CLASS DESCRIPTION

Throughout history we have been told that being a parent (and specifically, a mother) and being an artist are incompatible. From the often-quoted words of child-free famous female artists (Tracey Emin, Bridget Riley) about how they would not have been as successful as they are if they’d had children, to the quotidian dismissal from friends and family when women try to combine the two. Yet there are plenty of instances where women artists (and their children) thrive in such a set up. As Octavia Burgel, the daughter of Kara Walker, put it, “My mother is a mother. And an artist. And the two never felt like they were incompatible.”
Children can be compatible with art, we just need to adjust our expectations, shift the way of looking at things, and work together on a societal level.
This talk will be a look at the history of women artists who have had children and not (Marlene Dumas, Tracey Emin, Paula Rego, Rose Wylie, Louise Bourgeois, and more) and reflect on their words, taken from interviews, alongside words from their children, where relevant, to build a picture of the current thinking around the mother-artist. This talk aims to be inclusive in considering the role of all parent-artists, but draws its sources primarily from mother-artists. The aim is to recognise limitations whilst also allowing for broader discussion and a more nuanced portrayal of what it means to parent as an artist today.

ABOUT OUR LECTURER

Emily Stevens is a painter who lives in Brighton. She holds an MA in Painting from the RCA, where she received distinction for her dissertation on the mother-artist (2022), and has a BA in English Literature with Spanish from the University of Sussex.

Emily’s work has been featured in group exhibitions and curatorial projects including ARK relaunch, RCA, London (2026); APT gallery, London (2025); Brighton Art Space (2024); Lido Open, Margate (2023); Regency Town House Hove & Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Penzance (2023); A Generous Space, Hastings Contemporary (2022), and the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize (2021). Emily has guest-tutored at Camberwell College of Art and Newlyn School of Art. She has participated in residencies at Unit 1 Gallery-Workshop London (2024) and Xenia Creative Retreat (2025).

INSTAGRAM: @emilyv_stevens

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This is a recording of a live session hosted by The Feminist Lecture Program in October 2022. The reading list for the class can be found alongside this rental.

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FLP x