Mikhail Karikis & Maruan Sipert

Join us for a talk by Mikhail Karikis, the author of Communities, Voices, Ecologies exhibition, as he will discuss his artistic practice. In the second part of the event, the artists Mikhail Karikis and Maruan Sipert will premiere a performance titled Acoustics of Change.

The performance raises the question of how we invent critical artistic expressions of the present in the light of radical climate and socio-political changes. The work brings together a range of autobiographic recordings of terrestrial soundscapes, eco-protests and community voices made at different times and in varied locations over recent years. These are woven with compositional fragments, spoken text and choreography that reflect on social movements and climate change, and propose ways to repair our collective imagination and our trust in hopeful futures. The performance raises the question of how we invent critical artistic expressions of the present in the light of radical climate and socio-political changes.

Acoustics of Change is part of the recent collaborative investigation between artists Mikhail Karikis and Mauran Sipert, who research similar subjects but from different material and methodological perspectives. The artists aim to bring together their respective practices to create works in their collaborative work. In the performance Acoustics of Change Mikhail Karikis is focusing on sound and text, and Maruan Sipert takes over choreography and movement. However, both artists open the boundaries of each medium and explore how sound can suggest choreography, and how movement can evoke a text. Their process of developing the performance includes reading theoretical texts, writing, sharing references that inspire, and performers engaging in each other’s individual art practice.

Mikhail Karikis is a Greek/British artist. His work in moving image, sound, performance and other media is exhibited in leading biennials, museums and festivals internationally. His projects employ listening as an artistic methodology and focus on themes of social and environmental justice, solidarity and alternative models of being in the world, while nurturing critical attention and empathy. Through collaborations with individuals and communities located beyond the circles of contemporary art and in recent years with children, teenagers, young adults and people with disabilities, Karikis develops socially embedded projects that prompt an activist imaginary and rouse the potential to imagine possible or desired futures.

Maruan Sipert is a choreographer and performer. In his practice, he works with art from an intercultural perspective and across borders, both geopolitical and linguistic. His research interests involve the concept of »Social Choreography« in the multiple relationships between bodies, architectures and landscapes. He collaborates with different artists, presenting work at festivals, theatres and galleries in various countries.

The lecture and performance will be in English. The lecture will start at 6:00 PM, followed by a performance at 7:30 PM.