared to enter into society as a productive worker and citizen.  The absurd question, “What did you do all day?” becomes the mascot question for today’s revolution – the unfinished business of balancing the playing field for all “working” mothers and the economics of doing it.

The driving force behind the artifacts is in the form of quotations. Each piece is assigned a quote borrowed from the top scholars in economics, child development and related fields, as well as Mothers and recognized personalities. Within this format the viewer quickly comes to realize that the powerful and intense job known simply as “mother” is consistently devalued in both the economic and social arenas, and that the call for a shift in our thinking and in our actions is urgent work.

MoM is thrilled to bring this exhibit to our new location at The Factory – here in St. Petersburg, FL. Join us on IG Thursday Nov. 2nd for an interview with the artist 5PM (EST) as part of our ‘Women in the Arts’ series.

Call for Community Action: What care-work looks like for you? Who does what for whom? Sometimes it takes multiple family members to provide for a loved one. MoM invites you to share your pictures either on our IG, FB or email us: INFO@MOMmuseum.org and we’ll share your experiences as part of this show. We’d love to feature your art: photos, sketches and stories as part of this ongoing exhibit. We can’t wait to hear from you!

MoM will be closed through Tuesday October 31 while we prep for this show.


Threads of Connection–Sorry/Not Sorry: Confronting mother (and other) blame–healing & resistance in contemporary culture and beyond

St. Petersburg, Florida & Online

March 22-24, 2024

CFP – Deadline, Dec. 15, 2023

The Museum of Motherhood is calling all scholars, artists, and community members for presentations and papers on the subject of mother (and other) blame, shame and pain, with a focus on resistance and healing. This international call for papers invites artists, sociologists, maternal psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, women’s sexuality and gender professors, masculinity studies experts, birth-workers, doctors, researchers, students, and lay-people to share their work. Read full CFP and Submit!


Joy Rose, Founder of The Museum of Motherhood and former Rock & Roller, To Appear on The Naaman Creative Show on November 15! The Naaman Creative Show is a podcast produced by local marketing agency, Naaman Creative, where they interview brilliant minds, explore fascinating journeys, innovative ideas, and impressive accomplishments from the captivating worlds of business, art, music, science, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Listen: https://www.naamancreativeshow.com/


New Member Sign Up at the Fairgrounds St. Pete use code: MOM23 for free game add on at Fairgrounds St. Pete and free Activity Map at MoM. Or sign up here for a new MoM membership for the same perks! Sign up for MoM Membership here and/or follow the link to Fairgrounds St. Pete Memberships. Your pick! We all benefit.


Categories
Activism Art breastfeeding Caregiving Conferences Education Featured Featured Artists Feminism History International Internships JourMS MOM Art Annex MOM Conference motherhood Opportunities Queering Parenting Social Justice Sociology Spiritual Motherhood st petersburg The Factory, St Pete

Call For Papers MoM Conference 2024 /The JourMS 2023 is Published & Welcome to our New Intern

Threads of Connection–Sorry/Not Sorry: Confronting mother (and other) blame–healing & resistance in contemporary culture and beyond

St. Petersburg, Florida & Online

March 22-24, 2024

CFP – Deadline, Dec. 15, 2023

The Museum of Motherhood is calling all scholars, artists, and community members for presentations and papers on the subject of mother (and other) blame, shame and pain, with a focus on resistance and healing.

Blame and shame can be self-imposed or projected by dominant social narratives that hyper-focus on the performative nature of motherhood as reinforced by unrealistic hegemonic constructions. This can be true for adult children reviewing familial relationships as well.

This international call for papers invites artists, sociologists, maternal psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, women’s sexuality and gender professors, masculinity studies experts, birth-workers, doctors, researchers, students, and lay-people to share their work.

