MOTHERS AND ART

YES OF COURSE WE ARE MOTHERS

Mater art community is a space for debate, reflection and experimentation. is an investigation through practice on the state of the art of labor relations and motherhood in ecosystems of artistic and creative practices. In turn, it is an action that aims at innovation, in a feminist key, in cultural, labor and economic policies with a positive socio-cultural impact, putting life at the center.

Mater Art Community stands as a movement that has started an authentic path of exchanges and alliances between women, artists and cultural workers, designers, architects, creatives, pedagogues, from the local territory (Barcelona), national and international, and has put A serious debate is under way about parenting and the world of culture in all its dimensions.

The most visible action is Mater Art, an artistic residence in a shared space, a practical and dynamic place, with a children's and work environment, with professional care for their children, as well as logistical and economic support. A project to transform physical and mental work spaces. A pioneering model of artistic residency with child care (0-5), public and free, that seeks a perfect balance between family reconciliation and professional development, to, from here, think of new models of sustainability.

Its first edition was a pilot in 2021 at Fabra i Coats: Fàbrica de Creació (Barcelona).

In 2022 it will take place in Hangar, as a place of residence, with the collaboration of La Escocesa and La Central del Circ, all of them spaces for artistic creation. In 2022, open days will also be designed collaboratively at La Capella, where experiences and ideas can be shared: where to build community.

Collaborated or participated in this project:

Art Stories (Madrid), Createctura (Madrid), Everything is Connected (Itàlia), Fabra i Coats: fàbrica de creació (Barcelona), Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, Louisa Penfold (Harvard University, EEUU), Luis Guerra (BAU, Barcelona), Oficina de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Prohibit No Tocar (Barcelona), Remida Bologna Terre d’Acqua (Bolònia, Itàlia), The Good Good (Barcelona).

In 2021 the project has been supported by:

Yes Of Course we Are Mothers, is a pilot project, the first Spanish network and inclusive model for mothers and fathers that works in the artistic,

cultural and visual sector.

It is a proposal that was born in 2017 from our personal experience as mothers and artists.

During 2021 we want to turn this project into an open-source platform, a project incubator, an open and shared space.

We want to investigate the state of the art of the relationship between art, motherhood and childhood, driven by an ethic that aims at innovationand sociocultural impact, reflecting on gender biases in the arts and creative industries

SIGN OUR MANIFESTO AND SHARE IT

Our mission is to create a new radical model at the service of the city of Barcelona, to change the way we create, support and consume art, giving visibility to two vulnerable groups: Mother Artists and Children.

We want to find ways to foster a community network, strong enough to be efficient and effective, among women artists, mothers, who are in this same situation.

We want to contribute to social transformation for the common good, generating an intangible heritage of great relevance to the whole community, especially for vulnerable groups.

We want to create an observatory and directory of mother artists in the local territory, investigating their specific needs, problematic in the enjoyment between the professional and personal field (raising children) and their professional goals.

We want to observe and research materials and objects that can be used in contemporary artistic language to verify possible relationships and reuses in creative and playful contexts dedicated to children.

We want to share ideas and collaborations with organizations, galleries, museums and companies in the creative sector to develop policies and work practices for the family.

We want to bringing a new vision to education through contemporary art: communicating and exploring new languages.

MATER ART COMMUNUTY

OUR MISSION

THE STORY BEHIND

Yes of Course we are Mothers is manifesto created in 2017, a network that currently has more than 2000 followers from all over the world. This movement, generated from Barcelona, was born from our personal experience as artists and mothers during these four years of motherhood. We are a couple, we have twins and we are artists.

The theme of family reconciliation is very delicate, so we often live in isolation that has a very important impact on the family economy, which is why our goal is to create a network and a reality of exchange and dialogue for mothers and fathers who want to continue their artistic practice after having children.

The scenario caused by Covid-19 has generated uncertainties and annoyances that not only reveal new demands, but also force us to rephrase old questions about the roles of women. In our house as in many houses and families, childhood, family conciliation and new cultural models have been placed at the center of the daily debate. In these 365 days, the role of women has become very clear. We have felt very isolated, alone and neglected. Every day we wonder how we imagine the role of women in rebuilding the cultural, family and community ecosystem after this?

In these four years we have created a valuable network of collaborations and sensitized residence spaces, museums and places of creation on these themes.

Since 2018 we collaborate with the Prohibit No Tocar, is an educational and artistic project founded by Roberta Genova, (mother of two kids and worker in the cultural sector,) in 2016. It was born with the aim of designing innovative playgrounds for children, combining sustainability, creativity and the creative use of language digital. She carries out research in the sector of materials for recovery and industrial disposal, strongly believing in its creative, aesthetic and ecological potential.

* In accordance with the mission and social commitment of the project, we have chosen to use the term “mothers”,

instead of the more common expression of “fathers”.

And because we are two mothers.