Museum of Motherhood Activates Community Through Arts, Advocacy, and Education This Spring – March is Women’s Herstory Month!
WOMEN’S HISTORY IS EVERYONE’S HISTORY
WOMEN SHAPE St PETE: Did you know, Sarah Williams is considered the ‘Mother of the City of St Pete’ after she persuaded Peter Demens to bring the Orange Belt Railroad to downtown St. Petersburg, instead of Gulfport. In 1887. Peter Demens, Russian railroad man, and John Williams worked together to bring the Orange Belt Railroad to what would become St. Petersburg, Florida. (named after Peter Demens’s hometown in Russia.) . Considered “Mother of the City,” Williams had two sons and even more husbands. (Founded 1888, incorporated 1892 (population approximately 300 people).
Women’s History Month is an essential acknowledgement that corrects an imbalance in how our national story has traditionally been told. For generations, the achievements of women—in science, politics, education, caregiving, civil rights, the arts, and industry—have been overlooked or minimized. Dedicating a month to women’s history ensures their contributions are recognized as central, not peripheral, to the American story.
Women’s History St Petersburg, Florida
We cannot change the future (for the better) without understanding our past. Women’s History Month encourages a more accurate and inclusive understanding of democracy itself—one that acknowledges both progress made and work still to be done in building a fair and equitable society.
To that end, The Museum of Motherhood (MoM) maintains a robust calendar of exhibitions, public programs, conferences, and partnerships that continues to deepen our role as a vibrant, community-centered, educational and cultural institution. Together we explore m/otherhood as a social, cultural & artistic force. Learn more at MOMmuseum.org.
FILM FESTIVAL ROCKS EQUITY IN SARASOTA AND STREAMING
Reel Equals – Through Her Eyes Film Festival
FILM FESTIVAL SARASOTA:March 5 – 10 with a Spotlight on Diverse Voices: Reel Equals International Film Festival Shines in Sarasota in a community collaboration with the Museum of Motherhood and the internationally recognized educational & arts conference with two decades of impact. In person and streaming: ThroughWomensEyes.org.
TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL ACADEMIC & ARTS CONFERENCE MoM & USF
March 27-29The Annual International Academic and Arts MoM Conference 2026 in partnership at USF, St Pete features panels and presentations focused on reproductive identities, maternal experiences, and the intersections of motherhood with art, policy, healthcare, education, and social justice. Offered both in person and online, the conference is designed to be academically rigorous while remaining accessible to students, professionals, and community members alike. Open to the community with advance registration: JourMS.org
NEW ART EXHIBIT COMING. SAVE THE DATE
Mapping Resilience with young mothers exhibit at the Museum of Motherhood
NEW EXHIBIT: Mapping Resilience- Stories of Young Motherhood
When: April 6 – 26, 2026
Where: Gallery at the Museum of Motherhood 2606 Fairfield Ave S in The Factory Building 7 St Pete
Official Opening Reception April 10th 7-9:30PM (Stakeholder Day): Please join us at MoM with Healthy Start. This lovely mix and mingle will feature stories (and results from the researchers and the mothers themselves), with refreshments, presentations and conversation. This will be followed by Second Saturday Art Walk April 11 5-9PM on April 11th.
Objective Young moms in Hillsborough County were asked to draw journey maps and accompany them with photos (photovoice) to share their story and participate in a novel method that prioritized uninterrupted narratives/storytelling.
How: The exhibit includes the hand-drawn journey maps from ten moms and their accompanied photos, as well as an interactive audio portion where participants can scan QR codes and listen to some portions of their story.
Activities include: A table with “letters and advice for young moms” allowing visitors to write letters to young moms, which can then be distributed by Healthy Start/Healthy Families home visitors.
Curated byMahir Rahman, NASM-CPT, AFAA-CGFI Graduate Student, Applied Anthropology University of South Florida Website
SUBMISSIONS FOR A ZINE AS PART OF MOM CONFERENCE
Bad Mother Myth Busting Project
SHOUT OUT~!
Our friends at Sunday Assembly be eatin’ nearby on March 14th in Gulfport during the day. Second Saturday Art Walk in the evening at MoM and beyond.
A new year is unfolding at the Museum of Motherhood—and it’s already full of momentum. 🌱 From board leadership and strategy sessions to festivals, conferences, and community celebrations, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of action, reflection, and collective joy. Our latest blog lays out what’s ahead, why it matters, and how you can be part of it—from January goal-setting to a fall focus on maternal mental health. Take a look, mark your calendar, and step into the year with us.
2026 Scheduled Dates:
January 14th Board Meeting and Kick-off for 2026 New Year Goals & Implementation
January 20th Implementation of 6 month strategy
February 14th Localtopia
March – Women’s History Month
April – Q2 Board Meeting
March 26 Leadership workshop with dinner for all team
March 27-29 MoM Conference
May 3 is MaMaPaLooZa
June 2nd Board Building Party – Barbara & Mary B-Day
July – Pride & Q3 Board Meeting – vote in new members
August – Hang on in The Factory to continue the good work
September – Mini-Conference Maternal Mental Health
MoM Membership Cooperative
We are delighted to invite you to become part of something special at the Museum of Motherhood—our Cooperative Membership Store & Shared Creative Space.
This is more than a retail visibility opportunity. It’s a living, breathing community where artists, educators, healers, organizers, and makers gather to share their talents, connect with the public, and support one another in a values-driven, cooperative environment.
Welcome to MoM’s Cooperative Space
Bring your art, expertise, objects, ideas, and meetings into a shared home where creativity and care are centered. By joining, you’ll collaborate in a vibrant real-world space while engaging with MoM’s audiences during events like Second Saturday Art Walk, Sunday Assembly, and MaMaPaLooZa Festival—as your schedule allows as well as during weekly hours.
