Workshop

BIRTH RITES COLLECTION SUMMER SCHOOL 2026 ONLINE
The world’s only con­tem­po­rary art col­lec­tion ded­i­cat­ed to child­birth invites you to a pro­gramme of lec­tures, work­shops, sem­i­nars and one-to-one tutorials.

This Year’s theme: REPRODUCTION AND THE STATE

How do artists con­test dom­i­nant nar­ra­tives of birth and mater­ni­ty? Whose bod­ies are heard, treat­ed and believed in mater­nal health­care? How do states instru­men­talise repro­duc­tion through pol­i­cy, imagery and ide­ol­o­gy? How can the mater­nal become a site of resis­tance and reimagining?

Led by artist and BRC Cura­tor Dr Helen Knowles and artist Dr Leni Dothan, the course brings you into dia­logue with the col­lec­tion, this year’s themes, and your own prac­tice. You’ll leave with bespoke visu­al, tex­tu­al, audi­to­ry, pho­to­graph­ic, filmic or per­for­ma­tive work to car­ry into your future practice.

This year, par­tic­i­pants gain exclu­sive access to a curat­ed selec­tion of works from the col­lec­tion not ordi­nar­i­ly avail­able to the pub­lic, pre­sent­ed in a ded­i­cat­ed online space. Work­shops explore the aes­thet­ic, eth­i­cal, polit­i­cal and visu­al dis­cours­es of birth through text, film and per­for­mance. Lec­tures from lead­ing artists and aca­d­e­mics open up the fol­low­ing themes:

-Insti­tu­tion­al bias in mater­nal health­care — race, class, and the pol­i­tics of care

-Prona­tal­ism, bor­der regimes, and repro­duc­tive justice

-The Collection’s impact on fem­i­nist art and the visu­al his­to­ry of birth

-Cen­sor­ship, ethics and the law around art­works on birth

-How the Col­lec­tion can shape prac­tice and pol­i­cy in mid­wifery, med­i­cine and education

Open to mid­wives, artists, aca­d­e­mics, cura­tors, medics, health pro­fes­sion­als, art his­to­ri­ans, pol­i­cy advi­sors — and any­one engaged with child­birth through the lens of art.

Our 2026 Keynote Speak­er is the renowned video artist, CANDICE BREITZ. Oth­er artists invit­ed to speak are: Sarah Sud­hoff, RAYVENN SHALEIGHA D’CLARK, Andrea Kho­ra, Helen Knowles and Leni Dothan, with more announced soon.

Any ques­tions? Read our FAQs for more infor­ma­tion about the BRC Sum­mer School

Five-Week Course (Online):
Dates: Wednes­days, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM BST July 1,8,15, 22, 29 & Sat­ur­day 18, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM BST. All lec­tures, work­shops, and dis­cus­sions will take place online. Cost: 600 GBP per per­son 450 GBP Con­ces­sion Rate.

A 100GBP deposit is required to secure a place for the course. There is one bur­sary place avail­able. For more infor­ma­tion please email helen@birthrites.org.uk or check out our web­site sum­mer school page: https://www.birthritescollection.org.uk/summerschool2026

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