Tag: Eckerd College

MoM PRIDE: Geography of a (Wo)MAN: summer plans, new exhibits, welcome interns & more…

Post author By MOM
Post date June 2, 2024

The Joy Report – HERE IS THE LATEST TEAM NEWS!

June is PRIDE Month. This Saturday, June 1st, a new exhibit titled ‘Geography of a (Wo)man‘ onsite at MoM, incorporating images from NYC artist Christen Clifford and her body of work titled Interiors; ‘We Are All Pink Inside‘ and Molly Duff-Clarke’s “Mr. Dicki” sculpture. This will be on view along with the “Womb of Our Own; Seeing Red thru August. *Thanks to St. Pete Month of Photography on the ‘Mother Lens’ Exhibit through the month of May – we loved having you!

Christen Clifford is a feminist performance artist, mother, curator and writer whose work has been seen at The Lewyn Allyn Museum of Art, The Newark Museum of Art, The New Museum, Project for Empty Space, Eva Presenhuber, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, PS122/solonova, The Culture Project, AUNTSisDance, Postmasters Gallery, Panoply Performance Lab, Grace Exhibition Space, ArtShareLA, Vox Populii as well as London, Budapest, and Slovenia (and more). Residencies include The Museum of Motherhood, Some Serious Business, and the Ragdale Foundation. She co-chaired (with Jasmine Wahi) Rape, Representation and Radicality for The Feminist Art Project, teaches at The New School and curates Experiments and Disorders at Dixon Place. She at work on her first film. Her limited edition risograph artbook BabyLove was acquired by the Thomas J Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her studio is Project for Empty Space in Newark. She lives in Queens and online @cd_clifford

Molly A. Duff-Clarke is a ceramic artist living and working out of St. Petersburg Florida. Using clay, Molly constructs figures that challenge the viewer’s notion of body and humor. Through the introduction of materials, such as yarn, flocking, and velvet, Molly creates soft textures that oppose the hard nature of fired clay. Molly’s studio practice is a dance between her fine-tuned craft in ceramics, and the discovery of new processes and materials. This balance between old and new, seasoned knowledge and discovery, is what keeps Molly active in her studio. Molly received her MFA from the University of South Florida in 2023, where she was the recipient of the MFA Excellence Award. She received her MA from Maharishi University and has a BFA in printmaking and ceramics from Kendall College of Art and Design. We are pleased to include her piece Lil’ Dicki in our summer exhibit: Ceramic underglaze, yarn, steel56″ x 20″ x 17″ Website

About Embodiment: The Museum of Motherhood presents exhibits that contain depictions of human anatomy. This is done for the specific reason that we are of human born and that our bodies are the vehicles and vessels for human life as well as the fact that we are an embodied species. Body parts depicted at MoM through exhibitions, display models, art, film, books, and clay may include naked breasts, bellies, wombs, embryos, penises, and other reproductive anatomy. These are not intended to be gratuitously sexual in nature but rather educational, inspirational and provocative; specifically in the manner in which art may cause us to reflect and ponder at any arts-based or science-based museum. This disclaimer is in direct response to Florida’s Obscenity Laws. The Museum of Motherhood has no intention of harming or exposing museum workers or attendees to anything other than museum-quality information and art. Everyone enters MoM in full knowledge about the nature of our purpose which is to elucidate the art, science, and herstory of women, mothers and families inclusive of all reproductive identities.

MoM at The Factory: Perhaps you’ve heard? After much back and forth, The Factory building was SOLD last week. The good news: we will stay in our current location through August and then we will move to Building 7 & 8 in Gallery Row near Drew Marc, The Florida Wildlife Corridor, and The Factory Artists in September. We will keep you posted on progress, but in the meantime, our new space will be reconfigured for new presentations of MoM – to see our original exhibits- make sure to book your tour in June, July or August of this year! New digs/ new exhibits. Don’t miss this current incarnation! Read more about the sale here: St Pete Rising ….

We Build Tampa Bay Fundraiser: Studies show that giving to women and girls organizations represent 1.8 percent of charitable giving in the USA of the 8.8 billion dollar pie. Our ‘We Build Tampa Bay” fundraising initiative is ongoing. Our fundraiser yielded $4 k of the entire 100k goal for 2024-2025 with donations by Liz Dimmitt, Deborah & Hugh Gelch, Aleks Miziolek & Betty Schaub who now comprise the first wave of our founders circle. This is 4% of our goal – so we are doing well statistically speaking. We will re-configure this page a bit and continue to actively promote.

