Rosa Park on the Intersect of Creativity & Motherhood
Rosa Park, the pioneering founder of Francis Gallery and Cereal, is a visionary figure whose creative journey spans continents and disciplines. Currently splitting her time between Los Angeles, CA, and Bath, UK, Rosa's career has been marked by intuitive decisions and unwavering dedication. In this interview, she reflects on the transformative impact of motherhood on her work, her evolving creative practice, and her sources of joy and inspiration.
SP. Please introduce yourself, who you are, what you do - and tell us about the path that led you to where you are today.
RP. My name is Rosa, and I currently reside between Los Angeles, CA and Bath, UK. I’m the founding director of Francis Gallery and the founding editor of Cereal, which became a digital archive as of last autumn. Lately, I’ve been contemplating how I ended up ‘here’ — living between two countries, running two bricks and mortar galleries, managing a digital editorial archive, and navigating how to meaningfully fulfil my roles as mother, daughter, wife, friend and citizen. Looking back on the last 40 years, what has remained consistent, is my being led by intuitive decisions that feel right in the moment. Putting one foot in front of the other, focussing on each passing day — this has been the guiding principle that has brought me to this juncture.
SP. How has your relationship with your work changed since becoming a mother?
RP. I feel immense polarity when thinking of my relationship to work since becoming a mother. As someone who has prioritised work for most of her adult life — for better or for worse — becoming a mother felt particularly fraught with uncertainty. Before Turner was born, I was obsessed with this notion of being “the same Rosa” after his arrival; that I could perform at work as I’ve always done, whilst taking on this entirely new role as caregiver. I now realise how misguided that was, because motherhood will, and rightfully should, change every fibre of your being. I remember well-intentioned folks telling me how efficient I’ll be once I’m a mother, because I’ll make every minute count, and that I'll naturally become a master juggler. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been my experience. In those initial years when Turner needed me most, I battled brain fog and felt utterly overwhelmed in this new paradigm. That led to a knock in confidence at work and at home, which then spiralled into an ultimate questioning of self and life. I had to come back to the guiding principle I mentioned above, time and time again, to get through those days.
And now, with Turner having celebrated his third birthday a couple of weeks ago, I have the blessing of hindsight to share this: Becoming a mother has taught me that holding multitudes is the sweet spot of the parenting journey — that you can love work and wish to spend more time at the office and on the road, whilst being besotted with your kid and wanting to share every hour with them. That you can miss the former version of yourself without the (sometimes heavy) responsibility of raising a human, while fully embracing the ineffable depth of love, joy and privilege of parenting. Through this process, my edges have softened and my empathy has grown tenfold; I no longer believe things to be binary, and am able to let things go with more ease, at work and beyond.
SP. And how has your creative practice shifted or evolved?
RP. I’m learning to lean in to my yin energy. This does not come naturally to me; I’ve been conditioned to operate on a masculine wavelength my entire life. This shift in creative practice is definitely a work in progress, and I hope whatever I’m contributing to the cultural discourse feels more feminine, intuitive and gentle.
SP. Where do you find the most joy and inspiration in your life?
RP. I have very simple answers to this question: I find the most joy when I’m immersed in nature. I told my husband that my goal for 2024 is to spend as much time in nature as possible. When I’m in LA, this means hikes and beach time. When I’m in the UK, it's long, meandering walks through the woods and sprawling English gardens.
And books remain the greatest source of inspiration. Now that I’m no longer constantly travelling the way I once did, books are my escape. To know I’ll never read every book I want to read fills me with both frustration and glee — the latter because it means there's a seemingly never-ending source of inspiration and knowledge!
SP. How do creativity and wellbeing intersect in your daily practices?
A. To be frank, I’m not sure that it does right now. The only form of wellbeing that I currently incorporate on a daily basis is being self-aware and exercising compassion. I used to beat myself up for not doing enough “wellness-oriented” rituals during this hectic season of life, and recently realised how silly that is. Being well isn’t about ticking off a to-do list of activities like journalling or going for sun rise walks, it’s about cultivating a healthy relationship to yourself. And for me, that means getting to know my ever-evolving self, and giving myself grace.
SP. What does the future for Francis Gallery hold?
RP. We’ve just re-branded the gallery and launched a new website. We're also opening a third exhibition space in LA this summer. And we have a diverse programme confirmed for Bath and LA, which I think will pleasantly surprise our audience. I’m looking forward to seeing each one of these elements unfold!