Co-curators: Eleanor Lim-Midyett & Courtney Wasson
FEATURED ARTISTS
Debbie Barrett-Jones
Rahele Jomepour Bell
Laura Berman
Mona Cliff
Julie Farstad
Nancy Friedemann-Sanchez
Diana Heise
Cory Imig
Sarah Irvin
Priya Kambli
Samantha Krukowski
Linda Lighton
Beili Liu
Sukanya Mani
Adrienne Maples
Amy Meissner
Althea Murphy-Price
Sonié Joi Thompson Ruffin
Closing Reception: Honoring Our Mother of the Crossroads - Stephanie Leedy
Friday, November 21, 2025 | 5 - 7 pm
The Mother and…Project celebrates motherhood as a source of expansive creative potential and alternative modes of being.
Focusing specifically on women who identify as both mothers and artists, the project highlights the diversity of their lived experiences. It asserts that artist-mothers are not a monolith, but encompass a wide range of intersectional identities, perspectives, and practices.
At the heart of the exhibition is the concept of “the ethics of mothering”, the guiding vision through which the artist-mother raises her children and teaches them to engage with the world, emphasizing curiosity, relationality, and care. This ethical framework not only shapes her parenting but also informs her studio practice, defining the methodologies, materials, and narratives she employs, as well as the way she navigates life more broadly. Embedded in both her caregiving and creative work, the ethics of mothering reveals that mother and artist are not divided selves, but one whole body - fluid, intuitive, and evolving. In her life and work, mothering becomes art, and art becomes a kind of mothering.
The project aspires to build a community centered on collaboration and support among artist-mothers and the broader public. Our programming includes family workshops specifically designed to foster creative exploration and support the development of young artists, affirming the gallery as a space for intergenerational engagement and imaginative growth.
The participating artist-mothers are mid-career, nationally and internationally exhibited artists, carefully selected to represent a range of disciplines, mediums, and cultural contexts. They include: Debbie Barrett-Jones, Rahele Jomepour Bell, Laura Berman, Mona Cliff, Julie Farstad, Nancy Friedemann-Sanchez, Diana Heise, Cory Imig, Sarah Irvin, Priya Kambli, Samantha Krukowski, Linda Lighton, Beili Liu, Sukanya Mani, Adrienne Maples, Amy Meissner, Althea Murphy-Price, and Sonié Joi Thompson Ruffin.
The Mother and...Project seeks to make visible and celebrate the empowering visual narratives of these artist-mothers. Their contributions will be presented through an exhibition, supported by written essays and visual images in the exhibition catalog and audio interviews in the podcast series. The full scope of the project will be documented and archived online via a dedicated website and social media platforms. The project will contribute to the growing body of feminist and art-historical scholarship at the intersection of artistic practice and motherhood.
Project Team:
Project Manager, Co-Curator & Podcast Producer: Eleanor Lim-Midyett
Co-Curator and Web-Designer: Courtney Wasson
Senior Consultant: Laura Berman
Gallery Manager: Erin Woodworth
Podcast Director: Kara Heitz, Clio’s Scroll Productions
Audio Engineer and Editor: Emily Milner
Graphic Designer: Michele Cooper, Cooper Graphic Design
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, and by an Express Grant from the Missouri Arts Council and was conducted with the support of a Faculty Development grant and the Outstanding Special Project Award at the Kansas City Art Institute. Additional support comes from the Kansas City Artist Coalition, DBACO, and Hotel Indigo.
