ART, THEORY, RESEARCH

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY: For the duration of the next three months we give the floor to Shira Richter, a mother, artist, activist, film maker, and educator from Israel. In the three editions (November 2016, December 2016 and January 2017) that Richter brings to us from her country and her feminist maternal perspective, we will be presented with her thoughts on motherhood, 'the maternal' and the politics of everyday life. In this first edition of 'Messages from Israel', Richter presents her interview with Andrea O'Reilly, entitled 'Motherhood, A Liability or a Crime?  #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6.' The interviews have been filmed by Shira Richter. Additionally we will be treating you to the keynote lecture of Dr. Andrea O'Reilly: 'The Baby Out With Bathwater: The Disavowal and Disappearance of Motherhood in 20th and 21st century Academic Feminism', presented at MIRCI's 20th Anniversary Gala Conference held in Toronto, October 2016.

Shira Richter

See here to read the first edition of 'Messages from Israel'

For queries on how to submit work for the monthly columns, email info@mothervoices.org

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ART, THEORY, RESEARCH

ART, THEORY, RESEARCH: In the October column we are pleased to publish work by Nancy Gerber on the topic of maternal bereavement and introduce you to the work of poets Chanel Brenner and Alexis Rhone Fancher. 

Nancy Gerber received her doctorate in English from Rutgers University and taught as a visiting lecturer for eight years in the English and Women’s Studies departments of Rutgers-Newark. Her books are Portrait of the Mother-Artist: Class and Creativity in Contemporary American Fiction (Lexington, 2003); Losing a Life: A Daughter’s Memoir of Caregiving (Hamilton, 2005); and Fire and Ice: Poetry and Prose (Arseya, 2014), a finalist for a Gradiva Award in poetry from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis. She is currently an advanced candidate in psychoanalytic training at the Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis.

A version of this essay appeared on line in Journal of Mother Studies, Issue 1.  Gratitude to the editors, Kandee Kosior and Rosalind Howell, for permission to reprint this work.

See here to read 'A Ferocious Intimacy: Poetry by Grieving Mothers'

For queries on how to submit work for the monthly columns, email info@mothervoices.org

To subscribe to the monthly newsletter
 

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

Field Trip #13 with Csilla Klenyánszki, Hungary
Tuesday, 1st of November / 10am - 1pm
The Netherlands

Csilla Klenyánszki (1986) is a Hungarian artist living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

"My work is photography based. The work relays on common objects and by researching their unusual potential, I introduce a new function to them. A game with the laws of physics, kitchen chemistry and elementary school science experiments are involved during the process. A constant attraction to physical tension characterizes my work. 
The sets I create are often fragile and require intense concentration during build up. The work plays with the borders of non-sense, something that looks foolish at first, always finds its right place in the end. 
I am currently working on a project, "Pillars of Home", one hundred - 30 minutes long - balancing sculptures, which I am doing within An Artist Residency of Motherhood, initiated by the artists Lenka Clayton. 
These floor-to-ceiling constructions relay on their own inner stability while being framed only by the floor and the ceiling. These in-situ installations are being made during my son's naps, when our home becomes a studio for no more than a half an hour." 

www.klenyanszki.com
www.pillarsofhome.com
www.mothersinarts.com

Location: 
Guus Trestorffstraat 10
1063 VM Amsterdam

Getting there:
From Amsterdam Sloterdijk: 15 minute walk, by bike (OV fiets) 6 minutes.
From Amsterdam Centraal: Bus 21 (direction Geuzenveld) to Burgemeester Fockstraat, 3 minute walk

PLEASE RESERVE: info@mothervoices.org
Spaces are limited.

See here for more information on the Field Trips and their related inquiry.

ART, RESEACH, THEORY

In the September column we are please to feature Sheilah Wilson an artist born and raised in Caribou River, Nova Scotia. Her recent work investigates the possibility of history and identity as fictionalized states of becoming. Wilson received her MFA from Goldsmiths College and a BFA from NSCAD University. She is Associate Professor Photography at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, a mother and an artist in residence at Headlands Center for the Arts. Artists participating in Conversation For Ways are Dana Hoey (DH), Leeza Meksin (LM) and Carmen Winant (CW) and Sheilah Wilson (SW).

