upcoming!
upcoming!
EXHIBITIONS
EXHIBITIONS
All of our exhibitions explore the relationship between making art and the maternal experience, which includes experiences of child loss and infertility.
Our current research looks at mess within this context where it becomes not just an aesthetic but a condition; an obstacle; a form of critique; a mode of play; a process of creation; an act of revolution.
In March 2025, we staged Sorry about the mess, an exhibition of artists and writers who are also mothers, in Meta’s former headquarters at 125 Shaftesbury Avenue. The exhibition was supported by Bow Arts and accompanied by a public programme of events and workshops. Find out more on our Archive page.
Sorry about the mess #2
An exhibition of artists who are also mothers
Birmingham School of Art Gallery
1st to 23rd October 2026
Opening party: Tuesday 6 October from 5-7pm, with a live performance by Dyana Gravina commencing at 5pm
Exhibiting artists: Ellen Angus, Sally Butcher, Jemima Brown, Sylwia Ciszewska-Peciak, Dyana Gravina, Helen Grundy, Laura Lulika, Lucy Nelson, Abigail Norris, Assunta Ruocco, Alice Sheppard Fidler, Daphne Wright, n:u
Birmingham School of Art is pleased to present Sorry about the mess #2, a group exhibition curated by Babe Station. The second exhibition in a series of Babe Station shows, this iteration brings together thirteen artists to explore mess not just as an aesthetic but a condition; an obstacle; a form of critique; a mode of play; a process of creation; an act of rebellion. Its title invokes the words uttered by countless mothers when welcoming visitors into their homes: an apology designed to smooth the exposed edges of the struggle, intimacy and disorder of domestic life. The apology here is insincere – a mockery of social expectation that gestures towards the long history of art schools’ inhospitable attitudes to artists with caring responsibilities, and the expectation that artistic practice should, or even can, be disentangled from care, domestic labour and the mess of everyday life.
Spanning sculpture, installation, video, painting and photography, the works sprawl across walls and floors and dangle from the ceiling. Bringing together invited artists alongside Midlands-based artists selected through an open call, this second iteration takes a darker, more unsettling turn, unravelling ideas around grief, illness, pain and alienation. At its centre is the body, stuttering, leaking, mutating, expanding.
Click here to view the press pack.
BABE STATION LIVE
BABE STATION LIVE
Babe Station Live in a roaming series of literary and art events featuring readings and performances by writers and artists who self-identify as mothers or have experienced child loss, pregnancy loss or infertility issues.
Acknowledging the difficulty of making work around parenting, we are particularly interested in work that is evolving, fragmented and incomplete, in first drafts and developing ideas, in pieces that expand genre and form, that embrace uncertainty and experimentation. This might include but is not limited to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, conversations, sound elements and performance.
Performers are selected through an open call and receive a share of ticket sales.
Babe Station Live #4
Birmingham School of Art Gallery
20th October 2026, 5-7pm
Performances will start promptly at 6pm
Coinciding with Babe Station’s exhibition Sorry about the mess #2, this event takes the theme of mess. Think literal and metaphorical dirt, leaks, spills, tantrums, meltdowns, fisticuffs – we want it all.
We’re looking looking for text and/or sound-based works by writers, artists and performers who identify as mothers, have experienced fertility issues, pregnancy or child loss. The work itself does not have to be about the maternal experience.
We are particularly interested in work that is evolving, fragmented and incomplete, in first drafts and developing ideas, in pieces that expand genre and form, that embrace uncertainty, experimentation and subversion. This might include but is not limited to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, life writing, conversations, movement and sound elements. While we will welcome performance work, please note that space is limited as you will be performing amid artworks in the exhibition. You are welcome to apply as an individual, duo or small collective.
Selected performers must be able to attend and perform at the event in person. Each performer will be given a slot of approximately 10 minutes and will be offered a share of ticket sales as a small payment.
Submissions close at midnight on 18.09.26.
Please send submissions + a short bio directly to hello@babestation.org.uk
Artist Development programme
Artist Development programme
OPEN CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
Applications are now closed.
Programme dates: 3nd November - 20th November
We are looking for six artists who are parents or caregivers to join an international online Artist Development Programme (ADP) — a three-week opportunity designed to inspire, affirm and professionally support artist parents and caregivers across Scotland, England and Germany (two participants from each country). We embrace an expansive understanding of these identities, including those who have experienced pregnancy or child loss, infertility or who form family in atypical ways e.g. through kinship care, chosen family etc. We also include those who are caring for family or friends of any age.
Through mentorship, creative exchange, critical feedback and peer connection, participants will develop their practice within a supportive international cohort. The programme culminates in an online public showcase, followed by a publication and reunion session. All participants will receive an honorarium of £330 to support their participation.
We welcome applications from artists at any stage of their practice, working across visual art, performance, socially engaged practice, and interdisciplinary work. We are particularly interested in applicants whose practice engages with themes of care, caregiving, identity, labour, or family — though this is not a requirement.
The opportunity is open to people at any stage of their creative journey. We do not expect you to have a fully realised practice or an established arts career. We are interested in what this development programme will bring to you as a creative practitioner.
Full details of the open call are available via this Google doc.
What participants can expect
A three-week online programme in November 2026, combining 1 x live group session per week with independent creative tasks
1:1 mentorship and critical feedback from Rebecca Livesey-Wright, founder of Kinfolk Families (Scotland), Magdalena Kallenberger, artist, researcher and co-founder of MATERNAL FANTASIES (Germany) and Millie Walton, founder of Babe Station (England)
Connection with a peer cohort of five other artist parents and caregivers across three countries
An opportunity to test and develop new work within a supportive international context
Participation in an online public showcase in November 2026
Inclusion in a publication documenting the programme's themes and learning
An online reunion session in February 2027
An honorarium of £330 to support participation in the programme
HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your application via this Google form.
We are a small, part time team of freelancers so we prefer applications in this format to minimise administration, but if this is not accessible for you, please email your answers to hello@kinfolkfamilies.info as a Google doc, with “application to ADP” in the subject line.
The Artist Development Programme is delivered by Rebecca Livesey-Wright (Kinfolk Families) in partnership with Millie Walton (Babe Station) and Magdalena Kallenberger (MATERNAL FANTASIES) and is funded by the Four Nations International Fund through Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland and Wales Arts International.
WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOPS
We are excited to launch a new programme of online creative workshops exploring a range of themes around motherhood and art-making. Led by writers, artists, designers, musicians, psychotherapists, philosophers and historians, these workshops invite dialogue, reflection and experimentation through hands-on exercises and curated reading lists. Groups are intentionally small, creating a focused space for learning, play and shared conversation.
Babe Station has also designed and facilitated interdisciplinary workshops at a wide range of venues, including a series of free writing workshops for new mothers at Phlox Books in Leyton, London.
Sex in Motherhood
What happens to desire when there’s a baby in the bedroom?
An explorative workshop led by writer and founder of Babe Station Millie Walton and existential psychotherapist Anna Walton.
Online workshop (Zoom)
19 August 2026
Further details to be announced.