We encourage presenters to unpack the sociocultural domain of mother (and other) blame and the psychological, personal, professional, and media environment within which this topic is situated. Who is harmed by blame, and whom does it serve? How are oppressive systems reinforced or even sustained? How can we resist or dismantle these systems in large and small ways? What forms of resistance, peace-making, and healing can help improve our relationships?

The conference will serve as a site of resistance and empowerment as we deconstruct, reframe, and affirm the complex landscape of care-work and the ongoing labor within family systems everywhere. We recognize the scale, variance, and duration of these passionate debates and hope to this conference will contribute to the body of knowledge on this subject.

Journal of Mother Studies 2023 is Up and Online

Last year’s Annual Academic (and Arts) MoM Conference yielded a marvelous distillation of journal entries on the subject of Reproductive Landscapes, and more. The Journal is now posted online with videos coming soon. MoM’s mission is to serve at the intersection of the arts, scholarship, and the general public, reaching as many women, mothers, academics, and life-long students as possible. We hope you enjoy this year’s edition.

Welcome Our Newest Intern

— BIO:
Hello! I’m Lera, a high school graduate from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. I aim to further my studies in college with a minor in Women’s Studies. My heart is set on social justice, art history, creative practice, Ed-Tech, and women’s rights. I am a designer and an artist, and my passion lies in the social application of my skill set. Last year, I began my internship at Borderless, an international Ed-Tech company that democratizes study abroad. I also co-founded She Exhibits, a non-profit gallery that counters gender-based discrimination in art. Additionally, I designed a social zine for an organization protecting women in the North Caucasus. Through these roles, I’ve learned a lot about the challenges women face daily. I’m particularly concerned about how women’s rights are being eroded in contexts of wars, authoritarian regimes, and government policies, such as those in Russia that affect reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. Now, joining MoM as a Graphics & Research Intern, I’m thrilled to deepen my understanding of sociology, women’s rights, and motherhood through working in the vast specter of projects. During my journey at MoM, I’m eager not only to contribute to the women’s rights movement with my expanding skill set but also to further the conversation on motherhood as a daughter of a single mother!

— PASSIONS FOR MOM:
I am eager to spend a fruitful year with MoM, engaging with a broad range of projects, intertwining research and art! My contributions to MoM will include graphic content creation, and enhancement of the visuals of different initiatives. I’m also looking forward to conducting research endeavors and taking on creative projects to serve MoM’s community!

We Love Our Volunteers!

Wanna Join Our Team? Write Us Here

Categories
Activism AEHK Art Classes Conferences Education Events Featured Featured Artists Fl health History home Media MOM Art Annex MOM Conference MoM Pop Up motherhood The Factory, St Pete

MoM is Open at The Factory in St. Pete

We are thrilled to open our doors at our new location in the arts district of St. Petersburg, Florida. Make sure to plan a trip to The Factory and schedule your visit today! Our doors are open to everyone – by donation~ Some events are pre-registration only. They are notated below.

Monday: 5-10 PM Motherhood in Motion; The Mother Founders marching from the past towards the future. Sign up for a class $25. Special film screenings, and private group tours (Pre-Registration Required)

Tuesday-Saturday: 12 PM – 7 PM (See our schedule to determine which hours require pre-registration)

Tuesdays: 11 AM – 12:30 PM Empowerment for All- Mothers Club. Join the Mothers’ Club / 4-7 PM Neurodiverse-friendly for those craving a quiet, low-stimulation experience. (Pre-Registration Required)

Sunday: Book your private event with us!

Monthly

First Thursday: 6-7 PM Women in the Arts (week before Second Saturday (Pre-Registration Required)

Fourth Thursday: 12-2 PM Book group/collage making (Pre-Registration Required)

First Saturday: 12-2 PM Birth Cafe (Every month – Pre-Registration Required)

Second Saturday: Art Walk 5-8:30 (Every month – open to all) 

Third Saturday: 2-3PM History on a cushion for ages 5-up. Spend an hour learning about herstory + playtime (Pre-Registration Required)

A Year’s Worth of Exhibits

Sept- Oct 2023Motherhood in Motion; action & embodiment – featuring the art of Amy Wolf. The seesaw; practicing balance & cooperation in a civil society, and the Founding Mothers (of sociology and beyond)

November -Jan 2023Mother The Job; 1950’s to Present– featuring the works of Alexia Nye Jackson along with multidisciplinary community narratives.

