In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez speaks about her four-decade practice that explores cultural memory, migration, feminist histories, and the enduring legacies of colonization. Born in Colombia and trained as an artist from an early age, Nancy describes how political turmoil prompted her migration to New York, where she rebuilt her career while carrying forward objects, materials, and stories that anchor her sense of identity. She reflects on becoming a mother at 41 and how caregiving and artmaking became deeply intertwined - ethically, emotionally, and practically. She discusses her piece “Byzantine Grid,” which was created between breastfeeding sessions, drawing on lace archives, domestic labor, and the generational lineage of women’s handwork.

Throughout the conversation, Nancy discusses feminism as an entry point to human experience, the cultural transmission embedded in mothering, and her daughter’s growing engagement with the histories that shape Nancy’s work. She also shares how she and her partner built “Fiendish Plots,” an artist-run space in Nebraska, grounded in generosity and community. For Nancy, motherhood has never diminished her practice; instead, it has nourished it, expanding her understanding of creativity, care, and the many shades of a feminist life. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.