Study of the Artist-Parents
Context
We wanted to examine the situation and experiences of people working in the arts who have become parents. How does the decision to have children affect the professional lives of artists? We identified the difficulties faced by parents working in the arts and compiled a list of practices which either facilitate their professional activity or act as obstacles. We were keen to see how event organisers and project coordinators view parents working in creative professions. We also wanted to find out to what extent they are willing to develop more flexible forms of collaboration for parents.
Research components
The research consisted of two parts. The first one was quantitative in nature and drew on data collected from a questionnaire filled out by artists who are parents of children aged 0 to 6.
The second part was qualitative research. We conducted in-depth interviews with creative professionals who were trying to balance childcare with their artistic work. We also plan to invite several representatives from institutions, government bodies and festivals to take part in individual interviews, in order to find out how the issue of combining the roles of parent and artist operates within these contexts.
The research team consisted of: Anna Galas-Kosil, Magdalena Szpak, Aleksandra Zalewska-Królak
A two-day socio-cultural festival entitled ‘Mamy Wolne’ – a celebration of mothers who are artists – took place in Kraków between 24 and 25 May 2025. As part of the symposium ‘Maternal Paradigms in Art’, WOK’s deputy director Łucja Krzyżanowska, PhD, and Aleksandra Wiechowska, WOK’s project coordinator and both a mother and creative professional, talked about the report ‘Na wyspach Bergamutach podobno… A tale of the myths and realities of parenthood among female and male artists’.
On 18 September 2025, as part of the third edition of the HER DOCS Forum, organised alongside the HER Docs Film Festival, a panel discussion took place entitled ‘Motherhood in Artistic Practice’, during which Aleksandra Wiechowska spoke about the WOK study and report.
On 18 October 2025 Aleksandra Wiechowska presented the findings of our research at the launch of the publication ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is the Hand That Holds the Brush’. The publication contains excerpts from thematic research, examples of good practices in collaboration between various institutions and communities with parent-artists, and an overview of individual and collective initiatives currently underway in Polish art, focusing on issues of care and motherhood.