Feb-April 2024Threads of Connection- MoM conference featuring: I’m sorry/not sorryconfronting mother blame and healing in contemporary culture and beyond– featuring the Mother Tree by Helen Hiebert & Madison Hendry.

May- July 2024Interiors – Goddesses & the Geography of a Woman: featuring Christen Clifford and the Goddesses of Malta.

Write us: INFO@MOMmuseum.org with any questions!

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Categories
Activism Art Caregiving Dads Education Events Featured Featured Artists Feminism Fundraiser gender History International Media MOM Art Annex MOM Conference motherhood Opportunities The Factory, St Pete

Grand Opening MoM at The Factory

PRESS RELEASE

WHO: The Museum of Motherhood (MoM) – empowering women and mothers to take their rightful place in the museum world.

WHAT: Motherhood in Motion; embodiment in action- One of four quarterly exhibitions featuring the art, science, and history of women, mothers, and families inclusive of all reproductive identities at our new space in the Warehouse District.

WHERE: The Factory, 2622 Fairfield Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

WHEN: Grand opening September 9th, 2023 (Second Saturday Art Walk) 6-8PM

HOURS: 12-7 PM (last visitor 6:15PM) Monday-Saturday. Sunday by appointment only.

PH: 977-711-MOMS (6667). INFO@MOMmuseum.org. MOMmuseum.org

Motherhood In Motion; embodiment in action- presents interactive installations that celebrate the transformative journey of women, m/others, and families reimagining women’s place and progress in society.

MORE ABOUT MoM: The Museum of Motherhood (MoM) is the first and only exhibition and education center devoted to the art, science and history of women, mothers and families inclusive of all reproductive identities. MOM is organized and activated by our community. We support evolving, interdisciplinary perspectives within the field of mother studies while working with partners around the world. The MOM Art Annex 501c3 non-profit serves as the incubator for increasing the footprint and impact of MoM in St. Petersburg, Florida. We celebrate the complexities and joys women and mothers as they take their rightful place in the museum world.

Please join us as we celebrate the power and resilience of mothers, others, and families embracing the complex web of interconnectedness that binds us all. Motherhood In Motion beckons visitors to explore, learn, and participate in new narratives that forge a collective future that embodies the values of education, compassion, and care for our planet and for each other.

We are especially pleased to highlight the works of Amy Wolf as our featured artist. Her ‘wearable artwork’ collection’s theme of “reincarnation/transmutation” is based on her practice of transforming found, reclaimed and ordinary materials into something unexpected. She has shown her work both locally and nationally since 2018 and was a 2023 Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist grantee, as well as a 2021 emerging Florida CraftArt artist. In 2022, she was the recipient of both an individual artist grant from The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and a Gobioff Foundation microgrant. In addition to art exhibits, MoM will feature women in history, the science of motherhood, a discussion area, special programming, interactive exhibits, a film by founder Martha Joy Rose, sculptures by Sallie Hackett Brown, and a library as well as a vibrant store focused on MoM’s mission.

DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE

Categories
Activism AEHK Art Birth breastfeeding Caregiving Classes Education Events Featured Featured Artists Feminism gender health History home International Internships MAMA MOM Art Annex MoM Pop Up motherhood

Great Things Coming!

We have been working over the past few weeks to make the transition from our offices- where our permanent collection has lived for the last seven years at the MOM Art Annex to our new location at The Factory in the Warehouse District in St. Pete.

