LatinaLista — It is reported that among the vast majority of the world’s languages, the word for “mother” begins with the letter M. This simple bit of trivia underscores how the experience of motherhood is an uniting force for women everywhere.
To showcase the unique perspectives of mothers from around the world, a special advance exhibition has been unveiled online at the International Museum of Women (IMOW) titled Your Voices: On Motherhood.
The exhibit is the culmination of a global call for submissions, asking artists, writers, and journalists around the world to send their stories related to modern motherhood.
From 600 submissions, IMOW staff chose 34 stories representing over 20 countries.
The selected pieces “address a variety of topics, including motherhood and identity, work, health, pregnancy, alternative mothering, generational differences, and much more.”
New stories will be released every two weeks through January 2012. The current exhibit serves as the launch pad for the flagship exhibit to be launched sometime in 2012 titled Mama: Motherhood Around the Globe.
The first stories launched, as part of the exhibit, are each as different and unique as every woman who is a mother, and who redefines motherhood on her own terms and in her own way.
The first stories launching the exhibit are:
Afterbirth, Paula Obe (Trinidad and Tobago): Paula Obe’s song about generational lessons handed down by her mother and grandmother is moving and has universal impact.
Us, Through Our Own Eyes, Kottavei (US): A mother and artist, Kottavei’s vibrant, celebratory mixed media paintings are meant to empower mothers globally.
Yes These Bones Shall Live, Kate Wilhelm (Canada): Kate Wilhelm’s series on mothers who play Roller Derby explores issues of mothers’ independence and identity.
Friend Me, Kathy Halper (US): When Kathy Halper “friended” her children on Facebook, she was exposed to an entirely different side of their lives. Her tongue-in-cheek Facebook-inspired embroideries explore how technology affects the modern mother/child relationship.
