Their origin story starts decades earlier. In 1973, women from all over the country gathered in Los Angeles to participate in the first year of the Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW)—an independent art school for women started by former California Institute of the Arts faculty members. In that first cohort, it was determined that dogs could be allowed in the studio—but not children. That was a problem for the many FSW artists who were also mothers.

They decided to organize and created MotherArt: a collective of women artists who were also mothers. They remained active into the 1980s, and their work grew to encompass a broad range of social-political issues. Since then, their work has been celebrated in a retrospective and a number of exhibitions.

In 2017, Jenny Keyser (MFA 2017), a candidate for SAIC’s Low-Residency MFA, read about the group and had an idea. She put out an open call to others in the program to learn about the original collective, while exploring the possibility of working collaboratively. That conversation laid the groundwork for what would become MotherArt: Revisited (MA: R): an all-new Chicago-based collective that would give mother artists the opportunity to—in their own words—collaboratively “create art that is unique, educational and inspiring to address the social-political issues that mothers face today.” Conscious of those who had paved the way for their work, they reached out to the original Mother Art collective, who gave the group their blessing.

Though MA: R is made up of former SAIC students, its artworks and actions take place all across the country, and the group mostly meets remotely. Such is the nature of the Low-Res MFA Program, which brings students together for six weeks each summer, while allowing them to complete the rest of their coursework wherever they call home. MA: R’s 18 artists run the gamut when it comes to geographical location, age, racial and gender identity, art form, and style.

Their work takes the form of installations, exhibitions, and written work. All of its members have established successful practices in various mediums, but MA: R gives them the opportunity to express themselves as a collective voice, amplifying the magnitude of their impact.

There are no leaders in MA: R, and no official rules. “The leadership sort of shifts with the project. We are very organic; like a living organism. We sort of go through those shifts of activity and stillness,” said member Jessica Mueller (MFA 2018).

“It’s whatever we want it to be,” added member Galina Shevchenko (MFA 2018). “So if we go through time periods where we’re doing more, or we’re doing less, it’s all okay. There’s an ebb and flow to participation, and to our level of activity.”

MA: R’s most recent project was At The Table—an experiential artistic work that opened the door for discussions around current social-political issues. Each artist set up an in-person dinner where there would be artwork, pie, and a guided conversation around whatever that artist chose. The goal of the project was to facilitate meaningful connections and build community.

There were five dinners in Chicago and one each in Nova Scotia, Canada; Provo, Utah; and St. Augustine, Florida. Each gathering was different, though they took place simultaneously. “For mine, I was really inspired by Judy Chicago’s table installation. So I embroidered these really beautiful table settings,” said Shevchenko. “And Jessica took my drawings and screen-printed them on her table, which was used in a lot of MotherArt installations.” The project culminated in an exhibition at the Venezia Contemporanea Art Association, facilitated through the residency of member Rain Gianneschi (MFA 2017) and curated by Shevchenko.

In addition to Keyser, Mueller, and Shevchenko, current MA: R members include artists Jamie Nakagawa Boley (MFA 2019), Marjorie Boyles (MFA 2018), Laura Drey (MFA 2018), Elisabeth Dzuricsko (MFA 2018), Margarita Fainshtein (MFA 2018), Patricia Rain Gianneschi (MFA 2017), Clareese Hill (MFA 2017), Beth Iska (MFA 2019), Monica Kelsie (MFA 2017), Susan Krueger-Barber (MFA 2017), Kris Schaedig (MFA 2018), Erin Schalk (MFA 2017), Joanne Tepper-Saffren (MFA 2018), Marika Whitaker (MFA 2018), and Valerie Xanos (MFA 2021). (Sonja Blum (MFA 2019) is a former member.)

MA: R is a natural extension of the Low-Res MFA program, transdisciplinary, multidimensional and rigorously poetic. Mueller and Shevchenko have different stories around what brought them to the program—though for each, being a mother was a huge part of it.

Mueller was a single mom with two children, working as an artist, educator, and arts administrator. Separate from her public practice, privately, she made art about her family and about her children, though it wasn’t until a group critique that she felt like this kind of work would be taken seriously. The collective provided a supportive container where her lived experiences as a mother were not just valid but generative.

“I really wanted to find a program that let me bring all my practices and identities together in one place,” Mueller said. “When I read [Founding Low-Res MFA Program Director] Gregg Bordowitz’s letter to prospective students, I was just instantly excited. I felt like he was speaking directly to me and my experience of having all these separate parts that I felt should go together, but no one else seemed to think so.”

Shevchenko came to the Low-Res MFA program to deepen her connection to contemporary creative discourse in multimedia art. When she started the program, her children were younger, and she resisted the art world’s frequent exclusion of children. She brought her kids to every art show or activity she did, though there were times when she was told that children weren’t allowed at meetings or in gallery spaces.

Mueller said that while there wasn’t one particular faculty member who specifically guided MA: R, everyone teaching in the Low-Res MFA program gave encouragement through their instruction and mentorship.

Professor Emerit Claudia Hart was among those who were particularly supportive; Shevchenko said that while Hart is not focused on ideas of motherhood, she has been excited about the idea of women coming together and sticking together, and creating their own movements. “If you want to follow your inner voice, rather than of the institutions, then you have no choice: Build your own world,” Hart said.

Since their first show, MA: R’s gotten creative about getting their work into the world. They were featured in a 2019 exhibition in Edinburgh, Scotland. Later that same year, they were a part of an exhibition called Sheroes that took place in London. Four artists from MA: R did a self-guided residency and retreat at Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan in 2021. True to her word, Shevchenko brought her kids.

SAIC Professor, Adj. Giovanni Aloi, who advised many of the collective members while they were students, said he always encouraged students to be active players in shaping their futures by seeking out collaborators and building communities, just as the artists have done in MA: R.

“They need to forge long-lasting alliances that will support them over time and through the journey,” Aloi said. “I see this as part of the creative process of being present in one's practice. It takes creativity to envision these collectives."

The future for MA: R is bright. Though the members of the collective have all graduated from SAIC, they continue to meet over Zoom, coming up with new ways to make collaborative work that builds on the original work of MotherArt.

MA: R will be featured in Terrain Biennial, which brings public art to neighborhoods around the world. MA: R has a new iteration of At The Table, which they’ve titled Messages of Care and would take place on Mueller’s front yard. The project will open up a new avenue for community engagement. “I'm looking forward to seeing where we go next,” said Mueller. ■