What Participation Looks Like
Join MoM with a $30 annual membership
Sign up for 3-hour (short) or 6-hour (long) shifts—or more—during a 40-hour week (See Events & Calendar at MOMmuseum.org)
Greet visitors warmly and direct them to MoM’s signup portal
Share and sell your work, services, or expertise You keep 100% of your sales
If selling work by others, simply direct buyers to the item’s QR payment code and log the sale in the receipt book
What MoM Provides
Onesix-foot table, chairs, easels, and working space
Storage under tables (bring a labeled tote if you’d like to leave items onsite)
The option to leave onsite:
An 8 × 10 display with QR code
A notebook or portfolio of your work
Up to ¼ of a six-foot table of objects and one easel when you’re not present (Tables are shared among four cooperators)
Promotion of you and your work through MoM social media using graphics and info you provide
Why This Matters
By managing the space while you’re in it, you help keep MoM accessible, welcoming, and alive—while gaining visibility, community, and a meaningful place to share what you do best. If you believe in collaboration over competition, community over isolation, and creativity rooted in care—we would love to welcome you.
Welcome to MoM’s Cooperative Space. Please bring your art, talents, objects, and meetings. By agreeing to join this initiative you can expect:
Collaborate on a shared real estate for exhibiting and meeting clients and be part of our general audience on Second Saturday Art Walk, Sunday Assembly, MaMaPaLooZa Festival as per your availability with your great talents in exchange for a basic level MoM membership and an agreement to manage the space while you are in it.
MoM Team with volunteers at the Museum of Motherhood
MoM Needs Volunteers and Docents
The Museum of Motherhood is more than a museum, it’s a gathering space, a conversation starter, and a love letter to motherhood in all its forms. We’re looking for a friendly, curious, people-loving human to help welcome our community into the space.
Volunteerism is the heartbeat of the Museum of Motherhood. 💛 Our work is powered by people who give their time, skills, care, and creativity to help preserve stories, spark dialogue, and build a more humane future for families. From greeting visitors and supporting events to research, archiving, and advocacy, volunteers make it possible for MoM to keep its doors open, its programs vibrant, and its mission alive. Simply put: we keep going because our community shows up.
What you’ll do:
Greet visitors with warmth and make them feel at home the moment they arrive
Move through the museum, offering gentle, engaging introductions to exhibits and artworks
Spark curiosity, conversation, and connection throughout the space
Support our Mom Shop by sharing the stories behind our merchandise and assisting with sales
Invite visitors to deepen their relationship with the museum through memberships and events
Educate clients about available programs and assist with application processes when necessary
Maintain accurate records of client interactions and service provision in accordance with privacy policies
You might be perfect for this role if you:
Love art, culture, storytelling, and community spaces
Enjoy talking with people and making them feel seen and welcomed
Are comfortable engaging visitors in a relaxed, authentic way
Believe in honoring motherhood, caregiving, and lived experience as powerful cultural forces
Bring positive energy and openness into shared spaces
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail for record keeping and coordination tasks
This is a role for someone who loves people, ideas, and meaningful work and wants to be part of a mission-driven, creative environment.
If you are interested in being part of our team but are not in a financial situation where you can volunteer, then we have some funds available for onsite docents in-space to greet people during our regular shifts.
Volunteer (we’re grateful if you can) or $17/hour Flexible, community-centered work A chance to be part of something special
Job Type: Part-time.
Interested? We’d love to hear from you.CONTACT: Scheduling@MOMmuseum.org
You might not always feel like it, but the future is looking bright. “How so?” you might wonder? Well, the truth is that light is everywhere—even in the darkness. Now that the season of light is upon us, we are pleased to welcome new initiatives, new interns, new solvency strategies, and the same ole sense of love and compassion that MoM musters in every circumstance.
At the Museum of Motherhood, we do not measure brightness by ease or comfort. We measure it by resilience, by care, and by the quiet, radical persistence of families who keep showing up for one another—even when systems fall short. And there are real reasons to believe the future of health, wellness, and education for families in America is bending toward something more humane.
Across the country, we are seeing renewed attention to maternal mental health, long overlooked and underfunded, now finally entering public conversation, clinical practice, and community-based solutions. Peer support models, trauma-informed care, and culturally responsive services are gaining traction—not because they are trendy, but because families have demanded better. Knowledge is catching up to lived experience.
In education, learning is expanding beyond classrooms and credentials. Intergenerational education, museum-based learning, and community storytelling are increasingly recognized as legitimate, powerful ways people grow and heal. Families are reclaiming learning as something that happens through curiosity, creativity, and connection—not just compliance. Museums like MoM are uniquely positioned to hold this work: part classroom, part commons, part sanctuary.
MoM Shop Open in December for Thank You Gifts for all museum memberships
Health and wellness, too, are being redefined. More families are questioning productivity-at-all-costs culture and returning to basics: rest, touch, creativity, food, movement, and meaning. Caregiving—once invisible—is becoming a subject of research, advocacy, and art. While this shift is far from complete, the cracks in the old model are letting light in.
At MoM, we see hope in the next generation. Our interns arrive not just with skills, but with clarity: they understand that care is infrastructure, that history shapes health, and that equity is not optional. They are asking better questions—and insisting on better answers.
We also see hope in sustainability: in new funding models, shared resources, and collaborative strategies that allow cultural institutions to survive without abandoning their values. Solvency, when grounded in ethics, becomes a form of care itself—ensuring that spaces for truth, tenderness, and transformation remain open.
The future will not be bright because it is easy. It will be bright because people continue to choose love, compassion, and responsibility for one another—especially in hard times. That is the work of m/otherhood. That is the work of this museum. And that is the light we are committed to tending, together.
YEAR END FUNDRAISING INITIATIVE
As our team celebrates the season of gratitude – I am thankful for a great year, awesome accomplishments, & for you!
MoM reaches people where they live, work and play through our family-friendly exhibits and education. We are Tampa Bay’s first and only women’s museum, devoted to the art, science and herstory of American women, mothers and families.
