Mother Nurture: a Collaborative Sculpture and Storytelling Event Celebrating Interspecies Relations

MOTHER NURTURE: a Collaborative Sculpture and Storytelling Event Celebrating Interspecies Relations

May 8-9, 2021, I-House Outdoor Terrace (10 College Park, Davis, CA 95616)

Join us for a social sculpture activity on Mother’s Day weekend! A social sculpture is a collaborative endeavor that invites community members to add to the sculpture, and also a performative space that allows for engagement through ritual performances and storytelling. Our social sculpture – made of kombucha mothers/leather, mushroom paper, homegrown silk, and other organic materials – will grace the I-House patio through the entire weekend.

This project honors mothering in its expansive capacity, as a verb, that can nurture healing, transformation, remediation, and regeneration. It invites us to reflect on the many ways that we mother each other and encourages us to cultivate the best mother in ourselves. For we need to be able to depend on one another, to care for one another, to realize that we are enmeshed with one another, if we are to survive and thrive in these unsettling times.

How you can participate

1. Become part of our cottage factory network and grow your own kombucha mothers so you can add to sculpture (more details here: tinyurl.com/growyourownmother),

2. Sign up to share a story on mothers/mothering as one of our storytellers (submit your details here: tinyurl.com/mothernurturecfp) or at the open mic

3. Join us for the following public performances and social sculpture activations:

Saturday, May 8

• 1-4pm: Sculpture Co-creation. Join in the process of creating the social sculpture; bring materials or add materials provided.
• 8-10pm: Silent Ritual Moonlight Performance. Through this ritual performance we honor the many mothers – human, animal, vegetal, mineral, and elemental – who animate us.

Sunday, May 9

• 1pm-4pm: Storytelling, Music, and Performances. Enjoy communities stories and performances. Throughout the day, collaborate through participatory activities that encourage co-creation and weaving of your own stories of mothering to the sculpture.

PLEASE NOTE: All events will take place outdoors following County Guidelines for COVID-19 safety. Please wear masks and maintain social distancing guidelines. Hand sanitizer will be provided.

This event is sponsored by the Arts, Cultures, and Design of Remediation DHI Transcollege Research Cluster and the International House, Davis.

For more information about the event, please reach out to: anuva@ucdavis.edu