Martha Joy Rose is the founder of the Museum of Motherhood (MOM). She has organized and published multiple bodies of work in magazines, across blogs, and in academic texts. As an artist and musician, she helped to pioneer the body of work that now comprises mother studies. She began in 1997 performing with her band Housewives On Prozac. She then went on to establish the International Mamapalooza Festival. She founded the Museum of Motherhood in 2003, created the Motherhood Foundation 501c3 non-profit in 2005, and opened MOM in Manhattan (2011-2014). In 2015, she earned (the first ever) Masters in Mother Studies from CUNY, The Graduate Center. She taught in the Sociology department of Manhattan College (2015-2019). In 2017, she opened the MOM Art Annex in the Artist Enclave of Historic Kenwood, St. Pete, Florida. She continues to teach and promote exhibits on the subject of the science, history, and art of mothers. Recent exhibitions include the St. Pete Artist Tour (2017 & 18), M.A.M.A. in collaboration with Procreate Project and The Mom Egg; a monthly digital expression (2016-ongoing), and the “Ima Iyla’a: Art of Motherhood” as part of the 2015 Jerusalem Biennale exhibit. She is also the founder of the Journal of Mother Studies (JourMS).
Book Review: Mother is a Verb by Sara Knott