If you haven’t visited us yet, please do. We are virtual and in real time offering tours, exhibits, conversations, education, friendship, community, cultural connections and more since 2003~!
Martha JOY Rose, Founding Director
2025 MoM HIGHLIGHTS
Welcomed new board members: Amy Collins, Libby Hopkins, Meagan Welch, Regan Moss, and Tracie Williams to the MoM Executive Board.
Expanded our program team to include Jamika Rollins, Karimah Henry, Rachael Somerman, Dre Marie, LouAnne Hardtke, Amanda Bartles, Darlene Ceron, Lizzie Zacharis, and Susie Beltran.
Offered weekly free lactation consultations with Baby Café for breastfeeding support, advice, tools and conversation.
Partnered with Tampa Bay Period Pantry and Mutual Aid Choices Pantry to make products available to those seeking information, education, and free accessible items related to periods, birth control, and women’s health.
Produced Black Maternal Health mini-conference, addressing Black maternal health disparities and bringing together over 60 providers, birth workers, and funders to rally around community-led solutions.
Rocked out at Mamapalooza Family Festival with over 500 attendees and performances by local woman-founded and woman fronted bands.
Convened over 70 academics, artist, and students at the 20th Anniversary Academic & Arts Conference, hosted at USF St. Pete.
Implemented two photography and sculptural exhibits by local artists and welcomed two international artists, Julienne Doko and Raisa Nosova, for performances and mural works. (Huge gratitude to both amazing women) as well as student exhibits about ‘Caring St Pete’.
Secured over $50,000 in NEW grant funding through Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Foundation for Healthy St. Pete, and the City of St. Pete.
MoM is celebrating a highly successful 2025, and we are on track to reach an annual fundraising goal of $100,000. This fundraising goal not only supports the ongoing work of MoM but makes it possible for our team to secure a permanent home in Tampa Bay and bring on paid staff members to expand our footprint as the one and only international destination museum devoted to the art, science, and history of women, m/others & families.
I hope you will consider making a tax-deductible year-end gift. 100% of your gift supports the longevity of the first and only museum of motherhood in the world. Our year-end giving campaign builds on all the success of 2025, see our donations and progress in real-time here.
This project focuses on the intersection of reproductive technology and cross-cultural perspectives, exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping future experiences of “procreation” and “motherhood.”
As an artist and curator from East Asia now living in the United States, I aim to reflect on the different understandings of the female body and reproduction in Eastern and Western societies .And I will consider whether the intervention of AI technology may shift these cultural differences.
Through collaborations with artists of diverse nationalities, I will explore how humanity’s understanding of “motherhood” and “identity” evolves artistically when technology intervenes in the creation of life and the construction of identity. These artworks will employ varied materials and techniques to depict artists’ visions of future reproduction, presenting abstract perspectives on the possibilities of human evolution. They will amplify the reproductive relationship between motherhood and living organisms for the audience.
This project aims to connect individual memories with global shifts, inviting audiences to reconsider: In an era of rapid globalization and artificial intelligence advancement, are the identity and meaning of motherhood also undergoing transformation? How do people confront the long- standing biological relationships of life being overturned amidst the relentless march of evolutionary progress?
The Mess We Live In: What Clutter, Kids, and Culture Wars Reveal About Family Life
The notion of a “messy home” might conjure up images of toys strewn across the living room, dishes piling up in the sink, or laundry spilling out of baskets especially at times of duress. But the reality of mess is deeply tied to the internal worlds of families, to stress, identity, and even to the cultural divides that shape our society. At the Museum of Motherhood, exploring the messy intersections of parenting, culture, and mental health can be a powerful lens into what family life really feels like.
Mess Isn’t Just Physical — It’s Psychological, Social and Cultural
Evidence that women experience chronic stress not because the home is messy, but because society holds them responsible for preventing mess is a recognized truth.
Mess House – Courtesy Batya Weinbaum & Demeter Press
The Founder’s Bed – 2025
Tara Blackwell – MoM Residency 2019
Museum of Motherhood – NYC 2012
Martha Joy Rose – Grad School Mother Studies CUNY circa 2014
Debra Knox – TV Collage, CA circa 2008
Museum of Motherhood, NYC 2012
Spilt Milk – USF WGS Exhibit 2020
Emily at MoM, NYC 2013
Arlene’s Grocery, NYC 2008
Personal values — about lifestyle, morality, and behavior — can become battlegrounds for the debate about parenting styles and what constitutes a “good home”. This can be tricky territory. These debates can reflect broader cultural divides: who is responsible for domestic labor, how children should be raised, and what order or rituals define a “proper” family.
In a sense, the cluttered living room isn’t just a mess — it’s a battleground of values. Who gets to decide what “clean” means? Whose routines are prioritized? And how do power and labor dynamics play out in the seemingly mundane fights over tidying up?
Who cleans, who organizes, and who nags about mess often isn’t neutral territory. There’s emotional labor involved in maintaining a home, and that labor frequently falls disproportionately on women. For some, the answer is to simplify. For others the answer may lie in leaving the mess for another day.
What’s most important is feeling loved, safe and protected. Does your environment do that for you and how much control do ‘we’ actually have? What are the implications when we free ourselves from the mess or conversely embrace the mess?
At its heart, the reality of mess is a story about family, vulnerability, and power. Clutter isn’t just junk — it’s emotional freight, a signal of how we live, what we value, and how we struggle to balance the competing demands of parenting, culture, and self. In exploring mess through a psychological and cultural lens, the Museum of Motherhood can invite deeper conversations: not about being “better” mothers, but about being more honest, more human, and more connected to the complexities of our lived lives.
