School of Visual and Media Arts
Our faculty members are esteemed leaders in their respective fields, bringing their extensive expertise directly into the classroom.
The art faculty's exhibitions span over 17 countries, including prestigious venues such as the National Portrait Gallery, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Institute. Our film faculty actively contribute to major features and documentaries. Design faculty members receive national commissions, with recent accolades including an Emmy and a Gold Addy Award. Our history and theory faculty are prolific publishers, with recent works analyzing figures like Thomas Gainsborough and contributions to publications ranging from France's Le Monde to Outside Magazine. Additionally, all faculty members are nationally recognized, earning prestigious grants such as the U.S.A. Artist Award and Fulbright Fellowships, while also serving as leaders on national boards and having their work collected by major museums.
Faculty, Tenure and Tenure Track and Administration
Valerie Hedquist, Director, School of Visual and Media Arts; Professor (Art History & Criticism)
Valerie Hedquist is a professor of art history at the 猎奇重口. She earned her Ph.D. with honors at the University of Kansas and has been teaching and writing for nearly 30 years. Her research focuses on the arts of the 17th and 18th centuries and includes articles on the religious paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer. Her book on the changing reception and meaning of Thomas Gainsborough’s Blue Boy was published in summer 2019.
As an educator, Professor Hedquist introduces students to the contexts for art objects and architectural spaces in order to comprehend how and what they tell us about the past and present. In her classes, students explore the role of patrons, the biographies of makers, the original viewing or functioning conditions, the process of production or construction, and the meaning or content expressed by artistic decision-making. How viewers engage and understand artworks over time is an enduring theme in all art historical inquiry. Asking questions about art often leads to insights that extend far beyond the realm of art history and criticism.
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Kevin Bell, Professor of Painting/Drawing
explores how cultural values and aspirations shape our experience of landscape. His research is informed by growing up in the western United States, including ten years in Alaska, and eight years in 猎奇重口. He earned a BA in history from Bowdoin College, and completed an MFA in painting from University of Oregon. His artwork is exhibited nationally and internationally, including recent shows in Hong Kong, Dublin, Shenzhen, New York City, Vancouver B.C., Houston, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago. His work was featured twice in the publication New American Paintings, selected for the 2014 Dublin Biennial, and showcased at art fairs such as SCOPE and Pulse NY. He recently curated Seeing it Again: Nature Revisited at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, Colorado, and was awarded residencies and fellowships in China, Ireland, Chicago and Key West, Florida.
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Email: kevin.bell@umontana.edu
Michael R. Murphy, Professor (Digital Filmmaking, Media Arts)
came to the 猎奇重口 in the fall after a career as an actor and director in theatre, film and television, both in New York City and Los Angeles. His areas of teaching include directing, acting, and interactive media performance and design.
His work covers a range of areas, including film, theatre, opera, video design and performance installation work. He has received numerous awards including a Fulbright, which allowed him to create a new media and performance installation (sleepwalker no. 1) in Ireland in March of 2012. Other recent work include video design for the musical Assassins, the play Everyman, and the writing and directing the fiction film What is Done.
His favorite classes to teach include Intro to Media Arts, which explores the different approaches taken by storytellers, artists and designers to time-based work, and Interdisciplinary Projects, which brings students from varied disciplines together to share their work and processes. His philosophy of teaching is based on his experience as the son of a building contractor who instilled the idea that works are constructed, and that learning happens most effectively through apprenticeship–learning with those who are making the work to which we aspire.
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Email: michael.murphy@mso.umt.edu
Julia Galloway, Professor of Ceramics, Foundation Drawing, and Graduate Advisor
In addition to teaching, Julia maintains an practice in Missoula. Her work is in more than 25 Museum collections including the Smithsonian in DC as well as the American Ceramics Museum. She received the UM Outstanding Scholar award and Arts Missoula Individual Artist Award. Currently, Julia is working on a seven year project about Endangered Species in the US.
As a teacher, Julia believes in an active learning process: making art, talking, assessing, making art and talking again. She finds her students and the ongoing reserach for teaching, inspiring. Julia finds teaching a medium as tactile and responsive as clay helps students focus on their work, gives then times to clarify their own ideas, and develop skills and confidence.