Only a mile from our current spot, heading south on 28th St., take a left at the decorative art pole on Fairfield Ave, and go a few hundred yards to a small parking area where a rainbow sidewalk appears. Walking through the double doors at 2622 Fairfield Ave., the Fairgrounds and Daddy Cool Records are on your left – then, to the right and up the ramp is the new Museum of Motherhood location! Whoo hoo.

This move signifies a huge leap for MoM in the state of Florida. As a woman-owned organization focused on art, community, culture, and education in a climate that holds so much potential, we aim to cultivate relationships based on inclusion, love, and empowerment. This means holding space that is both safe and welcoming.

We do our best, all the time.

We invite you to participate in this new grand experiment in St. Petersburg, Florida (and online), as the Museum of Motherhood explores women’s place and progress in Western society. Together, we will collectively develop new notions of what it means to grow and collaborate together while celebrating our shared legacy of birth, life, and death on this planet.

Join us in our unwavering journey to inform and inspire!

Welcome Please Our Newest Intern

Graziella Pierangeli s a senior English/Museum studies major at Bryn Mawr College. She is passionate about recognizing the academic and personal achievements of women throughout history. She has worked on projects highlighting the important work done by women scientists, on the role of motherhood in ancient Greek tragedies, and the unique perspective of lesbian authors. When she isn’t working at MoM, she can be found tutoring at the Bryn Mawr Writing Center, taking long walks around campus, or reading a science fiction novel. She is so excited to be included in the founding mothers project!

Call to Action

Categories
Birth Blog breastfeeding Caregiving Education Fl gender health History International Medical MOM Art Annex MOM Conference motherhood Spiritual Motherhood

The Mother Tree Acquisition, Goddess Summary & Closing the Bones

MoM has acquired the Mother Tree for our permanent collection! Thanks to each of you who donated through our GoFundMe, our website, or by private contribution. Thanks too, artist Helen Hiebert, artist and creator for trusting us and for additional support. Thanks to all of you we have succeeded in achieving this wonderful milestone.

This purchase represents the culmination of two years of fundraising for our permanent collection and we couldn’t be more pleased to share this success with each of you. If you have been fortunate to have seen the Mother Tree at the MoM Art Annex or one of her other previous exhibitions spaces, lit up and beaming, then you join an exclusive group who have indeed been fortunate. Moving forward we look forward to future large scale exhibition spaces where we can share her for public display.

May has been an incredible month for forging new connections, completing projects, and travel. For those of you who have been keeping up with travel blog reports from founding director, Martha Joy Rose, travels to the Goddess temples of Malta have been transformational indeed. You can read more about the Goddess’s of Malta at our founder’s blog.

Throughout June, July, and August, operations will continue at the MoM Art Annex though outreach activities are paused. Our team will be busy strategizing a year’s worth of exhibits for our 2023-24 season which commences in September. During the summer, internships, grant writing, renovations, and curatorial activities will be in full swing.

Finally, we want to share news from our recent experience at the Modern Herbal Apothecary in Tampa for a ‘Closing the Bones Ceremony’. Lyani Powers, doula and owner of MHA presented at this year’s annual academic MoM Conference on ‘Maternal Landscapes’. This ritualistic ceremony can be traced to South America, Africa, and Asia, yet here in American this ritual is not common. Founder Joy Rose was graciously invited to Lyani’s studio post-conference.

During the conference, Lyani shared that she performed ‘Closing the Bones’ on her mother-in-law so it seemed the ceremony could work on new mothers as well as older mothers. Here at MoM we recognize the ways in which many women continue symbolically, and in real life, remain attached to grief, trauma, and even may stay stuck emotionally or become over-involved in their adult children’s lives. Could this be a way to honor those sacred bonds while allowing space for closure and release? We were hoping so.