MoM All Over: Museum founder and director, Martha Joy Rose spoke about MoM at the Tampa Bay International Ladies lunch in May and this week an invitation arrived to speak at the St Pete Women’s Club in the fall. An Eckerd College music class toured MoM and Joy shared a chapter from her edited collection Music of Motherhood from Demeter Press (2018). Joy also spoke at NERD Night about new definitions of m/otherhood and is presenting at the IAMAS Conference at Boston U June 22 & 23. Her presentation “The Last American Housewife” will be published in the forthcoming book Mother Waves by Demeter Press. Pre-order here.

TEAM

We Thank Our Volunteers: MoM runs on volunteer power. Each of the humans represented in the photo here (and more) are integral to making our operations go around on a daily basis. Our team keeps growing. Are you interested in getting involved with this legacy -defining project? Sign Up here to get involved and tell us about yourself.

Internships: In June and over the summer, we welcome two high school interns, Whetley and Xi who will be onsite managing the space and working on two projects: archiving our current exhibition and social media. We are excited to welcome them to our team!

EVENTS

XY Unboxed: a workshop, a seminar with open dialogue featuring shared experiences, and offering genuine connection, next weekend’s gathering is aimed at fostering interconnectedness. A transformative event dedicated to unraveling the complexities of masculinity and nurturing the original man. In today’s gender-evolving world, men, especially minority men, face unique challenges that require our attention and support. By addressing these challenges head-on, we can foster a more diverse and equitable society where all individuals can thrive. LINK TO REGISTER

Activism Art Blog Caregiving Conferences Education Featured Featured Artists gender International Literature MOM Art Annex motherhood Residency Social Justice Sociology st petersburg USF

New Team Members, Interns, Residencies, Earth Day, Submission Prizes, Oh My!

Post author By MOM
Post date April 24, 2023

Spring has sprung! But first, ‘About My Mother:’ Submit your poem or short story about your mother by April 30th for a Mothers’ Day publication with MoM on our Blog, Newsletter and Social Media. Submit via word document, 1,000-2,000 words for the short story/essay. Poems of any length. First prize is $50 for the story. Poem is $25 and the runner up gets love and publication too. Share widely, just one week left! Send to: INFO@MOMmuseum.org

Thank You Authentic Florida for including us on your website as we approach May (Mothers’ Month). MoM is working hard to increase memberships – 300 in the next 3 months! See our special offer and JOIN OUR FLOCK! We are grateful to work with Melanie Lentz-Janney at Authentic Florida towards this mutual goal of sharing information and cool stuff to do in the Sunshine State. Authentic Florida.

Welcome New MoM Facilitator Sierra Clark

Welcome Sierra Clark our new Empowerment Facilitator at MoM. Her workshop designs- based on her chapter “From Sweet Nothings to Sweet Everything” in Repair Of The Black Family as part of the edited collection by Nayyirah Muhammad- are transformational. We are all better for her leadership and strong voice! More about Sierra at www.sierraclark.life

INTERNS

April has us bustling with a new group of amazing interns from around the world. Please welcome these amazing international collaborators (from left to right):

Audrey Paquet-Frey: My name is Audrey Paquet-Frey, I’m a 32-year-old Master’s degree student from the TEMA+ program 2021-2023, an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree program. I am currently in Paris at the EHESS completing my degree. Prior to this program, I did a bachelor’s degree at the Université Laval in Canada, Québec in historical sciences and heritage studies in museology, ethnology, and archeology. During my studies, I worked at the Canadian museum of history from 2015 until 2020, where I worked in the photographic archives divisions and the documentation of artefacts divisions. So why am I doing an internship at the Mom Museum? Simply because in the last years I’ve developed an interest in museum communities and especially now with the new museum definition from ICOM (International Councils of Museums) redirecting their attention to communities and the public, I felt it was time to explore that avenue. After this Master’s, I hope to be able to create an online museum directed at and for different communities of women to empower them through their immaterial heritage and their collective memory. I would like to give a voice to different communities of women through online exhibits. I hope to learn a lot from this internship and to be able to apply it to my future projects.

Megan Hsu: I will be assisting MoM with identfying, researching, and applying for local or national grants in order to assist with fundraising efforts that can further assist MoM in being able to achieve its goals and create deeper connections with the local community. A native of Tampa, FL, Megan (she/her) is in her final year at the University of Florida, where she is pursuing a double major in International Studies and Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics along with a minor in European Union studies. A lifelong student, she believes that education never ends and is always eager to learn more about the world around her. She has worked with non-profit organizations in the past and is excited to devote her skills to MoM and its mission of educating and celebrating women and mothers of all reproductive identities.

