Monuments to Motherhood

Just before the unveiling of her 15-foot Monuments to Motherhood sculpture near Grand Army Plaza, Molly takes a walk through Prospect Park with Morgan Monaco, President of the Prospect Park Alliance. Together, they reflect on how public parks—and the people who care for them—nurture and sustain the communities they serve.Fast forward to Mother’s Day: Molly celebrates the sculpture’s unveiling with friends, family, and community members during a day of activities. A few days later, she returns to the site with her 9-year-old daughter Anra, where they encounter an unexpected guest and share a surprising moment of connection.Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

In the first of two bonus episodes, Molly travels to Memphis to unveil the first sculptures of the Monuments to Motherhood series at the newly renamed Medical District Park, formerly the site of a Confederate monument honoring American slave trader Nathan Bedford Forrest. The installation of Molly's sculptures signifies a significant shift in the park's history, transforming it into a space that celebrates the city's caregivers.Molly engages in conversation with local leaders, including Attorney Van D. Turner, Jr., and Kirkwood Vangeli, the Program Coordinator at Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC). They discuss the city's history, as well as their personal stories related to caregiving.Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

On a stroll through Central Park, Molly Gochman and her friend and fellow artist Eve Biddle observe and discuss the (primarily male) monuments on the Literary Walk and consider what a better kind of monument might be. Molly also shares her personal experiences as a caregiver and discusses the journey that inspired her to create this series.Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

Our inherited monumental landscape in the United States is bleak. Molly speaks to two people changing that: Paul Farber, the executive director of the Philly-based Monument Lab, which is helping birth a new generation of monuments across the country, and Michelle Browder, an artist and activist whose work includes a sculpture honoring the sacrifice of the enslaved women experimented upon by the so-called “Father of Gynecology,” J. Marion Sims.Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

What do we expect caregiving to look like, and what does it actually look like? Molly talks to singer-songwriter, journalist, activist, and Executive Director of Black Trans Women Inc. Diamond ‘Stylz’ Collier, and NBC and MSNBC anchor, journalist, caregiver, and documentarian Richard Lui to find out. Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

Molly and her guests discuss how care work is valued differently depending on the race, class, and gender of who’s putting in the work. Author and Philosophy Professor Dr. Alexandra Bradner elucidates an “ethics of care,” a topic she teaches at Kenyon College. Doctor Aisha Nyandoro, founder of Magnolia Mother’s Trust, talks about guaranteed income and concepts of “deservedness.” Finally, Molly workshops her bronze Monuments to Motherhood sculptures. Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

Artist and activist Michelle Browder gives Molly’s friend Lawanna Kimbro a tour of the monument Browder created, Mothers of Gynecology, and the surrounding historic communities in Montgomery, Alabama. Molly explores the importance and implications of siting and place in relation to monuments through conversations with Michelle, artist Eve Biddle, and Monument Lab’s Paul Farber.Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.

In this final episode, Molly's conversation with transgender rights activist and co-founder of House of Tulip, Mariah Moore, introduces the concept of a possibility model. As they delve deeper into the expansive notion of motherhood and explore what it means to be a biological mother, Molly shares her learnings and musings from the past five episodes, reflecting on how our past, present, and future shape caregiving, and the importance of challenging traditional notions of motherhood and the making of monuments.Learn more about Molly Gochman at mollygochman.com or follow her on Instagram @mollygochman.