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Helena Musillo-Ates
KEY WORDS
art residency, existential crisis, cultural influence, family dynamics, chosen family, personal work, social norms, collaboration, artistic practice, cultural coexistence, identity exploration, artistic validation, personal growth, creative process
Helena Musillo-Ates is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Lisbon, having spent six years living in Amsterdam. They graduated from the Moving Image department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2023 and have since participated in two artist residencies. Their practice is rooted in video art, film, installation and documentary but extends into writing, poetry, performance, and facilitation—mediums that allow them to explore the nuances of conversation, dialogue, and language as both subject and methodology.
Born in diverse London to immigrant parents, their work engages with themes of cultural identity, migration, and the intersection of personal and collective histories. They investigate how cultural practices—such as rituals and ceremonies—evolve in an increasingly digitized world and how gender, sexuality, and folklore are transmitted across generations. Rather than drawing hard lines between past and future, they focus on the subtle connections that bind people together, exploring how stories shift, adapt, and take on new meanings over time.
A central concern in their work is how conversation and language shape our understanding of culture and identity. They view their practice as a space for exchange, where the tensions between tradition and modernity, the personal and the collective, can be explored without the need for rigid boundaries. In a time when society often feels fragmented, they focus on the small, human connections that unify us, seeking to foster a more fluid and inclusive approach to history, progress, and belonging.
This conversation took place in December 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal.
KT
So, you and I met at an artist residency in Lisbon back in October. It’s December now, and last night we had our exhibition opening, Through
Connection We Grow, which was very cool, because I don’t think you or I expected
to do something together.
Could you share a bit about your practice coming into October, and have you always considered yourself an artist?
Could you share a bit about your practice coming into October, and have you always considered yourself an artist?
HMA
No. I think I was very resistant to calling myself an artist for a
long time, which, at the time, was true to myself. I was figuring out what it
was to make art, and I think my insecurities were part of that.
My logic was, just because I'm making work doesn't mean it needs to be shown or seen. I remember people being like, I think art is meant to be seen or shown in whatever way that could be, it doesn't have to be an exhibition, it could be an Instagram post or whatever. But I was just like, my work is shit. Like, I would spend a long time doing something, and then I'd be like, Oh, my God, it's not good. It's not good. And that's changed.
I was doing an art residency before I came to Lisbon, and I think that was the first time where I really went through a whole existential crisis. It was the first time I was making a project out of university. I had a solo exhibition in a different context, in another country, with people that I didn't know. I didn’t know if they would understand my work or if I could talk to them in the way that I would normally discuss my work, and I managed it.
You know, you can meet people who say they're artists, and you wouldn't necessarily consider what they do as art. I think it's just subjective. It depends on the context. If I'm currently making work or when I'm doing an artist residency, and someone's like, what are you doing? I can be like, Oh, I'm doing an art residency, and they go, Oh, so you're an artist? And, I guess I am, you know?
It just feels pretentious. I think that's what it is. I get stressed. It's like when someone asks, Oh, what do you do? And someone's says, I'm an actor. And they get asked, Oh, what TV shows have you been in? There's so many other ways of being an actor. Like, when is it that you are then considered a mainstream, or official artist, you know what I mean? What is succeeding in the art practice world?
My logic was, just because I'm making work doesn't mean it needs to be shown or seen. I remember people being like, I think art is meant to be seen or shown in whatever way that could be, it doesn't have to be an exhibition, it could be an Instagram post or whatever. But I was just like, my work is shit. Like, I would spend a long time doing something, and then I'd be like, Oh, my God, it's not good. It's not good. And that's changed.
I was doing an art residency before I came to Lisbon, and I think that was the first time where I really went through a whole existential crisis. It was the first time I was making a project out of university. I had a solo exhibition in a different context, in another country, with people that I didn't know. I didn’t know if they would understand my work or if I could talk to them in the way that I would normally discuss my work, and I managed it.
