21c Museum Hotel Kansas City and Monuments to Movements are proud to host Unplanned Parenthood | A Sewing Circle on October 20th with Chicago-based artist, Michelle Hartney. As part of her collaborative mixed media project and exhibition, Unplanned Parenthood: Letters to an Army of Millions, Hartney will lead the sewing circle and join in a conversation surrounding the impact of the overturn of Roe vs. Wade. A representative from the ACLU-MO will join to discuss their work around abortion rights on a state and national level, and what the future looks like in our fight for reproductive freedom.

As a community, we will gather to sew select letters from Motherhood in Bondage, a collection of letters received by Margaret Sanger in 1928 from mothers asking for help to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Sanger was a supporter of eugenics, had ties with white supremacists, and supported Buck v Bell, the Supreme Court’s 1927 decision which allowed states to sterilize people they considered “unfit” without their knowledge or consent. This part of her past is often left out of conversations about the work she did for reproductive rights. “I want to reckon with Sanger’s racism, which is why I’m centering these stories, instead of her work. Their testimonies remind us of how urgent it is to stay organized and focused in this fight, and to work toward a more intersectional future. Through this work I will seek to shine light on Sanger’s racist legacy and call out the ways white supremacy persists in the movement for, and attacks on, contraception access and reproductive rights in America” Hartney explains. Sewing circles have traditionally served as a time for women to gather and talk, sometimes working on projects, such as this one, focused on creating a more just society. On October 20th, we welcome all genders and community members to join us for sewing and dialog about reproductive rights.

The artist will supply kits during the sewing circle and the first ten participants will receive a fine art print. All events are a safe space for community dialog around reproductive rights.

About Michelle Hartney

Michelle Hartney is a Chicago based interdisciplinary artist who works with fiber, installation, sculpture, performance, and the internet. Her practice focuses on women’s rights, maternal healthcare issues, and misogyny in art institutions. Hartney’s interest in using art to address social issues began during her graduate studies in art therapy at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was an Albert Schweitzer Fellow.

In 2016 Hartney founded the Women’s Health Collective, an art collective dedicated to utilizing creative approaches to raise awareness about women’s health issues by linking artists, writers, musicians, and activists to work collaboratively on socially engaged projects.

About Monuments to Movements

An organization beginning in the midst of multiple pandemics in the fall of 2020, M2M works to more greatly reflect our collective achievements and challenge the tradition of individual hero worship in monuments and public art. Using intersectional feminist practices and processes, M2M evolves an equitable and participatory society to honor and investigate our past, present and future. Learn more about their projects HERE.