MoM Art Auction: Celebrating and Supporting Mother Made Art
THERE IS STILL TIME TO SIGN UP! ONLINE & IN-PERSON: March 18, 2025 6-8PM at The Spiral Staircase in Tampa, Florida425 N Florida Ave, Tampa FL 33602.
OXH Gallery presents the second annual MoM Art Auction ONLINE and IN-PERSON: pioneering a collaboration in the arts, science and beyond. Odeta Xheka, founder of OXH, the Executive Board of the Museum of Motherhood bring together visionary artists, collectors, and supporters for an evening of Mother-Made Art. The event signals a shift in Tampa Bay’s cultural landscape.
This year’s auction will feature original works by a curated selection of established, mid-career, and emerging artists. Proceeds will support MoM’s mission to collect, preserve, and disseminate art that illuminates the diverse experiences of motherhood. The fundraiser promises to be an evening commitment to grow in connection, brilliance and a shared affection for the most beautiful things life has to offer.
RSVP through our dedicated website accessible through MOMmuseum.org. Items for auction will go on presale during the event. Attire for the evening is relaxed but festive. Catering by Emerald Events & Catering.
Tampa Bay’s first and only women’s museum – an initiative that highlights m/others and others in the arts, science and herstory. The Museum of Motherhood redefines how we discuss motherhood, viewing it from the perspective of m/others. Through innovative exhibitions and education, MoM examines the ubiquitous nature of reproductive identity, birth, and parenting while exploring the social and psychological factors embedded in these experiences. By amplifying women’s voices and challenging limiting ideologies, MoM fosters a compassionate, inclusive community that uplifts individual stories and celebrates motherhood’s vital role in our cultural narrative. MOMmuseum.org
About OXH Gallery and Odeta Xheka
OXH Gallery carefully curates exhibitions that feature works from both established and emerging artists, showcasing not only a diverse range of styles and mediums but also, most importantly, of viewpoints and intellectual stances.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE AMAZING PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:(BOJITT) Bojana Ilic Alison Curtis Amuri Morris Anabella Lenzu Ariel Basson Freiberg Beth Ellen Cohen Breanna Cee Martins Caroline McAuliffe Catherine Walker Cayla Skillin-Brauchle Courtney Kessel Danielle C. Wyckoff Julie Gladstone Leigh Brooklyn Michelle Lubin Odeta Xheka Patricia Wintermeyer Rachael Grad Raisa Nosova Robin Assner-Alvey Shweta Bist Sierra Clark Twiggy Boyer Vanessa Marr & Danny Mars
Fun, Sex & Crying Out Loud Museum of Motherhood Conference
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]
ANNOUNCING EVENTS – PROGRESS – RHYTHMS at MoM in August and Beyond.
Our team sure knows how to have fun. Last week we did a little research in St. Pete. We explored local escaper rooms for inspiration as our volunteers continue to design and plan for our future ‘Escape Womb Experience‘ – (Anticipated opening in October). We also celebrated the opening of friend and neighborLucky Leroy’sFlorida Famous exhibit in the gallery at The Factory. The exhibit is up through August. Make sure to experience it when you visit MoM in August this summer.
Yes, to those who have been following the news that I’ve been having some health hiccups this summer. I am moving much better now as is evidenced in these pictures. Yay Team! I aim to continue with the healing process. Also, on a recovery note – if you’ve seen the weather reports, Hurricane Debby just came raging through Pinellas County, and thankfully we are okay here with only one event cancellation on Monday and ourlactation event with Amanda Bartles on Wednesday, August 7th this week at 6PM, still happening! (Our hearts go out to anyone impacted by extreme weather everywhere). August is Breast Feeding Awareness Month: raising awareness about the challenges and rewards of chest feeding! Whichever direction you choose, MoM is here for you. We are in Florida – HOME OF THE ENDLESS SUMMER. It’s hot, hot, hot at the Museum of Motherhood where Christen Clifford’sINTERIORS: we’re all pink inside Exhibit is up all month along with a Womb of Our Own – Seeing RED and Molly Duffy’sLil Dicki.