You know, you can meet people who say they're artists, and you wouldn't necessarily consider what they do as art. I think it's just subjective. It depends on the context. If I'm currently making work or when I'm doing an artist residency, and someone's like, what are you doing? I can be like, Oh, I'm doing an art residency, and they go, Oh, so you're an artist? And, I guess I am, you know?
It just feels pretentious. I think that's what it is. I get stressed. It's like when someone asks, Oh, what do you do? And someone's says, I'm an actor. And they get asked, Oh, what TV shows have you been in? There's so many other ways of being an actor. Like, when is it that you are then considered a mainstream, or official artist, you know what I mean? What is succeeding in the art practice world?
KT
Yeah, totally. Did you grow up with art around you?
“We were playing Pictionary, the game with the timer, and my grandpa was on our team. He couldn't draw quickly under pressure. I didn't realize he really cares about drawing. He was trying to make it so detailed and accurate; it was really cute. We lost the game, but I was like, grandpa, I didn't even know that you like to draw.”
– Helena Musillo-Ates
HMA
I feel very
privileged that I grew up with my mom bringing me, my sister, and we grew up with another family, so my other brother and sister, to places like the Tate Modern, which is a big Museum in London.
My mom has always loved art, she used to be a ballerina and grew up in a cultured part of Italy where classical music and the arts were a big part of life. She and my grandma were especially into classical music. As a kid, I played the violin and had to sit through long concerts, even though I was a pretty restless child, maybe with undiagnosed ADHD. My mom would tell me to practice sitting still and just listen to the music. It actually had an impact on me. I also remember bringing my sketchbook sometimes, or exploring interactive art installations. It made me appreciate how many different forms art can take.
Also, my grandpa plays jazz. He's been in lots of different bands, so I've seen him play since I was a kid. Every time I'm at home with my grandparents, my grandpa's playing in the afternoon. He's taught himself everything. He also sketches really well.
It was really funny, there was one Christmas a few years ago in COVID. I was here in Lisbon, and it was going to be the first Christmas I wouldn't be with family. It was a bit of a mess to go to the UK, you had to quarantine etc. So a friend of mine came to Lisbon for my birthday, then we were going to go back to Amsterdam, but, they just introduced new lockdown rules where you could only have one guest for Christmas or New Year’s, I can’t remember which. My grandparents called me on my birthday, and they asked, so what are you guys doing? And we were like, well it’s kind of sad, it's just gonna be really lonely. They said, come to Rome. So, we went to Rome. When we were all playing Pictionary, the game with the timer, my grandpa was on our team. He couldn't draw quickly under pressure. I didn't realize he really cares about drawing. He was trying to make it so detailed and accurate; it was really cute. We lost the game, but I was like, grandpa, I didn't even know that you like to draw.
And both my mom and my grandparents’ close friends are artists. So they have a lot of artwork from friends, and I've gone to their openings and stuff, which is cool. I do feel like it's from a different side of the art world, though. When they learn I make art, they're like, Oh, I really want a painting from you, Helena. And I'm like, I'm not a painter, you know?
My mom has always loved art, she used to be a ballerina and grew up in a cultured part of Italy where classical music and the arts were a big part of life. She and my grandma were especially into classical music. As a kid, I played the violin and had to sit through long concerts, even though I was a pretty restless child, maybe with undiagnosed ADHD. My mom would tell me to practice sitting still and just listen to the music. It actually had an impact on me. I also remember bringing my sketchbook sometimes, or exploring interactive art installations. It made me appreciate how many different forms art can take.
Also, my grandpa plays jazz. He's been in lots of different bands, so I've seen him play since I was a kid. Every time I'm at home with my grandparents, my grandpa's playing in the afternoon. He's taught himself everything. He also sketches really well.
It was really funny, there was one Christmas a few years ago in COVID. I was here in Lisbon, and it was going to be the first Christmas I wouldn't be with family. It was a bit of a mess to go to the UK, you had to quarantine etc. So a friend of mine came to Lisbon for my birthday, then we were going to go back to Amsterdam, but, they just introduced new lockdown rules where you could only have one guest for Christmas or New Year’s, I can’t remember which. My grandparents called me on my birthday, and they asked, so what are you guys doing? And we were like, well it’s kind of sad, it's just gonna be really lonely. They said, come to Rome. So, we went to Rome. When we were all playing Pictionary, the game with the timer, my grandpa was on our team. He couldn't draw quickly under pressure. I didn't realize he really cares about drawing. He was trying to make it so detailed and accurate; it was really cute. We lost the game, but I was like, grandpa, I didn't even know that you like to draw.
