BIRTH CULTURES: a journey through European history and traditions around birth and maternity, is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe Program (2014-2020). A contribution to preserve and transmit, through arts and culture, maternity traditional knowledge and practices as part of the European intangible cultural heritage. The project lasts 30 months (November 2019 / April 2022), and is led by Interarts (Spain) in collaboration with Frauenmuseum Hittisau (Austria), Frauenmuseum Merano (Italy), Gender Museum (Ukraine) and in association with IAWM (Italy), ECCOM (Italy) and Birth Café Campaign (Germany).
BIRTH CULTURES starts from the idea that the lack of cognitive tools dedicated to the subject of pregnancy and childbirth, and their absence from historical research and the world of art, determines the inaccessibility of disadvantaged communities to these topics.
The project is also based on the recognition that art represents an effective way to elaborate, explain and promote issues of particular social value but also to involve the public through a participatory approach. By sharing and providing information and topics for discussion, it will foster a deeper understanding of the issues and the emotional intelligence needed to process them.
In this context, BIRTH CULTURES aims to strengthen collaboration between women’s museums in Europe to stimulate intercultural dialogue and raise awareness on women’s health and sexual and reproductive rights.
The network of museums involved in the project also aims to support artistic co-creation around the values and practices related to the culture of birth and maternity and to improve the access of young people and migrants to European cultural and intangible heritage dedicated to the topic.
Through the network of Birth Cafes in Europe, BIRTH CULTURES collects information, knowledge and stories on the practices and traditions related to birth and maternity and carries out research on the subject in the countries participating in the project: Italy, Spain, Germany and Ukraine.
The project is divided into round tables, seminars and meetings dedicated to sharing and disseminating information on the topic; workshops for the co-creation of cultural and artistic products on the themes of birth and motherhood, a call for artists and a traveling exhibition organized by the participating women’s museums.
Finally, BIRTH CULTURES is aimed at secondary schools with the creation of a kit of knowledge and awareness tools on the subject adapted to the context and local values of the participating countries and in their respective languages.
Finally, BIRTH CULTURES creates a toolkit on the subject aimed at secondary schools, adapted to the context and local values of the participating countries and in their respective languages.