About the Exhibit
Mess House: A New Photo Exhibition by Martha Joy Rose MA Mother Studies. This exhibit wishes to gratefully acknowledge The Factory LLC organization for the use of wall space in Building 7 to explore archived photos from her personal collection. Exploring the compelling idea of a ‘Mess House’ is a somewhat universal theme. As humans we seek to create order (oftentimes ineffectually), confront our wildness and occasionally find acceptance and peace within the chaos of daily life and family.
Batya Weinbaum received her doctorate in English at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She founded and edits the journal Femspec available at femspec.org. She was an artist in residence at the Art Annex of the Museum of Motherhood in St. Pete FL where she installed a mural of a fertility goddess, and she volunteers for the Museum in the winter. She is the mother of one and stays in Gulfport, FL several months in the winter where she shows her art.
From the Chapter Mess House, by Batya Weinbaum- Demeter Press 2025
When are we feral, self-expressive, and untamed to the degree that we throw out the baby with the bathwater so to speak in our revolt against traditional concepts of femininity and motherhood represented in conventional markers and paradigms of domestication—the swept, mopped floor, the uncluttered shining feng shui of spaces, the organized linen cabinets, the bare countertops in the spotless kitchens?
Those born into female bodies get the most pressure from society to meet unrealistic expectations of physical beauty. These unrealistic expectations of their bodies are parallel to the unrealistic expectations women are encouraged to have about their domestic space.[1]
Flo Kennedy noted, in her essay on “Institutionalized Oppression of the Female,” that “Women are dirt searchers; their greatest worth…” being “eradicating rings on collars and tables” (442). In doing so, and maintaining organization, they are keeping wildness at bay. (1. According to Women and Naturism: The Naturist Living Show (Mar 17 2010)
Resources:
Aviv, E., Waizman, Y., Kim, E., Liu, J., Rodsky, E., & Saxbe, D. (2024).Cognitive household labor: gender disparities and consequences for maternal mental health and wellbeing.Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 28(1), 5–14.
This study empirically measures the “cognitive labor” (planning, delegating, anticipating) that mothers do, and finds that mothers bear significantly more cognitive labor than their partners (~72% of it) even after controlling for physical tasks.
Importantly, the authors show that this disproportionate cognitive labor is strongly associated with higher stress, burnout, depression, and worse overall mental health in women.
Relevance: This offers direct evidence for your claim: the stress comes not just from “doing the cleaning,” but from being responsible for organizing and thinking about the household — and society (or their partners) expects women to carry that burden.
Ciciolla, L., & Luthar, S. S. (2019).Invisible Household Labor and Ramifications for Adjustment: Mothers as Captains of Households.Sex Roles, 81(7–8), 467–486.
This paper examines how the “invisible labor” (mental, emotional) related to managing the household is disproportionately carried by mothers.
They find that mothers who feel solely responsible for organizing schedules, maintaining order, and keeping family routines report role overload, lower life satisfaction, and strain in their relationships.
Relevance: Demonstrates that the expectation that women “manage the mess” — not just physical cleanliness but mental oversight — has measurable negative effects on their wellbeing.
Systematic Review: Gendered Mental Labor
Review article:Gendered Mental Labor: A Systematic Literature Review on the Cognitive Dimension of Unpaid Work Within the Household and Childcare.
This review analyzed 31 peer-reviewed studies and found a consistent pattern: women perform a significantly larger share of mental labor (planning, scheduling, organizing) and this labor is associated with stress, lower life satisfaction, and negative career impacts.
Relevance: Supports the broader claim that this kind of labor is well-recognized in academic literature as gendered, burdensome, and harmful — not just “messy house, messy brain.”
Applied Research in Quality of Life:
Study:Is Paid Inflexible Work Better than Unpaid Housework for Women’s Mental Health? (2022)
The authors argue and provide evidence that unpaid housework (which includes domestic tasks and more than just physical chores) is negatively linked to women’s mental health, partly because these efforts are culturally undervalued and invisible.
Relevance: This supports the idea that society often fails to recognize or reward invisible domestic labor — reinforcing that the stress women feel is not just from physical mess but from societal expectations.
Offer, S. (via summary in Smithsonian article).
Relevance: Demonstrates that the stress is not about amount of time thinking about family, but about how that thinking is gendered and emotionally taxing for women.
According to research by Shira Offer (Bar-Ilan University) reported in the Smithsonian, women and men spend equal time thinking about family matters, but women report significantly more negative emotional effects (stress, depression) from that cognitive labor.
How Do You Identify? Passion, Protest, Reproductive Identity, Mess & More? Submit Your Ideas, project, paper, art, proposal, research now thru 12/1/25. Don’t Be Afraid – Put Your Ideas Into the World w/MoM at USF.
Annual Call for Papers MoM Conference 2026
Attend Our Workshops, Book the Escape Womb Experience, Tour MoM
Holiday Giving- Merchandise That Moves You As A Thank You For Your Donation at MoM! Memberships, Guest Artists, Tee Shirts, Books & More: Visit Us at The Factory, St Pete 2606 Fairfield Ave. S St Pete
Women’s Museum St Pete at the Museum of Motherhood
Support the Mural – Aging Women All Around the World Starts in St Pete!
Gratitude from the Mother Land — As autumn paints the world in shades of pumpkin and pink, the Museum of Motherhood reflects on gratitude. We give thanks for the stories, events, and collaborations that continue to nourish the collective journey.
We honor the abundance of care and creativity that define the term Mother-Land. We identify with a grand imperative that encourages reflection on what is good and possible in a world united by love and rooted in empathy. In that spirit, not the spooky one, we say YES to health, wellness and connection at MoM:
SUBMISSIONS OPEN: Call for Papers and Art: Annual International MoM Conference 2026 at USF (See Call for Submissions)
NEW EXHIBIT COMING TO FRONT OF MoM SPACE: First Series- Mess House, opening first week of November, followed by Bad Mother Myth Busting (Submit Responses Here) in the new year).
