ARTIST STATEMENT
Michael Fikaris is an award-winning artist and community builder from Australia. Born in Melbourne and raised in North Queensland, they began their career as a zine maker inspired by underground comics.
Fikaris has since developed his skills over the past decade to be a sustainable multidisciplinary practice of fine art commissions, print based projects and hand painted murals. Whether working on public art or a small book, each job is seen as an opportunity to foster connections with both people and place.
Alongside their freelance practice, Fikaris is also an editor, publisher and community arts practitioner. He founded Silent Army Projects in 2011, a platform focused on collaborative, creative engagement. His longstanding dedication to community arts was recognised with the Platinum Ledger Award in 2017 for outstanding service to Australian comics.
Fikaris has collaborated with communities all across Australia and participated on international placements in East Timor, Portugal, Indonesia, Sumatra, Greece, Belgium and France. These cross-cultural experiences as well an awareness of nature inspire a commitment of expanding public awareness to the role of art as not a luxury for the few, but an essential process for making sense of the world we all share.
His work is held in several major public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria (Living Artists Collection), the State Library of Victoria (Artists’ Books Collection), and the National Gallery of Australia (Book Arts Collection).
“Michael Fikaris is a great worker in comic books, a remarkable innovator and scene setter… he’s really part of the materiality of Melbourne”.
Smart Arts, Triple R FM Radio , Melbourne, 2023
Curriculum Vitae
Michael Fikaris is an award-winning artist and community builder from Australia. Born in Melbourne and raised in North Queensland, they began their career as a zine maker inspired by underground comics.
Fikaris has since developed his skills over the past decade to be a sustainable multidisciplinary practice of fine art commissions, print based projects and hand painted murals. Whether working on public art or a small book, each job is seen as an opportunity to foster connections with both people and place.
Alongside their freelance practice, Fikaris is also an editor, publisher and community arts practitioner. He founded Silent Army Projects in 2011, a platform focused on collaborative, creative engagement. His longstanding dedication to community arts was recognised with the Platinum Ledger Award in 2017 for outstanding service to Australian comics.
Fikaris has collaborated with communities all across Australia and participated on international placements in East Timor, Portugal, Indonesia, Sumatra, Greece, Belgium and France. These cross-cultural experiences as well an awareness of nature inspire a commitment of expanding public awareness to the role of art as not a luxury for the few, but an essential process for making sense of the world we all share.
His work is held in several major public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria (Living Artists Collection), the State Library of Victoria (Artists’ Books Collection), and the National Gallery of Australia (Book Arts Collection).
“Michael Fikaris is a great worker in comic books, a remarkable innovator and scene setter… he’s really part of the materiality of Melbourne”.
Smart Arts, Triple R FM Radio , Melbourne, 2023
Curriculum Vitae