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Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood

Experience the joys and heartaches, myths and mishaps of motherhood through over 100 artworks

From the feminist avant-garde to the present day, Acts of Creation communicates the lived experience of motherhood in all its complexity.

Museums and galleries are full of paintings and sculptures of mothers, from Michaelangelo’s Madonna and Child to Da Vinci’s Madonna Lita. However art which communicates the actual experience of motherhood is much rarer. Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood seeks to address this blind spot by asserting the artist mother as an important cultural figure.

Featuring the work of more than 60 modern and contemporary artists, this major group exhibition explores the diverse experience of motherhood across three themes; creation, maintenance and loss. Its artworks explore the lived state of motherhood, presenting a complex and varied image with relation to contemporary concerns about gender, politics, caregiving and reproductive rights. At its heart is a series of revelatory self-portraits celebrating the artist as mother.

Consisting of works of painting, photography, sculpture, sound and film, Acts of Creation is accompanied by a lively programme of public events and an illustrated book published by Thames and Hudson.

A sketch of the torso and face of a naked woman

Selected works

Artwork depicting a woman sitting on top of a washing machine, the door to the machine is open, with a red-orange towel hanging out of the open door.
VALIE EXPORT, Die Geburtenmadonna, 1976 © VALIE EXPORT / Bildrecht, Wien 2023.
View larger image 1 of 4. Artwork depicting a woman sitting on top of a washing machine, the door to the machine is open, with a red-orange towel hanging out of the open door.
A Black woman walks across a snow covered sports ground in an urban setting she is carrying four blue plastic shopping bags with the aid of a white pole across her shoulders, a small child walks next to her facing away from us carrying its own blue shopping bag.
Hannah Starkey, Untitled, February 2013 © Hannah Starkey. Courtesy Maureen Paley, London
View larger image 2 of 4. A Black woman walks across a snow covered sports ground in an urban setting she is carrying four blue plastic shopping bags with the aid of a white pole across her shoulders, a small child walks next to her facing away from us carrying its own blue shopping bag.
A woman with short hair and glasses wearing a dress lies on a bed eating chocolates, in the background a young woman is ironing
Anna Grevenitis, Regard series, 2015-, Courtesy the artist.
View larger image 3 of 4. A woman with short hair and glasses wearing a dress lies on a bed eating chocolates, in the background a young woman is ironing
A painting depicting a woman and child seated on a bed, the woman is naked
Chantal Joffe, Self-Portrait with Esme in a Striped Nightie, 2017. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
View larger image 4 of 4. A painting depicting a woman and child seated on a bed, the woman is naked

Featured artists

The exhibition features work by Felicity Allen, Janine Antoni, Cassie Arnold, Bobby Baker, Elina Brotherus, Liesel Burisch, Cathy Cade, Lea Cetera, Jai Chuhan, Eileen Cooper, Renee Cox, Dorothy Cross, Rineke Dijkstra, Natalie Djurberg and Hans Berg, Leni Dothan, Marlene Dumas, Catherine Elwes, Tracey Emin, Jessa Fairbrother, Rachel Fallon, Feministo, Fenix, Maeve Gilmore, Anna Grevenitis, Camille Henrot, Susan Hiller, Ghislaine Howard, Elsa James, Chantal Joffe, Claudette Johnson, Mary Kelly, Liss LaFleur, Tala Madani, Sally Mann, MATERNAL FANTASIES, Lindsey Mendick, Mother Art, Wangechi Mutu, Ishbel Myerscough, Everlyn Nicodemus, Catherine Opie, Fani Parali, Celia Paul, Cathie Pilkington, Polvo de Gallina Negra, Laure Prouvost, Paula Rego, Su Richardson, Sister Seven, Monica Sjöö, Annegret Soltau, Tabitha Soren, Heather Spears, Nancy Spero, Hannah Starkey, Emma Talbot, The Hackney Flashers, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Valie Export, Christine Voge, Del la Grace Volcano, Barbara Walker, Caroline Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Nancy Willis, Hermione Wiltshire, Hermione Wiltshire and Clare Bottomley, Carmen Winant, Daphne Wright and Billie Zangewa.

Partners

Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood was curated by Hettie Judah with Hayward Gallery Touring, in partnership with Arnolfini, Midlands Art Centre, Millennium Gallery and Dundee Contemporary Arts.

Venues

This exhibition toured to the following venues.

Arnolfini, Bristol
9 Mar – 26 May 2024

Midland Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham
22 Jun – 29 Sep 2024

Millennium Gallery, Sheffield
24 Oct 2024 – 19 Jan 2025

Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), Dundee
19 Apr – 13 Jul 2025

VISUAL, Carlow
27 Sep 2025 – 11 Jan 2026

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