Clea Dobrish: I am Clea Dobrish, a junior at Eckerd College studying Sociology and Women and Gender Studies. Especially with the political climate, it is more important than ever to join together and educate ourselves and others about feminism and gender studies, this is my main goal through this internship. Working with the EC Feminist club on campus has ignited a passion in me to further my education on the matter as well as helped me find my calling in helping people desexualize and accept how amazing their bodies are through the events done on campus. I hope to bridge the gap between Eckerd and MoM by helping others get internships here and collaborating with the feminist club. I also hope to learn about and assist with grant writing for MoM.

REMOTE RESIDENCY AT MoM

Yes, it is possible to do a Remote Residency at MoM. It’s also possible to have a remote internship at MoM as well! Apply through our website on the appropriate page, work with your institution, and make progress on your project through interactions with the Museum of Motherhood and Director, Martha Joy Rose.

Christina Doonan PhD: is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Political Science and Gender Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her research interests include the politics of health, human rights, the right to health, and motherhood and parenting in the context of chronic illness.

My current project, “Mothering Through Cancer,” explores how breast cancer affects motherhood for mothers of young children, and how mothering young children affects the experience of cancer. Taking my own experience as a starting point, I am interested in how idealized versions of motherhood work in both directions, influencing what mothers expect of themselves as they experience cancer and what others expect of mothers—and how this translates into the types of supports that mothers receive (or not).I first presented a portion of this work at the M.O.M. Conference in 2022: “Creativity for a Cause.”I felt invigorated by the supportive feedback I received from the M.O.M. community.Staying in touch with the project has been difficult given the dual demands of work and reproductive labour.My residency with M.O.M. this week allows me to reconnect with and refocus on this project and give it the time that it deserves. Thank you to Joy and Tracy for arranging the details and for welcoming me so warmly. I’m grateful and delighted to be here as part of this vital community! (Christina is pictured about with her husband Lincoln and MoM Director, Martha Joy Rose).

Art Blog Education Featured Featured Artists Internships JourMS Living Board Announcements motherhood Opportunities Queering Parenting st petersburg USF

Letter From the Founder: Joy Report & Welcome Emma

Post author By MOM
Post date June 5, 2022

I could begin this report so many ways, but let me start by sharing a recent full-circle experience.

Last month, I received an internship application through our online portal. The inquiry came from the daughter of the woman who used to manage the MOM website as well as the MaMaPalOOza website in early 2000. So, this intern applicant turned out to be Emma Andrews, and her mother, Amy Andrews, brought her daughter to our New York location when she was only about ten years old.

This totally rocked my world. So, let me please share Emma’s bio with you now and welcome her to her summer internship with MOM. Full circle:

Emma Andrews (they/she) is entering their junior year at Binghamton University. She is a history major and mathematical sciences minor. She is pursuing a career as a public programmer in museums, but wouldn’t be unhappy teaching calculus either! They prefer to focus on all areas of history, rather than hone in on one speciality. In her free time, Emma loves to read in their hammock and is a bit of a movie buff (although with admittedly terrible taste in films). They are particularly passionate about queer studies and are looking forward to integrating that passion into their culminating project during her internship at the Museum of Motherhood.

Emma will be working this summer creating a series of resources regarding queerness in families. There will be resources created for both parents and children, in hopes of promoting and fostering more productive and respectful conversations about the queer community. The children’s presentation will feature child friendly language and concepts to help educate children on different family types and identities. Her internship portion aimed at parents will feature many of the same definitions as the children’s presentation but expanded, as well as “how to’s” regarding having respectful conversations with their own children about queer topics, such as identity, pronouns, and the potential for their own future families. Additionally, they will be putting together a short research project for those interested in the history of queer studies. Their research will be a guide through the evolution of the queer identity, with an emphasis on modern changes within these ideas, particularly through a legislative lens.

During their time at MOM, Emma hopes their project will provide help to those in need of queer resources and education, especially in states affected by anti-gay legislation. She wants these resources to be available for anyone of any age or role, and available in any location at all times. If the government or schools cannot provide the education necessary to reflect a diverse community, they want their resources to do that job.

Now for Extensive Updates! Read on:

There’s been a lot of activity at MOM over the last several months. I thought it might be good to connect everyone and keep you all updated.

Please join me in welcoming several new team members.

