The Artist Mother Studio (AMS) Conference

The Artist Mother Studio (AMS) Conference sought to elevate the voices of artist mothers/caregivers and continue important conversations about communal labor and how mothers can leverage their experiences for positive societal change. The conference was FREE to attend and included lunch and childcare (provided on a first come first serve basis).

The AMS Conference was a part of an artist-driven project organized by DC-based artist Amy Hughes Braden and marked the culmination of a nine week artist-in-residence for artist mothers at WPA .
In addition to lunch and childcare, the AMS Conference included:
>A discussion about AMS with original participants Mariah Anne Johnson, Tsedaye Makonnen, and Amy Hughes Braden led by Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Supervisory Public Programs Specialist with Smithsonian American Art Museum.
>A zine workshop and talk with China Martens, author and editor, and creator of the longest running zine on raising kids titled, The Future Generation.
>The launch of the AMS zine, Maternal Journal, compiled and edited by Amy Hughes Braden and Raina Martens, with an introduction by China Martens.
>Open studios with current AMS artists-in-residence Leah Lewis, Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, and Anne Smith.
>Support Artist Mothers! The following will be available for sale at the conference: T-shirts by Tyra Mitchell, creator of @artmomproject, a platform for artist mothers to connect and support each other, and copies of The Future Generation, an anthology of China Marten’s zines.