Exhibition at GOMA promotes breastfeeding in public places

A free exhibition and events programme promoting infant feeding in public is running until Friday, 9 January 2026 at Glasgow’s Gallery for Modern Art (GOMA).

The Milky Way is part of a touring programme for Feed – an arts-based project that promotes inclusive, sustainable approaches to infant feeding and public space. Core to The Milky Way is ‘Feeding Chair’, a multimedia artwork and infant feeding chair that has travelled to places including Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, Scarborough, and Cardiff. Its visit to Glasgow is the only Scottish stop on the tour.

This collaborative artwork has generated different partnerships and responses with each cultural venue it has visited, and in GoMA it has resulted in an events programme, a publication with creative group Mammas Write, and a new commission with the artist Jessica Ramm.

Feeding Chair is a specially-designed chair with an integrated tablet, which will be on display in GoMA’s Domestic Bliss exhibition (Gallery 4) until next year.  Paintings on the chair’s back and exterior are by Jade de Montserrat. On the tablet are audio works by artists Krissi Musiol, Nicola Singh, Magda Stawarska, and Charlotte Oliver, together with videos about infant feeding, gender, and public space.

Visitors will be welcome to take a seat and explore the content on the tablet. Those involved in the project have selected books and zines that are also available to read. Parents and carers are invited to breast, chest, or bottle feed their baby – to take the space and take their time.

Jacalyn McIlwham, from our HSCP’s Health Improvement team said: “The work challenges negative attitudes towards feeding in public and encourages conversations about care, vulnerability, representation and human milk.

The Breastfeeding Network, one of our partner organisations, are providing some pop up breastfeeding support sessions on 17  November. To sign up to attend please complete the form.

In Partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), the Breastfeeding Network provide a range of breastfeeding and infant feeding support groups across the area every week. For more information about your local groups check BfN Greater Glasgow and Clyde on Instagram, Facebook, and Linktree.

Lesleyann Currie, Infant Feeding Lead, South Locality said: “We’re also pleased to report that GOMA along with many other Glasgow Life venues and other businesses and organisations within the city are signed up to the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme. This is a national scheme that can be signed up to for free and is backed by Scottish Government and implemented by local health boards.  The aim of the scheme is to help businesses and people who breastfeed know their rights and responsibilities and is a positive way of helping breastfeeding families feel supported in their local communities.”

You can find local contacts  if any business is interested in becoming a member of the scheme.