Motherhood, Loss and the First World War
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.
M.A.M.A. Issue n.33: Kate Walters and Eve Packer
The ProCreate Project, the Museum of Motherhood and the Mom Egg Review are pleased to announce the 33rd edition of this scholarly discourse intersects with the artistic to explore the wonder and the challenges of motherhood. Using words and art to connect new pathways between the academic, the para-academic, the digital, and the real, as well as the everyday: wherever you live, work, and play, the Art of Motherhood is made manifest. #JoinMAMA
August, 2018 Art by Kate Walters Words by Eve Packer
Art by Kate Walters
Kate Walters’s works explore themes around the disembodied uterus, the narcissistic mother, and the connections we have with animals and wilderness.
Kate Walters’ works in watercolour, monotype, and oil are concerned with the interaction of the animal, plant, dream and human worlds; depicting in raw and graphic immediacy a relationship that is both intimate and nurturing.
Walters studied fine art at Brighton University. She spent some time working at her successful teaching career before completing a postgraduate fine art diploma at University College Falmouth. Around 2000 Kate was elected to be a member of the Newlyn Society of Artists. She is currently serving on the NSA Committee.
Words by Eve Packer
“summer flash”
when we were young, younger,
summer finds us in the play-
ground, niall & s.j., jeanne &
eric, sam & me, after a long
day of day care or whatever,
i’m not even sure we stopped
at home, i think, we bring the kids
w/change of clothes direct
to the playground: there is
a sprinkler-fountain, old-school,
up a few steps, a huge sand-
box, center, a huge concrete
ship for scaling, the kids
love, but someone once cracked
open his head–now of course
replaced by a generic safe climbing
structure–as its named–
anyway, the boys, they were all
boys, would play–for hours–
we would pick up sandwiches
at the opera–the deli–named for
nick and dom opera, the owners,
it was filthy and funky and they make
the best heroes and sandwiches, and
the kids play in the fountain–the neighborhood
transvestites stop by to use the bathroom
and one sits atop the sprinkler to cool off
and strut her stuff and get clean–and after
a bit the wise parks department attendant,
rather than make a fuss, just turns off
the water–the transvestite takes her leave, the kids
play til dark or after, maybe it turns
cool
wed., 8/1/18: 8:47 pm
Eve Packer – Bronx-born, poet/performer/actress. Appearing widely with dance, poetry, performance, music, theatre. NEH, NYSCA, NYFA awards. Downtown Poet of the Year awards. Numerous publications. 3 poetry books (Fly by Night Press). 5 poetry/jazz CD’s. Teaches at WCC. Mom, Grandmom, lives downtown, swims daily.
Procreate Project online shop launch
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
