The Art Angle Podcast: Why the Art World Is Such a Hard Place to Be a Parent

Art critic Hettie Judah's new book "How Not to Exclude Artist Mothers (and Other Parents)" is out now.

Amy Sherald, Mother and Child (2016). Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth, ©Amy Sherald.

Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art world meets the real world, bringing each week’s biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more, with input from our own writers and editors, as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.

 

A brand-new publication, penned by the London-based critic and Artnet News contributor Hettie Judah, is trying to tear down a dusty old myth that hangs around in the art world: that artists can’t be parents and be successful.

With her new book published last week, called How Not to Exclude Artist Mothers (and other parents), Judah tries to build a picture about the ways in which mothers, fathers, and other guardians have historically been excluded from the various realms of the art world. To this end, she’s interviewed scores of international artists to build a full and complex picture of this significant issue that remains a problem in nearly every sector of the industry.

How Not to Exclude Artist Mothers (and Other Parents) traces the history of the domestic and artistic pursuits, the pain points and the success stories that may offer workable ways forward. To crack open this important book and the issue, Judah spoke with our Europe editor Kate Brown.