This is who we are:
The Museum of Motherhood is the first and only facility of it's kind serving as a unique resource for those who wish to study the history of mothers, mother-art, and the culture of family. The Museum's purpose is to provide a place and platform that educates the general public about the history of mothers in America and around the world; how mothers have birthed, raised and passed along traditions to future generations and what family life has looked like through the ages.
M.O.M.'s goals include a permanent library, art and history exhibit halls, family activity room, outreach center, museum store and teaching facility. Its purpose is to encourage individuals to evaluate their own experiences as mothers in authentic and mindful ways, while exposing people to the rich traditions of how family life has evolved. We are committed to serving as a valuable resource to the community, by creating jobs, encouraging tourism, offering resources to families, generating compelling individual and community experiences while amplifying the voices of women and the culture of (M)others everywhere.
'Matriarchal Value' Pre-School & Library:
As plans unfold for the museum and all it's activities, an 'experimental' pre-school based on matriarchal values. This pre-school for is envisioned for aproximately 20 children a year, ages 2-5. as well as a library documenting the journey of mother's evolving role while promoting women's studies and the evolution of family.
The library will containing books by women, mothers and others discoursing on the history of motherhood, as well as fulfilling the mission to preserve, collect and interpret materials and information specific to mothers who have made a difference in education, literature, environment, sciences, the arts, music, architecture, culture, activism, business, the home, and politics, as well as to document the herstory of (M)other-work and (M)othering.
M.O.M. and it's content are gender inclusive not genderexclusive.
CONTACT: motherhoodfoundation_gmail.com 877.711.MOMS (6667)
What Are Matriarchal Values Anyway?:
Matriarchies are not just a reversal of patriarchy, with women ruling over men - as the usual misinterpretation would have it. Matriarchies are mother-centered societies, they are based on maternal values: care-taking, nurturing, motherliness, which holds for everybody: for mothers and those who are not mothers, for women and men alike.
Matriarchal societies are consciously built upon these maternal values and motherly work, and this is why they are much more realistic than patriarchies. They are, on principle, need-oriented. Their precepts aim to meet everyone's needs with the greatest benefit. So, in matriarchies, mothering - which originates as a biological fact - is transformed into a cultural model. This model is much more appropriate to the human condition than the way patriarchies conceptualize motherhood and use it to make women, and especially mothers, into slaves.
This is the subject of Modern Matriarchal Studies, which investigates and presents matriarchal societies found all over the world. These investigations focus not only on the past, but also pay attention to still existing societies with matriarchal patterns in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific area. Contrary to common belief, none of these is a mere reversal of patriarchy. Rather, they are all gender-egalitarian societies, and many of them are fully egalitarian. This means they have no hierarchies, classes nor domination of one gender by the other.
Matriarchal studies started more than 140 years ago with the pioneering theories of Johann Jakob Bachofen and Lewis Henry Morgan.
With matriarchal cultures, equality means more than just a leveling of differences. Natural differences between the genders and the generations are respected and honored, but they never serve to create hierarchies, as is common in patriarchy. The different genders and generations have their own dignity, and through complementary areas of activity, they function in concert one other. More precisely, matriarchies are societies with complementary equality, where great care is taken to provide a balance. This applies to the balance between genders, among generations, and between humans and nature. Maternal values as ethical principles pervade all areas of a matriarchal society. It creates an attitude of care-taking, nurturing, and peacemaking.
Taken from the writings of,
Heide Goettner-Abendroth (ed.), Societies of Peace. Matriarchies in Past, Present, Future, (Inanna Publications, 2009)
Motherhood Foundation Inc.
Fed Tax ID: 20-3980355
Who We Are:
The Motherhood Foundation Inc. is a certified nonprofit 501c3 that creates, produces and presents artistic, educational and cultural content that studies and supports mothers and their activities. MFI disseminates information about mothers for broad public consumption, while paying tribute to mothers (Moms) free of age, race and socio-economic barriers. MFI cares about, and acts upon the status of women, while celebrating the courage, fortitude and ingenuity of mothers, and addresses important issues, creates meaningful content, and provides compelling community experiences.
Goals:
Motherhood Foundation seeks to marry education, herstory, creativity, culture and community for the benefit of all with a special emphasis on women who are mothers. By amplifying the voices of women who are mothers, the scope and breadth of the massive contributions they make become recognized and generations benefit from the legacy and documentation of the collective cultural voice. Women and Families benefit.
Program Descriptions:
Work on grants and a capital campaign to obtain a physical structure that can serve as a home for the Museum Of Motherhood are ongoing. Each year MFI works in alliance with Mamapalooza Festivals to create performance opportunities, 'Motherhood In Motion' Exhibits, coordination of social services, fee educational programs and family friendly fare in libraries, free public parks spaces, universities and more.
MFI seeks to document the herstory of mothers past, present and future; honoring and preserving their legacy in perpetuity.
Donations may be made online to benefit ongoing exhibits, programming and the museum.
Call For Papers:
5th Annual Conference
M.O.M. (Museum Of Motherhood) & MFI
(Motherhood Foundation Inc.)
in collaboration with Mamapalooza at Marymount Manhattan College, New York City USA
The Vulnerable Mother: Social Interactions, Institutions, and Systems of Cultural Values
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
May 23, 24 and 25, 2011
*Additional performance activities take place in New York City the weekend of May 21st & 22nd.
