AUBURN, N.Y. — Syracuse native Catherine Underhill has started her new job as executive director of the Schweinfurth Art Center, a multi-arts facility in Auburn. Underhill, who began in her new role Aug. 25, most recently served as executive director of View Art Center in Old Forge. “I’ve spent my entire career in the arts,” […]
AUBURN, N.Y. — Syracuse native Catherine Underhill has started her new job as executive director of the Schweinfurth Art Center, a multi-arts facility in Auburn.
Underhill, who began in her new role Aug. 25, most recently served as executive director of View Art Center in Old Forge.
“I’ve spent my entire career in the arts,” Underhill said in the Aug. 13 announcement. “No matter what discipline — visual art, dance, music, theatre — the arts provide an important opportunity to inspire and engage community members of all ages. A core component of our work is to provide the tools to help people intersect with the art, because it’s here to inspire, to provoke thought, and to engage people.”
Underhill has held leadership positions in arts organizations in several locations. They’ve included Atlanta, Georgia and both Denver and Boulder in Colorado before returning to Central New York in 2013 to serve as managing director for Symphoria, which is now the Syracuse Orchestra.
She later served as director of development at Everson Museum of Art before taking over at View Art Center.
Early inspiration for Underhill’s career in the arts came from a year spent as a high school exchange student in Peru, the Schweinfurth Art Center said.
“The food, the architecture, the clothing, the music, all of the cultural indicators were so important in beginning to understand the people and the place and the history — especially early on when I didn’t speak Spanish,” she said. “So I think that’s where I got interested in art history.”
Underhill is planning to take the same approach with the Schweinfurth, the center noted. She plans to “immerse herself” in learning about the organization, its programs, audiences, and the communities it serves, and then work to expand its reach and standing.
“[Retiring Executive Director] Donna Lamb’s leadership over the last 25 years has been extraordinary, and the team now at Schweinfurth is very strong,” Underhill said. “I’m fortunate that both provide a platform for further growth. I’d like to explore strategies to build on this legacy and see what we can do to continue to expand and engage more people locally, regionally, and potentially nationally.”
Underhill has an undergraduate degree in art history from the University of New Hampshire, a masters in the same topic from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and a master’s in public administration from Harvard University.
The Schweinfurth Art Center, located at 205 Genesee St. in Auburn, says it hosts more than a dozen exhibitions a year, runs fine-arts classes, and is known nationally for its fiber-arts programming, including an annual conference.
