# AFVS welcomes Fred Moten as the 2023 Solomon Fellow March 10, 2023 The Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University is thrilled to welcome cultural theorist and poet Fred Moten as the 2023 Solomon Fellow. Moten is an alumnus of Harvard College, a recent MacArthur Fellow, and a Professor in the Departments of Performance Studies and Comparative Literature at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Moten teaches courses in Black study, poetics, and critical theory, and creates new conceptual spaces that accommodate emergent forms of Black cultural production, aesthetics, and social life. In his theoretical and critical writing on visual culture, poetics, music, and performance, Moten seeks to move beyond normative categories of analysis, grounded in Western philosophical traditions, that do not account for the Black experience. He is developing a new mode of aesthetic inquiry wherein the conditions of being Black play a central role. Moten will visit the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies from Monday, April 10, through Friday, April 14. AFVS community members are warmly invited to participate in the following activities: **Lunch** for Students Enrolled in AFVS Courses Monday, April 10, from 12:00-1:30pm in Sever Hall Room M-12 RSVP Encouraged ([at this link](https://forms.office.com/r/TMyqpZjhuS)) **Lecture and Reading** Open to the Public Thursday, April 13, from 6:00-8:00pm in the Carpenter Center Theater *Link to [Fred Moten Solomon Fellow talk](https://vimeo.com/825549357)* **CMP Exhibition Critique** Open to the Public Friday, April 14, from 10:00am-12:00pm at the Smith Center Arts Wing \* The Solomon Fellowship invites artists, filmmakers, and critics with strong visions and voices, embedding them into the life of the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies. Fellows interact with students and faculty through class visits, workshops, and a public presentation, deepening the impact of visiting artists through student engagement. The Fellowship, a generous gift of the Solomon Family, extends visiting artists' involvement in the life of the Department and the University at large. Fellows are nominated through a department-wide open call which is then considered by the AFVS Visiting Artist Committee, comprised of members representing all areas of the Department, including graduate students and undergraduate students. Please contact Spinney at if you are interested in serving on future Visiting Artist Committees. See also:- [ Department News ](/news-type/department-news) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)