WHOLE GIRL: This is Me – ongoing health series with information for adolescents (Link). With take-home gift pack!
SEMINARS – Nourish & Flourish with Dre Marie as part of the Radiant Alignment series for women online and in-person especially reflecting on self-care during the busy holiday season. Ages 20-80 yrs. (Link). With take-home gift pack!
SUPPORT & PUT MoM ON THE MAP with the work of Spanish artist and muralist Marina Capdevilathe with her documentary and mural “Viejas Glorias” —Celebrating the Power and Beauty of Women Aging (Link)
CALL FOR SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY & MURAL MAKING
Emmy Award-Winning Documentarian Brings Global “Viejas Glorias” Project to St. Petersburg—Celebrating the Power and Beauty of Women Aging
St. Petersburg, FL — [October 24, 2025] — St. Petersburg selected as U.S. kickoff city for groundbreaking international documentary series challenging how society views aging women!
Spanish artist and muralist Marina Capdevila is bringing her internationally acclaimed Viejas Glorias (Glorious Old Women) project to the historic Princess Martha in St. Petersburg as part of a five-city global documentary series. St. Petersburg has been selected as the U.S. launch city, joining host cities in China, Spain, Peru, and Ghana in a transformative exploration of how women—particularly mothers and grandmothers—are perceived as they age.
The project requires $30,000 by December 1, 2025, to cover artist materials, labor, and the professional film crew’s travel and production costs. In these uncertain times, when many are navigating financial challenges, every contribution—large or small—makes a meaningful difference in ensuring this important story is told. Limited exclusive sponsorship opportunities are available at various levels.
This is more than a mural project—it’s a movement to reshape how we see and value women as they age. It’s an opportunity to position St. Petersburg on the international stage as a city that champions inclusive representation and celebrates the fullness of women’s lives. See the fullPRESS RELEASE.
WHAT? Maybe you haven’t heard of the Museum of Motherhood (yet).
HECK YEAH! Maybe you are curious about what a Museum of Motherhood is all about? What! A women’s museum, right here in Tampa Bay!
IMPRESSIVE: With a team of over 20 volunteers, a kick-butt team of fundraisers, grant writers, and board members – MoM is ready to GROW again.
JOIN US: How better to celebrate than to honor our incredible team: It’s Barbara’s birthday. Barbara Lynch #AmbassadorBarb is our Executive Board Secretary. She is a dynamo and we wanna acknowledge her in all her glorious ambition for MoM’s growth here locally. Oh, and PS – It’s Mary Havlock’s birthday too – so it’s gonna be a special, amazing opportunity to get to know us better.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 3rd 6-7:30PM at the Museum with light fare and sparkling kombucha by Mother Kombucha. RSVP directly to Founding Director Joy’s cell phone: 207-504-3001.
MoM Is Board Building
Dear Board Candidate & Future MoM Collaborator,
We are thrilled that you are considering a volunteer leadership role with the Museum of Motherhood (MoM)! We are Florida’s first and only women’s museum. Inside this packet you will find out about our history and mission, the precedence for this project, and our current strategic priorities.
Please take time to explore our website (mommuseum.org) for additional details about our current events and programming. If you feel inspired by our mission and would like to get more involved, the next step for board membership is an interview with a current board member. Please reach out to info@mommuseum.org to request an interview, and one of our team members will connect you directly with a board member to conduct the initial interview.
If you would like to meet our team to get to know us better, we warmly invite you to join us on Tuesday, June 3rd, from 6:30-8:30pm at MoM for a “meet the board” private event. This event will celebrate our current board, and specifically honor our Board Secretary, Barbara Lynch. Barb’s birthday falls on June 3rd, and she has graciously dedicated her party to supporting the growth of our board.
On behalf of the entire team, we thank you for your time and consideration! Volunteer leadership has brought MoM into its most dynamic and successful year to-date. We are eager to continue with this momentum and achieve our vision for uplifting m/others with an international destination museum.
Welcome New Team Member: Health, Wellness and Education Committee
Tracie Williams is the proprietor of The Natal Network and the founder of Jehovah Rapha- Jireh Transformation Health Inc. Both organizations are dedicated to advancing women’s health and wellness. The Natal Network, a Tampa Bay-based doula service, was established to enhance maternal-fetal outcomes. Additionally, the company has implemented a men’s mental health initiative, supported by a partnership with Supportive Therapy Empowering People (STEP). Williams’s passion for healthcare stems from her personal experiences with birth and loss. These experiences have instilled in her a sense of relatability and compassion for the birthing community. Williams has been a licensed practical nurse for the past 15 years. Her diverse experience, including hospital settings, skilled nursing facilities, maternal-fetal medicine, and family clinics, has equipped her with the knowledge and skills to make a meaningful impact.
Summer Camp for Girls
Coming to MoM this summer: This is Me – Whole Girl Summer Camp. The camp is designed to facilitate embodiment empowerment with information and education targeting body knowledge and awareness, periods, safe sex education, consent and procreative knowledge. For ages 12–16-year-old girls to increase confidence, knowledge, and control over their own health.
Camp Dates are July 28-Aug 1 and August 4-8th. Five day camp, 2.5 hours a day – Kids are welcome to hang out longer in the afternoon. 12-2:20PM Monday-Friday. Camp is FREE (with requested donation of $125)– Limit 12 girls per session.
Registration Opens June 1st. Use our SIGN UP FORM TO SUBMIT and WE’LL GET BACK TO YOU ASAP.
A Year’s Worth of Programming – Click the Banner to See Our Offerings
A Year of Programming at MoM
MoM has spelled out an entire year of exhibits, programming, workshops and Health, Wellness and Education events. Click the pic above to peek at all the glorious plans that are in the works with MoM!
TONIGHT AT MoM
MAY 27 6-7:30PM International Day of Families, Hosted by Sierra Clark.
