Feeding Chair

2022 –

The Feeding Chair is a collaborative artwork, which invites parents and carers to feed their babies and children in museums, galleries, libraries and other public venues. Decorated with artwork by Jade de Montserrat, it is an invitation for anyone to breast, chest or bottle feed their infant: to take up space and take their time.

The chair includes an iPad and speakers in the headrest. Sitters can listen to specially commissioned audio artworks by Magda Stawarska, Nicola Singh, Krissi Musiol and Charlotte Oliver about feeding, resting and public space, or watch talks about infant feeding by cultural historian Dr. Joanna Wolfarth, Design Researcher Sally Sutherland and ‘Diversity in Infant Feeding’ founder Louise Oliver, which were recorded at the Feeding Futures event in 2022.

Shelving within the chair provides storage for children’s toys and books and copies of the Feed Zine.

Feed tour:

A group of women and small children sitting on a large chair and bean bags. One woman is holding a booklet with the words 'The Milky Way' on the front.

The Feeding Chair with Mammas Write group, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, 2025. Photo by Neil Hannah, courtesy of Glasgow Life Museums.

Between November 2023 and January 2027, the chair is touring to:

The Tetley, Leeds (2023)
Leeds Art Gallery (2024)
Ikon, Birmingham, (2024)
Watershed, Bristol (2024)
Woodend Gallery, Scarborough (2025)
Chapter Arts, Cardiff (2025)
Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow (2025)
Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library, Preston (2026)

It will also feature as part of What Are The Odds? a creative health exhibition curated by Ikon Gallery at Birmingham Central Library (Jan - July 2026)

At each venue, the chair is accompanied by a programme of creative activities and events, exploring issues of public space, infant feeding and human milk.

The tour also includes a new commission by artists Conway & Young, an artist residency by Sally Butcher and a participatory art commission by Ania Bas, Amelia Hawk and Joanne Masding.

The Feed tour is funded by Arts Council England, University of Lancashire, Birmingham City Council and Glasgow Life.

The Feeding Chair was designed and fabricated by M3 Industries with Vicky Carr and Elaine Speight.

It has also been exhibited at:

Talking Place symposium, Manchester (Sept 2022)
Whitworth Gallery, Manchester (Nov 2022 - March 2023)
Baby Change-Making exhibition, Lethaby Gallery, London (March 2023) Lancashire Science Festival (May 2023).

A woman, dressed in white, sitting in a large chair with colourful drawings on it, with a small child on her lap.
Woman sitting in a large orange chair in a gallery, with a baby on her knee.
Installation shot of the Feeding Chair in Chapter Arts cafe bar. Image shows a side shot of a large chair decorated with colourful drawings. The wall is decorated with orange circles and there is a large, colourful mat on the floor.
Rear view of the Feeding Chair: decorated wooden exterior with drawings and the text ‘Love is the Dream’, positioned in a gallery with black and white posters on the walls.
Two children sitting in a large chair, looking at an ipad, with a woman leaning over the chair behind them.
A small boy standing next to the back of a large wooden chair, decorated with the text 'Love is the Dream'.
Close up photo of the feeding chair, showing orange upholstery and an iPad in a white case with a flexible arm attached to the chair. The screen shows a picture of a breast made from chocolate and the works 'Feeding Futures'

Photos by Fiona Finchett. (1,5,8), Tod Jones (2), Rob Battersby (4), Jon Aitken (6) , Kirsten McTernan (3,7).