Seven Alaskan artist mothers present “MOTHER” at Bunnell Street Arts Center for the month of December. Exhibit programming will include performances, and a mending workshop. The exhibit opening is 5-7p on Friday, December 2nd and will commence with “Nurture”, a performance by Myesha Callahan Freet at 5:45pm, followed by artist talks at 6pm. 

“Mother: A position, an act, a summoning, an expletive, a transition, an irreversibility.

The word conjures comfort, expectation, humility, defiance, entanglement, lineage, disappointment, rage, and bliss. The state is simultaneously verdant and mundane, a vein of generational knowledge and deep intuition tempered by unknowing and unlearning.

Mother is created from within our mothering experience, but also in response to our relationships with one another –  sustenance, balm, commitment, and reckoning.

We do this work to contextualize, remember, and honor all stages of mothering. By couching our questions in reprieve and tenderness, we reinforce connections to mothers who came before, to those seen everyday, and to others who have yet to become.”

Participating artists:

Brianna Allen, Homer AK,  

Carla Klinker Cope, Homer AK

Myesha Callahan Freet, Chugiak AK

Somer Hahm, Fairbanks AK

Wooshkindein Da.Aat Lily Hope, Juneau AK

Amy Komar, Homer AK

Amy Meissner, Anchorage AK

“Nurture”, a short performance of the exploration of care by Myesha Callahan Freet, begins at 5:45p on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 at the exhibit opening of “MOTHER”.

A Mending Lab Workshop led by Amy Meissner will be Saturday, December 3, 2022, 10 am -12pm at Bunnell Street Arts Center. Bring a garment in need of hand repair and work together with the artist to care for, accompany, and prolong the life of your textile. Simple supplies will be available to share or bring your own needle, thread, yarn, scissors. Fee is by donation. Registration by email: amy@amymeissner.com. Max 20 participants.

“MOMologues”is a live community performance directed by Jennifer Norton and created by Brianna Allen, on Saturday, December 17th, at 7:30p hosted at Bunnell Street Arts Center. Tickets are $50 and include one drink token. The program is 21+, and limited to one night only. Proceeds benefit Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic. Tickets will be available through Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic.

Artist Biographies: 

Brianna Allen is a multidisciplinary artist living and working on Ninilchik Tribal lands currently known as Homer, Alaska. She holds BFA in Painting and Entrepreneurial Studies from the University of Southern Maine. Brianna works within themes of motherhood and is led by her social art practice of anonymous community storytelling. Brianna is a mother of two children.

Carla Klinker Cope is a visual artist living and working in Homer, Alaska. She earned her BFA at Oregon College of Arts and Craft in Portland, Oregon in 2003. Carla’s work draws from the absurd, contradictory, and profound experiences of being a neurodivergent woman/artist/mother. She is a mother of two children.

Myesha Callahan Freet is a visual artist who earned a BFA from the University of Houston and currently resides in Chugiak, AK. She draws inspiration from an ongoing exploration into the evolution of self through examining her role as a mother and wife. She has one child.

Somer Hahm is a visual artist living and working on Tanana Dene´ lands in Fairbanks, Alaska. An arts educator motivated to create community involvement and interest in public art, she initiated an artist-led endeavor of creative place making in 2019 called the Far North Quilt Trail Project, Alaska’s first barn quilt trail. Somer is a mother of two children.

Lily Wooshkindein Da.Aat Hope is a distinguished artist and community leader living in Juneau, Alaska. Her finger-twined, adapted Formline, ceremonial Chilkat Dancing Robes take years to complete. Her works document inheritance, history, lineages of weavers, world crisis, and political issues. She is a mother of five children.

Amy Komar is a visual artist living and working in Homer, Alaska. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she earned a BA in Studio Art from The University of Texas Austin in 2001. Amy is a mother of two children.

Amy Meissner is an artist and repairer based on Dena’ina Homeland (currently known as Anchorage) whose work with found objects and abandoned textiles in need of repair and accompaniment references the physical and emotional labor of women. She holds an MA in Critical Craft Studies, an MFA in Creative Writing, and undergraduate degrees in Art and Textiles. Amy is a mother of two children.

Exhibit Opening and Artist Talk: Friday, December 2, 2022 from 5 -7 pm, Artist talk at 6pm  

Mending Workshop: 10-12pm, Saturday, December 3, 2022 Registration by email: amy@amymeissner.com.

“MOMologues” Performance: Saturday, December 17, 2022 7:30pm at Bunnell Street Arts Center.