Deborah Gelch, a senior executive with a wealth of experience in non-profits, administration, and fundraising has joined us as our new “Strategic Advisor”. She brings with her knowledge of Salesforce, specific technological advances in CRM management, and a windfall of support including fundraising initiatives. We have been meeting weekly over the last several months and she has already imported a host of information into our database. Together, we are aiming for an October 1 fun-raiser in St. Petersburg.

Welcome too, our new website developer, Elena Rodz, who will be working on WordPress updates, our online store, and memberships moving forward. She is currently updating the MOM Team page. Please, do look for updates soon.

Kasia Nowacki joined MOM this year in the capacity of ‘Educational Liaison and Development’. To that end, she has been strategically working on multiple avenues of MOM growth internally and in collaboration with other institutions. She also facilitates tech at our monthly online events, happening the 22nd of each month.

Donna Lewis, architect, artist, and native New Yorker has joined our Executive Fundraising Board. This is hugely exciting as our goals for this active committee are top of mind and imperative for new growth. We hope to have others join Donna on this important new endeavor.

Since fall 2021, we have welcomed three onsite Residencies in October, December, and April. The summer will welcome two additional Artist Residents, and two more in the fall of 2022, plus the three last summer for a total of ten, even in the midst of COVID!

We also welcome four new interns, and another USF graduate student starting in the fall. Our summer interns are: Emma Andrews, Sarah Akomoh, Teddy Friedline, and Mary Noah. A hearty welcome to each! They will all be working on a variety of initiatives including grant writing, teaching tools, journal publication, and social media.

MOM participated in the AEHK Studio Tour in St. Pete featuring a newly built vestibule for seeing exhibits from the front entrance. As an artist, I was able to enjoy two artist-grants (one for public art in Seminole Park and one for editorial help with some of my current writing).

I filed for ‘fictitious name‘ status for MOM (DBA Museum of Motherhood) under our IRS registered 501c3 non-profit MOM Art Annex in Florida. I am also segwaying out of the Motherhood Foundation in NY, as it is redundant to maintain both.

For the purposes of clarity: the MOM Art Annex is currently serving as our incubator of the realization of our own fully functioning, free standing museum structure. Renderings for this vision are online.

Our new ‘Educational Development” Coordinator, Kasia Nowacki and I worked for several months updating the language on the MOM website as well as our internal documents to reflect changing attitudes along with more inclusive language. Our newest intern, Teddy Friedline continues this enterprise at the JourMS website. We are grateful for these efforts.

Kasia and I also made repeated attempts to pioneer projects with Eckerd College. We also reached out to the Museum Studies Department at UF, and began research on USF degrees locally in St. Pete that might coordinate well with MOM’s ongoing activities. I attended the Eckerd College Job Fair for summer internships and we have a few ideas for bringing collaborations to the fore in the fall.

Our annual MOM Conference was a beautiful and smart gathering over Zoom this year. The theme was Creativity for a Cause and the inspiration flowed from a work-in-progress-film on miscarriage to several thematic works on home-site productions during COVID from artists and academics. Thanks to the entire Academic Board for their involvement in this!

We started a *NEW ONLINE COMMUNITY – This is a place to connect and interact. This is where we will host our annual conferences for those who want to attend remotely. This is also where we host ongoing monthly events the 22nd of each month 7-8:30PM EST (Roksana Badruddoja will be with us in June conducting an intergenerational healing workshop), and this is also where we will be building out some of our coursework.

During the month of May, Mary Noah, who is with us for the summer, and comes with some non-profit experience, worked on a rebranding kit for MOM along with a Social Media Calendar. She will pivot to new activities in the coming months.

Our new Living Board 2022 is active too, as we wave Lexy Valdes (who began her journey with us as an intern and stayed for THREE years), on her way and wish her the best with her medical school studies. Our newest Living Board members are: Zabrina Shkurti– President, Nicole Musselman– Editor JourMS, and Tracy Sidesinger who returns as our Residency Director.

Finally, I just received word about leading a workshop on New Technologies at the annual FAM (Florida Association of Museums) Conference in September. I think this will spur me on to do more research on tools available to us for online reach. I’m excited to bring updates regarding MOM to this event. The conference takes place in Miami this year and includes hundreds of museum professionals from the state of Florida.

So, what’s the action item here? Big goals here are keeping you updated, letting you witness the progress for yourselves, and bringing team members together in the spirit of MOM.

*IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO YOU THINK MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN US: one of our boards, our new MEMBERSHIP community, pt staff, or MOM development, PLEASE DO SEND THEM OUR WAY: INFO@MOMmuseum.org

With Huge Warmth,

JOY!