And both my mom and my grandparents’ close friends are artists. So they have a lot of artwork from friends, and I've gone to their openings and stuff, which is cool. I do feel like it's from a different side of the art world, though. When they learn I make art, they're like, Oh, I really want a painting from you, Helena. And I'm like, I'm not a painter, you know?
KT
Yeah, I feel that. With media art or with video, you can gift
someone a video, but it's different.
HMA
And I have. I’ve sent links to my grandpa, my grandma. They
always cry, it was videos of them. But, yeah, you can't show that, which I
guess keeps me in a safe zone. A lot of my friends are like, I have no idea
what you make, what you do? And they ask for a link and I have to be like, no,
it's not online. I don't know. There's something more mysterious about only
sharing some stills that I really like from my films.
It's also interesting with film. You have to be in the right mood, and I really get that, but it's also really subjective. I've gone to the same exhibitions as friends, and they're like, I didn't even look at the videos. They spend ages looking at the paintings and sculptures. I'm the opposite. I don't have that much patience. I have to be in a specific mood to look at paintings, but I'm always pretty down to watch films. Yeah, it just depends on the mood.
When I show works of mine, I sometimes see people go in, literally look at it for two seconds and then come out. Other people really sit there and watch the whole thing, go back, wait for the start to come, and then they come and ask questions. There’s something endearing about it.
It's also interesting with film. You have to be in the right mood, and I really get that, but it's also really subjective. I've gone to the same exhibitions as friends, and they're like, I didn't even look at the videos. They spend ages looking at the paintings and sculptures. I'm the opposite. I don't have that much patience. I have to be in a specific mood to look at paintings, but I'm always pretty down to watch films. Yeah, it just depends on the mood.
When I show works of mine, I sometimes see people go in, literally look at it for two seconds and then come out. Other people really sit there and watch the whole thing, go back, wait for the start to come, and then they come and ask questions. There’s something endearing about it.
“Both my parents are from different places, and I grew up in a place they're not from, so I always felt like I didn't have one culture that that I could just be like, that's mine. But then as I got older, I was like, okay, within that weird cocktail of cultures, there is a reality of my life and what has influenced me.”
- Helena Musillo-Ates
KT
I feel like this is a good moment to ask, what or who do you bring
forward with you in your life and work?
HMA
I don't always see a red thread or common theme in my work,
but when I was working on my portfolio recently, I was like, Oh my God. From
when I was like 14, making art in high school and primary school, there's
always been some kind of trying to protect and preserve culture and traditions.
Both my parents are from different places, and I grew up in a place they're not from, so I always felt like I didn't have one culture that that I could just be like, that's mine. I kind of felt like I was a bit of an outsider of a lot of different cultures. But then as I got older, I was like, okay, within that weird cocktail of cultures, there is a reality of my life and what has influenced me. I try and bring forward these kinds of traditions or acts of ceremony that are apparent within my family.
I look a lot towards my family, and I think I'm a big people watcher. I was the youngest for a moment in my family. They were always talking, my Italian side. They’re very loud and expressive. You can't really say anything until they all look at you, and then you say everything. I try and capture that.
Within that, I'm studying art and looking at things, sometimes with a more critical view. And then within our world, which is ever-evolving and progressing, or digressing. I’m trying to work with the past and see the beauty in maintaining something that was beautiful, which maybe now doesn't have the same meaning, or, like, it doesn't need to be done or said or performed, but it still works, if there's space for it.
Both my parents are from different places, and I grew up in a place they're not from, so I always felt like I didn't have one culture that that I could just be like, that's mine. I kind of felt like I was a bit of an outsider of a lot of different cultures. But then as I got older, I was like, okay, within that weird cocktail of cultures, there is a reality of my life and what has influenced me. I try and bring forward these kinds of traditions or acts of ceremony that are apparent within my family.
