ANTHROPOLOGY of  MOTHERHOOD

Anthropology of Motherhood is an ongoing curation of artwork and design that engages in the complex visual, material, emotional, corporeal and lived experiences of motherhood, care-giving, parenting, nurturing and maternal labor.

We must expand the definition of motherhood.

As more artists rise to make maternal art part of the contemporary art scene, we must expand the definition of motherhood — motherhood in physiology, socio-economic terms, gender, and race. Under the topic of race in maternal art, it is important to include the state of immigrant mothers and mothers of color in the United States.

The theme of Motherland has woven its way into the context of Anthropology of Motherhood. Motherland is defined as Mother Country, or place of origin. Living in a country that was founded on leaving one’s motherland, and claiming a separate “mother country” as one’s own challenges these definitions. In indigenous communities, the definition of Motherland is, without question, the land of your birth, your origin.

The question arises: Where is your motherland?

The question arises, where is your motherland? Is it the US or is it your birth country? Is it your parents’ or grandparents’ birth country? None but Native Americans can definitely claim the US as their motherland, but what about those citizens who have been here for generations and no longer have connections elsewhere? What if one doesn’t have access to one's family history? These are the questions that are posed in this exhibit. Where is your motherland? Do you know of any immigrant or descendants of immigrants that consider America as their motherland? These exhibitions will provide answers to these questions and aid in finding our place, heal our wounds, and lead us to a home.

~Fran Flaherty, Founder