Good Mom/Bad Mom

In art, a one-sided image of ’the mother’ as a self-sacrificing and nurturing figure prevails. Does a new visual language contribute to emancipation? We will discuss this with, amongst others, Katy Hessel, art historian, curator, broadcaster, and the bestselling author of The Story of Art without Men.

Mothers have been banished to the private domain for centuries. This is also true in the art world. What are the social consequences of this? As part of the exhibition Good Mom/Bad Mom at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and the publication Mothering Myths: An ABC on Art, Birth and Care, we unravel the clichés, stigmas, and myths surrounding the representation of motherhood. A conversation about parenting, the politics of the womb, and self-determination.

More about Katy Hessel

​Katy Hessel (1994) is an art historian, curator, broadcaster, and author of The Story of Art without Men. Hessel hosts The Great Women Artists Podcast, Death of an Artist: Krasner and Pollock, a series about the legacy of Lee Krasner; and Dior Talks – Feminist Art. In 2024, Hessel launched Museums Without Men, an audio series highlighting works by women and gender non-conforming artists in museum collections worldwide, including The Met, Tate Britain, Hirshhorn, and more.

More about Good Mom/Bad Mom

This program takes place as part of the Good Mom/Bad Mom exhibition, which will be on display from March 29 to September 14, 2025, at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. The starting point for the conversation is the accompanying publication Mothering Myths: An ABC on Art, Birth and Care, compiled by Laurie Cluitmans and Heske ten Cate, designed by Bart de Baets, and published by Valiz, Centraal Museum, and Nest.