Lilly Markaki

Lilly Markaki, PhD, is a scholar and cultural producer working across critical theory, visual culture studies, media theory, and Black radical and anti-colonial thought. Adopting a transversal theoretical approach, their research investigates the relationship between aesthetics and politics, exploring how insurgent practices—whether philosophical, poetic, or visual—generate forms of solidarity that unsettle colonial-modern ontologies and anthropocentric logics. Their current work includes papers on Deleuze and the Black Panthers, Leonard Harris's philosophy of struggle, and the politics of the image in the films of Kamal Aljafari, alongside a longer-term book project that theorises a paraontological, feeling subject. Lilly is also invested in curatorial and collective research practices that move across disciplines and geographies, as exemplified by their work with DEMO: Moving Image Experimental Politics.

As Lecturer in Race and Culture in Film and Media in the Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London, they convene courses on race, critical theory and creative practice, and digital media theory. Lilly also serves as the Early Career Researcher (ECR) representative for the School of Performing and Digital Arts.

Before joining Royal Holloway, they held Visiting Lecturer positions at the Royal College of Art, University of the Arts London, and Winchester School of Art, and contributed to teaching at Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design and the University of Glasgow. They hold a PhD in Media Arts from Royal Holloway and an MLitt and BA (Hons) in Art History from the University of Glasgow.

Lilly has presented their work at conferences and symposia internationally and continues to develop collaborative projects with artists, scholars, and institutions across multiple contexts. They have also realised several public research programmes that foster dialogue between intellectual, activist, and artistic communities—including Whose World? Whose Future? Whose Hope? Critical Fabulation for Pluriversal Futures (2025); Dark Advances: Affect Aliens & Revolutionary Despair (2022); EVERYWHERE IT IS MACHINES (2021); and Love Spells & Rituals for Another World (2020), which now live on as a publication.

In addition to their academic roles, Lilly works as a researcher and programme curator for DEMO: Moving Image Experimental Politics, edits Deleuzine: A Zine for Nobodies Without Organs, and maintains an experimental radio practice with Stegi Radio (Athens, Greece). Occasionally, they contribute writing to outlets such as ArtReview, Elephant Magazine, Spike Magazine, and the LSE Review of Books.