See here to read Conversation Four Ways
 

For queries on how to submit work for the monthly columns, email info@mothervoices.org

To subscribe to the monthly newsletter
 

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

Introducing...

'PILLARS OF HOME' 

Nr 57

Pillars of Home, Nr. 57, Csilla Klenyánszki

One hundred - 30 minute long - balancing sculptures by Csilla Klenyánszki made during her Artist Residency in Motherhood, a free, open source residency project initiated by the artist Lenka Clayton. Currently there are 203 Artists-in-Residence-in-Motherhood in 25 countries and on six continents. Csilla Klenyánszki's residency takes place in Amsterdam. 

"The floor-to-ceiling constructions relay on their own inner stability while being framed only by the floor and the ceiling. The in situ installations are being made during my son’s naps, when our home becomes a studio for no more than a half an hour. The colorful hand-built pillars vary in size and complexity, depending on their territory. As the objects are being piled up, they become a coherent entity, but their delicate arrangement and balancing structure makes them vulnerable as they can be destroyed at any moment. Not only the existence of the image is in danger if the installation collapses,  but the noise of the fallen objects might awaken the sleeping baby, which ends the studio session. The nature of the project allows no self-correction, thus the final image might be imperfect." 

www.pillarsofhome.com

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

THE MOTHER HOUSE

The very first art studio with co-produced and flexible childcare model is opening in London.

The Mother House Collective, 2016.

The Mother House, is a new initiative directed by Procreate Project in collaboration with Desperate Artwives. The Mother House is born in response to the urge of “making” within the life-changing experience of motherhood, offering a collaborative yet intimate space to curate artists’ practice whilst ensuring their journey into motherhood is fed in a creative and inclusive way.
Over 36 London based artists and their children are coming together for an exploratory month into the intersection between the roles of mother and artist, observing the importance of their impact on private lives and within society.
The Mother House residency is starting the 5th of September 2016 at the IKLECTIK Art Lab in London Waterloo and will provide a familiar context to share and reveal both the challenges and privileges of being a mother. The space will provide the artists with the freedom of working independently or alongside their children and it will also give them the opportunity to work in collaboration with other artists and create a supportive and inspiring network. This short-term project intends to demonstrate how a dedicated space provides crucial support for mother artists’ professional development. 
The experiment will turn into an artwork itself as a documentary, which will be shown for a final open-house day on the 9th of October, celebrating this journey and exhibiting all the works created during this time. he MOTHER HOUSE is  an experimental, dedicated creative space for London based mother-artists to explore a long term dream and make it a reality.


The Mother House London
5th of September - 29th of September
Daily 10.00 - 17.00

Open-house & Final Exhibition day
9th of October / 17.00 / 20.00
Free entrance

Location: 
IKLECTIK Art Lab
Old Paradise Yard
20 Carlisle Lane (Royal Street corner) next to Archbishop’s Park
SE1 7LG  

The Mother House Project will also hold talks and workshops during the weekends.
Please refer to the website for full events timetable and artists list. For the list of participating artists see here. 

For more information contact:
Dyana Gravina / Procreate Project
Amy Dignam / Desperate Artwives
Tel. 07513 499387
 

The Mother House is supported by
m/other voices
Mamsie
Prams in the hall
Feminism in London
IKLECTIK Art Lab

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

July newsletter featuring The Let Down Reflex - Part III  is now out. Also included in the July newsletter is information on m/other voices Field Trip #12, with Shira Richter, current open calls by Creative Collaborative Mothers, Cultural Re-producers Reading Group, the upcoming MIRCI 20th year gala conference in Toronto and CFP on Maternal Art Activism. We will return with our next monthly newsletter at the end of September. Until then m/other voices wishes you happy, adventurous and carefree summer days! 

