M/others Who Make is an international grass roots movement, dedicated to supporting the dual role of mothers and maker/artist/creative. Our Perth, Australia hub aims to connect local mother makers through peer support meetings, sharing events, workshops and online discussion.
Who is it for?
Every kind of maker is welcome – professional and/or passionate – writers, painters, performers, film makers, musicians, technicians, producers, bakers, crafters, taxidermists, academics …. Every kind of mother/non binary parent is welcome - biological, adoptive, step, surrogate, foster, bereaved, grand, great grand, to be ….
Children, of any age, are welcome. Your dual role as m/other and maker is given equal status at all our events.
We want as many people as possible to be part of the unfolding MWM conversations. Our reach is across generations and art forms – we are thrilled by the plurality of voices that are part of this discussion.
Every MWM hub shares a common ethos and practice but is able to grow and develop in response to the needs and interests of the regional artists that attend it. You are invited to join and help shape this inspiring and growing movement.
What to expect from your hub:
Peer Support:
These meetings aim to give you the space to explore your creative practice and identities alongside your caring roles. We have a core peer-support talking circle structure which we explain at the start of every meeting. Each meeting is facilitated by a local m/other-artist and together we explore the emergent themes in our mothering and making, points of connection between the two roles, points of dissonance, particular challenges, helpful resources. The meetings are non-hierarchical, the facilitator acts as a guide to take you through the meeting, but also share as a fellow m/other maker.
Collab—Residency at Midland Junction Arts Centre:
M/others Who Make Perth are putting together a collab-residency, and we’re looking for ten core creative m/others to be part of it!
The residency will run September — December 2023 and involves:
Access to a shared studio space
Workshops
Peer mentoring
A showcase event
Click here for more information.
Questions? Contact Michelle Hall
MWM Perth was founded by Michelle Hall on Thursday, 7 November 2019.
Next Meeting:
When:
Please check MWM Perth Facebook group for current dates
Cost:
free
Where:
Our sessions are usually held at Midland Junction Arts Centre and The Blue Room Theatre. Please check the MWM Perth Facebook group for updates.
MWM Perth is facilitated by:
Michelle Hall - Working in young people’s theatre and community arts for over twenty years in Australia and the UK, Michelle’s practise centres on ensemble, devised performance, participatory arts and creative learning. Her training is grounded in physical theatre, storytelling, clown, intercultural collaboration and community facilitation. Studying an MA Theatre at VCA (University of Melbourne) Michelle is synthesising a new philosophy in directing and collaboration - The Highly Sensitive Director: mothering the process. Arising directly from her work in young people’s theatre and research into maternal structures in arts processes (Underwood-Lee and Simic, 2015) Michelle is formulating alternative ways to lead in the arts, where the emphasis on ‘high quality outcomes’ at-all-costs, including mental health, is replaced with an ethos that prioritises care and lets creativity lead.
“MWM Perth is THE FIRST MWM Hub to be born in the Southern Hemisphere! Drawing on a rich landscape of mother-artists across Perth, we will come together to explore our motherhood(s) as artists and mothers. We will birth contemporary expressions, stories and art projects about motherhood. We will network workshop and build friendship while creating a new community which raisies the profile of mother-artists/producers/presenters in Western Australia.
Whether as artists, participants or audiences, mothers are major contributors to the arts, culture and the world! Our voices and stories are intricate, explosive, heroic and necessary to the survival of our human family.”
