
Motherhood, Loss and the First World War is a project conceived by BIG IDEAS. It acknowledges the universality of bereavement as the defining experience of the First World War with a special focus on the impact on mothers — an overlooked aspect of grief from the period. The project is in partnership with Royal Holloway University of London and the Institute of Historical Research.
Motherhood, Loss and the First World War will share community-researched stories of women bereaved during the First World War, bringing to light their experiences and inviting communities across the country to remember them. The project will have a special focus on women’s groups to discover these stories and to respond to them in creative and meaningful ways, empowering isolated women by connecting them with their community, and developing citizenship, civil society and advocacy skills. It will also bring to light new areas of historical research into the impact bereavement had on societies in Britain during and after the First World War.
Procreate Project was invited was awarded a small fund of £200 to cover expenses, materials the delivery fo the activity.
The workshop will involve gatherings of a group of 8 artist mothers. We will together analyse the material provided by Big Ideas and will respond to it using text, sound, video and visual as well as movement responses.
Motherhood, Loss and the First World War conference
In partnership with the London Centre for Public History and the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), Big Ideas is organising a Motherhood, Loss and the First World War conference on 5 and 6 September 2018 at Senate House in London.
Time allowing, the artistic outcome of the research conducted during the workshops, will be used and exhibited during the conference.
The community of artists will benefit from the experience as it would give them the opportunity to learn about other women’s history, empower them and enable them to process their own grief and experience of motherhood through the support of an artistic community and the collective art making.
The documentation of the work will be shared online through the Procreate Project channels to further engage the public with the topic.
The workshops are free of charge and children are welcome. [ Please note childcare cannot be provided due to lack of resources, however it can be collectively booked and expenses can be share between the participants].
Dates will be confirmed and agreed between the group starting from the last week of August.
If you would like to participate please email events@procreateproject.com.