I look a lot towards my family, and I think I'm a big people watcher. I was the youngest for a moment in my family. They were always talking, my Italian side. They’re very loud and expressive. You can't really say anything until they all look at you, and then you say everything. I try and capture that.
Within that, I'm studying art and looking at things, sometimes with a more critical view. And then within our world, which is ever-evolving and progressing, or digressing. I’m trying to work with the past and see the beauty in maintaining something that was beautiful, which maybe now doesn't have the same meaning, or, like, it doesn't need to be done or said or performed, but it still works, if there's space for it.
KT
One of my favorite things
that you’ve said about your work was when someone
asked you, What do the pieces of your work have in common? And you were
like, me.
Even your parents being from different cultures, they might not have had anything in common on paper, but now they've made children together, yeah. I don't know. It’s really cool.
Even your parents being from different cultures, they might not have had anything in common on paper, but now they've made children together, yeah. I don't know. It’s really cool.
HMA
I think making work and putting it forward in the outside world,
within the art world, is scary. You always have to over explain, or validate
your work. I think with the exhibition I was asked about, that you’re referencing, I was like, to be honest, I'm making
these things because they interest me. I am, for the first time, like, Oh, I can
actually use myself, stand by that, and that's valid. There are a bunch of
people who might write a whole fucking piece, like, they can spend their whole
career focusing on one thing, or on their wife, or their muse, and no one's really asking them to explain that.
Maybe this is a bit off topic, but, a lot of my close friends from childhood, who I'm still friends with, their parents are also mixed. There are cultures which are completely different in the way you would imagine them, but then there's such similarity sometimes. My sister's ex was Jamaican, and we realized that in both Italian and Jamaican culture, there are some things, like the way you treat family and the way you do certain things that are exactly the same. It's really interesting, because you wouldn't really put Italian culture and Jamaican culture on the same page at all.
Maybe this is a bit off topic, but, a lot of my close friends from childhood, who I'm still friends with, their parents are also mixed. There are cultures which are completely different in the way you would imagine them, but then there's such similarity sometimes. My sister's ex was Jamaican, and we realized that in both Italian and Jamaican culture, there are some things, like the way you treat family and the way you do certain things that are exactly the same. It's really interesting, because you wouldn't really put Italian culture and Jamaican culture on the same page at all.
KT
Yeah, not off topic at all. I love that.
What do you hope to leave behind for the archeologists of the future? You've heard me say this a million times, but archeologists being, you know, just anybody, artists, people, family…
What do you hope to leave behind for the archeologists of the future? You've heard me say this a million times, but archeologists being, you know, just anybody, artists, people, family…
HMA
I would hope that, if we're
talking about my work specifically, that it's showing how humans interact and
treat each other. I feel like all my work is trying to capture a real
interaction between people. I find the way people behave very amusing, maybe
not amusing, interesting. Like, my grandparents from Italy, they're 80, they
were brought up one way, in one country, and yet I can talk to them, there’s a
level of openness. It's very similar to what we are doing with our project, if there's
a level of openness, you can connect and you're happy to listen.
I remember having conversations with my grandparents about non-binary and queer culture. I think I've had like, 20 conversations with them now where I've tried to help them understand the definitions. And if you were to look at our family from an outside perspective, we might be doing something which is a really old Italian tradition, which could also be linked to more conservative families. But then in our family, there’s a queer daughter, and there is space where all of those ways of being live together.
So, if there was someone in the future looking into my work, I’d hope they’d see things are simultaneously coexisting, basically, and there are still ways to maintain things from the past in the future.
I remember having conversations with my grandparents about non-binary and queer culture. I think I've had like, 20 conversations with them now where I've tried to help them understand the definitions. And if you were to look at our family from an outside perspective, we might be doing something which is a really old Italian tradition, which could also be linked to more conservative families. But then in our family, there’s a queer daughter, and there is space where all of those ways of being live together.