See here to read The Let Down Reflex - Part III

For queries on how to submit work for the monthly columns, email info@mothervoices.org.  To subscribe to the monthly newsletter.
 

Michelle Levy (left), Director of the EFA Project Space and Meghana Karnik (right), Program Manager of the EFA Project Space.

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

Field Trip # 12 with Shira Richter, Israel
Tuesday, 5th of July / 7pm - 10pm,
The Netherlands
 

Shira Richter is a feminist artist, independent scholar and artivist. She is the director of an award winning adventure film 'Two States of Mind' about women's and mother's voices regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, creator of photography exhibitions and installations about the value and status of mothers in society, a writer, visual performance lecturer, curator and advocate for gentle and ethical communication. Her projects act as an interface- or "multi-bridge" between academic knowledge, art, and contemporary activism. "Walking the Talk in my everyday life is the challenge". She lives in Israel with her partner, two children and three cats.

Location:
Klupko, Da Costastraat 37 / 1st floor
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Getting there:
Tram no: 13 from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Bilderdijkstraat / short walk to Da Costastraat. 

PLEASE RESERVE: info@mothervoices.org
Spaces are limited.

June column & newsletter

June newsletter featuring Let Down Reflex: Part II  is now out.
Also included in the June newsletter: information on m/other voices Field Trip #11, Mother House, Artist-Parent Index, Cultural Re-Producers reading group and the Creative Collaborative Mothers residency in India. 

See here to read Let Down Reflex - Part II

Home Affairs, And Everything Else, 2016, Image courtesy of the EFA Project Space

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

FIELD TRIP # 11,
MARGRET WIBMER, AUSTRIA

'Victor', (2010), Margret Wibmer, lambdaprint on dibond, 100 x 100 cm, Ed.5.

“The above photograph was produced in Japan for my solo show at Art Gummi Gallery in Kanazawa. It was made in the private home of Mr. Yamazaki, a collector of antique audio and video apparature. The dog in the picture is nipper who served as a model in the famous painting titled 'his master’s voice’ as he is listening to a cylinder phonograph. Over a number of years I have produced a series of photographs that are concerned with how we relate to objects and the role of women in advertisement and modern consumer culture. My daughter Malaya appeared in many of these images. I will reveal more during the studio talk.“

Margret Wibmer is an international artist and educator who received her art education at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. After her studies she was based in New York City for many years. Since 1990 she has been based in Amsterdam. Margret Wibmer works systematically on the border between art and fashion, employing different media such as performance, photography, video and sculpture. The past couple of years she has been focusing on developing participatory performances that involve museum visitors as actors. Her works have been shown in galleries and museums in Europe, the US and Asia, including KAI 10 – Arthena Foundation in Düssedorf; RMIT Design Hub in Melbourne; Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Ishikawa Nishida Kitaro Museum of Philosophy in Japan and Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Currently she is investigating alternative ways of artistic production and is part of the MA program ‘Fashion Matters’ at Sandberg Institute. 

Location: 
Studio Margret Wibmer,
KNSM laan 153, 1019 LC Amsterdam.

Getting there:
Bus 65 or 48 / Tram 10 from Amsterdam Central Station. Stop at Azartplein. https://www.google.com/maps/place/KNSM

PLEASE RESERVE: info@mothervoices.org

See here for more information on the Field Trips and their related inquiry. 
 

The Let Down Reflex

MOTHER'S DAY, MAY 8th. 

LAUNCHING A THREE-MONTH-LONG SERIES: 'THE LET DOWN REFLEX' by Amber Berson and Juliana Driever.

 

Home Affairs, And Everything Else, 2015 Image: copyright and courtesy of Home Affairs

Starting May 8th, Mother's Day, Amber Berson and Juliana Driever, co-curators of The Let Down Reflex, are launching a monthly column on parenting in the arts, with contributions by artists: Dillon de Give, Home Affairs (Arzu Ozkal, Claudia Costa Pederson, and Nanette Yannuzzi), Leisure (Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley), Lise Haller Baggesen, LoVid, and Shane Aslan Selzer, with an additional text from EFA Project space administrators Michelle Levy and Meghana Karnik. 

