Mikhail Karikis — We Are Together Because..., 2026

We Are Together Because... begins from the premise that people are already bound to one another, even in times of political conflict and social division. At workshops in Lyon, Mikhail Karikis invited young people to complete two phrases in their own words: “We Are Together Because...” and “Together We Could...” Presented here alongside their portraits, their responses move from describing the ties that shape life together to expressing hopes for the future. The project forms part of Sounds of a Revolution, first developed with young people in Loures, Portugal, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, the peaceful 1974 uprising that brought an end to nearly five decades of dictatorship. While the full audiovisual installation is presented at the Musée des Tissus, the portraits extend the project into public space.

Sound, voice and collective action form the basis of Mikhail Karikis’ practice. Through moving image, installation and performance, he collaborates with communities – including children, refugees and social workers – to explore forms of solidarity, labour, and resistance. His projects often emerge from specific social and political contexts, where listening becomes a means of reconfiguring relationships between individuals and environments. Through choral structures and shared vocal expression, the artist develops works that foreground collective agency and the capacity of sound to articulate alternative social imaginaries.