Highlighting the importance of family and dynamics of support systems with Sister Nayyirah Tivica Muhammad. Sister Muhammad is a visionary leader and the founder of Repair of The Black Family . As a dynamic keynote speaker, international three-time bestselling author, spiritual advisor, and master retreat leader, she inspires and motivates those she serves to achieve total transformation through her purpose-driven life. Sister Nayyirah specializes in helping individuals release generational trauma patterns through her keen intuition and unique approach to healing. Her work focuses on guiding women to heal intentionally. Her mission is to help restore the customs and beliefs of the Black family while working towards a universal government where peace prevails regardless of class, creed, or color. (FREE) Register by calling and leaving a message: 877-711-6667
March is Women’s History Month with the Annual International MoM Conference at USF and the MoM Art Auction in partnership with OXH Gallery in Tampa Bay and Online. Women’s Herstory is every person’s story: We hope you will celebrate, learn, play and activate with us during this extraordinary time starting with starting with 03/04 Tuesday’s FREE Workshop celebrating local she-roes with Sierra Clark onsite 6PM. See our Events Page here. JOIN US! We can’t wait to meet you.
St. Pete Coffee Connectionsat MoM with Working Women of Tampa Bay hosted by Mary Havlock and Little House Non Profit
When: 05 Mar 2025 9:00 AM, EST Where: Museum of Motherhood
EVENT DETAILS: Come join us for a morning of meaningful networking with Working Women of Tampa Bay! Meet like-minded professionals at our St. Pete Coffee Connections. This monthly event is your opportunity to connect and grow your business in an intimate and relaxed atmosphere. Guests will receive a complimentary cup of coffee and baked goods. Directions are here. Open to members of Working Women of Tampa Bay: Join Us -More information and online registration: St. Pete Coffee Connections.
The 20th Anniversary International MoM Conference is sponsored by two generous grants from USF taking place at MoM and on campus at USF March 14-16th. Huge gratitude to Michelle Hughes Miller; MoM Academic Board member and Caryn Nesmith, USF for sponsoring the space onsite at the USF St Pete campus! Brittany DeNucci and Meagan Welch have done a fantastic and rock-steady job of communicating with conference presenters and organizing the schedule! Schedule is HERE. (There will be a family lactation room onsite).
The MoM Art Auction takes place on March 18th 6-8PM in partnership with Odeta Xheka and OXH Gallery at the Spiral Staircase. This fundraising event is made possible by a generous underwriting partnership with Odeta Xheka and OXH. (If you have not been to Ybor City to see Odeta’s gallery – run, don’t walk! It’s beautiful!). Register NOW for participation online and in person for this event happening at The Spiral Staircase in Tampa, FL. Also thanks to Courtney Kessel for artist’s submissions and Barbara Lynch for collating exhibits & Mary Havlock for expertise. RSVP & REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE.
You Are Invited
MaMaPaLooZa Sign Up is Open for Artists, Sponsors and Activity-Makers
Mamapalooza 2025
Hold the date – Sunday May 4th, 2025 for Mamapalooza™ in partnership with FloridaRAMA in Tampa Bay, Florida. Fun, Free Family activities with a music stage, samplings, and activity tables. All those interesting in participating as sponsor-partners or performers please SIGN UP NOW online. We will be in touch about time slots, stage options, discounted tickets to FloridaRAMA and more. We look forward to having an awesome and informative time. Mamapalooza™ Together we focus on Women-Empowered, Mom-Branded, Entertainment, Education, Business & Activism. Mamapalooza is a steady supplier of varied and exciting programs that have led to innovative activities positively impacting families, amplifying the voices of women and revolutionizing the ways in which we understand the nuanced and varied multicultural experience of families- inclusive of all.
Access to Healthcare and Embodiment Education at MoM
The Museum of Motherhood (MoM) approaches reproductive justice by focusing on the intersection of motherhood, reproductive rights, and social justice. It recognizes that reproductive justice extends beyond simply access to healthcare. Instead, it emphasizes a broader framework that includes the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to parent in safe and supportive environments. We call this ‘Embodiment Education’ and we do it onsite everyday. MoM fosters dialogue and education about issues like race, class, and gender, which heavily influence reproductive rights and experiences. It also highlights the voices of marginalized groups, advocating for the empowerment of women, particularly women of color, in all aspects of reproductive health, from pregnancy and birthing experiences to parenting.
Through exhibitions, community events, and The Escape Womb with it’s educational programming, the Museum of Motherhood underscores the importance of inclusive, equitable policies and practices that support reproductive health and justice for all individuals and families. See our work in this area through our projects and people at Big Human Family.
See our funding partner’s Year-Endnewsletter FHSP with a feature on MoM. The museum’s reopening celebration will highlight its newest visitor experience, an escape room adventure aptly named MoM’s Escape Womb. Designed to delight visitors age 18 and above (younger with an accompanying parent or guardian), with clues and puzzles about the secrets of life while visitors explore the nuances of conception, gestation and birth. This 60-75-minute Escape Womb health and wellness journey is educational and fun. Read our Press Release here.
Ribbon Cutting
Join us tomorrow, Friday January 17th for a Ribbon Cutting with the St Pete Chamber of Commerce at our new space in The Factory at Noon. Peek at the Escape Womb. Play with us. See you soon. Directions are now here online.
Enjoy CAKE and sparkling water. Thanks to Emmanuel and 15th St Farms – another funded partner of Foundation for a Health St Pete.
Playdate for youngins at 10:30 AM and then Ribbon Cutting at Noon. See you soon!
