Performer and artist Donna Rutherford joins us at Glasgow Women’s Library in January 2017 for an early showing of her project Unsaid Lullaby. Donna tells us about this brand new video and performance project in her own words and includes an invitation to collaborate for those who wish to share their own experiences on the subject of being childfree.
My name is Donna Rutherford and I’m a Glasgow artist developing a new performance and video project called Unsaid Lullaby. Part of the project involves interviews with women in middle age (40-60), who have never had children.
Would you be interested in sharing your own experience and opinions on the subject of being childfree?
Never having had children might not necessarily dominate an individual’s life, but it could significantly impact for many reasons; potentially when considering your own later-life care, or it may involve physical or emotional histories, sexuality, proactively never wanting children or just realising it is too late.
“There’s a widespread attitude that you haven’t really fulfilled your potential unless you’ve had a baby. Women in previous generations fought long and hard for our rights, and one of those rights was to be able to have a choice – that being female wasn’t just about being a mother. It seems like we’ve thrown it all away. Yes, you can work, have a career and be financially independent, but you still have to have children to be ‘complete’.” – Alexi, 41, civil servant.
You can view my previous work at www.donnarutherford.org.
Please contact me if you are interested in contributing or would like to find out more – info@donnarutherford.org.
Contributions may include your recorded voice or speaking to camera but contributors can also choose to remain anonymous. You will be invited to informal rehearsals at the National Theatre of Scotland building in mid-December, to get a better idea of your contribution to the whole show, and at this point you can decide whether or not to give your permission.
Please contact Donna if you would like more information or would like to contribute to her project. Please note that due to the breadth of the project, Unsaid Lullaby will not include stories about infertility or IVF treatment as the artist feels these would merit whole projects of their own.
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