Babe Station Live #4 - 'Sorry about the mess' edition

An evening of readings and performances by writers and artists who are also mothers Babe Station Live is a roaming series of literary and arts events featuring readings and performances by writers and artists who identify as mothers or have experienced infertility issues or child loss. We are excited that our fourth event will take place at the Birmingham School of Art Gallery, Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BX on 20 October 2026. Taking place within the group exhibition 'Sorry about the mess #2', this event takes theme of MESS, with performances by: Ellen Angus Abimbola Alaka Janine Goldsworthy Meghan Goodeve Kate Hewett Niamh Riordan Charmaine Rose Performances will start promptly at 5.30pm Tickets: £10* *Free for BCU staff and students. Please note that ticket sales are split between performers as a small payment. Access information: Birmingham School of Art Gallery is accessed via the main entrance to Birmingham School of Art. There is a lift from street level up to the gallery level. About Sorry about the mess #2 The second exhibition in a series of Babe Station exhibitions, this iteration brings together thirteen artists to explore mess not just as an aesthetic but a condition; an obstacle; a form of critique; a mode of play; a process of creation; an act of rebellion. Its title invokes the words uttered by countless mothers when welcoming visitors into their homes: an apology designed to smooth the exposed edges of the struggle, intimacy and disorder of domestic life. The apology here is insincere – a mockery of social expectation that gestures towards the long history of art schools’ inhospitable attitudes to artists with caring responsibilities, and the expectation that artistic practice should, or even can, be disentangled from care, domestic labour and the mess of everyday life. Exhibiting artists: Ellen Angus, Sally Butcher, Jemima Brown, Sylwia Ciszewska-Peciak, Dyana Gravina, Helen Grundy, Laura Lulika, Lucy Nelson, Abigail Norris, Assunta Ruocco, Alice Sheppard Fidler, Daphne Wright, n:u (melissandre varin) About Babe Station Babe Station is an artist-led organisation exploring the relationship between making art and the maternal experience. It aims to support and give space to any person who identifies as a mother or has experienced infertility issues or child loss through discussions, workshops, events and exhibitions. In March 2025, Babe Station curated 'Sorry about the mess', a large-scale exhibition on Shaftesbury Avenue, supported by Bow Arts and featuring over 20 artists and writers who are also mothers. Babe Station Live events have been held at Bo Lee Gallery in Bruton, Somerset, SLQS Gallery in London and Newlyn Art Gallery in Cornwall.