Dieuwke Oosterbosch

We Do Care

2025

The artistic practice of Dieuwke Oosterbosch is based on the exploration of relationality. Grounded in the belief that “everything exist through relation,” her work responds to the challenge of connecting in a time of a global world and a global community. By engaging directly to the world around her in the form of conversation, workshops and (socially) engaged practices Dieuwke collects stories. These stories form the narrative foundation and inspiration of her work. Through prioritizing listening, being present and mutual exchange she searches for narratives which don’t tell only an individual story, but touches upon pluriverse realities. In this diverse world with differences and commonalities and the complexity of that she tries to find a ground on which we can meet each other. Growing value, care and togetherness. In her way of working, artworks often unfold over time. Emphasizing the importance of growing and process based art over product. Working with different media, this years focus and research is on fabric. In both a material and metaphorical way. For her final project ‘We Do Care’ she creates a collection of embroidered ‘giving fabrics’ in collaboration with a diverse group of people. Reflecting on the question: “What does it mean to give?” In one on one conversations with the participants she asks them to think about a relation that had a big influence on their lives. This can be a person, place or period in time. By sewing these stories adding a wish or gift from the participant in this, these fabrics are dedicated to these relations. Serving as a space to recognize the relations that are part of us and to give attention to small acts of care.

Artist statement
Dieuwke Oosterbosch is a visual artist researching relationality. She feels the urgency to do this, because being part of a global world and a global community, she notices that living in relation and feeling connected seems one of the biggest challenges of this time. Through being in interaction and engaging herself with the world around, in the form of conversations, workshops, (social) engaged activities, Dieuwke collects stories. Which form the ground of works in which storytelling, narrative development and the re-narrating of stories is being explored to find value, connection and care.

This page was last updated on July 7, 2025