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Email: julia.galloway@umontana.edu
Bradley Allen, Professor of Sculpture
Bradley Allen studied at Southeastern Oklahoma State University for their B.A. in 2001 and Southern Illinois University to get their M.F.A. in 2005.
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Email: bradley.allen@umontana.edu
James Bailey, Professor of Printmaking
was born in New Jersey, and grew up in Minneapolis, MN. He earned his B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota and his M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently an artist and Professor in the School of Art at The 猎奇重口. In 1998 he established , the publishing component of the print program, which brings in nationally recognized artists to collaborate in the production of limited edition prints and he is also one of the co-founders for the which recently completed its 26th year.
As an artist, James continues his research into both traditional and experimental approaches in printmaking. James has exhibited his work nationally and internationally in over 300 exhibitions and national print portfolios across 35 states as well as Estonia, France, China, Australia, Portugal, Wales, New Zealand and Canada. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections including those of the Walker Art Center, New York Public Library, Jundt Art Museum, Boise Art Museum, Mesa Arts Center, Hillard University Art Museum and Sioux City Arts Center among others. James was interviewed for the full-length documentary film on printmaking titled Midwest Matrix and he served on the board for the Printmaking Legacy.
Office: (enter through FA 403)
Email: james.bailey@umontana.edu
Michael Cassens, Director of UM Esports
Michael is the Director of and an Assistant Professor of the School of Media Arts. In addition to continuing his research, Michael teaches courses within the Game Design and Interactive Media concentration in the BFA program. These courses focus on preparing students to contribute to an evolving world using code and modern technology.
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Hours:
Phone: (415) 787.0577
Email: michael.cassens@umontana.edu
Jennifer Combe, Professor; Art Education
is a mother, artist, and Professor of Art at The 猎奇重口. Before shifting to higher education, she taught K12 in Washington State public schools for fifteen years. Her artwork investigates gender, contemporary mothering, and children’s development. Her visual work has been exhibited at The Missoula Art Museum, Holter Museum of Art, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, The Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, the NAEA gallery in Virginia, and The Washington State Center for Performing Arts. Her work is featured in the book An Artist and a Mother, published by Demeter Press. Her work in art education spans early childhood education, community arts, and social theory. Her educational work has been featured in The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, The Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, and Visual Arts Research. Her visual essay, “In Collaboration with the Land” is included in Transformative Motherscholarship and Art: Public Pedagogies of Childhood published by Bloomsbury.
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Email: jennifer.combe@umontana.edu
Matthew Hamon, Professor (Photography)
is a freelance portrait photographer who lives in rural 猎奇重口. His photography exists conceptually and aesthetically in the spaces between photojournalism and staged editorial imagery. Matthew is a featured artist in Scott Ligon’s, “Digital Art Revolution,” ( Watson-Guptil/Random House). Matthew’s work has been featured in CNN, Outside Magazine, The New York Times, The Independent -UK, Lens Culture, LifeFramer, Le Monde, 6Mois.fr, Stern, High Country News, morphyne.com, Edge of Humanity, Don’t Take Pictures, Month of Photography, Los Angeles (MOPLA), PDN’s Emerging Photographer, and Smith Journal. Matthew was a finalist for the 2016 edition of “Nera di Verzasca Award,” winner of the Diaframmi Chiusi Photography Prize, and included in the IPHA 5 (Manifest’s International Photography Annual). He is a 2016 Syngenta photography award recipient and first prize winner in PhotogrVphy’s 2016 grant, and a finalist for the Center for Fine Art Photography’s 10th Portfolio Showcase. Matthew has been featured in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Taylor Wessing Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, The Royal Photographic Society’s International Photography Exhibition 160 (IPE 160), and is the winner of the 2018 Portraits-Hellerau award.
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Email: matthew.hamon@umontana.edu
Trey Hill, Professor of Ceramics and Sculpture
received his BFA from Bowling Green State University in 1999 and his MFA from San Jose State University in 2002. His work has been shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States and internationally. Trey has extensive travel and creative experiences through his vast artist residencies including: The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT; the LH Project Joseph, OR; DaWang Cultural Highlands, DaWang, China; HAP Studios, Beijing, China; Fule International Ceramic Art Museum, Fuping, China; and the Rojal Art Laboratory, Roja, Latvia.