Mothers in the Arts, Literature, Media and Popular Culture
Academic, Artistic, Cultural and Socially Relevant Presentations Welcome
We are currently accepting submissions for papers, panels, research projects, performance and roundtables for the upcoming conference entitled: The Vulnerable Mother: Social Interactions, Institutions, and Systems of Cultural Values. The goal of this conference is to create an interdisciplinary exchange of both academic ideas and popular culture about the well being of mothers and families. All submission should be limited to 250 words with a 50word bio of presenters in Microsoft Word. Deadline for submissions is April 15, 2011.
We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, artists, community agencies, service providers, journalists, mothers and others who work or research in this area. Cross-cultural, historical, and comparative work is encouraged. We encourage a variety of types of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines, workshops, creative submissions, performances, storytelling, visual arts, and other alternative formats.
Sample Topics include: Vulnerable Mothers in Popular Culture, Mental Illness, Historical Perspectives on vulnerable mothers, The Mother-Child Relationship, Vulnerable Mothers in Film, Video, Art, Music, Dance and Theater; Theorizing Motherhood and Representation; Race, Representation and Motherhood; Visual culture; Countering Media Discourses on Motherhood; Maternal Loss, Depression, and Domestic Violence; Performing Feminist Mothering in Practice and Expression; Mother Writer: Writing Vulnerable Motherhood; Vulnerable Children; Imaging LGBT Mothers and Maternity; Post-Maternal Mother Artists; Vulnerable Mothers on the Internet; The Politics of Motherhood and Music and Visual Culture of Vulnerable Mothers; Motherhood, Art, and Creativity; The Performance of the Maternal or Performing Motherhood; Mothering and Disability: Producing New Paradigms of Normal; Motherhood in the News: Mothers as Newsmaker; Documenting Motherhood: Maternal Documentaries; Mothers, Motherhood and Photography; Behind the Camera: Expressing: Imaging Breastfeeding Mothers, Mommy Bloggers: Re-Writing Motherhood, etc.; Dealing with (Post-partum) Depression or Illness; Pregnant moms; How images of fathers impact vulnerable motherhood representation; News media coverage of foster moms; Moms in politics; teen mothers in film or television; Mothers as consumers; Mothering and the representation of Class in institutions and systems of cultural values.
The Motherhood Foundation Inc. (MFI), benefitting the Museum Of Motherhood, is a certified nonprofit 501c3 that creates, produces and presents artistic, educational and cultural content that studies and supports mothers and their activities. MFI disseminates information about mothers for broad public consumption, while paying tribute to mothers (Moms) free of age, race and socio-economic barriers. MFI cares about, and acts upon the status of women, while celebrating the courage, fortitude and ingenuity of mothers, and addresses important issues, creates meaningful content, and provides compelling community experiences.
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Fees for the conference are as follows:
Professors with academic funding: $250
Students: $175
Artists, Experts and Laypeople with no academic funding. Minimum donation: $75
Single day attendance for the general public: $25
Per session attendance for the general public: $10
Payment Portal HERE
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Marymount College, NYC
Marymount Manhattan CollegeMarymount Manhattan College
Place page
221 E 71st St
New York, 10021
(212) 517-0430
All submissions to: www.MotherStudies.org
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* Academic, artistic, literary and theatrical presentations will be highlighted with panels, discussions and more.
* Bowery Poetry Club, New York Clubs and other locations are prepared to host evening performances, poetry readings and featured performances by Conference Attendees and Mamapalooza performers
* Music and Art displays have been planned for the Conference Gathering
* Film screenings and additional onsite workshops have been planned
* All conference presentations will be archived and placed online under a newly constructed area which will feature TEXT, PHOTOS and VIDEO of all Conference Presentations (*OPTIONAL), at MuseumOfMotherhood.org
* Ongoing work of archiving, presenting, highlighting and preserving academic presentations, artistic perspectives and current and historical content is ongoing. __________________________________________________________________________________
Presenters and Scholars $250
Student Fees $175
Artists and Lay-people who are Mamapalooza Members $74.99 JOIN
$25 Per Day Conference Charge
$10 Per Session
Our Boutique:
We believe in creating a sustainable movement, community and a resource, that supports women by encouraging them to get creative and share their creativity with the world, while financially supporting their contributions through economic principles that empower fair trade practices.
Our ongoing mission:
•Create a boutique as part of the Museum store with product placement that speaks to the unique and collective perspectives of women who are mothers, caregivers, fathers, children and even free choice individuals who are committed non-breeders to further encourage thoughtful discussion and conscious living.
•Create merchandise, momorablia and ephemera with inspirational messages that elevate and empower individuals and the entire family.
•Act as a resource and lifestyle guide for mothers seeking support in mainstream and alternative settings.
•Support the choices mothers have made, while highlighting quality merchancise that inspires reflection, humor and free choice.
•Buy fair market and woman-made products while encouraging feminist perspectives.
Our Focus:
While we work towards making the
museum a reality, we appreciate your
donations to support us in securing a
physical space. Thank you in advance.
Address + Telephone
PO Box 210
Hastings On Hudson, NY
10706
877.711.MOMS (6667)
