Ceremonies: pregnancy, birthwork, and life

Ceremony according to the dictionary is defined as: a formal act or series of acts prescribed by ritual, protocol, or convention.  This exhibit captures the ways that pregnancy, birthwork, and life: including the acts of parenting, activism, spiritual practices, and existing in our bodies are ceremonies in themselves.  This community exhibit is a collaboration with Birthworkers of Color Collective & Sovern LA to intentionally highlight the work and sacredness of healers, birthworkers, birthing people, and artists. Bringing together various visual and performative mediums, we feature work from 10 local artists: Fei Hernandez, Ever Velasquez, Cindy Bonaparte, Raina Beigler, Jasmine Godinez-Gomez, ThaooAishat Hasati, Udita Upadhyaya, Carneice Colvin, Gabrielle Chen, and Tricia Taper.  Curated by Stevie Merino, a cultural practitioner, birthworker, parent, and currently in a year of her own spiritual ceremony. Reflecting on two tensions in the United states: 1) how birthwork is often seen as a luxury and accessible only for certain people rather than a traditional practice and 2) how birth is approached as a medical emergency rather than a natural process. She envisioned an offering that would continue the work of dismantling the harmful approaches and offering counter-perspectives through art and community. In the Ceremonies: Pregnancy, Birthwork, and Life show, we present alternatives, the traditions, the advocacy, and the ceremonies that these things are and can truly be.