May is Mothers’ Month– and here we are once more – celebrating the art, science, and herstory of American women and mothers with international collaborations. While MoM situates itself as a museum primarily focused on the last 250 years of North American women, m/others and families, our internships, conferences, and online exhibitions span the gamut from the UK to Canada, from Europe to Asia.
Here we go: LET THE MAY COUNTDOWN BEGIN!
ONE: May 1st was supposed to be the conclusion of our fundraising initiatives for fund our 2024-25 season, yet we persist. The Fundraiser continues to meet our 2024-25 Budget of $100K.
We thank the Rays and Rowdies for their recent sponsorship and we thank our new Founders Circle members: Liz Dimmitt, Aleks Miziolek, Betty Schaub and our assorted friends who have also contributed donations to this “We Build Tampa Bay” fundraiser.
In the meantime, our newest art exhibit, includes a collaborative work entitled ‘A Womb of Our Own – Seeing Red‘. This sculpture is currently onsite at MoM and will see its completion on Wednesday, May 8th with additional pieces contributed by Jessica Caldas. The sculpture assemblage includes the vision of MoM curator Martha Joy Rose and contributions by Leroy – the King of Art. Visit us Wednesday 6-7:30 PM to PLAY and CELEBRATE the fab new vision! But, first make your pledge to MoM by using this form or by donating directly to Join our Founders Circle.
We are also collaborating with The Saint Petersburg Month of Photography (SPMOP) for the exhibition MOTHER LENS: Four Visions of Motherhood: Mikaela Martin, Jena Love, Águeda Sanfiz, and Angelika Kollin, present their reflections on motherhood with very distinctive voices that range from the visual personal journal, the photojournalistic essay, conceptual photography, and fine art portraiture. [More]
SPMOP Exhibit
Jessica Caldas Sculpture Rendering
TWO: MaMaPaLooZa is May 4th 10-4PM at The Factory in St. Pete in partnership with Fairgrounds St. Pete. Come to 2606 Fairfield Ave. S. Enjoy the day! FREE for the family with lots of activities, music, and discounted tix to the Fairgrounds. Full description on our page here.
THREE: 3 months is all we have at our current location at The Factory. Yes, that’s correct.May, June, July and then we begin looking for our next location. What does that mean? MoM’s going to need to make plans for where we pop up next. Have ideas? Want to help us make something happen? Get in touch. We need your input now. Join Us.
Summer Hours at MoM
Beginning immediately, our hours at The Factory May –July will be 12-6 Thursday-Sunday. If you are visiting locally or from out of town, make sure to book your tour in advance. We have a small volunteer team and sometimes may not be onsite if you have not pre-booked, however we do our best and you can always reach out! Call ahead 877-711-MOMS (6667) or write: INFO@MOMmuseum.org
Other Activities and Friends
The Mysteries About Manifestation Revealed from our friend Brett Cotter
New Program – Align Your Actions with Your Destiny
There is something almost all other manifestation programs miss; how do you break free from the subconscious beliefs that manifests all the stress and lack in our lives? Mantras and affirmations will not stick if your deeper core beliefs are not in alignment.
In this 4-Week Program you will be guided through 4 essential steps to manifest the life you want.
You will be guided to:
1. Identify your deepest desire and purpose
2. Release the old fear and programming you have around living your destiny now
3. Embody the new beliefs that automatically manifest the life you want
4. Align your time with your soul’s priorities
Facilitator: Brett Cotter, Author, Retreat Leader, and Trauma Recovery Expert with 20-years experience consciously working with the laws of manifestation. He teaches with his wife at the Omega Institute, Kripalu, Himalayan Institute, Tibet House, and Sivananda Ashram on Paradise Island.
Price: Early bird special $99 ends May 3rd, after that $199
Sunday, May 197:00 PM – 8:30 PM Online Motherhood: The Forever Job(FREE)– An evening of new writing by author and artist Suzi Banks Baum, followed by a discussion about the importance of writing motherhood with Joy Rose, award-winning artist, activist, and founder of the Museum of Motherhood. Participate in an Open Mic event for IWWG members and guests. Register Online.
Books
Matricentric feminism seeks to make motherhood the business of feminism by positioning mothers’ needs and concerns as the starting point for a theory and politic on and for the empowerment of women as mothers. Based on the conviction that mothering is a verb, it understands that becoming and being a mother is not limited to biological mothers or cisgender women but rather to anyone who does the work of mothering as a central part of their life. The Mother Wave, the first-ever book on the topic, compellingly explores how mothers need a matricentric mode of feminism organized from and for their particular identity and work as mothers, and because mothers remain disempowered despite sixty years of feminism. MoM Founder & Director, Martha Joy Rose has a chapter in this book. Order yours now.
