Datum
27. März 2026
UK Book Launch
Puérpera UK Book Launch — Deborah Elenter in Conversation with Helen Knowles
Friday 27 March 2026, 5.00–6.30pm (arrivals from 5pm)
Women’s Art Library, Special Collections
Goldsmiths
University of London
New Cross, SE14 6NW London
Free (booking essential)
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Join us for the UK launch of Puérpera, a powerful photobook by Montevideo-born visual artist, photographer and doula Deborah Elenter, published by the Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo.
Since 2015, Elenter has been documenting the experiences of people giving birth — work that confronts the historical invisibility of childbirth in contemporary art, reclaiming it as a vital, political and collective experience. Under her lens, the birthing room becomes a political space, and the act of birth part of the collective struggle of feminism. Having launched at La Fábrica Bookstore in Madrid and at Košice University in Slovakia, we are honoured to host the UK edition at the Women’s Art Library.
The evening will feature a conversation between Deborah Elenter and Helen Knowles, Director and Curator of the Birth Rites Collection, chaired by Dr Althea Greenan, Curator of the Women’s Art Library. The discussion will explore birth, photography, the body and the politics of making visible what has long been rendered invisible.
As part of this event, Deborah Elenter has generously donated an edition of Puérpera alongside a framed photographic work to the Birth Rites Collection, and a further copy of the photobook to the Women’s Art Library. In turn, the Birth Rites Collection will gift a selection of historical pamphlets, fliers and documentation of its work since 2009 to the Women’s Art Library — a fitting exchange between two collections committed to preserving and making visible the experiences of women.
Books will be available for purchase and signing after the talk.
SPEAKER BIOS
Deborah Elenter is a Montevideo-born visual artist, photographer and doula. Since 2015 she has documented over 150 births, producing intimate and unflinching images that reclaim childbirth as a vital, political and collective experience. Her project Puérpera has been exhibited at the Uruguayan Contemporary Art Museum, Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, and Hiperespacio in Montevideo, and received international recognition including awards from Uruguay’s Dirección Nacional de Cultura and the Fundación Itaú Cultural. Her photobook Puérpera, published by the Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo, launched in 2025. Alongside her photographic practice, Elenter collaborates on Uruguay’s proposed Dignified Birth legislation.
Dr Althea Greenan is Curator of the Women’s Art Library at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has worked with the collection since 1989, first as a volunteer with the Women Artists’ Slide Library and then as curator when the collection was gifted to Goldsmiths in 2002. Her work positions the archive in contemporary practice, supporting artists and researchers in developing new projects from its holdings. She has written widely on women’s art practice and feminist archiving, publishing in academic journals, art magazines and edited volumes. She has spoken at the Royal Academy, CCA Glasgow, Somerset House and internationally.
Helen Knowles is a British artist, filmmaker and curator, and Director of the Birth Rites Collection — the only contemporary art collection internationally dedicated to childbirth and maternal experience. Founded in 2008, the collection comprises over 120 artworks by artists including Judy Chicago, Himali Singh Soin, and Courtney Conrad. Knowles’s own work has been exhibited at the Mori Art Museum, ZKM Karlsruhe, Ars Electronica, Zabludowicz Collection and Kunsthaus Graz, and is held by the Whitworth, Tate, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She was awarded a PhD from Northumbria University in 2025.
ABOUT THE BIRTH RITES COLLECTION
The Birth Rites Collection is the only contemporary art collection dedicated to childbirth, reproduction and maternal experience in the world. Founded in 2008 by artist and curator Helen Knowles, it comprises over 120 works by artists including Judy Chicago, Himali Singh Soin, Anna Perach, Deborah Elenter, and Courtney Conrad. The collection has been hosted by the University of Salford (2013–2017), King’s College London (2017–2021) and the University of Kent (2022–2026), with exhibition partnerships at the Whitworth Art Gallery, IKON and Leeds City Art Gallery. Since 2019, the collection has run an annual Summer School for artists, midwives and researchers. birthritescollection.org.uk
ALSO
Can’t make Friday 27th? Deborah will also be at The Photobook Cafe on Monday 30 March, 6–7.30pm for a relaxed, informal book signing. Free — book separately via Eventbrite.