Portrait of the Artist’s Mother: Dignity, Creativity and Disability

I am seen by many as a danger. As having failed to understand the new rules, the new paradigm of successful motherhood. A memoir and an examination of the politics of disability. Fiona Place describes the pressure from medical institutions to undergo screening during pregnancy and the traumatic nature and assumptions that a child with Trisomy 21 should not live, even though people with Down syndrome do live rich and productive lives. Fiona’s son, Fraser, has become an artist and his prize-winning paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Sydney and Canberra. How does a mother get from the grieving silence of the birthing room through the horrified comments of other mothers to the applause at gallery openings? This is a story of courage, love and commitment to the idea that all people, including those who are ‘less than perfect’, have a right to be welcomed into this increasingly imperfect world.