2017,

SOMA Art Gallery

2017,

2014

SOMA 700

Monumentenstraße

24

Berlin

10965

somaartspace.com

Kahee Jeong, Unmyth, 2021, Foto: Nabi Nara

Kevin Groen, Boys don’t cry, 2020, Foto: Nabi Nara

Wir sehen unseren Projektraum immer noch als selbstgewählte, professionell organisierte Alternative zu marktorientierten Galerien und staatlichen Kunstinstitutionen. Der Preis ist eine einmalige Chance, weil er unbürokratisch finanzielle als auch zeitliche Freiräume schafft. Wichtig dabei: keine Abrechnung notwendig! Berliner Politik muss endlich erkennen, dass die Szene eine große Anerkennung über die Stadt hinaus genießt und Motor für kulturelle Innovation ist, letztlich ein wichtiger Standortfaktor ist.The Project Space Prize has not only saved many spaces and kept them alive for a longer period but basically generated a unique experimental and diverse art scene in Berlin. The Prize has also very much encouraged the founding of new spaces, fueled by the hope of receiving funding at some point. More than anything, it is an example of how much a certain public funding strategy can completely shape a local art scene.Art has the unique ability to help us expand our imagination and the way we think about the world. By bending the lines of logic and rational approaches, it offers a gateway to our collective unconscious and provides a terrain where everything is possible, hence pushing our thinking process forward. We see art and artists as seismographs for changes in society. There is also great freedom in art, addressing big and timeless questions that are independent of current economic and political realities and interests. Art can be a space for utopias, or for histories outside of history books. Art is important because it keeps us going through the difficult and dark times. Art keeps us alive.