Meet 2026 Art Classic Juror: Elizabeth Souza, Multimedia Artist & Educator

We are deeply honored to announce Elizabeth Souza as our second official Awards Juror for the 36th Annual Art Classic Fine Art Competition & Exhibit!

Born in the Netherlands and working across a breathtaking range of disciplines, Elizabeth is a highly accomplished contemporary artist, university educator, and prestigious fellow who brings an incredible global perspective and academic rigor to our 2026 awards panel.

Three Muses, Oil and Collaged Batik, Elizabeth Souza

Artist Biography

Elizabeth Souza is a fine artist and educator who was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Her multimedia work employs a variety of techniques, including painting, drawing, collage, and fiber. It contains imagery of botanical origin as a connection to the earth, as well as textiles which have been traditionally considered women’s work.

The themes she explores are stories of women, primarily of her own Dutch Indonesian diaspora, in an endeavor to rematriate historical narratives of the past. The work forges a path to a more holistic understanding of origin that includes previously marginalized worldviews.

Njai Oldalisque, Oil, Elizabeth Souza

Souza has an MFA with distinction from California State University, Northridge, where she currently teaches. Her artwork has been included in many exhibits around the Los Angeles and Ventura County areas. She has shown in the Brand 53 and 54 Annual National Juried Exhibition of Works on Paper, at the Brand Library in Glendale, California. In 2025, she was awarded the Lee Yong Soo Comfort Women Human Rights Research and Creative Activity Fellowship, which provided funding for her Speaking Through Silence exhibit. In 2024, she was included in the Land+Sky Site-Specific Art Invitational Residency in Camarillo. She was an Artist-In-Residence at the Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo, where she was the Roxy Ray Scholarship Recipient. Upcoming in November, she will have an exhibit at the Broome Library Gallery on the campus of California State University, Channel Islands.

To learn more visit elizabethcoertsouza.com.