Coming to Concourse Gallery

Mother Artists at Work: Laboring

April 28-May 20, 2011

Opening Reception Friday, April 29th, 2-5:00pm

The Cultural Arts Division is pleased to present Mother Artists at Work: Laboring on display April 28-May 20 in the Concourse Gallery, Municipal Services Center 3600 Tremont Road. Mother Artists at Work explore, "laboring," a theme playing on the dual meaning of the process of becoming a mother as well as the toiling of an artist. Featuring works in 2-D & 3-D mixed media, painting, enameling, fiber and photography. The mission of MAW, a non-profit association of mothers working in the arts, is to support and promote artists who are mothers through networking, professional development, and exhibit opportunities, as they work to keep career and family in balance.

Join us April 29th at 2:24 pm, during the Mother Artists at Work: Laboring opening reception, for a screening of Who Does She Think She Is? Academy Award Winning film-maker Pamela Tanner Boll examines some of the most pressing issues of our time; parenting and work, partnering and independence, economics and art. This film follows five women who refuse to choose between working and mothering. A roundtable discussion following the film will feature artists from Mother Artists at Work: Laboring and the previous Concourse Gallery exhibit Image - Self: Women in Art, discussing issues covered in the film.

Who Does She Think She Is? House Party!

Hey, we're having a PARTY! And a screening of Who Does She Think She Is? It's this Sunday, 11/8/09, 1:30 p.m. at a member's home. This corresponds with the national house party, and we only have 4 spots left! The event is free, but we are accepting voluntary donations at the door.

This film is a must-see for women who are artists. Or is that artists who are women? I get confused. If you want to come, just drop a note here in the comment box, and we'll get the location info out to you.

Who Do We Think We Are?!?

MAW attended the screening of Who Does She Think She Is?, part of the Columbus International Film + Video Festival. The film was well-rounded, documenting not only the struggles and sacrifices of women and mother artists, but also the difference that can be made with the support of family and community. Artist Janis Wunderlich and the filmmaker's sister (who lives in Columbus) were both on hand for a Q&A afterwards. I enjoyed how down-to-earth and open they were.

Sadly, the filmmaker, Pamela T. Boll, is now living the message of the film: the arts are male-dominated, and women are fighting all odds to succeed. She cannot find a distributor for the film, even though it is getting rave reviews. Evidently, "there is not enough interest in the subject matter."

So prove them all wrong! Go to the website, sign up, buy the DVD when it's released, host or attend a screening -- whatever you've got to do to support the film and get the message out!

During the Q&A, Melissa pointed out the film was started in 2005, the same year as our group! The phrase "birthing the art" was used many times during the film, and the name of our show in 2006 was "Birthing the Artist." We thought this was a cool coincidence.