Birth Cultures (2020-2022)

The exhibition “birth culture. from giving birth and being born” was opened at the Frauenmuseum Hittisau (Astria) in July 2020 and will travel to Barcelona, Ukraine, and Italy. 

Birth concerns us all. Like death, it affects every human being without exception. The conditions that accompany pregnancy and birth shape our lives. Birth culture is the way in which the start of life is shaped by a society and the conditions it creates for this. Birth culture sheds light on how a society deals with the start of life and the conditions in which birth is embedded. Medical, health policy, anthropological, philosophical and cultural-historical aspects play an essential role in this context. 

The exhibition focuses on these aspects and spans the spectrum from the history of childbirth to worldwide birth rituals and current debates on reproduction technologies. Contemporary witnesses describe their personal experiences as mothers and fathers. This individual approach is deepened and expanded by contemporary positions from the world of art.

The exhibition is part of the project BIRTH CULTURES, which is co-funded by the European Union. The project is implemented by Interarts (coordinator, Spain) in cooperation with Frauenmuseum Hittisau (Austria), Frauenmuseum Merano (Italy), Gender Museum (Kharkiv) and in association with the International Association of Women’s Museums (IAWM) (Italy), the European Centre for Cultural Organization and Management (ECCOM) (Italy) and Birth Café Campaign (Germany), as associated partners. The project will run from November 2019 to April 2022.

Learn more here.

Latest News

Collections 2030 and Beyond – ICCROM Online Conference

Join us online for the conference Collections 2030 and Beyond, organized by ICCROM, from 22–26 September 2025. On 22 September, Gaby Franger, Chair of IAWM, and Tijana Jakovljević Šević, Executive Coordinator of IAWM, will give a short presentation during the “People”...

read more

Webinar for General Assembly

Webinar for General Assembly In preparation for our General Assembly in August 2025, we warmly invite you to a 90-minute online seminar to present and discuss amendments to the IAWM Statutes. Given the limited time and the extensive agenda of the upcoming General...

read more

2025 IAWM Pre-Conference Workshop

Cartographies of interruption and influence: Feminist educational and institutional strategies in museums in response to gender-based violence When: August 24-27 Despite decades of activism, the United Nations (UN) notes that gender-based violence remains staggeringly...

read more

IAWM Conference- Call for Posters

CFP- The Diversity of Women's and Gender Museums Worldwide Proposed exhibition at the Women's Museum Meran Opening: August 2025 Call for posters: The Women's Museum Meran is offering the opportunity to members of the IAWM to contribute to a poster exhibition on the...

read more
Share This