Soulé Déesse appointed Professor of Fine Arts and Director of the Fine Arts Program at The American University of Rome

Soulé Déesse

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Still Lives by Soulé Déesse

Hermafrodek Installation by Soulé Déesse

Hermafrodek OP1 NO2 by Soulé Déesse

Soulé Déesse's appointment accelerates our ambition to position AUR’s Fine Arts program at the intersection of studio excellence, critical theory, and Rome’s living art and design ecosystem.”

— Scott Sprenger, President of The American University of Rome

ROME, LAZIO, ITALY, November 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The American University of Rome (AUR) announced today that artist and educator Soulé Déesse will join the faculty in January 2026 as Professor of Fine Arts and Program Director of the Fine Arts Program.

Déesse comes to AUR from Tufts University’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), where she serves as Professor of the Practice (Drawing & Painting) and Chair of Drawing and Painting. Her teaching and leadership experience, coupled with a globally recognized interdisciplinary approach, will advance AUR’s studio curriculum and the program’s Rome-based experiential model.

Déesse’s work - rooted in what she terms Afrobaroque and digital Vodunism (merging traditional and digital media, while drawing on Afrofuturism and the global Baroque) - moves across painting, drawing, site-specific installation, performance, experimental sound, digital printmaking, and film. Her practice examines human and post-human identities, the future of race and sexuality, and the affective power of images and objects.

She has exhibited or presented work in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, including at venues such as the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, the Mahmoud Darwish Museum (Palestine), Katonah Museum of Art (NY), Galerie Nord (Germany), and the B2 Center for Media, Arts & Performance (CO). Her practice has been supported by residencies and fellowships including Yaddo (NY), the Bogliasco Foundation (Italy), c.r.e.t.a. rome (Italy), Residencia Internacional de Arte Can Serrat (Spain), the Hungarian Multicultural Center (Hungary), and Baldwin for the Arts (NY).

At AUR, Déesse will lead program development across drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and expanded media, strengthening pathways that connect studio coursework with Rome’s museums, contemporary art spaces, and artisan networks. The appointment aligns with the Fine Arts program’s mission: combining rigorous studio training with critical inquiry and on-site learning in one of the world’s great art capitals.

On announcing her appointment, President Scott Sprenger stated, “Soulé Déesse brings the rare combination of an internationally acclaimed practice and proven academic leadership. Her appointment accelerates our ambition to position AUR’s Fine Arts program at the intersection of studio excellence, critical theory, and Rome’s living art and design ecosystem.”

About AUR’s Fine Arts Program

AUR’s BA in Fine Arts blends traditional studio competencies with critical inquiry and on-site learning - leveraging Rome as “our classroom, studio, and inspiration.” Small classes, dedicated faculty mentorship, and city-embedded fieldwork prepare students for graduate study and creative careers across the visual arts and cultural sectors.

Henry James Greiner
The American University of Rome
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