Joy, Leroy, Barbara, Tracey, Mary, Sierra, Deanna, Allen
You may have heard the news that The Factory property – where MoM is currently located was recently sold to investors. The transition has been a bit chaotic with no firm news of our future spot in Gallery Row and many of the artists are also up in the air. We anticipated moving at the beginning of September. Now it may be later in September and we’ll let you know as soon as we have any news. The arts make everything great, so I hope St. Pete can keep the cool vibe going with all the recent gentrification of the city.
Meanwhile, we persevere with all our committees are meeting regularly. We still need onsite volunteers. If you have 3 hours a week and are local to St Petersburg we are looking for responsible volunteers to spend time with us as a docent in a beautiful, warm, and inviting space, MoM needs you! Even if you are only available once or twice a month – Sign up on our volunteer form here. MoM is open for regular hours throughout August.
Lots and Lots of Love – Enjoy the end of your summer,
JOY(Martha Joy Rose, Founder, Director)
Here’s the rest of the GOOD NEWS report – Keep reading below:
MoM Art Auction for the Museum of Motherhood
An upcoming MoM Art Auction is planned for October in Tampa with chairperson and arts gallery owner Odeta Xheka and our entire Executive Board spearheading the event. The goal is to raise funds for MoM and build on our permanent collection. The submission announcement is live and open for artists to submit through August. We will have a great big bash and a post auction exhibition. Please spread the word! In collaboration with OXH Gallery.
MoM was awarded three grants last week! We can’t wait to announce all the details – but we can spill that one of them was with the Arts Alliance of St Pete for their Pitch Competition. Congrats Barbara Lynch for that team success on behalf of all of us!
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. Thanks to all and Deanna Barcelona and Mary have visited USF and are actively seeking to coordinate conference space on campus in 2025. Artists, Scholars, Activists, SUBMIT NOW!
Thanks to New Community Partner/Sponsor, BayFirst Financial. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, BayFirst Financial offers personal and business banking services, including checking & savings accounts, loans, and more. MoM thanks BayFirst Financial.
No summer slacking at MoM. We are in the planning stages for some exciting upcoming events:
First, the Joy Report: All hands on deck with MoM Operations running smoothly at The Factory in St. Pete. Visitor hours are: Thursday – Saturday 12-6 & Sunday 12-3PM. We are also open for special events or private bookings. Contact us if you are interested in organizing an event at MoM. Testimony from a visitor this week: “It’s unlike any other place. It’s a must see!”
We have PRIDE at MoM: Our June exhibits featuring Interiors: We are all pink inside by Christen Clifford is viewable onsite through August. So too, is Molly Duff-Clarke’s work, Lil’ Dicki- which has been acquired by the museum and is now part of our permanent collection.
Planning Stages for what will be our 2nd MoM Art Auction in October, 2024. We are very excited about this opportunity and our incredible partner (ta-da drumroll-announcement coming shortly). Our last one was 12 years ago in NYC. Did you know MoM’s permanent collection includes photo works that are also in the Tate Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, historic papers, and works by notable mother artists from around the world. Submissions for artists to participate are now open. Link to Call for Art.
The Journal of Mother Studies is in its editorial process with an online publication date of Sept. 1, 2024, thanks to all our awesome team members. JourMS.
The MoM Conference committee is actively planning next year’s 25th Annual Academic and Arts MoM Conference. Thanks to Committee Chair Brittany DeNucci & Team for doing a super stellar job organizing initiatives. The CFP is posted online here: Fun, Sex & Crying Out Loud, March 14-16, 2025. We are working on some of our community connections to make this year’s conference even more amazing than ever. Link to CFP.
Our Move from The Factory to Gallery Row is in the planning stages. Renderings for a vision of the new space are on our website here. We are waiting on the configuration of our next iteration of MoM. Our new grand opening will be after August 30th, on September 21st, which is free museum day in St. Pete.
Intern projects are ongoing: Social Media Calendar of posts by Xy with mentorship by Mary Noah, Collections data by Whetley with mentorship by Barbara Lynch, and Sex Ed classes by Eckerd Student Ariana are all in the works over the next 7 weeks.