The column takes shape in a series of interviews on revisionist approaches to accommodations and policies on the participation of families and parents in the arts and culture, and will be published over the course of three months. The questions and answers that form this special series for m/other voices are also an attempt to speak with you - the reader and we would love to hear your feedback. The full set of questions and contributions can be read here.

Order of publications:
May: Amber Berson & Juliana Driever / Lise Haller Baggesen / Dillon de Give
June: Home Affairs / Leisure / LoVid
July: Shane Aslan Selzer / Michelle Levy & Meghana Karnik, EFA Project Space
 

You can read here The Let Down Reflex - Part I

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

In the April column we are pleased to feature Helen Sargeant, an interdisciplinary artist and mother of two sons aged 7 and 14. Sargeant works from home collaborating on projects with her family and from her studio in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. In her artistic work Sargeant is concerned with disrupting and challenging idealized representations of the maternal and the idea of the 'good mother', her photographs recording the ever shifting, transitory moments that she shares with her family. This year Sargeant completed M(other) Stories, a year long journal (2015-2016), comprising of autobiographical writing juxtaposed with photographs taken at home and during the school runs by using her smart phone camera. Over the course of a year, she published 332 posts documenting the work and challenges required of a woman balancing her roles and responsibilities as mother and artist. M(other) Stories was presented at The Motherhood & Creative Practices Conference, London South Bank University, 2015. Sargeant's work was exhibited at the Project AfterBirth (White Moose Gallery, UK) and she was one of the collaborators on The Egg The Womb The Head & The Moon -project and accompanying exhibition. Most recently her work was shown at the Artist as Mother as Artist exhibition (Lace Market Gallery, Nottingham, 2016.) Her column for m/other voices forms a part of a new and ongoing investigation going back in time to when she became a mother and was dealing with post-natal depression.

You can read The Miserable Mother, Part I: A Silent Earthquake here.

Excursion: Queensize

Friday, April 29, 2016 / 11:00am  2:00pm  
Arnheum Museum
Utrechtscheweg 87
6812 AA Arnhem,
Nederland

An Excursion to visit the exhibition Queensize, a curated selection of works by female artists from the Thomas Olbricht Collection.  Queensize has previously been shown at me Collectors Room Berlin and is curated by Nicola Graef (documentary film producer and director) and Wolfgang Schoppmann (chief curator of the Olbricht Collection). Visit to the exhibition will be followed by lunch and a discussion over the exhibition and its framing of female experience/s, amongst other topics that come forth from the visit. To register for the excursion and for more detailed information please send an email to info@mothervoices.org by Monday, the 25th of April.

Arnhem Museum & m/other voices

In-House Production Assistant

m/other voices has an internship vacancy!

Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

In-House Production Assistant & an all around wizard!

Are you a student looking for work experience in the cultural field?
Are you interested in contemporary cultural issues, art, theory, research, philosophy, dialogue and community involvement projects? Do you want to gain experience in organising events, exhibitions, seminars and building networks across borders and disciplines? Come and work with us!

Position: 1 day a week, starting from April, 2016.
Location: Rotterdam, with a possibility to also work from home. 

Tasks:
-Maintaining website and social media
-Internal and external communication
-Assisting on the production and communication of international events, exhibitions and seminars.
-Working closely alongside and assisting the director in the daily running of the foundations activities.

Required skills:
- Excellent writing skills
- Fluent English and Dutch
- Good computer skills
- Excellent knowledge of social media
- Strong event production and organisational skills
- Organized and willing to take initiatives
- Sharp editorial eye and design skills are an advantage

What we offer:
- Opportunity to work in an engaged, dynamic, small team with an international network of artists, curators, writers, scholars, and other professionals.
- Possibility to participate in the foundations many activities and contribute to content.
- Benefit from having direct contact with a team of experienced professionals within the field of cultural production both in The Netherlands and abroad.

