About Amanda

Hometown:
Stony Point, NY

University Partner:
Williams College

Degree:
Art History and Biology

Grant Partner:
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Senior Mentor:
Pieranna Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art

"Steamboat focuses on community interactions, learning from your peers, and simply questioning, the constant desire to think out loud. Not to mention the very intimate relationship and support you receive from your Mentors is astounding. It is a kind of attention you do not receive in other work settings."

Scholar Background

Amanda is an Art History and Biology double major. This allows her to spend her mornings discussing early Greek sculpture and Mapplethorpe photographs before joining biology lab in the afternoon for gene sequencing.  Her passion for art manifested itself early on in studio artwork both in her high school, where she completed a final senior portfolio, and in her community working with young students painting re-cycled oil drums for distribution throughout the county.

Upon arriving at Williams, Amanda’s studio passions directed her to art history, museum work, and teaching.  She is a Museum Associate at the Williams College Museum of Art where she introduces visiting groups of various ages to the artwork in the collection.  Last summer she was a research assistant to Professor Aida Laleian, a photography professor, and edited a series of over 3,000 images for final public display on ARTstor.  Professor Laleian also mentored Amanda’s Winter Study trip this past January to Paris, where she retraced and re-photographed the work of Eugène Atget.

A Williams enthusiast, Amanda was named Head Tour Guide and now trains new guides to walk backwards while cracking jokes.  Her work in the Admissions Office includes organizing and running programs for prospective low income and minority students.  She is also a Teacher’s Assistant in both the Biology and Photography departments.

Internship Description

Amanda’s ten weeks at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum were spent in the intimate office space of the Contemporary Department alongside the Curator of Contemporary Art, Pieranna Cavalchini, and the Manager of the Artist in Residence Program, Tiffany York.  The scale and uniqueness of the Gardner foster an incredibly dynamic and collaborative atmosphere.  As a result, Amanda spent just as much time working with her mentors, as she did photographing for the Curatorial Department, brainstorming new science programs with the Education Department, and watching conservators use anything from minute lasers to Q-tips in order to clean objects from the collection.  Amanda’s main project was researching the diary of Willard T. Sears, the architect of the Gardner Museum.  The transcript of the diary and much of Amanda’s research surrounding the companies and individuals mentioned in the diary will be published alongside Luisa Lambri’s photographs of both the original Museum and the new Renzo Piano addition.  This artist’s book will be published in conjunction with the opening of the new wing as a celebration and homage to Isabella and her museum. 

Where are they now?

Amanda is currently finishing her senior year at Williams.