Ron Bashford

Ron Bashford

Associate Professor of Theater and Dance; Chair of Theater and Dance

I am a theater director with a background in music, and I enjoy multi-disciplinary collaborations. So, I have been drawn to the idea of the various arts departments at the college working more closely together ever since the inception of the Arts at Amherst Initiative in 2012.  As the Initiative's mission has evolved, we are also open to supporting ideas that create intersections between the arts and sciences, as well as other humanities.

Camuel Hart

Camuel Hart

Arts at Amherst Initiative Coordinator

Brian House

Brian House

Assistant Professor of Art

Brian House is an artist who investigates the rhythms of human and nonhuman systems. He has exhibited at MoMA, LA MOCA, Ars Electronica, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, among others. The New York Times Magazine, WIRED, The Guardian, and TIME’s annual “Best Inventions” issue have featured his work, and his academic writing has been published in Leonardo, Journal of Sonic Studies, Contemporary Music Review, and e-flux Architecture. House holds a PhD in computer music from Brown University and is Assistant Professor of Art at Amherst College.

Charlotte Murtishaw

Charlotte Murtishaw

Manager of Public Engagement

Charlotte is the Manager of Public Engagement at the Mead Art Museum, and formerly worked at the museum as the staff writer and editor. As a resident of western Massachusetts, she has programmed various public arts spaces and events involving music, film, visual arts, and print culture; studied and presented on popular culture and subcultures in academic forums; written for local newspapers and other publications; and appreciates the privilege of living in a place that so many talented artists of all disciplines call home.

Jason Robinson

Jason Robinson

Professor of Music

A founding member of the Arts at Amherst Initiative, I’m excited to serve again on the Steering Committee. In the early years of the Initiative I helped to organize annual interdepartmental arts festivals and other events. Inspired by the ways our Initiative has continued to evolve and expand, I’m interested in helping to foster a vibrant, creative, and visionary interdisciplinary arts community on campus and between our various departments. A saxophonist, composer, and writer, my teaching and research revolve around improvisation, networking and interactive technology, composition, and African American music.

Eric W. Sawyer

Eric W. Sawyer

Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Music

Prof. Eric Sawyer has taught in the Music Department since 2002 and participated in the inaugural committee that formed the AAI to promote dialogue and collaboration among the arts departments and the Mead Museum. Prof. Sawyer is a composer whose operas include The Scarlet Professor, recipient of the 2019 American Prize for best opera (a collaboration with librettist Harley Erdman and director Ron Bashford). The Onion, a new collaboration with Ron Bashford, received a workshop performance last May and a full performance is planned for 2025. His music is available on the Albany Records and BMOP/sound labels, with a new recording of orchestra music forthcoming.

Past Steering Committee Members

Danielle Amodeo, Previous Public Programs and Marketing Specialist at the Mead Art Museum

Dwight A. Carey, Assistant Professor of Art and the History of Art

Rob Croll '16, 2016-17 Arts Coordinator

Bryan Doniger '18, 2018-19 Arts Coordinator

Yagil Eliraz, Assistant Professor of Theater & Dance

Betsey Garand, Senior Resident Artist in the Department of Art & the History of Art

David Gloman, Senior Resident Artist in the Department of Art & the History of Art

Joshua M. Guilford, Assistant Professor of English in Film and Media Studies

Darryl Harper, Associate Professor of Music; Director of the Center for Humanistic Inquiry; Chair of Music

Lauren Horn '17, 2017-18 Arts Coordinator 

Miloslava Hruba, Study Room Manager and European Print Specialist

Carol Keller, Professor of Art & the History of Art

Justin Kimball, Conway Professor in New Media; Chair of Art & the History of Art

Eliza Larson, 2013-14 Arts Coordinator

Adam Levine, Assistant Professor of Art, Film and Media Studies

David Little, John Wieland 1958 Director and Chief Curator, Mead Art Museum

Vanja Malloy, Curator of American Art at the Mead Art Museum

Sienna McCulley '21, 2022-2023 Arts Coordinator 

Ellen Mutter '18, 2019-2021 Arts Coordinator 

Theo Peierls '19, 2021-2022 Arts Coordinator 

Jenna Reigel, Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance

Alla Rosenfield, Curator of Russian & European Art at the Mead Art Museum 

Eric Sawyer, Professor of Music

David Schneider, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Music; Dean of the Class of 2021

Dylan Schneider '06, 2015-16 Arts Coordinator, 2017-18 Visiting Lecturer in Music 

Ian Stahl '14, 2014-15 Arts Coordinator

Niko Vicario, Associate Professor of Art and the History of Art

Wendy Woodson, Roger C. Holden 1919 Professor of Theater & Dance 

Amelia Worsley, Assistant Professor of English