ANTHROPOLOGY OF MOTHERHOOD
Past Exhibitions Post-Erotica
Culture of Care Series Programming Speakers & Facilitators
ANTHROPOLOGY OF MOTHERHOOD
 

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.

 
 

Keynote Speaker Rebekah Taussig, Ph.D. with short blond hair, bright red professional jacket, clasped hands, crossed legs in black pants, sits in wheelchair in front of a gray brick wall with bright sketchy graffiti of farm crops in reds and greens with a blue ribbon of sky. A low green plant with long leaves extending from grounded center is next to Taussig’s right.

Pennsylvania Tech Summit

Temple University Institute on Disabilities Pennsylvania Tech Summit
with Keynote Speaker Rebekah Taussig, Ph.D.

Expanding Awareness and Access

The goal of the Summit is to expand the awareness of, and access to, assistive technology  and remote technologies in order to build capacity of technology users throughout the Commonwealth. Free. Lunch is provided.

The Technology Accelerator Summit will be held on two dates at two locations with very similar content and presentations.

Philadelphia, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 9 a.m. to 4:30 pm
Temple University, Howard Gittis Student Center (Temple maps and directions)

Pittsburgh, Thursday, March 13, 2025, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Carlow University, A.J. Palumbo Hall of Science and Technology (Carlow maps, directions, and parking)

Keynote Speaker Rebekah is an author, educator, and disability rights activist dedicated to changing cultural narratives around disability, motherhood, and what it means to live in a human body. She believes storytelling can change the world, literally. (Read more on Rebekah's website)

Four Concurrent Strands

  • From Advocacy to Action: Policies and Funding for Assistive Technology

  • Innovative Remote Supports for Everyday Living

  • Technology for Access and Community Living

  • Technology Accelerator: Into the Future

Panel Discussion

A panel of technology users will give advice, share their own stories of how technology has helped them, and answer questions.

Vendors

Invited vendors will showcase their services and devices, and share solutions with attendees.

Accessibility

Both summit locations provide barrier-free entrances, wheelchair-accessible spaces and restrooms, and quiet spaces. Keynote sessions will be live captioned (CART); other sessions will include auto-generated captions. The registration form below may be used to request other accommodations. Please submit requests at least two weeks before your chosen event.

Art sculpture by Flaherty of a pearl-like ball resting on a rainbow pearlescent fabric draping around the ball.

Call for Art: Aesthetics of Care

Anthropology of Motherhood is seeking submissions for its upcoming exhibition for the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year's exhibit is titled Aesthetics of Care. This hybrid (in-person and virtual) exhibition explores care as an essential, ubiquitous human experience. We invite artists to contribute works that reflect, challenge, and expand our understanding of care as a central element of human life and creativity.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Selected works will be featured in a group exhibition to be held at a location within the Three Rivers Arts Festival footprint from June 5-8, 2025. Participating artists will be notified by April 25, 2025. Accepted artists are required to drop off their work between June 1-4, 2025, location TBD. Artists are responsible for all shipping and return costs. A modest stipend will be provided.

This call is open to artists working in all media, including but not limited to painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, video, sound, and digital art. Collaborative works are accepted.

Deadline for Submissions: March 21, 2025

 

ANTHROPOLOGY OF MOTHERHOOD

Call for Art: Aesthetics of Care

 
 
 

Anthropology of Motherhood is seeking submissions for its upcoming exhibition for the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year's exhibit is titled Aesthetics of Care. This hybrid (in-person and virtual) exhibition explores care as an essential, ubiquitous human experience. We invite artists to contribute works that reflect, challenge, and expand our understanding of care as a central element of human life and creativity.

ABOUT ANTHROPOLOGY OF MOTHERHOOD

Anthropology of Motherhood is an interdisciplinary project and exhibition platform that seeks to create spaces for dialogue, reflection, and innovation on caregiving, motherhood, and the cultural narratives surrounding these experiences. By showcasing diverse artistic voices, we aim to deepen our collective understanding of the roles care and caregiving play in shaping our world.

Aesthetics of Care

Care exists at the intersection of art, labor, and love. It encompasses the unseen and often undervalued work of nurturing others, from parenting and elder care to community support and self-care. How do we render care visible? What does it mean to aestheticize acts of care—to translate these deeply personal, collective, and political gestures into visual, auditory, or tactile forms?

We encourage artists to interpret this theme broadly, considering questions such as: 

  • How do cultural practices and traditions shape our understanding of care?

  • What are the tensions between the visibility and invisibility of caregiving labor?

  • How does care intersect with identity, race, gender, class, and other social factors?

  • In what ways can art serve as an act of care, fostering connection and healing?

  • How can we reimagine care systems and economies through artistic expression?

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Selected works will be featured in a group exhibition to be held at a location within the Three Rivers Arts Festival footprint from June 5-8, 2025. Participating artists will be notified by April 25, 2025. Accepted artists are required to drop off their work between June 1-4, 2025, location TBD. Artists are responsible for all shipping and return costs. A modest stipend will be provided.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Eligibility: This call is open to artists working in all media, including but not limited to painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, video, sound, and digital art. Collaborative works are accepted.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Deadline for Submissions: March 21, 2025

  1. Artist Statement: A brief statement (300 words max) explaining how your work connects to the theme of "The Aesthetics of Care."

  2. Artwork Details: Up to 3 submissions with high-quality images or video links of proposed works. Include title, medium, dimensions, and year of creation for each piece.

  3. Artist Bio: A short biography (150 words max).

  4. Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and website or social media handles (if applicable).

 
 
“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
 
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“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.

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