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Email: trey.hill@umontana.edu
Michael Musick, Dean of the College of Arts and Media
Michael Musick is a sound artist, interactive artist, composer, performer, and improviser. His current practice and research explore interactive music systems, creative improvisation, installation art, soundscape / acoustic-ecology and interactive theory.
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Phone: (406) 243.6702
Email: michael.musick@umontana.edu
Ashley Rezvani, Assistant Professor in Game Design & Interactive Media
is an Assistant Professor in Game Design & Interactive Media and a serious game designer. She approaches both teaching and game design experimentally, playfully, and compassionately. Originally hailing from Missoula, Ashley is happy to be back after a decade of making games all around the world. Her industry work focuses on educational games and games for change, collaborating with non-profit organizations and schools to make charming, impactful experiences for players about social justice issues. Her research areas include food in games, tutorialization, de-biasing players through game design, and gender performativity in digital spaces. When she’s not playing or making video games, you can find Ashley baking bread, singing opera, or hiking in the gorgeous Rocky Mountains.
Email: ashley.rezvani@mso.umt.edu
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Mark Shogren, Professor (Digital Filmmaking, Media Arts)
Mark Shogren graduated from the University of Washington School of Drama in 1997. After producing and directing several short documentaries, Mark was accepted into the Ohio University School of Film in 2000. Mark’s short film, Waterlillies (2004) was nominated for the prestigious Conrad Hall ASC Heritage Award for excellence in Cinematography. Mark’s films have been seen in numerous film festivals in both the United States and abroad including the Ohio Independent Film Festival, The DC Independent Film Festival and the Motovun Film Festival in Croatia. After Graduating from OU, Mark Moved to Washington D.C. where he continued to work as a cinematographer for short films and commercial projects as well as crewing on major television and Film projects such as the “West Wing” and HBO’s “The Wire”. In 2005 Mark relocated to NYC where he continued to work as a freelance filmmaker and teacher at Ramapo College of NJ. In 2006 Mark moved to 猎奇重口 to teach in the 猎奇重口’s innovative School of Media arts where he became head of the undergraduate filmmaking area. Mark’s collaboration as cinematographer with his fellow Media arts faculty has resulted in several short films including The Leonard Suite Hotel (2008), directed by Professor Michael Murphy. The Leonard Suite Hotel received an award for editing and cinematography at the 5th annual 猎奇重口 Cine International Film Festival. Career Opportunities in Poetry, (2008), directed by Professor Andrew Smith, was selected for screening as a part of the Cinema Lounge Series, sponsored by Film Independent, in Los Angeles and in October 2008 the film was selected for it’s festival debut in the Austin Film Festival. Mark recently served as cinematographer on the short film, “Be Again” which won Best Made in 猎奇重口 Film at the 2010 猎奇重口 Cine International Film Festival.
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Email: mark.shogren@umontana.edu
Phone: (406) 243.4534
Greg Twigg, Professor (Digital Art and Technology, Interactive Design)
Greg Twigg joined the faculty of the Media Arts program in 2003 after holding positions in advertising firms in Los Angeles and Missoula. He received his B.A. in Fine Arts and MFA in the Media Arts program at UM.
With his strong background in digital design and animation, Twigg leads the department’s Digital Arts & Technologies BFA and Digital Design certificate. He supports students pursuing animation, gaming asset creation, and commercial application of digital design.
Twigg has designed three Addy award-winning advertising campaigns and contributed to UM MFA graduate Barry Thompson’s team on the film “Valley Uprising”, which earned the Emmy for Digital Design for Regional Outfits. He has created music videos with artists including Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) and John Wicks (Fitz and the Tantrums), and has worked on films including “The Bus” and “Nature Propelled”. Twigg partners with many local businesses and nonprofit organizations, creating digital and print media to support important work in our community.
Twigg’s passion is teaching and supporting emerging artists in the School of Visual and Media Arts to find their unique voice. He is married and lives in Missoula with his blended family and two dogs.