Welcome to the MoM Internship program, Rithik Pramod. Rithik (pictured above in the banner working on one of his research projects) is an archaeology student who will be creating an online exhibit of fertility goddesses of ancient India. He is currently pursuing Master’s degree in Archaeology and Ancient History from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, where he completed his undergraduate degree as well. Rithik has a keen interest in Ancient Cultures, Ancient History, Heritage Mapping, Documentation of Neglected Sites, Public Archaeology,History of Cuisines and so on. He is associated with various esteemed Organizations like ICOMOS India, Asiatic Society For Social Science Research, Puratattvasamvardhan NGO, Europa Nostra and European Students Association for Cultural Heritage. He has written and presented papers on Intangible Heritage , Architecture, Ancient Water Heritage at both national and international level.
LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER- JOY REPORT:
It has been a busy summer! I was so pleased to meet with the New York MoM Academic Board. These gals have been part of the museum project for over a dozen years. Thank you Laura Tropp, Aurelie Athan, and Roksana Badruddoja. I <3 you so much! (pictured left with Martha Joy Rose, Founder).
MoM has launched MEMBERSHIPS: Finally! We are so pleased to announce this new addition to our museum initiative. Now we can better build together. Please consider signing up for a membership and help us grow, grow, grow. Pick the annual membership that’s right for you by clicking here.
This summer we welcomed Artist in Residence, Jessica Caldas, and our current Artist in Residence is Tara Blackwell. Also joining us in August are remote Residency artist Rachael Grad who will be creating an online art exhibit. More to come.
Our summer interns have been working hard. They are: Emma Andrews, Sarah Akomoh, Teddy Friedline, and Mary Noah. A hearty welcome to each! They are working on a variety of initiatives including grant writing, teaching tools, journal publication, and social media. Welcome too, Rithik Pramod, mentioned above.
Since I last wrote, we have completed our Florida Vendor License, our W9 application, our Candid (Guidestar profile), our DUNS and our SAM applications.
So, what’s the action item here? Big goals here are keeping you updated, inviting you to become a member at MoM, letting you witness the progress for yourselves, and bringing team members together in the spirit of MoM. Also, we have launched our Ally program. Please sign our letter here to state your support of MoM’s initiatives locally in St. Pete. We will be using these signatures to demonstrate to our community the need, importance, and significance of a museum devoted to M/others and those exploring reproductive identity. SIGN OUR LETTER.
In that spirit, we are now seeking a new Internship Director who might manage our growing body of intern applicants and projects. Please help put the word out about this volunteer position on our great team. The position requires approval of interns, assisting in assessing internships goals and objectives, and then weekly zoom meetings with each intern. It requires approximately 6 volunteer hours per week.
*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! They can alsofill out this formonline or write: INFO@MOMmuseum.org
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.
Emma Andrews
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 Nowackijoined 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, andMary 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 waveLexy 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
Rewriting Trauma & Visibility: Motherwork, Pregnancy, and Birth
Keynote presentations with Khiara M. Bridges and Roksana Badruddoja. See the schedule for more information.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The international MOM Conference is an annual event that features research, scholarship, and creative collaboration in the area of Mother Studies. Each year, the academic committee organizes university experiences that are interdisciplinary and highlight scholarship in the area of reproductive justice, maternal health, feminist theory, gender studies, literature, and the arts. The conference is organized through the Museum Of Motherhood (M.O.M.) and has partnered with multiple institutions throughout the years (2005-present), including Manhattan College, USF Tampa, Marymount Manhattan College, Columbia, ProCreate Project, Mamapalooza, and ARM now renamed MIRCI to name a few.
Activities are open to the public at no cost by RSVP only: info@MOMmuseum.org.
On Saturday evening we will induct Sara Ruben into the Motherhood Hall of Fame on behalf of her work which has brought hope and healing to so many.
