Excited to announce that the Margate Arts Club Life Drawing gang is going on tour!
We will be popping up at The Romantic gallery on Sweyn Road (2 minutes from the Arts Club) for a one-off session to celebrate our member Clare Evan's new exhibition of portraits of fellow stepmothers and other alternative maternal setups. Our model for the evening will be local legend Lizzie Burrowes (she/they), mum, stepmum, massage therapist, drag king, and pole performer!
Due to the smaller venue, there are a limited number of tickets available, so we can only take advance bookings - please book to ensure your space on this special one-off session!
Please note: this is at The Romantic, not Margate Arts Club, and drawing will start at 6pm!
In Clare's words:
This exhibition marks the beginning of an exploration of stepmotherhood: an experience shared by many women yet rarely represented in contemporary culture, and even more rarely celebrated. The language surrounding the role feels inadequate. The word ‘stepmother’ carries centuries of cultural baggage, while terms such as ‘bonus mum’ often fail to capture the complexity of lived experience. So who are we, and how might we choose to represent ourselves?
Using portraiture as a starting point, I invited stepmothers to participate in a series of conversations and paintings. The women represented in this exhibition responded to an open call on Instagram and generously shared their experiences throughout the process. Bringing together perspectives from heterosexual and queer families, the project explores the varied realities of care, partnership and belonging within contemporary family life.