RESOURCES

FUNDING FOR PARENTING ARTISTS

RECOMMENDED READING

SMALL PRESS COMICS, ZINES, AND MORE 

Maternal Art  

Invisible Spaces of Parenthood, Andrea Francke, ed. 

Artists Raising Kids Compendium, Andrew Simonet ed.  

Big Kids, Jo Pollit and Lilly Blue, eds. 

Cultural ReProducers: Propositions, Manifestos, and Experiments, Christa Donner, ed.  

Pregnant Butch, A.K. Summers 

How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood, Michi Jigarjian and Qiana Mestrich eds. 

Miseryland, Keiler Roberts  

Powdered Milk, Keiler Roberts  

Motherhood in the Art World, Claudia Sandoval Romero

BOOKS AND CRITICAL COLLECTIONS

How Not to Exclude Artist Mothers (and Other Parents), Hettie Judah  

Designing Motherhood, Michelle Millar Fisher and Amber Winick eds

Supervision: On Motherhood and Surveillance, Sophie Hamacher and Jessica Hankey, eds

Inappropriate Bodies: Art, Design, and Maternity, Rachel Epp Buller and Charles Reeve

Bearing Meaning: The Language of Birth, Robbie Kahn

The Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood, Rachel Power

Feminist Art and the Maternal, Andrea Liss 

Five Book, The Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home

The Fruits of Labor: Creativity, Self-Expression and Motherhood, Penny Sumner  

The Grand Permission: New Writings on Poetics and Motherhood, Patricia Dienstfrey, ed.

just about anything from Demeter Press

Home Truths: Photography and Motherhood, Susan Bright, ed.

Live Art and Motherhood: A Study Room Guide, Emily Underwood-Lee and Lena Simic, eds.

Mamaphonic: Balancing Motherhood and Other Creative Acts, Bee Lavender and Maia Rossini, eds

Mothernism, Lise Haller Baggesen  

Motherhood and Space: Configurations of the Maternal through Politics, Home, and the Body, Sarah Hardy, Caroline Wiedmer, eds.

The Model: A Model for a Qualitative Society, Lars Bang Larsen ed.

Mother Reader: Essential Writings on Motherhood, Moyra Davey, ed. 

The Mums and Babies Ensemble: A Manual, Duska Radosavljevic, Annie Rigby, Lena Simic

The M Word: Real Mothers in Contemporary Art, Myrel Chernick and Jennie Klein

A Question of Balance: Artists and Writers on Motherhood, Judith Pierce Rosenburg, ed.

Performing Motherhood, Amber Kinser, Kryn Freehling-Burton, and Terri Hawkes, eds.

Portrait of the Mother-Artist: Class & Creativity in Contemporary American Fiction, Nancy Gerber

Reconciling Art and Mothering, Rachel Epp Buller, ed.

Strong Hearts, Inspired Minds: 21 Artists Who Are Mothers Tell Their Stories, Anne Mavor (Author), Christine Eagon (Photographer) and Judith Pierce Rosenberg 

Wild Motherhood: Tending the Fire of your Creative Spirit, Morgan Nichols

 

ESSAYS AND ARTICLES

Motherhood is Taboo in the Art World, Hettie Judah, The Guardian

Artist Residencies Need to Start Thinking About Parents, Daniel Gerwin, Hyperallergic    

6 Questions about Art and Parenthood, Leah Sandals, CanadianArt

The Art of Having it All, Katherine Gressel, Createqity

The Art of Reproduction, Troy Pieper, F News

Artist, Parent, or Both? , Lawrence Bradby, Axisweb 

The Art World Needs More Children, Lori Waxman, The Chicago Tribune

Being an Artist and a Mother, Lauren Weinstein, The New Yorker

Being a Mother is Not a Problem to Solve..., Elena Marchevska, the Guardian  

Can Women in the Art World "Have it All?" Alanna Martinez, Blouin ArtInfo

Children Welcome: Art By Parents..., Lori Waxman, The Chicago Tribune

Critic's Pick: Division of Labor, Caroline Picard, Artforum.com

Curator Says MOMA PS1 Wanted Her, Until She Had a Baby, Melena Ryzik, NY Times 

How Has Parenthood Informed your Writing Life? James Parker, NY Times

Maternal Metaphors, Jennie Klein

Models for a New Society, Bonnie Fortune, Mythological Quarter

On Motherhood, Apple Pie, and Being an Artist, Mira Schor and Susan Bee eds,

M/E/A/N/I/N/N/G #12

Mothers of Invention, Parul Sehgal, Bookforum   

Mother, Writer, Monster, Maid,  Rufi Thorpe, Velo 

Neo-Maternalism: Contemporary Artists' Approach to Motherhood, Sharon Butler, the Brooklyn Rail

One in Four Performing Arts Careers Halted by Parenthood, Matthew Hemley, the Guardian

Parental Aesthetics or How to Make Art and Have Children, Too, Lori Waxman, Immersive Life Practices, Daniel Tucker ed.