The MoM Team X O X O
What’s Happening at MoM
Sunday: Amanda Bartles of Lactation Loop– Join us to socialize with other moms and families & take advantage of on the spot breastfeeding education and lactation support available to infants and toddlers. January 19th at noon with MoM. We’d love to make this a regular gathering so please do consider bringing conversations and hangouts w/mothers and others a regular part of our offerings. Please register in advanceusing this link
January 21st 6-7pm in observation of mentoring month. Jim Oliver (The Village Mentor) Co- Author in Repair of The Black Family Anthology. Event Title:“Guiding Hands: Mentorship for Mothers and Families.”Description: Explore how mentorship can empower mothers and families by providing guidance, support, and tools for success. This event highlights the power of shared experiences and community connections to navigate the challenges of parenting. INFO@MOMmuseum.org. RSVP please: INFO@MOMmuseum.org 877-711-6667.
Health, Wellness and Education events are commencing with Sierra Clark, Amanda Bartles and Courtney West empowered by our funding partner Foundation for a Health St. Pete. Events.
Thanks to Josh Naaman and Naaman Creative for helping with web updates!
Money, money, money – we need it now. We need it bad. We need it to continue paying our rent. If you have access to some, or know someone we are now in emergency mode for the remainder of the year. I know prices are high and people are suffering. All the more reason for just the right match or miracle!
As everyone knows, the city of St. Pete has experienced unprecedented hardship due to back to back storms that ravaged our homes and coastline. No one in Tampa Bay or on our team was unaffected. Each of us here in Pinellas County has friends, family members, businesses and personal property that have endured loss of services and in some cases, are even still without power and are uninhabitable.
Between our move in The Factory to a new location in Gallery Row and the other afore-mentioned challenges, our Escape Womb Experience has been delayed. Originally slated for October, the Escape Womb is now opening Sunday, Dec. 1st. .This is a ticketed tour with advance reservations required. Discover the secrets of life as you journey through our Escape Womb from conception to birth! Ticket sales open on November 21st. We hope you’ll go online and pre-book your ticket!
Our main space in Gallery Row at The Factory is open to the public Thursday – Saturday 12-6PM. Sunday is 12-3PM. Free, open, child-friendly play space,
The Museum of Motherhood is calling all scholars, artists, and community members for presentations and papers on the subject of ‘Fun, Sex, & Crying Out Loud’ 14-16, 2025 on campus at USF and onsite at MoM as well as online. The weekend conference will be followed by the MoM Art Auction on March 18, 2025. CFP is LIVE!
This year’s 20th Anniversary theme invites articles and art that support both the interrogation and levity necessary to navigate turbulent times. As well, it supports the subject matter elucidated in the Museum’s 2024-25 new ‘Escape Womb Experience’ and the theme of conception, gestation, and birth. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind exhibit.
This international call for papers and projects 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. Deadline for submissions: Dec 15, 2024.[SUBMIT]
HEALTH WELLNESS AND EDUCATION AT MOM
The Health, Wellness and Education Committee at the Museum of Motherhood (MoM) is a dedicated team committed to enhancing the museum’s mission of exploring and celebrating the diverse experiences of being human.
Support Services: Offering assistance & education to those navigating the challenges of motherhood, fatherhood, and family
Program Development: Programs aim to provide enriching and informative experiences that highlight the multifaceted nature of m/otherhood including the Escape Womb Experience.
Community Outreach: The committee actively engage with the local community, schools, and organizations to promote the museum’s resources and offerings.
DO YOU HAVE AN EVENT YOU’D LIKE TO CREATE WITH THIS COMMITTEE? Contact us here!
MoM ART AUCTION
TheMoM Executive Board is pleased to present the 2nd MoM Art Auction, taking place (now rescheduled, as part of our Annual MoM Conference) March 18, 2025 from 6-8pm at The Spiral Staircase in Tampa, Florida in partnership with OXH Gallery. This event celebrates the art of motherhood with incredible works in a variety of mediums. Guests can sip bubbly, partake in sumptuous snacks and have the opportunity to bid on pieces of artwork from around the world while participating in the groundbreaking Tampa Bay affair or the HeART! Now part of our 20th anniversary Annual Academic and Arts MoM Conference preceding on March 14-16th. More about the auction here. Updates coming soon.
GIVE OR GET
Locally, ‘Give or Get’ is open for donations during MoM’s regular hours:
–Thursday-Sat 12-6PM
-Sunday 12-3PM
Visit our new location: 2606 Fairfield Ave. S Gallery Row: Building 7 Door B
Donation box inside. Child-friendly. Free play in a safe and educational environment.
When the headline “Strong Moms & Grandmothers Are the New Superheroes” crossed my desk recently from a prominent media outlet – I thought, “Yes, we ARE.”
There is a certain sense of achievement in some communities today. While we still have a long and challenging way to go in terms of women’s progress, many are celebrating the voice and strength of women on the national stage this week.
We cannot ignore the palpable excitement streaming through the airwaves as women, grandmothers, and women-of-color raise their allied voices. We cannot ignore that access to healthcare, safe birth, and children’s well-being is forefront on our minds. We cannot ignore our herstory or deny the anniversary of the ratification of women’s right to vote celebrated at the beginning of this week, Sunday, August 18th, representing 104 years of hard won American success.
Know Your HerStory
Wanna know more about world events in the context of the Suffragette movement and progress towards women’s right to vote in the USA? There are so many ways to learn more. Make a field trip to the home of the first Convention Days where Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and others argued for women’s equality in Seneca Falls, NY. Or, head to NYC where the musical SUFFS is on Broadway for an extended run. If you can’t get to New York, you can still watch the more serious accounting of the movement in England online with the movie Suffragette (2025) or the depiction of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns who risked their lives for freedom in IronJawed Angels (2004) online. Women’s voices are everywhere. Or you can visit the Museum of Motherhood in St. Petersburg, FL and learn more about activist Sojourner Truth and the journey towards justice as well as the four waves of women’s activism in the maternal sphere.
Celebrating MoM’s Successes
Last week also represents an incredible month of successes for the Museum of Motherhood with our active team of volunteers, including Sierra Clark, Barbara Lynch, and Mary Havlock. These achievers demonstrated a whole lotta grit and hard work securing three grants that demonstrate MoM’s success in our local community.
