100 years of FN Souza: Goan students to experience his art at this exhibition

Francisco Victor Newton de Souza cast a long shadow on Bombay’s art scene as a master and rebel, but remains elusive in Goa. Ahead of centenary celebrations of his life and work, Goan school and college students experience art—and the world—through his eyes

Across eras, artists have replicated the works of old masters. This is also true of FN Souza, who drew references from and engaged with various masters,” says Viraj Naik, “This process of replication and reinvention is not merely copying; it is imbibing and learning by emulating the original brush strokes and treading the artistic paths that the masters have embarked on.”

The Goa-born artist is speaking of the inspired approach he employed while designing a series of workshops for educational institutions in his home state. The Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts approached him in the run-up to In/Of Goa: Souza @ 100—an exhibition to mark a 100 years of the enfant terrible of Indian modernism. The celebration is in collaboration with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saffronart, Grosvenor Gallery, and Harper Collins.

Viraj Naik

It was in the 1990s that Naik saw his first Souza at an exhibition at Kala Ghoda’s National Gallery of Modern Art; and at the Goa College of Art that he first studied the artist’s creative output. Thirty years later, he set out to give young minds in Goa a taste of Souza’s genius. Titled After FN Souza, the workshops invited students, their parents, and educators to immerse themselves in “a liberating, child-like exercise, encouraging them to see and perceive beyond the rigour prescribed by society.”

Across schools; institutes for differently-abled children such as Ponda’s Lokvishwas Pratishthan Special School and Porvorim’s Sanjay Centre for Special Education; the Goa College of Architecture  and his alma mater, Goa College of Art, Naik took stories of Souza’s early days, as well as knowledge about his techniques and subjects. The workshops were curated and designed based on each group’s skill level. The striking, colourful artworks made by the students can be seen at Sunaparanta from April 12 to May 11.

‘School students saw the art for what it was’

“I was curious about how the students would respond, and was amazed to see the children with special needs take to Souza’s works instantly—they did not hesitate as they made their art,” Naik says. While students of art took a realist approach, those who study architecture ably focused on the technicalities. “School students saw the art for what it was,” he says.

‘It will shape their vision as architects’

Though they seem disparate disciplines, Vishvesh Kandolkar, Vice Principal at Goa College of Architecture, maintains that exposure to greats such as Souza moulds students consciously and subconsciously. “Even if the impact is not felt immediately, it will shape their vision in the future—when they create their own designs or walk into art galleries as patrons,” Kandolkar explains, adding that history is littered with examples of jugalbandis between artists and architects. He likens the workshop to a guided walk through a heritage site—an exercise in nudging the younger generation to understand Souza’s legacy, and their own as Goans. 

Practice leads to better learning outcomes

“Souza is everywhere in Goa—he is in the very air,” says Leticia Alvares, a teacher at Dabolim’s Navy Children School. As an educator to students with special needs—who can opt for painting over maths and science in Class 10—she strongly believes that practise leads to better learning outcomes. “The students were drawn by the coming-together of hues in Souza’s works, and the beauty of his lines,” Alvares says, “It is only the privilege of time that allows one to recognise these facets of an artwork—and the workshop gave us the opportunity to do just this.” Many special needs children opt for unconventional fields such as art; the opportunity to exhibit at a gallery goes a long way for their careers.

‘Hope attendees learn to challenge and disrupt’

“Within the educational and cultural circuit, there is paucity of research on Goan masters who till today, are understudied,” rues Naik. He hopes that the workshops have a lasting effect on attendees, not just in their appreciation of Souza, but also the way they look at their own practice—to challenge and disrupt widely accepted notions just as the founding member of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group did.

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