In this talk, Amber Winick '03 will discuss her groundbreaking collaborative project, Designing Motherhood, which explores the arc of human reproduction through the lens of art and design, as well as her recent research into the design of radical twentieth century childcare models and how she is now sharing her research directly with families and communities. What do objects like the pregnancy test, the IUD, maternity wear, and the baby monitor have in common, and why do designs that matter so often go unremarked? Where do children play, and what do their playthings say about our larger social and cultural values? How are birthing bodies cared for and who supports these efforts? These are a few of the questions that propel design historian and early years specialist Amber Winick forward.
Amber Winick is co-author of the book Designing Motherhood: Things that Make and Break Our Births and co-curator of the accompanying exhibition, which just opened at Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Discovery Center in Seattle. Amber recently returned from a Fulbright supported research grant which took her to Budapest, Hungary and Helsinki, Finland. There, she explored radical childcare models, and considered how designed environments impact our perceptions of children and our experiences of care at every level. Amber holds a degree in design history from the Bard Graduate Center, and as an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence College, she studied, among other things, child development, sculpture, dance and cultural anthropology.
This event will be held on Sarah Lawrence's campus and is open for the entire community to attend.