The world’s first online shop championing and promoting artists who are mothers
The Procreate Project online shop is launching today 4th of July. The new platform is dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of original artworks, prints and publications made by contemporary artists who are mothers.
If, like artist Marina Abramovic says, ‘children hold the female artists back’, we then want to change the paradigm.
We don’t often talk openly about the hierarchy of values that capitalism fosters. Data suggests that gender imbalances in the arts persist at, and beyond, the mid-career stage. Women keep voicing concerns about attitudes towards female artists, the lack of support for childcare and maternity leave, and the obstacles that confront women, particularly during the mid-career stage. It’s demonstrated that mothers have to face bigger challenges due to lack of infrastructures designed to meet their family needs, in order to nourish and develop their practice.
To further ensure professional development of contemporary artists with caring responsibilities, the Procreate Project online shop will promote and sell original artworks including paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings, illustration and prints. The shop will also include hard-to-find publications related to the themes of motherhood, womanhood and feminism.
The new Procreate Project platform champions a rich mix of exciting emerging artists across disciplines. To name few: American fiber artist Michele Landel, who has produced three new exclusive works, inspired by the #Me Too movement campaign, examining the question “can you separate art from the artist?”; Italian born multidisciplinary Gaia Fugazza, recently selected for the Baltic Triennal, who has produced unique painted silk scarves; Edinburgh based Mella Shaw, who is selling pieces from her large scale installation HARVEST, focused on environmental issues, showcased in 2018 at Saatchi Gallery; London based visual artist and designer Sophia Marinkov Jones, whose strong works deal with birth and mother and child relationship. [please see the full artists list below]
“We aim to be as inclusive as we can, while keeping our curatorial vision strong with unique, playful and thought-provoking works. With our experience and network of buyers and collectors, we aim to raise the organisation’s profile and consequently create real opportunities, visibility and sustainability for the artists involved” (Paola Lucente, Procreate Project Director and Curator)
In a climate where only 30% of artists represented by commercial galleries are women, and as little as 3–5% of major permanent collections in the U.S. and Europe, Procreate Project is a pioneering social enterprise dedicated to the development of contemporary artists at this crucial stage of their personal and professional
Procreate Project is an art organisation working towards equal representation for [self-identifying] women, working in the arts and creative industries. Procreate Project creates the prime conditions for the production of works that would not otherwise be created, by conceiving new models and platforms that facilitate the progression of a solid artistic development and increased visibility.
“Through art we want to challenge and shed light on stereotypes and assumptions for which women cannot pursue their creative goals when raising small children ” (Dyana Gravina, Procreate Project founder and Creative Director)
Featured Artists
Camille Aubry, Jessica Blandford, Odette Farrell, Gaia Fugazza, Jane Glennie, Martina Hynan, Sophia Jones, Wednesday Kim, Helen Knowles, Vaiva Kovieraite-Trumpe, Michele Landel, Kate Lyddon, Rajaa Paixão, Jemimah Patterson, Roberta Pederzoli from Quintessenza, Leyli Salayeva, Saskia Saunders, Mella Shaw, Jessica Timmis, Leticia Valverdes, Dawn Yow
