Upcoming
On Wednesday 15 May, 2-4pm, we are excited to host a second event at The Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths, London, SE14 6NW (nearest tubes New Cross and New Cross Gate).
With the WAL Curator Althea Greenan, we will have a meeting exploring the history of consciousness-raising groups and their legacies today. We will have a special introduction to these themes from Lily Evans-Hall whose PhD research looks at the mobilisation of collectives, co-operatives and collaboration in art informed by the Women’s Liberation Movement in the UK, followed by an informal discussion. We will also have access to some of the incredible archives from the WAL.
As always Offspring welcome!
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We have upcoming online talks with CVAN East Midlands on Tuesday 21 May 1-2pm and Yorkshire and East Humber Visual Art Network on Wednesday 22 May 6-7pm to present AWP to audiences from these regions. Aims for the sessions include establishing local cohorts and developing a dialogue with institutions in the region on improving working conditions for parents in the artworld.
The events are free and online. To register follow these links:
CVAN East Midlands, Tuesday 21 May, 1-2pm
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Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood, curated by Hettie Judah, continues until 2025 as part of a Hayward Touring production.
Featuring the work of more than sixty modern and contemporary artists, this exhibition will approach motherhood as a creative enterprise, albeit one at times tempered by ambivalence, exhaustion or grief. Acts of Creation will explore lived experience of motherhood, offering a complex account that engages with contemporary concerns about gender, caregiving and reproductive rights.
The exhibition will address diverse experiences of motherhood across three themes: Creation, which looks at conception, pregnancy, birth and nursing; Maintenance which explores motherhood and caregiving in the day-to-day; and Loss, which touches on miscarriage and involuntary childlessness, as well as reproductive rights. The heart of the exhibition is a series of revelatory self-portraits – a celebration of the artist as mother.
The exhibition will run at at Arnolfini, Bristol 9 March – 28 May before travelling to Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham: 22 June to 29 September 2024; Millennium Gallery, Sheffield: 24 October 2024 to 21 January 2025 and Dundee Contemporary Arts: Spring 2025 (exact dates TBC).
Past
On Sunday 24 March we were given a special breakfast preview of CUTE at Somerset House.
CUTE brings together contemporary artworks, including new artist commissions, and cultural phenomena such as music, fashion, toys, video games and social media, in this brand-new show examining the world’s embrace of cute culture and how it has become such an influential measure of our times.
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On Thursday 21 March we were given an introduction by curator Linsey Young followed by entry to the landmark survey show Women in Revolt!: Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 at Tate Britain, London.
The first of its kind, this exhibition is a wide-ranging exploration of feminist art by over 100 women artists working in the UK. It shines a spotlight on how networks of women used radical ideas and rebellious methods to make an invaluable contribution to British culture. Their art helped fuel the women’s liberation movement during a period of significant social, economic and political change.
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On Sunday 17th March we met at The Drawing Room where we were offered a curator’s tour of The Time of Our Lives featuring works by Monica Ross, Sutapa Biswas, Sonia Boyce, Magaret Harrison, Claudette Johnson, Lizzy Rose, Soheila Sokhanvari, Kate Davis and Jade de Monstserrat. The show focussed on works which raise consciousness around social and political issues , such as reproductive justice, sexism, racism and other forms of oppression.
Image: installation view of The Time of Our Lives
We then congregated in the community room for an informal discussion with Alice and Lydia Ross – daughters of feminist artist and academic Monica Ross – who spoke with us about their mother’s practice.
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On Thursday 25th January, 2-4pm we met at The Women’s Art Library, for an event with Hannah Bowles and Esmeralda Valencia Lindström.
Hannah Bowles gave us a presentation on her research exploring how to integrate children and childcare into an educational setting, giving a background to her recent project Playgrounding, initiated last year at Goldsmiths Nursery.
Esmeralda Valencia Lindström discussed her project A Wet Archive that was on show at the Women’s Art Library. The research began in the WAL collection and expanded into a reflection on the hidden life of the archive and its built environment manifested through fungi.
The event will included an introduction to the WAL by Althea Greenan.
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On Saturday 2nd December, 2-4pm, we hosted an event at Spike Island, in collaboration with Visual Arts South West.
The Art Working Parents Alliance (AWP) met at Spike Island to discuss and share ideas on how to improve working conditions for parents in the artworld. Hosted by AWP founders Jo Harrison and Hettie Judah, the event focussed on the work they have been doing to give visibility to parents’ working conditions in the arts sector, followed by a conversation with the audience.
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On Saturday 7th October we hosted an informal event at The Mosaic Rooms
We had the opportunity to explore In the shade of the sun, a group exhibition contemplating the relationship between politics and aesthetics by an exciting new generation of Palestinian artists Mona Benyamin, Xaytun Ennasr and Dina Mimi as well as a new sonic performance commission by Makimakkuk.
