image by Carolyn Defrin (digital collage) & Joey Galanos (water color)
Doors to the future
an audio-visual installation inviting imagination for more humane migration futures
'Doors to the Future' is an adaptable, site-specific installation and convening space
bringing people with diverse border experiences together
to imagine more humane futures for migration.
Originally created on the Greek island of Samos, the installation is currently touring.
Get in touch to bring the project to your communities.
listen to the futures
click on each image below to listen and learn more
Created in collaboration with people who live and work in Samos, Greece (including artists, long-term residents, migrants, NGO workers, educators and immigration lawyers), the audio was experienced through five pink doors designed and built with local NGO, Skills Factory.
Creative Team
ALTER-SONIK ARTS COLLECTIVE
Carolyn Defrin, Direction, sound edit, design, writing, facilitation
Joey Galanos, Co-direction/writing, cultural mediator
Ezedin Petros, Writer, performer, cinematography
Donata, Writer, performer, photography
Melina Papageorgiou, Writer, performer
Alexia-Maria Yiakkoupi, Writer, performer
Olga Gioti, Writer, performer
Giannis Drakos, Collaborator, painter
Francisca Campos de Andrade, Collaborator
Zen Chrysakis, Music
Kevin O'Donnell, Music and sound design
Katherina Scholle, Co-project manager
Jasper Duivenstijn, Co-project manager
Ezedin Petros, Community Coordinator
Benedicte Schroijen, Build team
Sultan Rashed, Build team
Kamal Ozbek, Build team
Mohamed Shamsa, Build team
Abbas Mousavi, Build team
Mohammed Mohammed, Build team
Jasper Duivenstijn, Build team
Michael Logan, Kitchen team
Mahmood Al Ahmed, Kitchen team
Hassan Ibrahim, Kitchen team
Mohammed Al Daoos, Kitchen team
Jan Agha Waziri, Kitchen team
Saleh Alwan, Kitchen team
Khalil Khalil ALASH, Kitchen team
Mousa, Language translation
SKILLS FACTORY
dialogue & reflection
Dialogue and reflection form a key part of the installation. Be that through talks, walking tours, special workshops or community lunches, 'Doors to the Future' invites people with different perspectives and lived experiences of migration and borders to come together and discuss how imagination for more humane futures can be applied to present-day dynamics.
This concept was first tested with the launch of 'the Doors' in Samos, Greece in February 2026. In our first collaboration with Skills Factory, who hosted the event, their kitchen team prepared a 'menu for the future' and then joined about 20 additional participants– inclusive of NGO workers, artists, scholars and local community members in Samos for conversations (translated between Greek, English and Arabic).
'Doors to the Future' was originally created as part of 'BORDER ART', a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship,
led by Dr Carolyn Defrin in collaboration with the NOMIS Research project “Elastic Borders: Rethinking the borders of the 21st Century”
University of Graz
