Open Call for Artists // A New View on Childbirth

Blog entry by Alena Sokhan in Berlin // Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015

The Birth Rites Collection is putting out an open call for submissions to its Bi-Annual Competition for New Works 2015. It accepts (and encourages) works in a variety of media: from photography to paintings, wallpaper to experimental film, all of which must engage with the topic of childbirth.

The Birth Rites Collection is a large collection of contemporary artworks in different media, housed in the Royal College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians in London and the Salford University Midwifery Department. The Collection aims to encourage artists to openly address the theme of childbirth and increase public awareness of these works, since the topic has been historically marginal in art and culture or avoided as a taboo. Works in the collection creatively respond to how the process and significance of childbirth has undergone many changes in response to developments in medical, cultural, and economic practices. The collection fosters a creative engagement with contemporary issues, for instance with works that address the visibility of motherhood in the modern work space, expressions of fatherhood, or the significance of medical intervention in birth, among many other themes. Focusing on increasing awareness, the Birth Rites Collection is fully available in digital form online, including works by artists like Judy Chicago or Tabitha Moses.

Each artist may submit as many works as he/she likes, in any medium, along with one submission form.

The entry fee is £10, which can be paid through paypal.

The deadline for submissions is Feb. 07, 2015.

More details and the submission form can be found on the competition webpage.

The winner will have his/her work showcased at Media CityUK, and afterwards will be included in the Birth Rites Collection at Salford University. In addition to this, the winner will receive a stipend to participate in a prestigious residency at the Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths University, London.

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