“We Are: An Exhibition of Mother Artists”

Nine mother artists share the walls in this special collaborative exhibition.

The journey of being an artist and a mother is a testament to the resilience,

resourcefulness and boundless love that define the maternal spirit. It is a journey like no other, marked both by struggle and triumph where the pursuit of art and the joys and reality of motherhood intertwine, shaping what we create. Creating life and creating art expands our hearts and allows us to see the world through a different lens allowing us to create a tapestry of beauty and complexity. We celebrate that richness here.

Inspiration for this Exhibit:  The Mother Artist a book by Catherine Ricketts.

“The only reason you’ll want to put down Ricketts’s lyrical tour de force is to make more art.”—Sarah Sentilles, author of Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours The Mother Artist, by Philadelphia writer Catherine Ricketts, weaves memoir with studies of the art and lives of modern and contemporary women artists who had children. Highlighting 20th-century artists like Ruth Asawa, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alice Neel, as well as contemporary Philadelphia artists like Alison Dilworth, Aimee Koran, Becky Suss, and Mickayel Thurin, The Mother Artist debunks the myth that to be an artist you must give up a family life, demonstrates the very real challenges facing women who aspire to rise in their disciplines, and explores the humanizing vision that caregivers bring to the making and shaping of culture. Rachel Yoder (Nightbitch) calls this book “brilliant and open-hearted,” while James KA Smith (editor, Image) writes, “Read this if you're a mother and an artist, to be sure; but read this, too, if you're human and hope for a different world.” Learn more about the book at www.catherinedanaricketts.com/book, and find the author on Instagram at @bycatherinericketts.