The Parent Trap: Art After Children, Frank Cottrell Boyce, The Guardian 

Photo Exhibit Brings Motherhood to Light, Lori Waxman, The Chicago Tribune

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Mom, Kim Brooks, 

Reflections on Art, Motherhood, and Maternal Ambivalence, Myrel Chernick

The Robaupair, and other Adventures in Creative Parenting, Crosby + Davies, Fo.am

The Spacing of Parental Values, Brett Bloom, Kindling Quarterly #4

Taking Custody: Owning the Role of Artist AND Mother, Alyssa Pelish, On the Issues

Who Gives a Shit? On Motherhood and the Arts, Felicity Castagna, Southerly Journal

Why Can't Great Artists Be Mothers? Jacoba Urist, Women in the World

Writer, Mother, Both, Neither, Belle Boggs, Lithub

Yo Mama: On Art and Working Motherhood, Christian L. Frock, KQED

You Can Be a Mother and Still Be a Successful Artist, Marina Cashdan, Artsy.net


ONLINE PROJECTS

A.M.A.A. / The Archive for Mapping Mother Artists in Asia
Artist/Mother Podcast
Thrive Together Network

GROUPS and their EVENTS

CURRENT / ONGOING

(M)otherhood Art and Life Seminar (UK)
AtHomeStudios (Ireland)
MeWe (United Kingdom) 
Mam Triban (United Kingdom) 
Maternal Fantasies (Germany)
Mother Creatrix Collective (New York, USA)

Mother House (United Kingdom)
Performance and the Maternal (United Kingdom)
ProCreate Project (United Kingdom)
Project Afterbirth (United Kingdom) 
Prams in the Hall (United Kingdom)

Project!! WAKAKA! (United Kingdom)
Spilt Milk Gallery/Community (Scotland)
Thrive Together Network (USA / Online)

ARCHIVED - PARENTING ARTIST HISTORY/HERSTORY

Cultural ReProducers Event Guidelines for Institutions
Artist/Mother/Practice - ELF and Martina Mullaney (roundtable, United Kingdom) 
Broodwork (Los Angeles) 
Colloquy: Parenthood in the Art World (panel, MOCA Los Angeles)\
The Feminist Art Project's CAA Day of Panels: Motherhood (panel, Chicago, IL* VIDEO)
The Hackney Flashers (collective, United Kingdom)
The Hown's Den (Kansas City)   
The Last Art Taboo, National Textile Society Symposium (lecture, Washington, DC * VIDEO)
Making it What We Need (workshop, Chicago, IL)
Mapping the Maternal Colloquim and Events (colloquium, Alberta, Canada)
The Mothernists II: Who Cares for the Future? (Denmark)
The MotherArt Collective (collective events, Los Angeles)
Motherhood: A Social Practice, A Social Picnic (event, Portland, OR)
Motherhood and Creative Practice Conference (conference, United Kingdom)
The Mothernists (conference, Netherlands * with VIDEO)
(workshop and panel, EFA Project Space, New York)
The wild (survival) guide of an artist-parent (workshop, AIR Gallery, New York)
ProCreativity 101: Making Art, Making Babies (panel, The Hungry Brain, Chicago, IL)
Taking Custody: The Double Life of the Artist Mother (panel, School of Visual Arts, NY* with VIDEO)
Tracers Takes on Feminism: Motherhood (panel, Threewalls, Chicago *with VIDEO)

EXHIBITIONS (listed chronologically)

Self-Adjacent, Visual Arts Center, VA; Massey Klein Gallery, NY; Kennedy Museum, OH, 2024
Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood, Arnolfini, Bristol, UK, 2024

Designing Motherhood: Things that Make and Break our Births, Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle 2021-24
Picturing Motherhood Now, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2021-22
Maternal Perspectives, Sonnenschein Gallery, Lake Forest, IL 2023
Making it Work: Art & Parenting, Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS, 2022
Picturing Motherhood Now, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2021-22
Always On: Art and Motherhood, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2021
Painting at Night, Arts Link, Fort Wayne, IN, 2021
Maternochronics, online exhibition, 2021
Various Exhibitions, StayHome Gallery, Paris, TN, 2020 - ongoing
The Camille Diaries: New Positions on M/otherhood, Life, & Care, Art Laboratory Berlin, 2020
Labor: Motherhood & Art in 2020, NMSU Art Museum, Las Cruces, NM, 2020
Painting at Night, Fort Houston Gallery, Nashville, TN, 2020
Extended Self: Transformations and Connections, the Hyde Park Arts Center, Chicago, IL 2019
Firsts and Starts, Roman Susan Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2018
Re:Production, Goleb, Amsterdam, 2017
A Room of Our Own
, Istanbul, Turkey, 2017
 
