Joy Rose has been working for almost a decade to bring a museum dedicated to motherhood to life. Her dream will become a reality this September when the Museum of Motherhood, or M.O.M., opens a pop-up space on the Upper East Side of New York City—which will includes exhibits, a performance space and teaching facilities. Rose, a mom to four, has a long history of championing mothers. She is the President and Founder of Mamapalooza, which produces large festivals across the country celebrating moms and is also the guitarist and lead singer of a rock band called Housewives on Prozac. Rose won the Susan B. Anthony Award from NOW in recognition of her grassroots activism in 2009.

This entrepreneur mom spoke with Working Mother about the challenges of getting the museum off of the ground, what visitors can expect from the space and why it's about time mothers have a museum to call their own.

How did the idea for the Museum of Motherhood come about?

Ten years ago there started to be this burgeoning mom movement with mom groups and mom entertainment. In the middle of this I saw that there was no such thing as a museum dedicated to motherhood. We have mustard museums, marble museums, car museums but until now, there have been no museums dedicated to the all important job of creating the next generation of human beings. Something was needed. The vision is really based on a simple idea—to give caregivers and families a context that includes a permanent library, teaching facilities, a family center and exhibition and performance spaces.

Give us a preview of the New York City pop-up space.

We really want it to feel like it is integral to the community. There will be an exhibit called “Mother the Job”, a film that talks about unpaid labor and human capital, an exhibit by San Francisco artist Alexia Nye Jackson. We want to ask the viewer questions and have it be very engaging.

What’s been the biggest challenge getting this off the ground?

Getting people to invest. And when I say invest I mean financially, socially, with their energy, in the idea that motherhood is something that should be invested in.

How do working mothers fit into the museum?

I think you know what I am going to say. All mothers are working mothers. We aim to share the stories of a wide range of mothers, including those that work outside of the home of course. But there are so many different kinds of mothers—stepmothers, adoptive mothers, single mothers, divorced mothers. Navigating balance is an issue for all mothers.

What’s most surprised you as you’ve worked on this project?

The culture, history and art that we are sharing is not sterilized, which hasn’t been done before. One of the exhibits is about birth practices through the ages. We share that the clergy during the 1500s would tell women as they were preparing to give birth, that were preparing to die. There are a lot of novel stories that surprised me, and I am sure will surprise other people.

How do you see the project evolving?

I hope to be able to continue in the space, we have the option to continue for two years and even expand the facility. We are also working with Minnesota State University on an online Mothers Studies program for 2012. It will be the first program of its kind.

How do you think perceptions of mothers have changed in recent years?

I think mothers are more visible. The voices of mom groups has amplified, creating a lot of family friendly voices out there. But social change is slow. Women without children make more money than women with children, and working men still make more money than working women. We really have to examine the value of mother work—whether we should pay moms. I don’t know what the answer is. But we have to examine the value of that work. We all got here by a mother after all.

Working Mother Media is a national media partner for Museum of Motherhood. To learn more about the Museum of Motherhood click here. Read Carol Evans' blog: A Museum for Us!

Follow Joy Rose on Twitter @TheMediaMom and follow the Museum of Motherhood @MOMmuseum