Stephanie Swindle Thomas

Affiliate Professor of Art History

Social media and Marketing
Digital Media Trends and Analytics
Adobe Creative Suite
Photography
Videography
Lighting
Audio
Data Asset Management Software
Curatorial
Arts Writing and Interviewing
Mentoring
Documentary Production

Email sns165@psu.edu
Vitae Download/View CV

Biography

Stephanie Swindle Thomas has made a career out of combining her Art History degrees and multimedia skills with her passion for arts advocacy. Her photographs have been featured in various exhibitions, and she has collaborated with artists, musicians, and directors on arts-related projects around the world. As a teacher and mentor, she emphasizes experiential learning and engaged empathy.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she is a third-generation musician who worked for The Blues Foundation and The Metal Museum before returning to Penn State to work at The Palmer Museum of Art. She is a published fiction writer, who leads a virtual writer’s group and storytelling workshops.

AA297: Multimedia Arts PR
ARTH297: Museum PR
Comm495: Multimedia Internships
Photo495: Professional Photography Internship

2013 State College Photo Club, Juror
2017–18 University Staff Achievement Award finalist
2018–19 Staff Spotlight Award, College of Arts and Architecture

2017 Solo photography exhibition, Give Me Your Portrait, Borland Project Space, Penn State
2018 Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania Photography Exhibition, honorable mention
2019 #BlueBandHype Exhibition, Curator, Penn State
2019 Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania Photography Exhibition
2019: The Molok, Set Photographer
2019: Cotton Bowl, Penn State Blue Band Videographer
2020 Huntingdon Arts Council Photography Exhibition, Dojo, featuring interns from the College of Arts and Architecture
2021 Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Donald M. Robinson Photography Biennial

2017: Artist Talk and “Storytelling Through Photography” workshop in conjunction with Give Me Your Portrait solo exhibition
2018: “Expanded Practice: Understanding Space and Place,” panelist, Borland Project Space, Penn State
2018: Visual Resources Association, “Doing It Your DAM Self: Grassroots Effort, Open Source Software” with subsequent publication of a related article, “Designing for Scope, Embracing Drift: Customizing Metadata with Open Source Software and Grassroots Efforts” in the VRA Bulletin
2019: Social Media Strategies Summit, panelist, “How to Best Communicate With And Engage Faculty, Staff & Students: Creative Ways to Share Academic & Research Content on Social”
2020: Artist Talk and Portrait Photography workshop in conjunction with Huntingdon Arts Council, Dojo Photography Exhibition
2020: Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer, Digital Companion, video production
2021: Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, “Creating a Multimedia Internship Program”
2021: Social Media Strategies Summit, “Hybrid Engagement and Community Building through Social Media”
2017-2021: Weekly multimedia workshops on various topics and expertise levels to groups and classes at Penn State