Artist in Residence Laura Bissell, Scottish artist, author and scholar, is interviewing mother artists, exploring pregnancy loss for her book, working on a project on motherhood with Lucy Tyler, and begining a a book chapter called Adolescence and Matrescence: Seasons of the Witch for Demeter Press. The Matrescence Festival, being held in Exeter UK is a composition of expert speakers, vibrant discussion, deep feeling poetry and songs, art making, dancing, gathering to share, discuss and support this important subject, which Laura is attending and reporting from as part of her Remote Artist in Residency with MoM.
Thanks to New Community Partner/Sponsor, BayFirst Financial. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, BayFirst Financial offers personal and business banking services, including checking & savings accounts, loans, and more. MoM thanks BayFirst Financial.
JOIN Sierra for Sierra Speaks each Tuesday LIVE at 5PM EST with playback available Wednesdays! Sierra uses custom built tools which she shares with you for love, success and well-being. Sierra Speaks empowerment through core values and acts of sharing.
Sierra Speaks is LIVE 2nd/4th Tues. JOIN HER LIVE 5PM (EST) on Tuesdays, then episodes are available by Wednesday for archival viewing. Monthly online YOUTUBE with SIERRA
Amanda Bartles of Lactation Loop- Join us to socialize with other moms and families, meet local IBCLCs, & take advantage of on the spot breastfeeding education and lactation support.
August 5th at 10:30am & August 7th at 6pm with MoM. This year, the theme for National Breastfeeding Month is Nourish, Sustain, Thrive! At MoM we are pleased to host these two in-person events in collaboration with Amanda. Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week with.
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 BayFundraiser: Studies show that giving to women and girlsorganizations 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 LizDimmitt, 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.
MoM Volunteers
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!
Xy
Whetley
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
March at MoM is going to be AWESOME! We are looking forward to our Annual Academic & Arts Conference, BIPOC Allies and Birth Worker event, recap on our visit with Girls Rock St. Pete, gratitude to ABC News for the recent coverage and more at the Museum of Motherhood in March for Women’s Herstory Month!
Our conference kicks off at the end of the month, but first here’s what you can expect:
LINK TO SCHEDULE for the Conference info is ONLINE at MoM, Fri-Sat, March 22-24 in St. Pete.
The conference is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC VIA ZOOM & IN PERSON. If you are interested in attending via Zoom contact us: INFO@MOMmuseum.org / SATURDAY RESERVATIONS IN PERSON @ EVENTBRITE $25 includes lunch with some Friday and Sunday seats available in person as well. Read more about this year’s content below and we hope you’ll join us!
Join a half a dozen artists with a special exhibition at Heiress Gallery, Keynotes by Courtney Kessel and Andrea O’Reilly with a special crochet circle lead by Madison Hendry and international artists present from March 16- 31st. Press Release is here with more info coming….
MoM Conference 2024 Partners
Threads of Connection: Mother (and other) blame, shame and pain, with a focus on resistance and healing. Blame and shame can be self-imposed or projected by dominant social narratives that hyper-focus on the performative nature of m/otherhood as reinforced by unrealistic hegemonic constructions. This can be true for adult children reviewing familial relationships and the world writ large as well.
We encourage presenters to unpack the sociocultural domain of mother (and other) blame and the psychological, personal, professional, and media environment within which this topic is situated. Who is harmed by blame, and whom does it serve? How are oppressive systems reinforced or even sustained? How can we resist or dismantle these systems in large and small ways?
Threads of Connection Conference 2024
Kick Off to Conference With BIPOC Allies & Birth Workers
Welcome to **BIPOC & Allies Birth Worker Speed Dating**! Are you a birth worker looking to connect with others in the industry? Join us at The Factory St. Pete on **Thu Mar 21 2024** at **6:30 PM** for a fun and interactive speed dating event. This is a great opportunity to meet and network with BIPOC and allies in the birth work community. Whether you’re a doula, midwife, lactation consultant, or any other birth worker, this event is for you! Come ready to mingle, make new connections, and potentially find your next collaboration partner. Don’t miss out on this exciting event in **St. Petersburg, FL, USA**! Please get your free ticket here
Join MoM Empowerment facilitator and certified life coach, Sierra M. Clark on her journey to joy.
