“You are not wonderful just because you are a mother.”
Seeking artwork of all mediums that speaks to unconventional thoughts around mothers and motherhood. This open call for art is based upon a statement expressed by Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako (see link to watch her YouTube interview) when talking about her book, Mother’s, in which she photographed her deceased mother’s belongings.
As an artist who never became a mother herself, Miyako emphatically proclaims, “You are not wonderful just because you are a mother.” She utters these words in defense of women who are childless (by choice or for other reasons) and for those of us who have complex feelings towards traditional definitions of the maternal.
This call is open not just to artist mothers but also to artists who make work inspired by their (perhaps conflicted) relationship to their own mothers or long-held cultural beliefs and exalted definitions of motherhood.
Juror: Qiana Mestrich
Juror’s bio:
Qiana Mestrich is a photography-focused, interdisciplinary artist whose work sheds light on the histories of class, race, social inequality, (post-)colonialism, and international migration. Born to parents from Panama and Croatia, Mestrich’s work often references Black, mixed-race experiences from her perspective as a first-generation American.
She has been exhibited worldwide including the London Art Fair’s Photo50 in 2018 and the BRIC Biennial Volume III in 2019. Mestrich’s work is held in the Peggy Cooper Cafritz collection of contemporary art and private collections in the United States.
Knowledge sharing and community building is a vital part of Mestrich’s practice. In 2007 she founded Dodge & Burn: Decolonizing Photography History (est. 2007), an arts initiative that aims to diversify the medium’s history by advocating for photographers of color. Dodge & Burn began as a blog and now functions as a monthly critique group that meets in person in New York City and virtually. Her forthcoming book based on the blog’s past interviews is to be published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Mestrich has written essays on photography for exhibition catalogs and published other critical writing in art journals such as Light Work’s Contact Sheet, En Foco’s Nueva Luz and SPE’s exposure. She is also co-editor of the book How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood (Secretary Press), a diverse collection of honest responses from contemporary artists who dare to engage in the creative endeavors of motherhood and making art.
A graduate of the ICP-Bard College MFA in Advanced Photographic Practice, Mestrich received her B.A. with a concentration in photography from Sarah Lawrence College. She is an adjunct faculty in photography and social media at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY).
This exhibition is ONLINE ONLY. It will be published on the Artist/Mother Podcast website.
More details is on the direct link.