Present or absent, revered or denied, mothers and motherhood have long been central to families and communities and a core subject of science as well as art. In light of the current battle about who makes decisions about motherhood, a refocus on our own mothers and their maternal legacies is especially timely.

In the exhibit Our Mothers Ourselves: Legacies That Shape Us, ten photographic based artists explore our maternal legacies, sharing our perspectives through photo-based images, constructed objects and audio narratives. Each series narrates a unique relationship or set of relationships running the gamut from awe of their caring and protection to sadness and even anger at their fallibilities and shortcomings. We hope the exhibit will inspire us to cherish or challenge the legacies of our mothers and honor the profound role they have in our lives. We invite you, the viewer, to reflect on your own maternal legacy and the ways in which someone in a maternal role has influenced you, nudging you and your life in one direction or another. Finally, we invite you to consider the even larger question: what legacy will you pass on?