HAPPY BIRTH DAYS feat. Alexa Mazzarello and 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective

44.4 Mother/Artist Collective

In person workshop at the OAG. Hosted by Ottawa-based artist Alexa Mazzarello, psychotherapist Aline Maia, and UK-based artist Ellie Shipman

Ottawa Art Gallery

ABOUT THE WORKSHOPArtist and mother Ellie Shipman invites you to join her ongoing project HAPPY BIRTH DAYS - a birth-themed birthday party acknowledging trauma, grief, joy, hope, and incredible change. Write a birth-day card of support to your birthing self, enjoy placenta-shaped cake and take part in supportive discussion of birth in all its traumas and triumphs. Share as much or little as you would like, or simply listen in and take time to reflect.You are invited to take home your handwritten card, but if you want to leave a copy of your birth-day card it will be added to the ongoing archive of this project. Everything will be anonymous.This event will be introduced online by Ellie Shipman, based in England, and hosted in person by artist Alexa Mazzarello as an international collaboration between two artist mothers and the communities they support and are supported by. Alexa will exhibit her ongoing photography series on birth as part of this event, to prompt discussion and hold the space. WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP FORUp to 20 people who have experienced birth in any form and at any time, at any age. IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE EVENT<ul><li>The event itself will be just an hour long, so will not be a chance to share birth stories, but rather to provide a moment of personal reflection on your own birth with the support of a group of fellow m/others who have experienced birth in all its complexities.</li><li>A resource card will be provided with details of local charities and organisations who offer advice, creative reflections, and support on birth to further your reflections if helpful.</li><li>This is an artwork, not a medical or counselling service - you are responsible for your own participation and please be supportive of others’ sharing.</li><li>We are holding this space for those who have experienced birth only and request that babies and children (and partners) are left with another caretaker to enable uninterrupted reflection, conversation and time for you.</li><li>This event will be photographed, please let us know if you’d rather not be in images.</li><li>TRIGGER WARNINGS: Open discussions of birth, birth trauma and baby loss are possible. Due to the nature of this event being an open conversation we cannot be held responsible for what people choose to share, so please bear this in mind when attending.</li><li>Any questions or comments get in touch: alexa.mazzarello@mgail.com OR eleanorshipman@gmail.com</li></ul> ABOUT YOUR HOSTSEllie Shipman (b. 1989) is a visual artist based in Bristol, UK. Her work explores themes of industrial and domestic creation, the complexities of birth and m/otherhood, and existential concerns surrounding climate collapse and consumerism. Informed by social practice, her multidisciplinary approach - spanning public art, sculpture, photography, and collage - invites collaboration through design, process, and form.Ellie holds a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art (2008-2011) and an MSc in Sustainable Development from UWE (2015-2016). Her background in gallery education, community development, and public engagement shapes her collaborative practice. She frequently works with universities, hospitals, galleries, and museums and is also an illustrator and designer.HAPPY BIRTH DAYS was conceived as an artwork by Ellie Shipman following a year of developing new work exploring birth experiences and new m/otherhood supported with Developing Your Creative Practice funding from Arts Council England. Ellie was struck by a grief-like feeling on the first birthday of her son alongside the joy and celebration of her child, and found there was little to no space for reflection on the birth itself on the anniversary for the m/other or parent. HAPPY BIRTH DAYS aims to widen this conversation, visualising this juxtaposition through a birth-themed birthday party for fellow m/others, with the aim to shed light on the diversity of the traumas and triumphs of birth through inviting attendees to write their own birth day cards of support to their birthing self - a copy to take home, and a copy to leave anonymously for others to experience.<a href="http://eleanorshipman.com/" title="http://eleanorshipman.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">eleanorshipman.com</a> Alexa Mazzarello is a Canadian lens-based artist and photographer specializing in portrait, documentary, and fine art photography. In 2009 Alexa graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. In 2012 she completed a Masters in Public Health from Queen’s University with a focus on gender and health. Relying heavily on her academic background, Alexa's photographic practice is primarily concerned with highlighting the voices and stories of women. In 2023 Alexa was named one of Photolucida’s Critical Mass finalists. She is a current member of Women Photograph and the Ottawa-based 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective.Since becoming a mother in 2021, Alexa’s fine art practice has focused on the complicated and under-studied experience of matrescence. Her work has been exhibited across Canada and in the UK.Alexa lives in Ottawa, Canada with her husband, two children, and dog.<a href="http://www.alexamazzarello.com" title="http://www.alexamazzarello.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.alexamazzarello.com</a> Aline Maia is a Clinical Director and Certified Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapist and a mother of 2 young kids. She specializes in working with women going through their fertility journey, pregnancy, postpartum. Her approach to therapy is action- focused and is informed by her interests in Philosophy, Art, and evidence-based research on mental health. Aline holds a Masters Degree in Psychology (UFRN, 2010) and in Counselling Psychology (University of Ottawa, 2017).<a href="https://www.maiacentre.ca/" title="https://www.maiacentre.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.maiacentre.ca</a> About 44.4The 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective is a growing group of women artists working on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. Positioned at the intersection of motherhood and art, their collective shares knowledge, supports creative self-actualization, and empowers professional advancement.<a href="http://www.instagram.com/44point4" title="http://www.instagram.com/44point4" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.instagram.com/44point4</a>www.44point4.com

Agenda

Arrival into the space

Welcome and birthday cake/snacks

Sharing one word reflections on birth on paper tags/as a group

Writing our birth day cards in quiet reflection

Final words and thanks

Informal chat/hangout or head off when you need

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HAPPY BIRTH DAYS feat. Alexa Mazzarello and 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective

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