Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Athena Stevens, Anya Reiss, Juno Dawson & Lemn Sissay among line-up for THE MOTHERHOOD PROJECT

Photo credit: Chris Watkins Pitchford

Fifteen short films make up online festival The Motherhood Project, which features dramatic monologues and personal reflections that will be shown on the Battersea Arts Centre website from 19 April.

Curator Katherine Kotz has invited writers, artists and technicians to join forces and donate their time to create exciting new pieces to support vulnerable adults and children affected by the pandemic. Interrogating the relationship between parent and child, autonomy and responsibility, dramatic  pieces have been contributed by Irenosen Okojie, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Hannah Khalil, Anya Reiss,  Suhayla El Bushra in addition to Naomi Sheldon, E.V Crowe, Jodi Gray, and Katherine Kotz. 

Alongside them, artists and activists will share their experiences and expectations of parenthood. Actor, writer and disabled rights activist, Athena Stevens talks about the tension between having children and being a 'reasonable' woman. Juno Dawson, journalist, author and trans rights activist, discusses bodily autonomy and the relationship between motherhood and womanhood. Kalhan Barath reflects on caring for other people's children having decided not to have her own. 

In between sharing his poetry, Lemn Sissay MBE talks about his relationship with his mother and his  journey towards understanding things from her perspective. The poet and playwright Joelle Taylor shares her poem about non-mothers who help raise children. Lakuta vocalist Siggi Mwasote explores her bond with her teenage daughter, escaping an abusive relationship, and how moving to  a predominantly white area affected her daughter's school years. 

Creator Katherine Kotz said: “I set up The Motherhood Project as a way of bringing artists  together to help respond to the needs of the crisis. I was keen to engage with new writing on the topic of motherhood because I was pregnant at the time and grappling with my own preconceptions  about what lay ahead. With women bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s economic impact while  continuing to perform 75% of unpaid care responsibilities, I hope these short films will stimulate  discussion about our cultural expectations of women.” 

For more information and to book tickets on a pay-what-you-can basis, please click here. All ticket sales will include a 50% donation to Refuge.