If Not For A Child is a performance and installation that questions the expectation of motherhood as a primary source of value for women in Nigeria, using the Igbo tradition of Ọmụgwọ as a point of departure. Ọmụgwọ centres around the care of new mothers; typically a woman’s mother will stay with her for three months or more to offer support and care for the baby. Upon return to her village, the new grandmother sings as she is welcomed home by her townswomen. She offers gifts of salt, soap, fabric and other items to thank them and attest to her wealth, privilege and accomplishments. Schommers performs this tradition in the form of a song and dance with a group of artists, but in this case the song Ma obuhu ma Nwa, onye ga enye m? (which translates as “If not for a child, who will give me?”) becomes a question for society: If not for a child, am I of any value here?
