INTRODUCTION

Most of us dare not question our pregnancy, birth or early parenthood experience for fear of seeming ungrateful, difficult or concerned with ourselves when we should be focused on our children. Most of us simply try to get on with our new lives as best we can, as soon as we can, without acknowledging the long-term impact this short but intense period is likely to have on our sense of self and our relationship with our partners and children.

Yet, some of us are artists as well as parents, sensing the urgency and possessing the skills to commit deep and complex feelings such as those originating from new parenthood to paper, paint, sculpture, poetry, film or other media, thereby rising to the challenge of translating precisely those things often left unsaid into the universal language of art and opening up the crucial debates that eventually break down barriers.

CALL FOR ARTISTS

On Monday 6th April 2015, Project AfterBirth launched an international open call inviting professional contemporary artists of any gender working in any visual, performing, text, film or digital art discipline to submit work they created in response to their own pregnancy, birth and/or early parenthood experiences. The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 15th May.

By the end of June 2015, a dedicated panel of international arts professionals will announce a selection from submissions which will feature in an exhibition about the impact of early parenthood on the artist.

For further details visit the Project Afterbirth website.