In the shade of the sun installation view
There was also be access to the outdoor play installation by RESOLVE Collective, Tools for Solidarity and the Sensing our Way sensory toolkit by Sarah Marsh.
Tools for Solidarity outdoor play installation
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On Saturday 2nd September we held a special hybrid event at London’s ICA and via two Zoom sessions where we asked the membership to contribute their thoughts and suggestions for what urgently needs to be addressed during our forthcoming symposiusm.
We still welcome ideas! Email us: artworkingparents (at) gmail (dot) com
We want the Alliance to let us know:
What the burning topics are in your sector
What issues we should address in the AWP symposium
Which experts you want to hear from
What outcomes we are looking for
When the symposium should be
What the format should be
Whether it should be a weekday or weekend, one day or two
How to accommodate children
How we can best make this an accessible, hybrid event
Where we might look to for funding
There is a huge range of expertise in this network. As well as hearing how best the Alliance can support its members, we want to tap into your professional knowledge – Hettie and Jo can’t do this alone – please share your ideas!
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On Saturday 15th July, 10am – 12 noon met at the Whitechapel Gallery and enjoyed the immersive installation Sculpting Conversations by artists Sarah Marsh and Stephanie Jefferies, whilst being given an introduction to the work by Whitechapel curator Jane Scarth and an informal discussion about the challenges of hosting events which are universally accessible.
Image: Sarah Marsh, Sculptural Lines in movement, 2018. Mixed fabrics with wire and stuffing, installation view, © Sarah Marsh.
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Online meet-up
On Monday 3rd July at 8.30pm we hosted an online discussion via Zoom with a focus on job-sharing.
Becca Connock and Emily Sargeant, curators at Wellcome Collection who job-share gave us an introduction to their work and the benefits and challenges of a job-share.
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On Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd June, Hettie will hosted a series of events in connection to a pair of exhibitions Naissance / Re-Naissance about making art and making children at Unit London, 3 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HD (nearest tubes Bond Street and Oxford Circus).
Image: detail from one of a series of embroideries onto cyanotype prints on linen of spring flowers – motifs of renewal – made by Helen Sargeant
Hosted by Unit London, the exhibitions will take place almost entirely online (the first for the duration of June, the second in July).
In person events coincided with the London Gallery Weekend programme:
5pm Friday 2 June – Dyana Gravina’s performance ‘The Mothers of Social Hygiene’
10am Saturday 3 June – screening of work by Elsa James, El Morgan, Leni Dothan and Annie Hsiao-Ching Wang
11am Saturday 3 June – panel discussion with Sally Butcher, Asia Werbel and Elsa James
12 noon Saturday 3 June – repeat screening of work by Elsa James, El Morgan, Leni Dothan and Annie Hsiao-Ching Wang
All events (including the performance) are baby friendly and last around 1 hour.
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On Saturday 13th May we hosted a brilliant exhibition tour and discussion at Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Rd., London NW1 2BE (nearest tube stations Euston, Euston Square, Warren Street, Kings Cross and St. Pancras)
Image: Cow creamers, late 18th – early 19th century, Various makers. © Courtesy of The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent.
The event began with a visit to Milk the current exhibition at Wellcome Collection which explores our relationship with milk and its place in politics, society and culture. Melanie Jackson, one of the key artists within the exhibition gave us a brilliant introduction her work, followed by one of the curators from the show
We then congregated at The Forum to have an informal discussion about the exhibition and AWP matters. Wellcome Collection kindly offered to provide us with teas, coffees, pastries and fruits.
As always offspring are welcome!
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On Monday 20th March we hosted an online meeting for AWP members.
We had a hugely insightful discussion with Pauline De Souza from Diversity Art Forum who gave a short presentation about her work, as well as discussing employment policy – particularly in regards to parental leave and employment for women – and how to implement structural change within the art world. We then opened the conversation to AWP members.
Please email us to request a private link to view conversation.
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Here Joy Gerard is giving the AWP group an introduction to her practice, where she produces monochromatic drawings of protests. Recent works focus on crowds in the USA, drawn together in the summer of 2022 to stand against the repeal in of Roe v. Wade by the supreme court. Afterwards we went downstairs to discuss AWP matters. This conversation can be watched via the @repronomics instagram page here.
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Our next event will be on Saturday 28th January, 10.30am-12pm at Cristea Roberts Gallery, London 43 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JG (nearest tube stations: Green Park, Piccadilly, Charing Cross)
Joy Gerard, ‘Our Abortions’ (Brooklyn Bridge, New York. May 14, 2022), 2022
The gallery will just have opened ‘Image as Protest’ – an exhibition of works on the theme of protest by Paula Rego and Joy Gerrard. The first half hour of the event will be informal and will include a brief introduction to the exhibition by AWP member Helen Waters. Then from 11.00 we’ll have a relaxed seated conversation.
Those who can’t attend in person will be able to join us over Instagram Live via @repronomics
~ Offspring welcome ~
The Art Working Parents Alliance 