Making Mothers Visible

Mothers around the world deserve the attention, acknowledgement, and resources of their communities. Too often, mothers’ contributions--and even their lives--are taken for granted. In fact, every 90 seconds somewhere in the world a mother dies from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. The majority of these deaths are preventable. It is time we make mothers visible.

Making Mothers Visible calls attention to the vital role that mothers play in communities around the world, and the importance of their health, empowerment and leadership. Making Mothers Visible is a collaboration between IMOW and global volunteers who are photographing mothers and midwives in their communities and installing large-scale portraits from this project in prominent public spaces. Beginning in May 2012, portraits were displayed in cities around the world to highlight the value of mothers and the importance of midwifery care. Images and videos of the group actions will be presented here as part of the MAMA: Motherhood Around the Globe exhibition.

We are excited that Making Mothers Visible has launched in San Francisco, Lagos, Barcelona, Ottawa-Gatineau, Cameroon, Kiev, Baku, Buenos Aires, Latvia, Bonn, and Puerto Vallarta.

Making Mothers Visible is spearheaded by IMOW in association with the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood. Making Mothers Visible is also part of the INSIDE OUT Project, a global art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. It is a movement taking place all over the world using photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share untold stories.

Watch our "Making Mothers Visible" video, produced and edited by Margaret Silverman, below!

Media resources can be found in the Media Room>>