So, if there was someone in the future looking into my work, I’d hope they’d see things are simultaneously coexisting, basically, and there are still ways to maintain things from the past in the future.
KT
That was beautifully said. The coexistence. It's reminding me of
the conversation we were having last night, that people might assume for
one thing to exist, this other thing has to be erased. For example, you have to
hide part of your identity to be with your grandparents, when actually, it can
all exist. Maybe it’s through conversations and over time, but it is possible
if people are open to it.
HMA
It is also a thing of privilege. I know me or my sister my cousin
have never had the fear of coming out. My sister's first relationship was with
a girl, and there were for sure things being said and done, which I think we
only realize more now, but at the time, there wasn't much judgement. It was like,
we love you. And my family are Catholic, like my grandma was a Mother Theresa.
But, I also wonder, if my mom had married an Italian man and had kids, if my
grandparents would have been less open minded? My grandparents had to change
and evolve because my mom and my auntie moved to other countries. My grandma
would always go visit both my mom and my auntie wherever they were. So, she was
in a lot of different cultures.
In relation to work, some people might not get what you’re making, just how your family might not get who you are as a person. I think there's also some kind of like, lowering of your expectations and being okay with that. Yeah, some people will get it, not everyone. I think you will find those people. If you're open and honest, I think people feel that, and then they become open and honest.
In relation to work, some people might not get what you’re making, just how your family might not get who you are as a person. I think there's also some kind of like, lowering of your expectations and being okay with that. Yeah, some people will get it, not everyone. I think you will find those people. If you're open and honest, I think people feel that, and then they become open and honest.
“If you were to look at our family from an outside perspective, we might be doing something which is a really old Italian tradition, which could also be linked to more conservative families. But then in our family, there’s a queer daughter, and there is space where all of those ways of being live together.”
– Helena Musillo-Ates
KT
I think modeling plays a big role in art sometimes. You are also giving other people permission to be confident in their
multitudes of identities, by displaying your life in film, or however you choose
to share it.
HMA
I used my grandparents a lot in my video works back in uni, and my
grandpa became a little, like, icon. So many of my friends were obsessed with
him. They had never met him, and they would reply to my stories, like, oh my
god, it's him again! He's back, he's amazing.
He came to my graduation show, and I mean, it's something like, 150 students. There's a lot of work. It literally takes three days to see everything properly, and you're exhausted because there's so much socializing, so many family members visiting. It was hectic.
My grandma was tired of walking the one day, so my grandpa came early by himself. We went through most of the school, and then he continued by himself. Everyone kept coming up to me being like, your grandpa asked me questions, he came up to me. They were like, Oh my God, I know who you are! You're a natural, you're Helena's grandpa! He was so happy. I was like, bless his soul. He doesn't get everything going on, but he's just open to it and I think that's great.
He came to my graduation show, and I mean, it's something like, 150 students. There's a lot of work. It literally takes three days to see everything properly, and you're exhausted because there's so much socializing, so many family members visiting. It was hectic.
My grandma was tired of walking the one day, so my grandpa came early by himself. We went through most of the school, and then he continued by himself. Everyone kept coming up to me being like, your grandpa asked me questions, he came up to me. They were like, Oh my God, I know who you are! You're a natural, you're Helena's grandpa! He was so happy. I was like, bless his soul. He doesn't get everything going on, but he's just open to it and I think that's great.
KT
That's really sweet.
HMA
He can also, obviously, say things which are like, problematic, but
then he sometimes surprises me. He's like, Helena, come on, I was living in the
60s or 70s, and like, my band went to the first Pride march in Rome. All of
my friends who were really Catholic, Christian were like, What the fuck are you
doing? And he was like, You really think that these people can't have lives
like us? Like, what is going on? And I'm like, that's beautiful. But also,
that's not an excuse to not keep progressing.
KT
Again, another perfect transition. What
type of ancestor would you say you hope to be?
HMA
What does that even mean?
“So, if there was someone in the future looking into my work, I’d hope they’d see things are simultaneously coexisting, basically, and there's a way to maintain things from the past in the future.”
