Temple University logo: White block lines form the letter T over a deep red background.

INSTITUTE on DISABILITIES at Temple University

TECHOWL COMMUNITY SPACE
SEPTEMBER 19 - DECEMBER 1, 2024

1392 cecil b moore ave | philadelphia, pa

**Artwork still from Film by: Nadia Naomi Mbonde (@nadianmbonde)**

ANTHROPOLOGY of MOTHERHOOD
INTERSECTIONS WITH DISABILITY

Anthropology of Motherhood: Intersections with Disability Art Exhibit

Art by Deaf and disabled artists can capture experiences of caregiving through a Deaf and disability perspective. "Anthropology of Motherhood: Intersections with Disability" is a group of works by Deaf and disabled artists practicing in multiple genres and media.

The free exhibit on Temple University's campus will be on display through December 1, 2024 or longer. Visit the Institute's TechOWL Community Space at 1392 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122, next to Insomnia Cookies on the bottom floor of Morgan Hall. Community Space hours and more info.

Public Transportation: The Cecil B. Moore station of the Broad Street Line is located at the corner of Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. This station is one block away from the TechOWL Community Space.
Parking: Limited street parking is available near the TechOWL Community Space. The visitor parking lot at 1223 Cecil B. Moore Avenue has regular pull-in parking spots as well as spots with extra unloading space for adapted vans. The cost is $6 an hour or $22 per day.

ARTISTS

Sean Alistair
Kevin Araujo
Jenny-Joanna Bartholomew-Biggs
Anna Brody
Frances Bukovsky
Aimee Bungard
Patti Durr
Ruth Fabby and Cheryl Beer
Matthew Forrest, Rebecca Forrest, Rachel Forrest

Laural Hartman
Jamie Walters Kessler
Ellen Mansfield
Nadia Naomi Mbonde
Alysa Miller
Avianna Miller
iele paloumpis
Sarah Shotts
Angela Starosta

OPENING RECEPTION

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 5:00-7:30 PM

Performance by KO: Catch ASL Slam alumni Kevin Araujo
performing poetry with an animated speaking robot.
Screening of “Breathing on Borrowed Time” film by Ruth Fabby and Cheryl Beer.
The film explores creativity and Deaf sisterhood through life story and artistic practice.
Question and answer session with Anthropology of Motherhood curator Fran Flaherty and artists.

Join us for two additional free events:

Panel discussion with Dr. Amy Bowman-McElhone

thursday, October 17, 5:00-7:30 PM

is a curator, educator, and art historian who currently serves as Chair of the Department of Art, Communication, and English, Art Gallery Director, and Assistant Professor in Art History and Curatorial Studies at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA. She formerly served as the Director, Chief Curator, and Assistant Vice President of the Pensacola Museum of Art and Historic Trust Museums at the University of West Florida. Her research areas include contemporary art and critical theory, maternal feminisms, curatorial histories, and memorial ecologies. She serves as co-curator and senior research fellow for the Anthropology of Motherhood project, and is currently working on a related book project titled "Maternal Anarchy: Anthropology of Motherhood, Visual Art, and Cultures of Care." She received her doctorate in Art History and Criticism from Florida State University and her MA from West Virginia University. Her dissertation is titled "Freakish Student: Mike Kelley, Artistic Pedagogy, and Institutional Critique" and her research has been published in the Journal of Curatorial Studies, ARTS Journal, and in several edited volumes.

Register Here

Dr. Amy Bowman-McElhone at work against a low-light background. She looks down at an electronic device while speaking and is wearing turquoise glasses, black shirt, flowered headband, and has her brown hair pinned up in back.

Poetry workshop with Veronica Corpuz

thursday, november 7, 5:00-7:30 PM

This event is free and open to the public.
Please register as space is limited.

Register Here

Photo by Kitoko Chargois. Image Description: Veronica Corpuz smiling while looking down at a notebook in a well-lit room with many panes of rectangular glass. She has long curly black hair and wears a brightly colored garment of dark blue, ochre, and poppy red.

Accessibility

During events related to the Anthropology of Motherhood exhibit, ASL interpreters and Sighted Guides will be available. Noise-canceling headphones and other sensory tools are available.

The TechOWL Community Space is a wheelchair-accessible space with a barrier free entrance and an accessible private restroom. A bathroom with an adult changing table is available across the street on the fourth floor of Ritter Annex.

Quieter Hours: If you are interested in visiting the exhibit during a quieter time, please stop by during open hours at the TechOWL Community Space: Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or Tuesday and Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m.

Other accommodations may be requested in the registration form. Please submit other accommodation requests at least two weeks before an event. Questions? Please email iod@temple.edu.

Masking is strongly encouraged. We'll be happy to offer you a mask when you arrive!

For more information, please contact:

iod@temple.edu
215-204-1356

“We must expand the definition of motherhood - motherhood in physiology, socio-economic terms, gender, and race.”

— Flan Flaherty, AoM Founder

Background Video by Sarah Shotts.

Image Description: Anthropology of Motherhood logo depicts the abstract outline of a bare-breasted mother looking down at their baby in bold, thick, black strokes.

AN ONGOING PROJECT

Anthropology
of Motherhood

The Anthropology of Motherhood project 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.

“I want to make sure that we are more in tune with the principles of the social model of disability and continue to use the arts, not only to showcase and develop the artists within Wales, but also capture opportunities to highlight social injustice.

All arts are in some way political [with a small ‘p’] and have a function beyond admiration and entertainment. They capture moments from beauty to suffering, they affirm and motivate us, they mirror society to raise concerns, and give us hope in our shared humanity.”

— Ruth Fabby, Disability Arts CYMRU

“Indigenous people have stewarded Alaska for thousands of years. Their holistic understanding of the environment created a sustainable and symbiotic relationship with the waters, plants and animals of the land.”

“Land Acknowledgment is the public recognition of this knowledge and care. We look to Indigenous Elders and their youth for guidance. It is only Indigenous ways of being that will ensure our collective future.”

— MELISSA SHAGINOFF, of the Udzisyu and Cui Ui Ticutta clans in Nay'dini'aa Na Kayax

“How I can create more opportunities in public spaces where mothers can practice patience, care and grace on and for themselves?”

— Jessica Moss, Artist

SUPPORT ONGOING PROGRAMMING

ANTHROPOLOGY of MOTHERHOOD

DONATE

Since 2016, Anthropology of Motherhood has provided 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. As an annual hybrid amenity/exhibit at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, our message and aesthetic of the Culture of Care has reached thousands of viewers, instilling the value of caregivers and the importance of prioritizing compassion and care in our daily lives. Our exhibits have traveled to McDonough Museum of Art, Sleeth Gallery and will be exhibiting at Dyers Art Center in Rochester, NY in 2023. With support from the Opportunity Fund (Pittsburgh) and in collaboration with the City of Asylum, we recently concluded our speaker series, Culture of Care inviting artist-caregivers from around the world to share where caregiving and receiving intersects with their practice.

We are excited to announce a partnership with Amherst College Press to develop a full color edited volume of Anthropology of Motherhood with an expected publish date of Fall 2026, in time for our 10th year anniversary.Your generous support will allow us to continue our work through exhibits, programs, and our upcoming book.

Thank you.