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Email: greg.twigg@umontana.edu
Adjunct Assistant Professors
Tobin Addington, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Born and raised in Missoula, Tobin Addington is a professional screenwriter and director whose work has been optioned and commissioned by independent and Hollywood production companies alike. His credits include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016), A Christmas Stray (2021), The Christmas Detective (2023), and 24-Karat Christmas (2024) A graduate of the Columbia University MFA Film Program, Tobin spent 15 years writing and teaching in New York City and is happy to be back in the mountains, and thrilled to be working with students at the 猎奇重口.
Office:
Email: tobin.addington@mso.umt.edu
Shelby Baldridge, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Professional Practices and Drawing, and Gallery of Art Director
is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Missoula, 猎奇重口. She works primarily in sculpture, painting and installation. Regardless of the medium, Shelby’s work centers the nonhuman world and draws from themes related to biological evolution and the connections between species. Her sculptural work utilizes mass manufactured materials such as chicken wire, found objects and repurposed fabric that contrast the natural, organic forms she creates. Baldridge was born and raised in 猎奇重口 where she enjoyed ample accessibility to the outdoors and cultivated a curiosity for natural sciences like botany and ecology at a young age. She received her BFA in painting from the 猎奇重口 in 2012, and later completed an MFA in Visual Studies from the Pacific Norwest College of Art in Portland, OR. Shelby is thrilled to reconnect to Missoula’s art community and is currently teaching a Gallery Management Course at the 猎奇重口 and Directing the Gallery of Arts.
Office: , in the Gallery of Art
Email: shelby.baldridge@umt.edu
Jesse Blumenthal, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sound and Sonic Arts
is an internationally exhibited, museum collected Artist and Educator residing in Missoula, 猎奇重口. The high mountains of Southwestern Colorado were home base for both studio and community based art practices, rooted in the industrial arts, for almost a decade before moving to 猎奇重口 in 2016. Their studio work has been shown in nine solo exhibitions, dozens of group shows and as many residencies across the US and Canada. In 2022 Blumenthal's solo exhibition “Endemic” was shown at Holter Museum of Art in Helena, MT. “Bicycle as a Megaphone” will open in July of 2025 at Palace Gallery in Ellensburg, WA.
Through educational opportunities presented by working in industrial materials in a community forward environment, Blumenthal has broadened the reach and accessibility of their practice. Their community educational practice has been awarded eight separate 猎奇重口 Arts Council Grants and multiple residencies in Missoula, Mt and Gunnison, CO County Public Schools. They are currently a Teaching Artist with Spark Arts Integration and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in The School of Visual Arts and Media at The 猎奇重口. Blumenthal was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, attended University of Massachusetts at Amherst for a BFA in Painting in 2007, and completed MFA graduate work at The 猎奇重口 in 2019.
Office: (inside main sculpture room)
H. Rafael Chac贸n, Director, 猎奇重口 Museum of Art and Culture; Professor (Art History & Criticism)
Dr. Chacon, long time professor of Art History and Art Criticism in the School of Visual and Media Arts is now the Director of MMAC (猎奇重口 Museum of Art and Culture). When possible, he serves on Graduate Students committees.
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Email: hrafael.chacon@umontana.edu
Jason Clark, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Printmaking and School Technician
Jason Clark grew up in a rural town at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and has lived and worked many places throughout the United States. He was raised near the Tule River Indian Reservation in central California, but with his family’s Algonquin traditions and legends from the eastern part of the country. He entered college in Hawaii and studied with a Maori artist schooled in Northwest Coast Native art.
From 2006 -2012 he taught and ran the printmaking studio first at the University of Louisiana in Monroe and then at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. His prints have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, The Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, 猎奇重口, The Turner Art Center, Centenary College, Shreveport, Louisiana, the William Wipple Gallery, Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, Minnesota, the Hillstrom Museum of Art, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, Applestick Contemporary Art, Victoria, Australia, the Warepuke gallery, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, and The 15th International Print Biennial, Varna, Bulgaria. His prints have also been collected in various collections including the Boise Art Museum, the Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas University, West Virginia University, Morgantown, the Junt Art Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, The Museum of Arts and Culture, The 猎奇重口, Missoula, and the Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, 猎奇重口. Jason resides in Missoula, 猎奇重口 as a printmaker, Adjunct Professor and the Technician in the School of Visual and Media Art at the 猎奇重口.
