'Normalizing Abortion': Stories sought for Dover exhibit

DOVER — A city art gallery is looking to turn a difficult and polarizing conversation nationally into an empathetic one locally, as it solicits for abortion stories for an upcoming exhibit.

"Normalizing Abortion: Self-Portraits and Stories" is the title of the show set to open at the Art Center in the Washington Street Mills on Oct. 11. Through Sept. 23, the gallery seeks photographic submissions representing local abortion experiences, to emphasize on the largely circulated statistic that approximately 1 in 4 women in the United States will have an abortion in their lifetime.

The exhibit comes as abortion and reproductive rights continue to spark polarizing debates nationwide. In 2019, nine states have passed early abortion bans, including Alabama, which banned abortions entirely unless a woman's health is at-risk, but the laws are not yet in effect, and many are being litigated in the courts. On Monday, Planned Parenthood announced it will withdraw from Title X funding, the federal rule that provides health care to low-income women in the U.S., because the organization does not want to comply with the Trump administration’s new rules that restrict what services family planning clinics can provide patients.

Proceeds from the Dover exhibit will go to Planned Parenthood. Invitations to the Oct. 18 opening reception have been extended to several presidential candidates.

Phoenix Mayet, curator of the exhibit, said the art show is "decidedly pro-Roe v. Wade," the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman's right to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

"My interest in art is about representation," Mayet said. "I want to provide a place for people to offer representation for themselves in a variety of different forms. I see this as a way to talk about something, to represent something that we as a society have a really difficult time talking about openly."

Both an artist and social activist focusing on topics of gender, trauma and personal identity, Mayet previously worked at a health clinic in Concord that provided abortion services, as well as Planned Parenthood.

"I would like to provide a forum for people to talk about abortion and their experience with abortion in a way that normalizes it," Mayet said, adding she rejects the notion of "pro-life versus pro-choice" because both phrases "ignore the complexity of an individual's decision."

Art Center owner Rebecca Proctor partnered with Mayet a few years ago for a "Faces of Feminism" exhibit, which featured interviews with local people who identified as feminists. For "Normalizing Abortion," they're asking submissions to be innovative — anything from a cellphone selfie to an abstract photograph featuring personal items.

"The idea of self portrait is open to creative interpretation," Mayet said. "We just want people to be able to stand up and allow themselves to be included in that community that has sought this solution, or resolution, to their pregnancy."

Mayet and Proctor hope to feature short narratives with each image, which will be hung on the gallery walls and displayed on a large screen.

Last September, Proctor hosted a play at the Art Center called "Night, Mother," which addressed suicide prevention. When she brings in exhibits or events on social topics, Proctor assures they’re accompanied by educational materials and the presence of groups working on the front lines of the particular issue. Planned Parenthood, Feminist Oasis and Concord's Equality Health Center are all scheduled to attend the opening reception in October.

"This is the time right now, it’s so important," Proctor said. "It’s a very hard topic. These are the types of things I like to take on."

Encouraging participation, Mayet said given the political climate, "I think there are people who are longing to find representation and to find an opportunity to articulate their own person experience in this sweeping topic. It is such an incredible time for people to conduct themselves in conversations about difficult issues. We’ve become so polarized in a way that we can’t talk anymore. My goal is to allow us to talk together, as individuals who believe in reproductive choice."

Participants are not required to show their face or reveal their identity, but are encouraged to do so, Mayet and Proctor said.

Submissions are being accepted both digitally and physically through Sept. 23. Applications can be found at theartcenterdover.com. For information, email theartcenterdover@gmail.com.