Art After Baby | On Artist Mothers with INCCA

INCCA (Independent Network for Contemporary Culture & Art) is a Johannesburg based non-profit company dedicated to realising exhibitions, research projects and creating new platforms for visual arts, collectives, curators, and cultural practitioners. Founded by Lara Koseff, Londi Modiko and Nthabiseng Mokoena, INCCA’s mission is to foster mentorship and partnership within the cultural sector.

 

 

Koseff, Modiko and Mokoena, all of whom have a background in the commercial art scene, observed that within the South African art scene there were apparent and significant disparities in representation, specifically for women, women of colour and women-identifying individuals. Despite rhetoric describing global improvements in representations, international research and case studies showed evidence (accompanied by real statistics and data) that this is simply not the case. These improvements and progress were being portrayed in a very emblematic way, instead of a pragmatic one. Still, women and those identifying as such were underappreciated, understudied and underrepresented.

 

This is not just prevalent in the art community. Women as a whole are disregarded in the name of science, philosophy and academia. A simple example, but proving this point- Viagra, a common drug for male impotence, has proven to aid the symptoms and pains of menstruation. However, pharmaceutical corporations thought women to be economically unviable. Perpetuating entrenched sexism, the possibly life-changing drug was not marketed towards women- claiming women held little buying power and therefore weren’t financially worth it.

 

Looking to UK researcher and author, Hettie Judah and her work titled How Not to Exclude Artist Mothers (and Other Parents), it became apparent to the founders just how under-researched this community truly is and just how prevalent it was to the South African art scene and the country’s artist mothers (and other parents). Judah’s research examined 60 artist mothers and the very real challenges of their day-to-day life in a patriarchal society that still viewed mothers as the primary caretaker.

 

Taking inspiration from this UK-based research project, Koseff, Modiko, and Mokoena began to evaluate the lack of representation of not just the privileged artist mothers in the South Africa art scene, but all creatives- asking the question: who was being excluded and why? If one were only to look at the privileged and carefree, we’d have a very homogenous art scene to the whole industry's detriment.

 

Reckoning with the overwhelming privilege of the South African art scene, the ‘Art After Baby’ project, launched in 2023, aimed to support artists who are mothers, parents, or have been impacted by pregnancy and/or any associated loss. Furthering their examination and proving their point, it was not well received by male collectors, curators and creatives. It did not resonate to them or their experience but it did with women and those perplexed by how to charter a career in the patriarchal and male dominated art industry.

 

As said by Koseff, “To lose these art workers because they lack the support that they need is a heartbreaking failing and makes this somewhat inaccessible and homogenous world even more so. In addition, I believe that art making can potentially offer a powerful catharsis for the many challenges of motherhood and loss.”

 

 

 

The project began with an open call to Johannesburg-based artists who were struggling to juggle motherhood and practice. Acknowledging that artists are generally “zero-hour workers” with a sporadic and unreliable income, and that many child carers do not have the financial cushion to continue their practice, the project afforded two artists the opportunity to create a body of work with the assurance of two month salary, assisted by and in collaboration with the National Arts Council South Africa with the President Employment Stimulus grant.

 

From workshops to exhibitions, ‘Art After Baby’ allowed artist mothers a space for catharsis and the freedom to make- not just to support them in their experience of motherhood, but support in all facets.

 

It is thus paramount that we question, challenge, and empower women in a society that often overlooks their contributions, ensuring that the art world—and the broader cultural landscape/ community—becomes more inclusive, diverse, and representative of all voices.

 

Images provided by INCCA (Independent Network for Contemporary Culture & Art).