Stand with Blacks Moms

Aimee Gilmore’s “Stand with Black Moms” print is a is a collaborative community bouquet organized by Aimee Gilmore and made from the loving support of artist-mothers, addressing the inequities of the motherhood economy, and racial disparities that create barriers for Black mothers. The collaboration took place through the virtual space over the last six months, in which each artist-mother contributed their own flower. This collection of unique drawings and images is a gesture of support, love, and action.

Aimee worked with artist-mothers including Nakeya Brown, Christen Clifford, Sarah Dolan, Katy Donoghue, Chantal Fischzang, Gayle Friedman, Aimee Gilmore, Amy Hughes Braden, Katrina Majkut, Jillian M. Rock and Anne C. Smith. All proceeds benefit organization’s Artist Mother Studio (in Washington DC), Sybil’s Shrine in Pittsburgh, Black Mama Matters Alliance, and Philly’s own BAE Culture: Breastfeeding Awareness & Empowerment.

Aimee’s Artist Statement:

These works reflect the process of archiving an often devalued routine: motherhood, and accentuate my innate desire to cling to both the materials and objects that emphasize the necessity of letting go. My practice highlights the communication between mother and child through archiving the abstraction and sentimentality of my daily rituals. By focusing on the labor of motherhood, as emphasized through the collection of familiar objects and imagery, I begin to viscerally relate the abstract nature of motherhood to the unpredictable nature of artmaking. I seek a more thorough and vivid understanding of my own labor as mother by making works from the generative processes of my own body. Time is different as a mother. I try to reimagine the first few days or weeks or even months in this role, but it feels almost dreamlike. I cling to the now discarded objects, the relics of their smallness. I save them, I honor them, I cut them apart, I put them back together, I coat them, I encapsulate them. I line them up proudly like trophies; awarding myself the permission to long for the times I once prayed would go by faster; monuments to motherhood.

For more information please visit www.aimeegilmore.com