HG is often medically misdiagnosed as extreme “morning sickness” and medical personnel (from physicians to midwives and doulas) often believe HG will resolve by week twelve. However, each pregnancy is unique and while for some women HG dissipates by week twenty, for others (between ten to twenty percent in the U.S.), we experience HG until the end of the pregnancy. HG is NOT morning sickness; it is “beyond morning sickness” as Ashli Foshee McCall (Beyond Morning Sickness: Battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum, 2006, www.beyondmorningsickness.com) puts it. My own experiences with three HG pregnancies over the past fifteen years (with one live, healthy birth) along with my mother studies scholarship (“The Yonic Myths of Motherhood: An Autoethnography”, 2008 (10.1,57-65), Journal of the Motherhood Initiative of Research and Community Involvement & “New Maternalisms”: Tales of Motherwork (Dislodging the Unthinkable), 2016, Demeter Press) calls into question normative stories of pregnancy and birth and motherhood, mothering and motherwork.
At the heels of May 15, 2017 – HG Awareness Day – and October 15, 2017 – Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, I write to bring attention to the pregnancy and birth traumas around HG, including one in three women do not come home with their babies. I simultaneously draw attention to some of the supportive voices of HG: Hyperemesis Education & Research (HER) Foundation, HER Foundation Facebook, Beyond Morning Sickness, and Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG): Sufferers, Survivors, Supporters Facebook. Dr. Marlena Schoenberg Fejzo, Ph.D. of UCLA has partnered with HER, conducting a study entitled, “Genetics of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG)” (if you live in the United States, have suffered from HG and had treatment that includes i.v. hydration, TPN and/or other form of non-oral feeding and are interested in being part of the study, then please contact Dr. Fejzo at nvpstudy@usc.edu or 310-210-0802). And, Dr. Chandler Marrs, Ph.D. has recently published an article, Hyperemesis Gravidarum – Severe Morning Sickness: Are Mitochondria Involved?, outlining a potential nutritional intervention that may help to navigate HG better (see also the often unacknowledged work of Dr. John B. Irwin, M.D., author of The Natural Way to a Trouble-Free Pregnancy: The Toxemia/Thiamin Connection, 2008, Aslan Publishing).
Finally, I center my work not only in producing HG scholarship in the field of mother studies but I also practically assist women to plan HG pregnancies and develop strategies for managing HG. (I contain in my work a therapeutic shamanic healing component, grounding my work in motherwork, pregnancy and birth traumas for HG suffers and survivors, which embraces experiences of HG-related therapeutic terminations.) We are not alone! I can be contacted via email at drrokbad@gmail.com – Dr. Roksana Badruddoja, Ph.D.
Kimm Sun, is a Certified Nurse Midwife, Nurse Practitioner
12th Annual M.O.M. Academic Conference
THEORIZING MOTHERHOOD IN THE ACADEMY
***M.O.M. Conference Panelists and Presenters – See Schedule. Each time slot is 20 minutes (unless I have written to tell you differently)***
Friday, May 6th MORNING OPENING KEYNOTE: Laura Tropp specializes in media and politics and representations of pregnancy, motherhood, and families in popular culture.
Saturday, May 7thMORNING OPENING KEYNOTE: Kimberly Seals Allers whose 5th book The Big Let Down will be published this summer. Kimberly is an award-winning journalist, author and a nationally recognized media commentator, speaker, consultant and advocate for infant health.
We will be meeting in the Alumni Room, which is in the lower portion of the library. Look for signs, or take the elevator from the O’Malley Library.
TECH SUPPORT
There is a power point projector, computer, speaker, and screen onsite. Bring your laptop or a zip drive, or post your material in the cloud and you will be able to present using the equipment at our location. There is some limited space for brochures, art, and books as well. Feel free to share your passions.
BAGEL & COFFEE BREAKFAST WILL BE PROVIDED EACH DAY
SOCIAL MEDIA
Do you have a twitter handle or a Facebook page? Let’s connect!!
May 6-7 MOM Conference at Manhattan College, 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Bronx, NY 10471 (Schedule TBD) – We will updating the schedule in the next few weeks.
TRANSPORTATION
New York City has two major airports: JFK and LaGuardia.
Public transportation is available from both via train, and cab.
The train from JFK is rather straightforward and costs about $7.50. I would encourage you not to be fearful about taking this option if budget is a concern. There are people at the airport who can direct you, and I’ve done this many times. Here is a link to the NYC Subway Map: http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf
PANELS, CULTURE, and SPECIAL GATHERINGS
New York City is an amazing place. Surely you will want to do a little exploring. We also plan on organizing a few special panels, roundtable discussions, and speakers for you, but will make sure there is time in the evenings to step out, either with conference goers or on your own.
Anna Kell Artwork Nursing_Install & MOM museum online exhibit
– Announcing a new exhibit by Anna Kell online here at the Museum of Motherhood-
“Nursing Install” is an exploration of mother-work and art. Read more here [CLICK].
