"Aktuell wird viel zerstört, das mühsam aufgebaut wurde"
Berlin's Savvy Contemporary, a non-profit art space known for its postcolonial discourse, has been awarded the Art Basel Award in the 'Museums and Institutions' category—the only German institution to receive the honor this year. However, despite the prestigious recognition, Savvy has been unable to open any exhibitions in 2024 due to a lack of funding. In an interview, managing directors Lema Sikod and Lynhan Balatbat-Helbock discuss the award, the institution's 15-year history, and the growing difficulty of sustaining decolonial work amid rising right-wing populism and political backlash.
The award highlights Savvy's visionary programming and its broader impact on the cultural ecosystem, yet the funding crisis underscores a deeper structural problem: institutions tackling urgent postcolonial issues are being defunded just as their perspectives are most needed. Sikod and Balatbat-Helbock warn that decolonial discourse is being treated as a passing trend, while far-right forces actively roll back progress. The situation reflects a wider tension in the art world between institutional recognition and material support, raising urgent questions about how to protect critical spaces in an increasingly hostile political climate.