The artists' group Maternal Fantasies and the artist Malu Blume are winners of the 2019/20 advancement awards of the Arthur Boskamp Foundation. They were looking for artistic positions and projects that address different aspects of care work.

The award ceremony will take place on April 27, 2019 in the M.1 of the Arthur Boskamp Foundation.

Two artistic positions were selected that critically deal with care work, community and gender, developing their visions of a caring future in very different ways:

The interdisciplinary group of female artists Maternal Fantasies deals with the intersection between art, children and motherhood, which is little considered both socially and in art theory. The eight women of the international collective live and work in Berlin. In regular meetings, artistic research, collective works of art and living together explore the tension between artistic production and motherhood. Family stories, memories, ideas, desires, but also horror scenarios about being a mother can be found in Maternal Fantasies. "The collective does important work that challenges the art world's fear of contact with mothers who create art - something that is still far too seldom seen, especially in the German context. It is therefore urgently necessary to use artistic means to stir up the debate and explore new relationships between art and social reproduction," Sascia Bailer explained the jury's decision. As Artistic Director 2019/2020 of the M.1 of the Arthur Boskamp Foundation, Sascia Bailer was part of this year's expert jury alongside Ulrike Boskamp (Director of the Arthur Boskamp Foundation) and Jeanne van Heeswijk (artist, visiting professor at the Hamburg University of the Arts).

The artist Malu Blume, who was born in Hildesheim and now lives and works between Berlin and Vienna, also received a sponsorship award. Her work is located at the interfaces of art, performance, education and activism. Blume mostly works in artists' collectives on issues of care, collective knowledge production, archive politics, friendship and queer feminism. The video project proposed by Malu Blume offers an alternative and hopeful look into the future of care work: three versions of possible communities are portrayed, exploring new forms of care and living together. "This kind of inspiration, which stimulates the collective imagination, makes Blume's work extremely relevant," says Sascia Bailer about the jury's decision. "Blume's work also convinces through its stubborn aesthetic and critical theoretical references." More Information about: https://malublume.de/about

The award is endowed with 3,000 euros (4,000 euros for groups) and is presented every two years. It is aimed at younger artists with a connection to Northern Germany (e.g. through their place of birth, study or current place of residence). The prizewinners will be provided with an artist's apartment and studio in Hohenlockstedt for three months. They also have the opportunity to realise an exhibition or final presentation as well as a publication.

The theme of the call for entries was set by Sascia Bailer as Artistic Director 20191/20 of the M.1, because care-work is also the focus of her time at the M.1. With her curatorial programme, Sascia Bailer will counteract the invisibility of care, whether it be for single parents, relatives or care-workers. Through a series of events and artistic-social practices, her curatorial work seeks to create care for caregivers - by creating relationships, exchanges, alliances and visibility.

The award ceremony will take place on 27 April from 15.00 in the M.1 of the Arthur Boskamp Foundation in Hohenlockstedt. The evening's supporting programme is a "Social Muscle Club" - this special kind of exchange market was developed by artists and focuses on mutual give and take. The advancement award winners will be present and showcase their work.