Recording of Symposium: Picturing the Unseen

Recording available from 9am (BST) Tue 1 - Thu 31 October 2024 on this webpage. To access the recording:

• Book your tickets via the link at the bottom of the page
• Log in to your MAC account

This recorded symposium addresses experiences of (m)otherhood including; struggling to conceive, infertility, being childless not by choice, maternal grief and caring for chronically ill children.

Held in the context of the major exhibition Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood, this day-long recorded event features presentations by artists, writers and art historians sharing their research and personal work around these subjects.

Local Birmingham poet, Hayley Frances, will be producing a live literature poetry piece of the symposium, as an alternative documentation of the event. In 2024 Hayley was appointed the first Poet in Residence for Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Her work explores the psychology of creative writing and its use as a therapeutic medium. Her debut collection Administer the Laughing Gas (VERVE Poetry Press) is out September 26th.

This event is being programmed by Hettie Judah, Melanie Stidolph and Sally Butcher, and forms part of the wider programme of public events accompanying the Acts of Creation exhibition.

Helen Acklam, Finding a place, May 2023, digital photograph.

Explore the full programme

• Hosted by Hettie Judah
• Keynote by Elina Brotherus
• Panel presentations by Helen Acklam, Sally Butcher, Jessa Fairbrother, Sofie Layton, Yvonne John and Melanie Stidolph
• Film screenings by El Morgan, Trish Morrissey, Holly Slingsby
• Closing by Pragya Agarwal