Birth Rites Collection

Birth Rites Collection The Birth Rites Collection is the first and only collection of contemporary artwork dedicated to the A collection of contemporary art on childbirth.

Join us a week on Friday for a conversation about birth, photography and the body.Deborah Elenter — Montevideo-born visu...
17/03/2026

Join us a week on Friday for a conversation about birth, photography and the body.
Deborah Elenter — Montevideo-born visual artist, photographer and doula. Her decade-long project Puérpera documents the lived experience of childbirth across Uruguay. In conversation with Helen Knowles — Curator of the Birth Rites Collection and artist. Chaired by Althea Greenan, Curator of the Women’s Art Library at Goldsmiths.

Friday 27 March, 5–6.30pm. Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths. Free — book via link in bio.

Also: informal book signing at The Photobook Cafe , Mon 30 March, 7-9pm.

HASHTAGS:
📸 Deborah Elenter, artist with Puérpera
📸 Althea Greenan inside the Womens Art Library Goldsmiths.
📸 Helen Knowles giving a tour of Birth Rites Collection in front of Youtube Portraits.

We are honoured to announce a new acquisition for the Birth Rites Collection.📸 Árbol artwork by Deborah Elenter currentl...
10/03/2026

We are honoured to announce a new acquisition for the Birth Rites Collection.

📸 Árbol artwork by Deborah Elenter currently displayed at Hospital de Clinicas Manuel Quintela, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Deborah Elenter () has donated an edition of her photobook Puérpera alongside a framed work to the collection, joining works that explore the complex, powerful and often invisible experience of childbirth.

To mark this acquisition, we’re hosting the UK book launch at the Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths, on 27 March, 5–6.30pm. At the event, the Birth Rites Collection will also be gifting a selection of historical pamphlets, fliers and documentation of our work since 2009 to the Women’s Art Library. Join us for a conversation between the artist and our curator Helen Knowles, chaired by Althea Greenan.

Free — link in bio to book. Can’t make Friday 27th? Join Deborah for an informal book signing at The Photobook Cafe (), Mon 30 March, 7-9pm.

HASHTAGS:

This Monday. A conversation on creative health, collaboration and the role of artistic practice in shaping cultures of c...
06/03/2026

This Monday. A conversation on creative health, collaboration and the role of artistic practice in shaping cultures of care across clinical and civic spaces.

Meet the panel:
Hannah Conway — Internationally award-winning composer, Artistic Director of Sound Voice. Recognition includes an Ivor Novello Academy Award, Classical:NEXT Innovation Award and European FEDORA Digital Prize 2023.

Professor Anna David — Director of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women’s Health at UCL, Consultant in Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine, Deputy Director of the Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research.

Helen Knowles — Artist, curator and director of the Birth Rites Collection.

Sally Butcher — Artist, researcher and (m)other. Currently completing her funded PhD: (In)Fertile Embodiment, across Birmingham School of Art and De Montfort Centre of Reproduction Research, with a placement at Wellcome Collection.

Monday 9 March, 5–6.30pm @ Library of Birmingham, The Gallery, 3rd Floor, B1 2ND. Part of the Ikon Creative Health exhibition. Free.

HASHTAGS:

📸 Hannah Conway
📸 Screenshot from The Only One by Hannah Conway
📸 Sally Butcher
📸 Anna David
📸 Helen Knowles

03/03/2026

Puérpera (Latin: a woman who has just given birth).

64 pages. Published by . Edited by Deborah Elenter and Catalina Bunge. Designed by Jessica Stebniki and Martín Tarallo.

Under Elenter’s lens, the birthing room becomes a political space — like the body itself — and part of the collective struggle of feminism.

See this extraordinary book in person and meet the artist at the UK launch: 27 March, 5–6.30pm, Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths. Books available for signing.

📸 Pages from Puérpera photobook by Deborah Elenter.

Free — book via link in bio. Also join Deborah for an informal book signing at The Photobook Cafe on Mon 30 March, 7-9pm.



