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Black Birth Joy Reception

You are warmly invited to a special reception for Black Birth Joy, a collection of photographs by Tiana Lashae. This exhibit highlights the poignant stories of five mothers' birth experiences in metro Detroit and documents birth not simply as an event or a statistic, but as a deeply personal story of connection, courage, tenderness, and joy. The exhibit empowers women to prioritize and advocate for their birth experiences while also encouraging perinatal health professionals and birthworkers to center the humanity, dignity, and individual experiences of patients and families. 

The evening will feature a short panel discussion with the photographer and some of the photographed mothers. This discussion will offer attendees the opportunity to hear firsthand about their experiences and the significance of this project. Guests are encouraged to walk the gallery space and view the portraits, which powerfully capture the resilience, grief, and joy of birth. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served. 

More about the exhibit

Black Birth Joy by Tiana Lashae documents birth as a deeply personal story of connection, courage, tenderness, and joy. The photographs and stories in the exhibit challenge mainstream narratives that reduce Black birth to statistics and only amplify Black pregnant women's anxiety and hesitancy about navigating the maternal health care system. Instead, the exhibit offers evidence of joy, reminders of possibility, and a visual legacy for generations to come.  

Black Birth Joy was born from Lashae's belief that more positive birth stories of BIPOC families need to be seen and heard, and her photographs invite viewers to witness the people behind them: the mothers, babies, partners, families, and birthworkers. They create space for BIPOC families to see themselves represented with dignity and to witness the full range of birth experiences. Lashae's photographs also create a tangible record that can support conversations around quality of medical care, respectful treatment, and patient rights. The exhibit empowers women to prioritize and advocate for their birth experiences while also encouraging perinatal health professionals and birthworkers to center the humanity, dignity, and individual experiences of patients and families. 

The exhibit comprises over 30 photographs as well as stories of mothers whose births were documented by Lashae, a doula and birth/newborn photographer whose work has been published in Everyday Birth Magazine, an international publication. The physical exhibit is accompanied by a virtual component that encourages audiences to engage with each mother's birth story.

The Lane Hall Exhibit Space is sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) at the University of Michigan. 

Black Birth Joy runs Thursday, October 1, 2026 –through Friday, January 15, 2027. Located in Lane Hall Exhibit Space, 204 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI. Open M–F, 9AM–5PM. 

Please email any questions to LaneHallExhibits@umich.edu or irwg.umich.edu/lanehall for more information.



Black Birth Joy Opening Reception

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Lane Hall (2239, Second Floor)

You are warmly invited to a special reception for Black Birth Joy, a collection of photographs by Tiana Lashae. This exhibit highlights the poignant stories of five mothers' birth experiences in metro Detroit and documents birth not simply as an event or a statistic, but as a deeply personal story of connection, courage, tenderness, and joy. The exhibit empowers women to prioritize and advocate for their birth experiences while also encouraging perinatal health professionals and birthworkers to center the humanity, dignity, and individual experiences of patients and families. 

The evening will feature a short panel discussion with the photographer and some of the photographed mothers. This discussion will offer attendees the opportunity to hear firsthand about their experiences and the significance of this project. Guests are encouraged to walk the gallery space and view the portraits, which powerfully capture the resilience, grief, and joy of birth. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served. 

More about the exhibit

Black Birth Joy by Tiana Lashae documents birth as a deeply personal story of connection, courage, tenderness, and joy. The photographs and stories in the exhibit challenge mainstream narratives that reduce Black birth to statistics and only amplify Black pregnant women's anxiety and hesitancy about navigating the maternal health care system. Instead, the exhibit offers evidence of joy, reminders of possibility, and a visual legacy for generations to come.  

Black Birth Joy was born from Lashae's belief that more positive birth stories of BIPOC families need to be seen and heard, and her photographs invite viewers to witness the people behind them: the mothers, babies, partners, families, and birthworkers. They create space for BIPOC families to see themselves represented with dignity and to witness the full range of birth experiences. Lashae's photographs also create a tangible record that can support conversations around quality of medical care, respectful treatment, and patient rights. The exhibit empowers women to prioritize and advocate for their birth experiences while also encouraging perinatal health professionals and birthworkers to center the humanity, dignity, and individual experiences of patients and families. 

The exhibit comprises over 30 photographs as well as stories of mothers whose births were documented by Lashae, a doula and birth/newborn photographer whose work has been published in Everyday Birth Magazine, an international publication. The physical exhibit is accompanied by a virtual component that encourages audiences to engage with each mother's birth story.

The Lane Hall Exhibit Space is sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) at the University of Michigan. 

Black Birth Joy runs Thursday, October 1, 2026 –through Friday, January 15, 2027. Located in Lane Hall Exhibit Space, 204 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI. Open M–F, 9AM–5PM. 

Please email any questions to LaneHallExhibits@umich.edu or irwg.umich.edu/lanehall for more information.


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