Apply by sending an email with a CV and a letter of motivation to:
mothervoicesfoundation@gmail.com

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

In our March column we are pleased to feature Sharon Renee Stewart (USA/NL), who studied piano at the Utrecht School of the Arts, Faculty of Music, and later completed a Masters in Music Pedagogy at the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague. She has a private piano practice in Arnhem, has collaborated as sound artist with various dancers, and serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Sonic Studies. Works with dancers have been performed at festivals and other venues in Arnhem, Amsterdam, Nijmegen and The Hague in the Netherlands. She publishes poetry in a collaboration with Amanda Judd on shandastudd.com. Sharon became certified in Deep Listening, with Pauline Oliveros, IONE and Heloise Gold in 2011 and is currently a teacher, with Jennifer Wilsey and Ximena Alarcón, for the online international Deep Listening Certificate Program.

You can read Listening to the Mother(being) here.

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY:

In our monthly column we are pleased to feature Oda Projesi, an artist collective from Istanbul, founded in 2000 by Özge Açıkkol, Güneş Savaş and Seçil Yersel. Through the use of various mediums such as radio, books, postcards and newspapers, Oda Projesi has been investigating relations between space, everyday life and survival tactics ever since. In their collaborative practice they are also interested in relations between artistic production and precariousness. For the m/other voices column, Oda Projesi’s Özge Açıkkol and Güneş Savaş posed questions to each other, which they then have attempted to answer.

You can read 'If I ask you a question and then you ask a question from me' here.

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

"What the map cuts up, the story cuts across."

                                                                               - Michel de Certeau

In the January column we are pleased to feature Dr. Elena Marcevska, a London based interdisciplinary artist and researcher. Following her doctoral study on screen and feminist performance practice, she continues to focus on the relationships between performance, maternal body and digital writing. She was a key organizer of the international conference 'Motherhood and Creative Practice' (London South Bank University, June 2015) and writes about the intersection between maternal, creativity and activism.

You can read Borders with/in the Mother here.

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

 “Unlike many other objects or identities, from the very beginning the notion of mother is fraught. She is not a simple creature. She might not even be a woman. Therefore, conceivably a mother might be a he...”

In the December column we are pleased to feature Martha Joy Rose, (USA), a New York-based performance artist, scholar, and the mother of four young adults ages 21-26. Having been named as “God Mother of Mom Rock” by the CNN, Joy has been making music since the early 1980’s in New York City. With the birth of her first child she created the Housewives On Prozac band, which has enjoyed international success and spawned a mother-made music movement. In 2002, seeking to identify the unique expressions of women who are mothers and to amplify their voices, Joy founded the Mamapalooza Festival, currently being administrated each May through the New York Parks Department. In 2009, she directed the film The Motherhood Movement: You Say You Want a Revolution, which promotes, showcases, and makes visible maternal discussion, disseminating information on the subject of Feminist/activist Mothers and the missions of International Maternal agencies. Working together with a team of academics and activists, Joy opened the first-ever Museum of Motherhood (M.O.M.) on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 2011. Currently she is teaching “Families and Social Change” at Manhattan College. Joy’s Master’s Degree in Mother Studies is a herstoric first, and she has written for Sage Press, Demeter Press, and assorted literary journals.

You can read:  A M/other Movement for the Masses here.

ART, RESEARCH, THEORY

In the November column we are pleased to feature Irene Pérez (Spain), a visual artist based in Terrassa (Barcelona). Her work explores identity, language and the physical space.  You can read Education As a Creative and Transformative Process here.

CALL FOR DONATIONS

The m/other voices annual web hosting fee is coming up in December. As a non profit organisation running with the steam of a small dedicated team of volunteers we largely depend on donations for the most basic running costs of the foundations activities. The foundation would be incredibly grateful for any contribution made towards its web hosting costs for the coming year 2016.You can donate any amount by following this link. You can also choose to indicate if you wish to donate towards a specific program -or focus area - of the m/other voices foundation. Kind thank’s for your consideration.

-the m/other voices team