Meet Deborah Elenter elenter — the Montevideo-born visual artist, photographer and doula behind Puérpera.Elenter’s deca...
27/02/2026

Meet Deborah Elenter elenter — the Montevideo-born visual artist, photographer and doula behind Puérpera.

Elenter’s decade-long project explores the lived experience of childbirth through intimate, direct photography. Her work makes visible what has long been rendered invisible in contemporary art — the body, the birthing room, and the autonomy of the person giving birth.

We’re honoured that Deborah will be joining us at the Women’s Art Library on 27 March for the UK launch of her photobook, published by .

📸 Deborah Elenter in front of her Puérpera installation at her show in Hiperespacio, Montevideo, Uruguay in 2025.

Free event — link in bio to book. Plus: informal book signing at The Photobook Cafe okcafe, Mon 30 March, 7-9pm.

HASHTAGS:

Events in March. **The Only One — Screening & Discussion Monday 9 March, 5–6.30pm Library of Birmingham, The Gallery, 3...
24/02/2026

Events in March. **The Only One — Screening & Discussion
Monday 9 March, 5–6.30pm Library of Birmingham, The Gallery, 3rd Floor, B1 2ND. Part of the Ikon Creative Health exhibition.

Join us for a public screening marking the launch of The Only One, a newly commissioned video and sound work by composer Hannah Conway, now acquired by the Birth Rites Collection. Created in close collaboration with women undergoing cervical scans, writer Hazel Gould and Professor Anna David, the work draws on 16 hours of research and interviews at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College Hospital London. Co-commissioned by Tommy’s Preterm Birth Research, Imperial College London and the Birth Rites Collection, the work also forms part of a training resource for midwives. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Hannah Conway, Professor Anna David, Helen Knowles and artist Sally Butcher. Free. Arrivals from 5pm.

**Puérpera UK Book Launch | Friday 27 March, 5–6.30pm - Women’s Art Library, Special Collections, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, SE14 6NW.

We are also delighted to invite you to the UK launch of Puérpera, a striking photobook by Uruguayan visual artist, Deborah Elenter. Since 2015, Elenter has been documenting the experiences of people giving birth — work that confronts the historical invisibility of childbirth in contemporary art, reclaiming it as a vital, political and collective experience.

Published by the Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo (2025), Puérpera has been launched at La Fábrica Bookstore, Madrid and at Kosice University, Slovakia. We are honoured to host the UK edition. As part of this launch, Deborah has generously donated an edition of Puérpera alongside a framed work to the Birth Rites Collection.
A conversation between Deborah Elenter and Helen Knowles, chaired by Althea Greenan, Curator of the Women’s Art Library.

Books will be available for signing. Free — BOOK YOUR PLACE via Linktree - Can’t make Friday 27th? Deborah will also be at The Photobook Cafe on Monday 30 March, 7-9pm for an informal book signing. Free.

📸 still from The Only One by Hannah Conway
📸Puerpera photobook by Deborah Elenter

Join us for a public screening and discussion marking the launch of 'The Only One', a newly commissioned video and sound...
20/02/2026

Join us for a public screening and discussion marking the launch of 'The Only One', a newly commissioned video and sound work by composer Hannah Conway, now acquired by Birth Rites Collection.

Created in close collaboration with women undergoing cervical scans, writer Hazel Gould and Professor Anna David, the work draws on 16 hours of research and interviews with patients and staff in preterm birth clinics at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College Hospital London. The aria is sung by a fictional patient. It explores experiences of internal vaginal ultrasound scans for the purpose of cervical measurement and assessment of preterm birth risk.
The work was co-commissioned by Tommy’s Preterm Birth Research project, Imperial College London and Birth Rites Collection. It also forms part of a training resource for midwives, embedding artistic practice into healthcare education.
Monday 9 March, 5–6.30pm @ Library of Birmingham, The Gallery, 3rd Floor, B1 2ND. Part of the Ikon Creative Health exhibition. Free.
Arrivals from 5pm. Screening 5.20pm. Panel discussion 5.40–6.30pm.
Panel: Hannah Conway, Professor Anna David, Helen Knowles (Birth Rites Curator) and artist Sally Butcher.
HASHTAGS:
STORY: Share post to story with countdown sticker for 9 March. Location sticker for Library of Birmingham.

