Aruna D’Souza, Paul Mellon Distinguished Fellow Lecture 2026

Art critic, writer, cook, and storyteller Aruna D’Souza gives a lecture at Skowhegan. D’Souza frames her talk with the following question: How will art teach her to be less of an asshole in the world, and how will art teach her to live in ways that are gentle, fierce, ethical, and political? D’Souza asks this of all art she looks at, even art that isn’t meant to be overtly political and world changing. This question helps D’Souza gain meaning of a work and the lessons a viewer may attain. Throughout the lecture, D’Souza shares slides and videos of artists she has written about over the years who have taught her what the picture of a new world could be. Murmuration–which she defines through the natural instincts of animals to flock in complex herds, like birds or fish–is a concept that D’Souza regularly reflects upon to imagine new forms of solidarity and creates an experience of movement and loss that is tied to the notion of becoming an immigrant. D’Souza shares how the artists she has written about have taught her the importance of depth with one’s materials, as a method for artists to move backwards into history. D’Souza describes a spirit of generosity in the ideas of holding space without stealing space, consumption of air without stealing another’s air, and the creation of space in a way that leaves space for the people around them. D’Souza urges artists to decide what a career looks like for them and how to make that career happen. Another idea D’Souza reflects on in her lecture is opacity. She encourages the participants to be conscientious about what  they reveal and conceal. D’Souza describes opacity as a consideration and understanding of the stakes of what being opaque means stating that it’s not just a matter of closing off all communication, but instead choosing what is and isn’t communicated. D’Souza ends her lecture by telling the participants to be strategic in art making, to think about what they want to portray or offer up in their work (and what they don’t), and to avoid opacity with themselves. D’Souza states that they must understand why they are making their art, and what the stakes are of withholding meaning in their work.