We are beyond pleased to announce the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete and Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital recognized the Museum of Motherhood as a partner through their new Catalytic Capacity-Building Grant with funding for $10,000. We are so incredibly proud! Thank you Sierra Clark for your hard work on this.
We are also pleased to announce a 1k award from the St. Pete Arts Alliance with Barbara Lynch & HypatiaCollaborative for bookkeeping and IT (in-kind services) with champion Mary Havlock
Is Mother Made Art the “Last Taboo?”
The New York Times headline August 16th 2024 stated that “Camille Henrot has filled a gap in the canon by investigating the labor of motherhood.” The article discusses this ‘new’ art form of art made by women who are mothers and how not much has been done in this arena. The author of the article, Sasha Weiss, goes on to state that Henrot “scoured books and the internet for images of breast-pumping” and that “because [motherhood] is still stigmatized in visual art [she] resists characterizing work as being about motherhood.”
At this point in the article I wish very much that the artist had accessed the work of Jess Dobkin‘s lactation station (2006) or Sarah Irvine’s Infant Feeding Log, the student researched exhibit online at the Museum of Motherhood depicting the work of artists representing themselves breastfeeding, or even the photographic work of Renee Cox, Yo Mama (1992–94) who “decided I’m going to give you pregnancy in your face and found inspiration there.” My point being, that the art of motherhood is a developing field established and thriving over last thirty years.
When the author perpetuated the interviewed artist’s statement that she had “stumbled into a gap in art history… and that while there’s no shortage of representations of mothers with children, Henrot could find few of mothers on their own,” I moaned. Not from happiness but from despair.
My question to Sasha Weiss (and to Camille Henrot), is – How do we stop perpetuating the invisibility of the art made by mothers about motherhood by refusing to notice, research, and share the great body of work that currently exists all around the world? Every time an new article, exhibit, or piece of literature is published that refuses -or is oblivious to- the great accomplishments of literally hundreds (if not thousands) of women at this point in herstory, the patriarchal stereotype that legitimate art is only exhibited in specific types of galleries and museums is perpetuated.
The Museum of Motherhood (USA) has been devoted to art about art made by women about their reproductive experience and labor since 2003. Other organizations include: Procreate Project (England), Spilt Milk Gallery (Scotland), Artist Parent Network (USA), A.M.M.A.A. Archive for Mapping Mother Artists in Asia, and multiple artist residencies that support, collaborate and share the art made by mothers about their identity, experiences, and labor. I hope somehow we might shift this narrative together, starting NOW.
~Martha Joy Rose, Founder, Director MoM
Call For Submissions
The Art Exhibition and Auction of October 2024. Read more about submitting art here (by August 31) for this auction and exhibition sponsored by OXH Gallery with Committee Chair Odeta Xheka and organized by MoM’s Executive Board members Courtney Kessel, Deanna Barcelona, Barbara Lynch and Anna Lieggi. [LINK]
25th Anniversary MoM Annual Arts & Academic ConferenceCFP is LIVE! The Conference is being organized under the leadership of Brittany DeNucci and our Academic and Conference committee. The Museum of Motherhood is calling all scholars, artists, and community members for presentations and papers on the subject of ‘Fun, Sex, & Crying Out Loud’. [LINK]
New Internships
Welcome Kayla Foster, woman, mother, student. Her project will include archival research, ethnographic interviews, and collaboration efforts with the University of Oklahoma and the Museum of Motherhood to identify the cultural postpartum practices and traditions of Hispanic mothers in the Southwestern United States. The research will be multigenerational resulting in a final research paper focused on her findings and discuss the importance placed on traditional postpartum practices.
You may remember Whetley Earnest who came to us at the beginning of the summer as a local high school junior, interested in pre-med. Whetley is still with us, volunteering at MoM and we couldn’t be prouder! Here she is pictured with friend and ally Lucky Leroy who is currently featured in a solo exhibit at The Factory in St. Pete in partnership with FloridaRama. Leroy is our local ‘King of Art’ and his exhibit titled Florida Famous is up through August in the gallery next to the Museum of Motherhood. Come visit – You will love it!
Hold the Date
Experience some of St. Pete’s most popular museums during Arts Alive! Free Museum Day on Saturday, September 21, 2024. Select St. Pete museums will waive admission fees to allow the community to experience some of the fine art that makes St. Pete a premier arts destination. Arts Alive! Free Museum Day is produced by the City of St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, and participating cultural organizations based on the currently paused National Smithsonian’s Free Museum Day. [LINK]
We will be moving to gallery row. But, not yet! We are awaiting word from our new landlords about the projected move date, but right now, it looks as if we will remain in our current location across from FloridaRama and DaddyCool until at least mid-September. We’ll keep you posted on progress for sure!
*M/other (noun): is a self-identified individual who is relationally connected through pregnancy, birth, surrogacy, genetics, care-work, and/or adoption. Historically female; they are one who divides (time, labor, emotion, and/or genetic material) and are paradoxically increased by the experience. Best explained by the equation: me + other (m/other) a mother is one who is connected, or disconnected, to another, genetically through procreative activity or linked through identity, care-work, and/or association. This special relational status incorporates the phenomenon that motherhood is otherhood, which is its most fundamental principle. While gender identity has gone through multiple identity shifts in recent years – and MoM is super supportive of all folx.
Mother-made art recognizes the works and endeavors of those making fine and performing arts who are mothers and those whose work is impacted by, or is focused on, experiences of pregnancy, birth, care-work, fertility, loss, adoption, fostering, surrogocy, and m/otherhood inclusive of all reproductive identities. This includes artistic interpretations highlighting the lifespan of makers of maternal experience, action, matrescence, and embodiment, within personal and relationally organized emotions, biologies, technologies, and behaviors. [LINK]
Volunteer (we’re grateful if you can) or $17/hour
