Nikki Nair Joins Others Withdrawing From Berlin’s CTM Festival Due to Cultural Strike

Nikki Nair and others Pull out of CTM Festival in solidarity with the Strike Germany Movement.

As the ‘Strike Germany’ movement has continued to cast throughout Germany, several artists performing at Berlin’s CTM Festival have pulled out of the festival. Nikki Nair joins his counterparts Jyoty, Manuka Honey, Kelman Duran, Arabian Panther, Bill Kouligas, and WTCHCRFT in an opportunity to stand in solidarity with the protest. 

The festival is scheduled to run from January 26th to February 4th across various venues in Berlin, including the famous Berghain. Because the festival spans across Berlin, it finds itself in the heart of the conflict.

Since October 7th, Germany has faced criticism for suppressing freedom of expression and supporting anti-Palestinian racism. Due to the censorship of pro-Palestinian artists by German institutions, the strike was launched to support artists’ voices. Since the strike is built on calling out the suppression of artists’ expression, the festival is now in the spotlight.

Artists in Germany who are pro-Palestinian supporters have been harassed and have lost jobs because of showing support for Palestine since the start of the war. The ‘Strike Germany’ protest is meant to be a movement to stand in solidarity with a person’s view, specifically when acknowledging what is happening to Palestinians at the moment. 

In a social media post, Nikki Nair stated that the decision to drop out of the festival was an “extremely hard decision for me because I know that CTM is on the right side of things here and doing their best in a sh***y situation.” He continued, “I want to emphasize that this decision has nothing to do with CTM, and is only related to this political situation in Berlin.”

With the festival theme being ‘sustain’ this year, the CTM festival‘s mission is to, ‘engage with music not only as expression and refuge but also a constant reminder of our desire to get closer to the brighter end of the spectrum.’ The theme comments on the current condition of the world, and how ‘it touches opposite polarities of the contemporary experience as it speaks of the empathy and determination through which we survive, as well as of our anxieties, losses, and pains.”