– Helena Musillo-Ates
KT
Everybody takes it their own way, which I love. For
some people it's in relation to the archeologist question, but when you think
of your family or communities that might reference you or think about you, or…
HMA
As a person or as an artist?
KT
People typically answer it
together, but this is a good question. When you think about becoming an ancestor, do you
feel different about your artwork versus yourself, as a person?
HMA
No, I feel like my artwork is so personal because it’s about gender, family, social norms and rewriting and
using old structures and modernizing them... It's funny. I had one assessment
in my first or second year of uni, and one of my teachers kept saying I ‘softly
advocate,’ and I was like, What? What does that mean? And he was like, you set
up your work in a way where you're not telling people how they should think, or
that what they think, or what they don't think, is correct or not correct, but
you set it up in a way where they are welcomed into the idea or way of
thinking.
In one work I recreated fables, but I took away all the, what I thought were, harmful, stock characteristics of like, the prince saving the princess, to try and maintain the beauty in fairy tales and children's stories, and how we can keep that alive without being so, ‘you need this to help you do that,’ or whatever. My teacher was like, with softly advocating you are never telling people off for how they think, but you’re inviting them to view something in a different way.
I hope that comes through all my works. I would like things to be very moral, and the world is not like that, actually. Yeah, but everyone in this world deserves the same space and time as each other.
In one work I recreated fables, but I took away all the, what I thought were, harmful, stock characteristics of like, the prince saving the princess, to try and maintain the beauty in fairy tales and children's stories, and how we can keep that alive without being so, ‘you need this to help you do that,’ or whatever. My teacher was like, with softly advocating you are never telling people off for how they think, but you’re inviting them to view something in a different way.
I hope that comes through all my works. I would like things to be very moral, and the world is not like that, actually. Yeah, but everyone in this world deserves the same space and time as each other.
KT
That makes sense. It also makes me think of other times where
you've said how opening people up to an experience or a new world is important to you. You said it might not be obvious in the work, but it's
all in there.
HMA
Sometimes when I see video exhibitions, I'm like, Wow, that's
beautiful. And it's just being shown because it's beautiful, or it's not
beautiful, whatever it is. When I make my works, I am going
through 500 different rooms of like, okay, there's the aspect of how we
view gender now and then, if we're talking about something from the past, I need to somehow highlight or direct that. Then there’s
the clothing, and then there’s the conversation, and then there’s the way
it's edited, the classical way of storytelling, and not the
classical way. Someone sees the work and might not think about any of
anything of that, but I'm constantly asking myself those questions.
There's a lot of works where I'm like, why am I making this? Am I just making it for the sake of making an interesting work? It could also be shock factor work, but then I'm like, Who am I to do that? What rights do I have to discuss that or to show that? I want to feel 100% sure that I have gone through most of the questions. Obviously, you can never fully do that, and I think every work can also be problematic in some way. But I would hope that artists are thinking of some of these things.
With my graduation film, I used all references from Greece, Turkey, Iran, and everyone who was in the film were from those countries and that felt really special. There's something so beautiful in those moments of coexisting, you feel it. I like sharing videos of my family and having my friends witness them. They're like, it's so special how you guys interact, even though, there's still a lot of times where we clash heads completely.
For me, a chosen family is also such a special thing, in the queer community, especially, where some people don't have their parents or people who they feel they can be their full, authentic selves with. For some people, they're completely fine and they're like, That doesn't even affect me. But for other people, it really affects them. At my graduation my family were like, I've never seen you this happy. Is this just because you're graduating? I was like, No, the people who are in my life, they're there because I'm putting effort and consciously choosing them to be there. I know if there's anything wrong, we're there to hold each other, and we've given each other that conversation.
The ways my friends and I invest in each other are not separate from my work, and I think that comes through. Me and my friends love to investigate and gossip and analyze, whether it's in a fun way or in a really sad way, if something heartbreaking has happened, or if someone bought yarn to knit, and they're really excited about the yarn, or whatever, you know? I think there can be such excitement in discussing very mundane things. That’s family, right? Like, my family, we're talking about food 80% of the time, or when we're gonna see each other next, because we all live in different places, and then some family dramas. But food is the majority. It’s really mundane, but, we have great conversations.