The Let Down Reflex, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Canada 2017; EFA Project Space, NY, 2016
Not Knowing, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL 60640
Repeat Pressure Until, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY, 2016
New Maternalisms Redux, FAB Gallery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, 2016
特別展 (Mother), Gallery Fu, Yokohama, Japan, 2016
Artist Residency in Parenthood, 107 Projects, Sydney, Australia, 2016
Mother of the Year, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Austria, 2015-16
Mommy, Yale Union, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2015
Project Afterbirth, White Moose Gallery, Barnstaple, UK, 2015
The Great Mother, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan, Italy, 2015
Division of Labor, Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA, 2014-15
PostPartum Party, Rhombus Space, Brooklyn, NY, USA, 2014

Home Truths, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL, USA 2014;
The Foundling Museum and The Photographer's Gallery, London, UK, 2013-2014

Complicated Labors, UCSC Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, CA, USA, 2014
New Maternalisms
, FADO, Toronto, Canada, 2012
Broodwork: It's About Time, Otis Ben Malz Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, USA 2011

Separation Anxiety, Wignall Museum, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA, 2010
Mothers, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA, 2010
Maternal Metaphors I and II, RoCo, Rochester, NY, 2004 and OU Art Galleries, OH, USA, 2006

AUDIO, FILM AND VIDEO

Enemies of Good Art (radio show / podcast) 
First Day Back (podcast)
The Longest Shortest Time (podcast)
Lost in Living (documentary film)
Mother Friday (radio show)
Motherhood in the Art World  (documentary film)
Pratfalls of Parenting (podcast)
Who Does She Think She Is? (documentary film)

RESIDENCY PROGRAMS SUPPORTING ARTIST-PARENTS

Most artist residency programs are designed for individual artists. Some are quite clear that children and partners are not permitted (for space or funding reasons), while others are open to negotiation. The following list includes programs that DO allow artists to include their families for all or part of a residency with appropriate discussion and scheduling.

Be sure to read the fine print: program lengths can vary greatly. Some charge a fee while others offer artist stipends; some are highly competitive while others are more open. Please get in touch if you have residencies to add to this list!


Note: The Sustainable Arts Foundation has now made possible a diverse range of artist-parent opportunities at great programs throughout the US, including varied family residency formats as well as financial aid to cover childcare expenses for artists looking to pursue a residency away from parental time. Check out the annual lists of Residencies for Parenting Artists Funded by the Sustainable Arts Foundation.

RESIDENCIES IN THE USA

Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program (NM, year-long residency, families welcome)
Franconia Sculpture Park (MN, sculpture specific family residency in July, kids arts camp included)

I-Park Foundation (CT)
Abrons Art Center (NY)
Aunt Karen's Farm (NY)
Brooklyn Arts Exchange (NY City, parent grant for choreographers, theater / performance artists)
Women's Studio Workshop (NY, parent grant for book/paper/printmakers)
CollarWorks (NY, childcare included)

SPACE on Ryder Farm (NY) 
Smack Mellon Studios (NY City)
Interlude Residency (NY)

The Wassaic Artist Residency (NY)
Gallery Aferro (NJ)
Headlands Center for the Arts (CA)
Kala Art Institute (CA)
18th Street Center (CA)
StayHome Gallery and Residency (TN)
Spiro Arts (UT)
Caldera (OR)
Elsewhere Studios (CO)
Acadia National Park Artist Residency (ME)

Marble House (VT, children's programs included)
Millay Colony, Funded 'Virtual Residency'  (VT + Multiple Locations)

The Luminary (MO)
Penland Resident Artist Program (NC)
McColl Center (NC)

Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown (MA)
Popps Packing (MI)
Island Hill House Residency Program (MI, for musicians and writers)

Spread Art (MI) 
Terrain Exhibitions Residency (IL)
Tin House (OR, writing scholarship for single parents)
Sibyls Shrine (PA, for black mother artists in the Pittsburgh area)

Prarieside Outpost (KS)
Hyde Park Arts Center (IL)

INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCIES

Artist Residency in Motherhood (self-directed program you can participate in anywhere)
Residency for Artists on Hiatus (self-directed program you can participate in anywhere)

Ketemu Project (Indonesia)
Tenjin-yama Art Studio (Japan)
Red Gate Residency - (China)
Bamboo Curtain Residency (Taiwan)

Neu Kirche (exchange between women artists in Pittsburgh, USA and New Zealand)

For a more comprehensive (and non-family-specific) list of residencies visit:

Alliance of Artist Communities - database you can search for family-supportive programs.
ResArtis
Trans Artists

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