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The Museum of Motherhood, Tampa Bay’s First and Only Women’s Museum Seeks Friends, Funding, & Business Associates

CALL TO ACTION: Join Our Founder’s Circle- Building MoM in Florida. Calling one hundred friends to invest in the future of Tampa Bay!

MoM invites you to a celebration of the Museum of Motherhood in St. Pete 2024. As we acknowledge our enormous growth since moving to The Factory in September 2023 and now we invite YOU to join us as we bring this legacy project to its next phase of development.

May 8th 6-7:30PM – PLEDGE by May 1st using our form here / Find out MORE by going HERE.

A Womb of Our Own

The Museum of Motherhood (MoM) is an international museum and teaching facility located in St. Petersburg, FL, devoted to the art, science, and history of women, m/others and families inclusive of all reproductive identities. Through exhibitions and education, MoM tackles the ubiquitous nature of reproductive identity, birth, and parenting by examining the social, psychological, and economic realities embedded in these experiences and by turning the lens squarely on the people at the center of these endeavors. 

In September of 2023, MoM moved to The Factory in St. Pete. Now situated in the arts district plans are underway for how to sustain and grow MoM in the community. With over 1,200 visitors a month, the museum aims to remain free and open to the public with plans underway for a new ‘experiential’ portion of the museum to be built in the fall. Founder Martha Joy Rose oversees operations with a volunteer staff located here in Pinellas County.

April 17 6-7:30 PM – What is Black Maternal Health Week? In celebration of Black Maternal Health Week Doula Courtney West, owner of 3 Gems Birth Services, partner, with MoM Empowerment Facilitator Sierra Clark to have an open discussion on how empowerment effects black maternal health. Many times we hear disturbing numbers of maternal mortality and morbidity in the Black community. We don’t always hear the ways to make change in this area. During this 90 minute conversation we will address some of the current concerns around birth in the US, talk about the practicalities of birth, and why awareness around black maternal health is essential. With empowerment, education, passion and love we can make the change. Online at IG and in-person at MoM. We’d love to see you in person. Register here. Register here or call 877-711-MOMS (6667) and leave a message

This year, with the help of WEDU PBS, ABC Action News, the Tampa Bay Times and several local sponsors and supporters, word has gotten out in great ways. But the project is still largely unfunded and the non-profit seeks support to meet its 100k budget for 2024-25. 

A May Mamapalooza event kicks off mother’s month with family events on May 4th with collaborators Liz Dimmitt and The Fairgrounds St. Pete, followed by a fundraiser on May 8th. Undeterred by statistics that charitable giving to women and girls organizations represents less than 2% of all philanthropic activity in the U.S., that only 11% of U.S. History books are about women and only 11 % of museum collections contain art made by women, MoM remains committed to change by taking its rightful place in the museum world.

This call to action invites women and their friends to invest in the future of Tampa Bay by joining the Museum of Motherhood non-profit Founders Circle. MoM invites local leaders to take the next step forward with this first, local and herstoric legacy project. Read more about this event here.

UPCOMING EVENTS – Mark Your Calendars

MaMaPaLooZa 2024 in Tampa Bay

The Saint Petersburg Month of Photography in collaboration with the Museum of Motherhood presents 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.  

Image: Angelika Kollin, titled: Ndahafa / South Africa / 2023

Contact MoM: 877-711-MOMS (6667)

E: INFO@MOMmuseum.org

W: MOMmuseum.org

Location: 2606 Fairfield Ave. S St Petersburg, FL 

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

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).

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MOM Museum: Reedy Press & Joshua Ginsberg’s New Book Secret Tampa Bay

The Museum of Motherhood is proud to be included in Joshua Ginsberg’s new book, Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, published by Reedy Press.

This guide to the obscure helps unlock secret spots in and around the city including some of the most intriguing and entertaining surprises.

Join in a pirate parade, see live mermaids, or catch a flamenco dance performance at the oldest and largest Spanish restaurant in America. Wander through secret gardens, listen to bagpipe music, and sample a seemingly endless variety of hidden treasures in Tampa Bay. Also, of course, you can discover the art, science, and history of mothers, mothering, and motherhood at MOM in the historic neighborhood of Kenwood in St. Petersburg, Fl., “where art lives”.

Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure provides a deeper dive into the local culture, history, art and one-of-a-kind attractions as alternatives to the usual beaches and theme parks, you are sure to find it here.

Join author Joshua Ginsberg as he narrates his explorations through Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and the surrounding areas in search of hidden history, strange monuments, museums, oddities, antiques in this truly invigorating guidebook that is sure to provide many memorable experiences.

Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure is available wherever books are sold.

Thank you too, for the shout out from Natalie Taylor and Josh August 26th, 2020 on Tampa Bay Morning Blend News Show (ABC).

Please stay safe and stay strong. WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Order copies of the book: https://secrettampabay.com/
If you are interested in stocking the book at their place of business, write Reedy Press or Josh at the above website 😊

Please contact Don Korte at dkorte@reedypress.com to arrange an interview or appearance.

Book Details: Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, by Joshua Ginsberg, ISBN 9781681062860, paperback 9 x 6, 208 pages, $22.50