We are thrilled to announce the UK launch of Puérpera, a powerful photobook by Uruguayan artist Deborah Elenter ().Join ...
18/02/2026

We are thrilled to announce the UK launch of Puérpera, a powerful photobook by Uruguayan artist Deborah Elenter ().

Join us for an evening of conversation and book signing at the Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths, on Friday 27 March, 5–6.30pm.

Chaired by Althea Greenan, Curator of the Women’s Art Library, the event will feature a conversation between Deborah Elenter and Helen Knowles, Curator of the Birth Rites Collection.

We were first introduced to Deborah’s work when she attended one of our summer schools a few years ago. Since 2015, she has been documenting and reflecting on the lived experiences of people giving birth — work that challenges the historical invisibility of childbirth in contemporary art.

📸 Pages from Puérpera photobook by Deborah Elenter
Free event — booking essential. Link in bio.

Deborah will also be signing books at The Photobook Cafe () on Monday 30 March, 7–9pm — an informal evening to meet the artist and pick up a copy. Free — book via Eventbrite (follow the link in Linktree).

HASHTAGS:

We are proud to announce the acquisition of three works from The Hidden Mothers series by Clare Hughes‼️📷 When photogra...
13/01/2026

We are proud to announce the acquisition of three works from The Hidden Mothers series by Clare Hughes‼️

📷 When photographer Clare Hughes recovered from her first pregnancy, she was also coming to terms with her first experience of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), a severe pregnancy illness affecting women of all ages and backgrounds. Its symptoms include constant nausea, vomiting, and dehydration, leaving the mother distraught after months of physical and emotional turmoil. Despite an estimated 30,000 women suffering from HG every year in the UK, the condition has gone virtually unrecognised by the medical establishment. HG, and the lack of clinical care provision, has resulted in terminations, prohibited choice, and has been associated with depression leading to su***de. The Hidden Mothers is a participatory project with HG sufferers.

Based on archival research, it uses the Victorian ‘hidden mother’ visual metaphor for how its participants have felt during their pregnancies. During the late 19th century, studio photography portraits of infants were booming. However, the photographic process required the subject to sit still for several minutes. To get around this, the infant’s mother was concealed in fabric, disguised as furniture while holding the baby steady. The resulting images have come to be known as ‘hidden mother’ photography. The photographed creative act helps distance the participant from their experience, providing a powerful cathartic perspective, while contributing to the message: we won’t be hidden anymore.

➡️ Clare says:

“The Hidden Mothers is part of my participatory practice. I do archival research to find parallels with contemporary issues to create a vehicle for change working with charitable, educational and institutional partners to champion women’s health awareness.”

📷
Clare Hughes
The Hidden Mothers, 2023
C Type photographic print, edition of 5
A2 size, 42 × 59.4 cm

Courtesy of the Artist and Birth Rites Collection

In a Yuletide of bleak political struggle, keep witchin & bitchin, and don’t forget to download Gossip for your nativity...
25/12/2025

In a Yuletide of bleak political struggle, keep witchin & bitchin, and don’t forget to download Gossip for your nativity fix.

Merry Christmas from Birth Rites Collection! 🎄

💭 “Hannah’s film is a sumptuous and potent yet moving vignette of a moment in the history of women and birth.”💭 “This fi...
23/12/2025

💭 “Hannah’s film is a sumptuous and potent yet moving vignette of a moment in the history of women and birth.”

💭 “This film is incredibly moving and gives a visceral recount of the sorts of things that happened.”

💭 “It’s a breathtaking work, exploring the persecution of women in a close community.”

➡️ Following its UK tour and BAFTA nomination, Gossip continues to inspire conversation about women’s histories, care, and resistance.

Fully available online, the film extends beyond the screen and sparking reflection on how the politics of birth and embodiment continue to shape our present.

💬 Have you watched Gossip yet? We would love to hear your thoughts! Share them below or tag us in your reflections!

🎞️ Watch the film via our link in bio or on the BRC website.

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Univeristy Of Kent Giles Lane
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