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Email: jason.clark@umontana.edu
Elizabeth Dove, Professor, Co-Director, Innovation Factory
Originally from Baltimore, lives in Missoula, 猎奇重口 where she is a Professor teaching printmaking, photography and design at the 猎奇重口. Dove shows internationally, has conducted research into less–toxic printmaking processes, and taught dozens of workshops on these processes at colleges and universities. Her artwork explores the ambiguous relationship between words and images as sources of meaning, and often integrates autobiographical elements. Dove’s themes include the insufficiency of language to communicate personal experiences, retain memory, or express grief, joy or mystery.
Dove is profiled in Contemporary American Printmakers, Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials and Processes, and Non-Toxic Printmaking, and she wrote chapters for both Non-Toxic Printmaking, and The Contemporary Printmaker. Elizabeth received her BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art, and MFA from Vermont College.
Recent Solo Exhibitions include being selected as the featured artist by 猎奇重口 Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA) for a solo show with six exhibitions across the state; at the Noah Webster House & Historical Museum, in West Hartford, CT; at the Prescott College Art Gallery Arizona; at Wharepuke Gallery, Kerikeri, New Zealand; and at Lessedra Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria. Dove has been featured in more than 100 group exhibitions in 38 states, and 17 countries.
Office:
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursdays 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Phone: (406) 243.4673
Email: elizabeth.dove@umontana.edu
Steven Krutek, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Drawing, Painting, Photography, Art Education
studied art at Colorado College, the 猎奇重口 (MFA), SALT Institute for Documentary Field Studies, and with photographer Stuart Klipper. Steven teaches drawing, two-dimensional foundations, photography, painting, art history, art education, a course for the Wilderness and Civilization program, and a course for the Creative Pulse program at the 猎奇重口. He has also taught elementary and secondary students in various capacities since 1997.
Steven has exhibited work throughout the Inland Northwest, in the Southwest, on the East Coast, and internationally. His work has recently been published on the cover and within The Sun Magazine. Through his current work, Steven non-objectively references landscape to analyze, process, and reflect on human interactions and relationships.
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Email: steven.krutek@umontana.edu
David Mills-Low, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Media Arts
is a writer, actor, director and sound designer with over 20 years working in Theatre. He spent 6 years touring with The Vigilante Theatre Company, 10 years at The Opera House in Philipsburg, as well as work with other local and regional theatre companies. He has a BA in Theatre, an MA in Theatre with an emphasis on Digital Media in Live Performance, and an MFA in Media Arts with an emphasis on 360/Virtual Filmmaking. He teaches for both The School of Visual and Media Arts and The School of Theatre and Dance. Additionally, David is the Film Festival Operations Manager at The Roxy Theatre in Missoula.
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Jerod Peitsmeyer, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Staff
Marissa Badzioch, Program Coordinator
Born and raised in Missoula, MT, Marissa Badzioch grew up surrounded by beauty and creativity. She has spent most of her life in the performing arts world. Marissa attended the 猎奇重口 for both theatre and dance. She took her first dance class here at the University when she was five years old and she performed in her first play with the Missoula Children’s Theatre when she was seven years old. After years of performing, she eventually worked for MCT, Inc. in both the home office and on tour for just over a decade before moving with her family up to the Flathead Valley.
Luckily, life led Marissa home and she is so happy to be back in Missoula and thrilled to be learning about so many different types of art at the School of Visual and Media Arts. Marissa loves laughing, dancing, singing, swimming in rivers and lakes, and her family. And dinosaurs and whales.
Office: FA 303
Phone: 406-243-4181
Email: marissa.badzioch@mso.umt.edu
Sharon Collins, Budget Analyst III
Edward Morrisey, SVMA Advisor
Ed Morrissey serves as the Professional Advisor of the School of Art at the 猎奇重口. He is a co-founder of the Émile Levassor Museum of Art and the advisor to the ASUM student group The Artists’ Collective. He has exhibited his artworks at the 猎奇重口, Portland State University, ELMA, Von Common Studios, via Twitter and the Internet. Mr. Morrissey has worked for the School of Art since 2004.
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