But, first-pay attention and HOLD THE DATE AEHK 7th Annual Studio Tour is coming March 16 & 17th! This is a wonderful opportunity to explore local artists studios “Where Art Lives” @historickenwood
We love our community collaborators. Thank you to Girls Rock St. Pete for visiting MoM and asking all the great questions as we celebrate Women’s Herstory Month together throughout March this year. We can’t wait for more music, more fun, and more connections!
Girls Rock St Pete
Flash Feminism –Do you know your ‘women’s herstory’?
https://mommuseum.org/her-story/In order to understand the profound impact women’s history has had on our policies, culture, and world, it is important to discern the multiple waves of feminism, the fight for the freedoms we enjoy today, and the manner in which women’s struggles for equality have been challenged, and continue to be challenged, even in contemporary society. Below is an overly simplified, yet effective overview of the four U.S. feminist waves, for students of all ages! Go to our herstory page to get an idea of where we’ve been and where we hope to go in the journey towards equality for all. [CLICK]
Before we round the corner into February, we want to share some upcoming opportunities that we think are worthwhile reflections of a ‘new year –new you journey’ with MoM. Many of us charge out of the gate with the best of intentions post-holiday as we turn the calendar on another year. Each of us carries some degree of hurt, loss, pain, or trauma. We already know this. Studies also show that arts, culture and community are great ways to feel more integrated, connected, and educated about our purpose and place in the world. MoM is so pleased to support the work of some of our friends, facilitators and collaborators for this ongoing holistic journey to serenity, connection and even happiness.
Black History Month
We celebrate Black History (and HerStory) Month at MoM with our exhibit featuring Sojourner Truth, activist, suffragette, mother and preacher. We are continually inspired by her example of calling out gender and racial inequity. We stand by her memory and share her story at our space in The Factory in St. Pete beginning with the First Wave of Feminism circa 1850. We also celebrate our local Carter Woodson African American Museum here locally. Carter G. Woodson was a scholar and historian who dreamed of an entire month devoted to Black History, just as we, at MoM dream of an entire field of study, museum, and month of scholarship, art, and education devoted to mothers each May across the USA.
Well-Being Is (Mostly) An Inside Job
Visit MoM’s Healing Garden growing onsite at The Factory. We didn’t know we needed this, but we do! Part of our mission at MoM is to ‘start great conversations’. Over the course of the last four months we’ve been astounded at the humans in need of a deeper connection as they process issues around loss, grief, stress, and isolation. Inspired by our neighbor @Gio’s_Typos and his garden at The Factory we’ve decided to carry the mantle of floral expression to new heights as we build out our in-person experience with prompts, poetry and stress -relievers. Bring a flower, take a prompts, enjoy the serene and intentional setting and visit soon. We’ll be waiting for you! Regular hours are 12-6 Wed – Saturday, Second Saturday Art Walk (Second Saturday each month) 6-9PM, Indie Flea (First Sunday of each month) 12-3PM. Call ahead to book your tour and make sure our volunteers are on site. 877-877-MOMS (6667). Leave a message and we’ll call you back.
Break Free from Anxiety & Love Yourself Unconditionally
A Very Special Women’s Retreat Feb 9-14. 5-days $299 or just the weekend $149 – plus accommodations (meals included). Rooms with private bathrooms are selling out. Finally release layers of emotional pain and reconnect with calmness, clarity, and happiness. Experience on-the-spot anxiety relief plus music, movement, and meditation to reawaken joy.
The Stress Is Gone Method is a transformational healing modality facilitated by Author & Stress Expert, Brett Cotter. He is a clairaudient empath that guides you to reopen your heart as you feel self-love melt down emotional pain in your body and inside old memories. Brett has 25-years experience helping people recover from the most traumatic events of their lives.
“As a clinician, it was impressive feeling my own stress lift out of my body. I’ve encouraged several family members to call for coaching!” Gerri DeBenedetto, Mother, LCSW
”It was a life-changing experience. Brett creates a safe space to open up and has an innate ability to get to the core issues. You feel tension leave your body.” Sarah StanczewskI, Working Mom, NY Immerse yourself in a safe place for deep, lasting emotional healing.
