ULusófona hosts a session with Mikhail Karikis on Cinema, Sound and Community

Batalha Centro de Cinema hosted Mikhail Karikis on 13 March as part of the Great Artists on Campus #1 lecture series, for a session that combined film screenings and a conversation with the audience.

During the session, several works by the Greek-British artist were presented, developed across different geographical contexts, including projects carried out in Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan. The works reflect an artistic practice strongly shaped by collaboration with specific communities — including young people, workers and neurodivergent individuals — who actively participate in the creative process and in building the narratives presented in the films. “The works are not about me,” he states.

Following the screening, a conversation took place led by João Sousa Cardoso, Director of the Bachelor’s Degree in Audiovisual Communication and Multimedia, who proposed three axes to explore the artist’s work: space, breath and music. From these perspectives, Karikis explained how his practice develops at the intersection of cinema, sonic architecture and social research.

The films presented often originate from territories with strong historical or industrial significance, transforming the landscape into a central element of the narrative. For the artist, places function not merely as settings, but as living structures that reveal relationships between memory, the body and collective history.

Another key aspect of the discussion was the role of sound in his artistic practice. Mikhail Karikis highlighted the political potential of collective sound-making, emphasising how the shared production of voice and breath can generate transformative experiences and strengthen community dynamics.

During the masterclass, the artist also stressed the importance of listening as both an ethical and artistic practice, arguing that art can create new forms of connection between different communities, cultures and forms of knowledge. For Mikhail Karikis, this process involves learning to recognise and understand the languages of others, whether human, cultural or environmental.

The session concluded with a reflection on the role of art in imagining possible futures.

Rather than merely criticising existing structures, Karikis underlined that his work seeks to propose new ways of thinking about community and the collective world, advocating artistic creation as a space to imagine alternative ways of living together.

Text
Gabriel Motta

Coverage
Lara Sousa Paulo Renato

Video (Editing)
Gabriel Motta