Nestled into a residential neighborhood Lyani’s gorgeous space is stocked with teas, herbs, and scents that are both delicious and healing. The ceremony itself involved sage, touch, a holding of the body and swaying gently while being gently cradled. This was followed by a tight body- wrapping, a rest, and it concluded with a ceremonial tea and washing of the feet. There were low mutterings, incantations, and prayers for releasing old patterns and welcoming new energy and new ways of being.

This was all a marvelous closure to our founder’s extended trip to visit the Goddess Temples of Malta. The divine feminine has been with us and the world for at least five-thousand years BC. How do those threads get lost? How do the rituals that sustain us disappear? We must weave our way back in time together to activate the symbolic strength of women as respected and glorious members of society.

The Museum of Motherhood’s first online exhibition was in 2010. The launch featured a Sacred Feminine exhibit created Polly Wood online. Now, thirteen years later in 2023, Batya Weinbaum began work on the Goddess mural at the MOM Art Annex for her ‘Artist in Residency’ project. There is a lot of herstory in this world to be mapped – indeed, there is a link to all our shared legacies and experiences. We encourage you to do some research on ‘Closing of the Bones’ rituals. There is much to learn and much to celebrate if we can stay strong in our bonds to each other and continue to find ways to collaborate. Find our more at ModernHerbalApothocary.com or search ceremonies online. And, please, whatever you do, make sure to stay strong. You are beautiful!

The Closing of the Bones Ceremony brought a SONG to mind and is summed up well here:

I can’t really explain it
I haven’t got the words
It’s a feeling that you can’t control
I suppose its like forgetting
Losing who you are
And at the same time
Something makes you whole
Its like that there’s a music
Playing in your ear
And I’m listening, and I’m listening
And then I disappear (Lyrics from the song Electric- Billy Elliot, the musical )

Categories
Art Education Events Featured Feminism Fl Fundraiser health History International Media MOM Art Annex motherhood

May is Mother’s Month: Be the Light, Fundraisers & Reasons That Matter

Reasons that matter:

YOU MATTER!

YOUR LOVED ONES MATTER!

OUR PLANET AND WELL BEING MATTER!

It is so easy to lose focus and lose the light, especially when the weight of responsibility, finances, health, and housing carry such inordinate heaviness. Everyday life is feels so complicated. We slog along with a mountain of problems. How can we feel joyous? How can a museum make a difference?

First the good news: Life on earth has always been a challenge. In fact, a LOT of the time LIFE IS HARD. But, each of us has a spark inside. A little bit of light channeled from the solar system of which we are a part. That illumination is what makes each of us incredibly special. Here at MoM, we focus on the light. In fact our motto is informing and inspiring lives. We do that even as we acknowledge all of the issues and challenges facing individuals thinking about becoming parents and as we attempt to reconcile past difficulties with a transformed present.

How do we do that? Every person who steps into our museum experience has an opportunity to discover something amazing about themselves. We sit at the intersection of an enormous energetic infrastructure that connects the past, present, and future of women, mothers, and families. We pride ourselves on a commitment to art, culture, science, history, and activism. We are absolutely devoted to a legacy project that includes all of us. M/otherhood never ends. We are all part of the great cycle. Please join us as we grow together!


We have THREE IMPORTANT INITIATIVES THIS MONTH!

Invite 300 new MoM Members to Join Us: $30 a year – we will mail you a welcome packet with our friendship bracelets and a code for events with special access to exclusive online content. [CLICK]

Join our MOM Directory to share your business, organization, or service with the world! [CLICK]

Help us finalize our purchase of the Mother Tree sculpture. We are so close! Only $4,000 dollars left to go, then we can add her to our forever collection. Donate now, please. [CLICK]

*Sign up in May for a special photography session locally in St. Pete from St.JeanCreative and they will donate 10% back to the MOM Art Annex 501c3 non-profit. [CLICK]

We will announce the winners of the ‘About My Mother’ writing contest in time for Mothers’ Day! Look for a special blog about that!

Join the Museum of Motherhood this May 2023