“I never expected in the first 5 minutes he’d be able to identify the source of my trauma, and give me the words to release it and move on.” Deidre Auchmoody, NY
[POSTPONED DUE TO ILLNESS] 33 Days of Transformation In-Person & Online Development Workshop
Sierra M. Clark, MoM Empowerment Facilitator invites you to join her onsite at the Museum of Motherhood each Tuesday at 6PM beginning Feb. 6th (or online) for FOUR WEEKS – 33 days – of personal and professional empowerment. Each week focuses on specific aspects of the empowerment journey, allowing participants to delve deeper into their strengths, obstacles, and break-through to new awareness and behaviors that will benefit every area of their lives. Sierra uses custom built tools which she shares with you as part of this workshop for your ongoing success. These tools can also be used for a self-paced experience which Sierra will guide you through. Register now for this insightful, personal, and empowering experience!
MoM Announcements
“Womb Project” By MADISON HENDRY Time-Based Sculpture and Documentation Sculpture: Pink Yarn, Crochet Hook Prints: Color Print on Foam Core May 2013 – January 2014.
This 9 month long documentation explores the physical changes artist, Madison Hendry experienced throughout her first pregnancy. By crocheting around herself during this period, she creates a “womb-like” soft sculpture, which protects and comforts her, just as her womb protects and comforts her growing baby. Madison utilizes the repetitive and meditative process of crocheting to reflect on her pregnancy. As her baby continues to grow and begins to manipulate her body, it is apparent that the sculpture is doing the same. The more the baby grows, the more difficult it becomes for the artist to continue creating her work. However, it is inevitable that she continues. This is catharsis. At last, when the sculpture is complete, it is then deconstructed by the artist to reveal the greatest work of art; her baby. The “Womb Project” is currently on display at MoM.
Please Welcome Our New Board of Directors2024
Courtney Kessel, President, is a mother, artist, academic, and arts administrator living and working in Athens, Ohio. She is currently the Assistant Director for Experiential Design at Ohio University and a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Arts. Courtney is one of the pioneers of the mother-made art movement.
Kayley Robsham – Secretary, is professional life coaching and Neuro-Linguistic Programming trainer, advanced Certified Life & Business Coach working with entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, healers, and visionaries to grow their business by helping them heal their subconscious mind and body.
Deanna Barcelona, Treasurer, (aka Dr. B) is a proud St. Petersburg local mama to two teenagers. Her Ph.D. is in Higher Education Administration with a cognate in Anthropology which she studied for both her undergraduate degree and Master of Arts. She currently works as a home loan specialist transferring her strengths and skills as an educator into the world of helping people build wealth through homeownership.
Atlas Obscura January 11, 2024– Thank you for adding us to your collection of newsworthy organizations. Atlas Obscura has a mission to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. MoM is part of 28,202 unique places shared by this resource. [LINK] for their recent coverage of MoM – because, ya know, m/otherhood is so obscure!
CFP: Incarcerated (M)others Publisher: DEMETER PRESS / Editors: Olga Marques & Michelle Hughes Miller. Writers, artists, academics, activists, and all those who work in and/or study or explore (m)otherhood within the context of incarceration are invited to propose a chapter for this interdisciplinary anthology centered within the criminalized, regulated, resisted, and lived experiences of (m)others who are or have been incarcerated and/or are or have been under state supervision. When we use the term (m)others, we refer to anyone who self-identifies as a mother or parent who has or is engaging in motherwork. We use the term incarceration to reference state governance over the lives of individuals within the state’s regulatory authority. CFP PDF Download
We continue to promote, thank, and celebrate the work of WEDU PBS who did an extraordinary job capturing the journey of founder Martha Joy Rose music career to motherhood through illness to the creation of the Museum of Motherhood in St. Petersburg, Florida. From inception in 2003 in New York to actualization, the aim of MoM is to reach humans everywhere with a message of inspiration, education, and compassion. The video is on rotation locally in throughout the Tampa Bay/ Sarasota area and is also available for viewing on YouTube. Here’s the LINK.
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).
AEHK 7th Annual Studio Tour is coming March 16 & 17th! This is a wonderful opportunity to explore local artists studios “Where Art Lives” 