There's a lot of works where I'm like, why am I making this? Am I just making it for the sake of making an interesting work? It could also be shock factor work, but then I'm like, Who am I to do that? What rights do I have to discuss that or to show that? I want to feel 100% sure that I have gone through most of the questions. Obviously, you can never fully do that, and I think every work can also be problematic in some way. But I would hope that artists are thinking of some of these things.
With my graduation film, I used all references from Greece, Turkey, Iran, and everyone who was in the film were from those countries and that felt really special. There's something so beautiful in those moments of coexisting, you feel it. I like sharing videos of my family and having my friends witness them. They're like, it's so special how you guys interact, even though, there's still a lot of times where we clash heads completely.
For me, a chosen family is also such a special thing, in the queer community, especially, where some people don't have their parents or people who they feel they can be their full, authentic selves with. For some people, they're completely fine and they're like, That doesn't even affect me. But for other people, it really affects them. At my graduation my family were like, I've never seen you this happy. Is this just because you're graduating? I was like, No, the people who are in my life, they're there because I'm putting effort and consciously choosing them to be there. I know if there's anything wrong, we're there to hold each other, and we've given each other that conversation.
The ways my friends and I invest in each other are not separate from my work, and I think that comes through. Me and my friends love to investigate and gossip and analyze, whether it's in a fun way or in a really sad way, if something heartbreaking has happened, or if someone bought yarn to knit, and they're really excited about the yarn, or whatever, you know? I think there can be such excitement in discussing very mundane things. That’s family, right? Like, my family, we're talking about food 80% of the time, or when we're gonna see each other next, because we all live in different places, and then some family dramas. But food is the majority. It’s really mundane, but, we have great conversations.
“The ways my friends and I invest in each other are not separate from my work, and I think that comes through. Me and my friends love to investigate and gossip and analyze, whether it's in a fun way or in a really sad way... I think there can be such excitement in discussing very mundane things.”
– Helena Musillo-Ates
KT
I love that, because, that’s life, right? There’s so much beauty in
the mundane.
Do you have any desire to collaborate or learn a new medium?
Do you have any desire to collaborate or learn a new medium?
HMA
Yes, I feel like something so special happens in collaboration.
It's kind of like raising a kid. I've been watching couples therapy,
where it’s often the woman who is looking after the kid. Then, when the other
partner looks after the kid, the woman says, don't do it that way. But
they're doing the best they can, to their capability, and one way isn't necessarily the
best way. If you have full trust in allowing another human, an adult, to look
after this kid that you have together, then that's when beautiful things come
out. With collaborating, you have to be okay with that trust.
Also, all projects evolve and change shape. I think it can feel scary when that's happening and there's someone else involved, because maybe you don't like the way it's changing, but you need to communicate that. I definitely have the 'I can do it all myself,' mindset, which my uni taught me. It can be amazing in its own way because then I can do things which previously maybe I would have been like, lol, there's no point in me trying to do that, because normally you need 10 people to do that, you know?
With my graduation work, I worked on the costumes. I dyed the fabric, I did screen printing, I sewed, and they were fine, but with collaborating there's something special in having a conversation with somebody. When you trust their practice and the decisions behind the work they’re making, you fully trust them to take charge of that side, whether it is the costumes, the filming, the photography, the whatever, new mediums. I want to do more scripts. I want to do a play with set design and costumes.
Also, all projects evolve and change shape. I think it can feel scary when that's happening and there's someone else involved, because maybe you don't like the way it's changing, but you need to communicate that. I definitely have the 'I can do it all myself,' mindset, which my uni taught me. It can be amazing in its own way because then I can do things which previously maybe I would have been like, lol, there's no point in me trying to do that, because normally you need 10 people to do that, you know?
