ACTIVITIES: VISITORS ENTRANCE
Questions: The Art of Experience -Motherhood in Motion, child friendly, accessible, free to all
What does M/other mean to you? At MoM we explore common language that describes the identity and experience of those who birth, adopt, foster, and labor over children as well as those who have lost children or experienced infertility. We also explore our adult child status. We celebrate the art of m/otherhood and the experience of otherhood. Our lives are fantastic. They are also full of challenges. Meet some of the amazing people who contributed to the making the Museum of Motherhood and some of the founders and creators of the mother-made-art-movement. Take time to play and share your own experiences. We are the interpreters of our individual and collective bodies, experiences, and cultures documenting them for ourselves and future generations. How can you start this journey? What is your story? Here are a few activities. Free and open to the public.
1. Join us for a creative activity onsite. We have regular opportunities to gather at MoM and also to share special exhibitions of mother-made-art: Annual October Art Auction, Special Exhibits, MoM Conference, May is Mamapalooza Month & SPMOP.
2. Sit in the boob chair – ahem, we mean the food chair
3. Play with clay and share your anatomical story
4. Write a letter to your mother
5. Call your mother
6. Why do we have families anyway? Find out a more about the sociology of family and why its important.
7. Leave a memento for our archives: a trinket, a book (inscribed), an antique (with label) for our permanent collection in the collection box
8. BONUS: What is the difference between the identity, labor, and social expectations of m/other?(*Hint – see our definitions page):
Mothering
*Answer: The labor of care work on behalf of children, free of gender as defined by scholar Sarah Ruddick, Maternal Thinking
Mother
*Answer: Identity. Mother- the noun- describes the individual at the center of the experience
Motherhood
*Answer: The institution of motherhood which is constructed as a patriarchal institution that is oppressive to women, as defined by Adrienne Rich in her seminal book Of Woman Born
CLICK PHOTO (TOP OF PAGE) or HERE TO RETURN TO ESCAPE WOMB EXPERIENCE PAGE