Artist Britt Bakker and Eveline Peeters, a researcher with the Microbiology Research Group (MICR) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), have been awarded the second Caroline Pauwels Fellowship for Wonder. The jury selected their joint research project, which explores how insights from microbiology can inspire new artistic forms, bringing together performance, visual art and experimentation. The fellowship, an initiative of TAZ and deAuteurs in collaboration with VUB, KVS and De Grote Post, provides them with a budget of €20,000 and a full year to pursue their research with complete creative freedom.
The Caroline Pauwels Fellowship for Wonder was established to keep alive the legacy of the late VUB rector Caroline Pauwels (1964–2022). Pauwels, who was among other things curator of TAZ#2021, championed curiosity, slow thinking and breaking down the boundaries between disciplines. The fellowship aims to give artists and scientists the space to work together, guided by that same sense of wonder, and to develop new questions and ideas.
The jury selected Britt Bakker for the originality of her project and its strong research focus. Working with Eveline Peeters, Bakker will explore how microbiological insights and processes can be translated into a new artistic language.
“Caroline Pauwels genuinely believed in the power of wonder. For her, creativity was impossible without curiosity. Through this fellowship, we encourage artists and scientists to forge new connections between art and science. It is precisely where these worlds meet that new questions and unexpected insights can emerge.”
No pressure to produce, but space to explore
The second edition of the Caroline Pauwels Fellowship places an even stronger emphasis on development, research and genuine collaboration between artist and scientist. The aim is not to arrive quickly at a finished work, but to create space for a process in which ideas can collide, shift and grow.
The fellowship period has also been extended. Whereas previous editions provided six months, the recipients will now have a full year to deepen their research, experiment and develop their ideas together. The jury emphasises that the fellowship gives them the time, freedom and resources they need to pursue their research in depth, without the pressure to produce or the requirement to deliver a predetermined final outcome.
“The jury strongly believes in the potential of this cross-pollination, as well as in Bakker’s personal fascination with the subject and her ability to further develop her own artistic language,” the jury report states.
Support beyond the fellowship
In addition to the financial award, the recipients will benefit from an extensive programme of support. They will have access to residencies at De Grote Post and KVS, dramaturgical guidance, and practical and technical support from TAZ. deAuteurs will provide legal and copyright support. In this way, the Caroline Pauwels Fellowship aims not only to provide financial freedom, but also to create the conditions in which artists and scientists can meet over an extended period, experiment and learn from one another.
Through the fellowship, TAZ, deAuteurs, VUB, KVS and De Grote Post seek to carry forward Caroline Pauwels’ legacy by creating space for wonder, curiosity and encounters between different ways of thinking and creating.
The world needs you
This initiative is part of VUB's public programme, a programme for everyone who believes that scientific knowledge, critical thinking and dialogue are an important first step to create impact in the world.
As an Urban Engaged University, VUB aims to be a driver of change in the world. With our academic edcuational programmes and innovative research, we contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and to making a difference locally and globally.