With my graduation work, I worked on the costumes. I dyed the fabric, I did screen printing, I sewed, and they were fine, but with collaborating there's something special in having a conversation with somebody. When you trust their practice and the decisions behind the work they’re making, you fully trust them to take charge of that side, whether it is the costumes, the filming, the photography, the whatever, new mediums. I want to do more scripts. I want to do a play with set design and costumes.
KT
You'd be a great director.
Okay, my last question is, do you have any song, quote, book, movie on repeat in your brain right now? And what is it?
Okay, my last question is, do you have any song, quote, book, movie on repeat in your brain right now? And what is it?
HMA
This is gonna sound so like, self centered… it’s my own quote.
*laughs*
I was asked the same question when I was being interviewed for a book about dyslexia, because I'm dyslexic, and I do think it changes the way I view and make work and view life, in general. The writer interviewed me when I was, like, 13. It was 100 different kids with dyslexia, about how they manage and deal with it within the school context. She revisited all of us, like, 10 years later, asking when we reflect back on our school days, is there any advice we would give. I think I was just like, if you set your mind on something, you can actually do anything. You might have to take a lot of steps, but once you take the first step, you'll realize, Oh, I've done the first step, and then you can do the second step. I genuinely think you can do whatever you put your mind to.
Also, a song, which is not related to my practice. I'm not religious either, so, I don't know what it is. It's Nina Simone, Sinnerman. It's one of my favorite songs. Every time I listen to it, I don't know what it does to me. It's so long, also the ending is just like this, intense piano. It brings you in. Something about that song makes me feel connected to, I don't know what, because she's talking to the devil and God.
It feels a bit like, I don't know if you've ever sang in a choir, it’s like the feeling of being in a mass group of people all dancing. When you're doing something with loads of people, you feel incredibly connected.
*laughs*
I was asked the same question when I was being interviewed for a book about dyslexia, because I'm dyslexic, and I do think it changes the way I view and make work and view life, in general. The writer interviewed me when I was, like, 13. It was 100 different kids with dyslexia, about how they manage and deal with it within the school context. She revisited all of us, like, 10 years later, asking when we reflect back on our school days, is there any advice we would give. I think I was just like, if you set your mind on something, you can actually do anything. You might have to take a lot of steps, but once you take the first step, you'll realize, Oh, I've done the first step, and then you can do the second step. I genuinely think you can do whatever you put your mind to.
Also, a song, which is not related to my practice. I'm not religious either, so, I don't know what it is. It's Nina Simone, Sinnerman. It's one of my favorite songs. Every time I listen to it, I don't know what it does to me. It's so long, also the ending is just like this, intense piano. It brings you in. Something about that song makes me feel connected to, I don't know what, because she's talking to the devil and God.
It feels a bit like, I don't know if you've ever sang in a choir, it’s like the feeling of being in a mass group of people all dancing. When you're doing something with loads of people, you feel incredibly connected.
“... with softly advocating you are never telling people off for how they think, but you’re inviting them to view something in a different way. I hope that comes through all my works.”– Helena Musillo-Ates
HELENA MUSILLO-ATES
Helena Musillo-Ates is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Lisbon, having spent six years living in Amsterdam. They graduated from the Moving Image department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2023 and have since participated in two artist residencies. Their practice is rooted in video art, film, installation and documentary but extends into writing, poetry, performance, and facilitation—mediums that allow them to explore the nuances of conversation, dialogue, and language as both subject and methodology.
Born in diverse London to immigrant parents, their work engages with themes of cultural identity, migration, and the intersection of personal and collective histories. They investigate how cultural practices—such as rituals and ceremonies—evolve in an increasingly digitized world and how gender, sexuality, and folklore are transmitted across generations. Rather than drawing hard lines between past and future, they focus on the subtle connections that bind people together, exploring how stories shift, adapt, and take on new meanings over time.
A central concern in their work is how conversation and language shape our understanding of culture and identity. They view their practice as a space for exchange, where the tensions between tradition and modernity, the personal and the collective, can be explored without the need for rigid boundaries. In a time when society often feels fragmented, they focus on the small, human connections that unify us, seeking to foster a more fluid and inclusive approach to history, progress, and belonging.