Picturing the Unseen – MAC, Birmingham
Helen Acklam, Finding a Place, 2023
🎨 MAC’s Symposium: Picturing The Unseen – Grief & labour in and out of motherhood
Thu 12 Sep 2024
This event addressed experiences of struggling to conceive, (in)fertility, being childless not by choice, maternal grief and caring for chronically ill children, as part of the Acts of Creation exhibition programme.
The day was developed with Sally Butcher and Hettie Judah, honoured to work with you both, thank you Hettie for the invitation. This day was partly inspired by the (M)otherhood: Art & Life event at Tate St Ives last year, supported and developed with The Paul Mellon Centre.
Speakers:
Elina Brotherus, Sally Butcher, Jessa Fairbrother, El Morgan, Trish Morrissey, Holly Slingsby, Helen Acklam, Sofie Layton, Louise Ashcroft, Buki Hannaway, Alexandrina Hemsley, Victoria Robinson, Hettie Judah.
There was power conjured up in the room. I was so moved, lifted and validated by the speakers and their work. This coming together, across life experiences, to acknowledge the whole, felt important, a marker. Thank you to our wonderful, warm audience who held, heard and shared.
Thank you to Roma Piotrowska, Chris and Deborah Kermode at MAC, Birmingham for giving unquestioned institutional support and making it all run so smoothly. Thank you to Sally and Hettie for this sensitive work, approached with compassion, expansive thinking and warmth and attention to the experience of others. Thank you to everyone who came and supported and shared at this event. It felt important, a marker in these conversations.
We missed you Dr Pragya Agarwal, but as Hettie said, we have your books, hope to see you soon. Looking forward to Hayley Frances summing up the day in poetry.