Matthew Wesley Mahoney

Bachelor of Arts in Art History (Honors; Cum Laude)

Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

Graduated May 2024. Thesis: “Remedios Varo as Liberated Mythmaker: Journey from Woman Surrealist to Heroic Magician-Scientist.” Advisors: Dr. Ricardo de Mambro Santos and Dr. Abigail Susik.

High school diploma

Uplift Luna Preparatory, Dallas, Texas

Completed a two-year International Baccalaureate visual arts course, including a comparative study of Salvador Dalí and Gustav Klimt.

Art history, neurodiversity, and museum studies

Twentieth-century modernism and Surrealism; Remedios Varo and women Surrealists; art historiography and movement theory; automythography, mythology, psychology, and the subconscious in art; disability and neurodiversity studies, including outsider and self-taught art; museum studies and accessible interpretation.

History Research Intern

Bush House Museum, Salem, Oregon

Reframed the Salem Remembers timeline by consolidating events and strengthening interpretive flow. Integrated marginalized perspectives, primary sources, biographies, and regional geography into an inclusive, accessible public-history narrative.

Curatorial & Collections Assistant

Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University

Internship and subsequent collections employment. Researched and wrote interpretive labels for three exhibitions; curated Dalí’s Dialogues and Internal/External Nature and contributed to Singular Visions. Catalogued, photographed, and documented artworks in PastPerfect, including five Salvador Dalí portfolios. Installed and deinstalled artworks, supported acquisitions, and delivered a public talk on Amy Turner.

Presidential Scholarship Research and Curatorial Project

Willamette University

Produced and edited a podcast episode on Surrealism and modern art historiography and delivered two guest lectures. Produced five public Salvador Dalí portfolio catalogues and developed and curated Dalí’s Dialogues.

Research Assistant, Art History Department

Willamette University

Compiled annotated bibliographies and organized scholarly literature for Dr. Abigail Susik. Digitized more than one hundred theses and numerous book chapters for teaching and research; participated in a faculty-publications discussion panel.

Carson Undergraduate Research Grant Project

Willamette University

Researched, wrote, and produced four substantive podcast episodes on art historiography, modern art, Autism and neurodiversity, and labyrinths, with a separate introductory episode. Integrated interdisciplinary research, creative writing, and performance. Prepared English translations of two chapters of Gustav René Hocke’s World as a Labyrinth from Spanish through personal work, translation software, and assistance from another person.

College Colloquium Research Grant Project

Willamette University

Conducted first-hand object- and site-based research on Salvador Dalí and Remedios Varo in Mexico City, Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris. Wrote a research paper introducing “psychodynamic discourses” and “personal mythologies” as alternative frameworks for interpreting Dalí, Varo, and Surrealism.

Special Education Teacher (K-7th Grades)

Museum School of East Dallas, Dallas, Texas

Teach For America corps placement. Designs individualized, accessible instruction and IEP, grade, and accommodation tracking systems in a museum-based, inquiry-driven environment. Develops cross-subject curriculum and RISE lessons integrating research, museum resources, art, history, culture, and experiential learning. Created Greek-mythology-themed visual supports and completed summer launch work.

Independent Tutor

Dallas, Texas

Provides individualized elementary literacy and mathematics instruction.

TFA Texas Summer Fellow

Uplift Education, Road to College & Career

Researched Texas standards, Uplift pacing and instructional guidance, IB MYP guidance, and research-backed resources to revise the Principles of Education & Training CTE curriculum. Revised unit plans, slide decks, student materials, assessments, rubrics, and extension activities. Supported educator-pathway interviews, nursing-camp activities, microinternship programming, and records reconciliation.

Special Education Teacher (1st-6th Grades)

Bowie Elementary, Richardson ISD, Texas

Teach For America corps placement. Taught core subjects and social-emotional learning in a self-contained STAR Autism classroom. Collected and analyzed IEP, Discrete Trial, Pivotal Response Therapy, behavioral, and academic data and implemented structured, trauma-informed supports. Completed certification coursework and fieldwork and earned Texas intern certification in Core Subjects EC-6 with STR, Special Education, and ESL.

Corps Member, Dallas-Fort Worth

Teach For America

Member of the 2025-2027 corps; special education teaching and ongoing professional development.

Summer Institute Teacher

Teach For America / Duncanville ISD, Texas

Completed pre-service training and taught summer school.

Teacher’s Aide, Instructor, & Guest Lecturer

Art History Department, Willamette University

Taught a weekly orientation course and guest lessons in modern and contemporary art history, visual culture, and film studies. Taught visual literacy, iconology, form, semiotics, and art-historical analysis; curated materials and assessed student work. Tutored students and prepared accessible course materials for disabled students. Roles included Fall 2023 Colloquium Associate and Spring 2024 teaching assistant for the Fellini film course.

Dalí’s Dialogues

Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Curator. Selected prints from Dalí’s portfolios and paired his reinterpretations with original Goya prints; wrote interpretive labels.

Singular Visions: Self-Taught Artists from the Permanent Collection

Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Curatorial contributor / co-curator. Researched artists, wrote interpretive and biographical labels and a curatorial statement, and worked with Living Studios artists.

Internal/External Nature: Recent Acquisitions at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Curator. Organized a display examining relationships between humanity and nature through recent acquisitions.

Dwelling in the Labyrinth: Surrealism’s Answer to What Art Is About

Willamette University

Guest lecture, ARTH 199.

Remedios Varo as Liberated Mythmaker

Willamette University, Student Scholarship Recognition Day

Senior thesis presentation.

Salvador Dalí at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art: A Critical Appraisal

Willamette University, Student Scholarship Recognition Day

Presidential Scholarship presentation on the portfolios and exhibition.

Artist introduction and public remarks

Corvallis Museum, Oregon

Public talk on Amy Turner, outsider art, and neurodivergent expression.

Remedios Varo’s Journey from Woman Surrealist to Female Alchemist and Liberated Mythmaker

Willamette University

Preliminary thesis presentation.

Remedios Varo’s Modern Myth of the Scientists: An Analysis of Revelation and Harmony

Willamette University

The Surrealist Spectrum: Its Origins, Salvador Dalí, and Remedios Varo

Willamette University

An Introduction to German Expressionist Art and Film

Willamette University

Abigail Susik book launch and discussion panel

Willamette University

Panel participation.

The Autistic Psyche as a Labyrinth

Institute for Continued Learning, Willamette University

Phil Hanni student-scholar presentation.

Carson Undergraduate Research Grant presentation

Willamette University

Pomponio Gaurico’s On Sculpture

Willamette University

Neurodiverse Museum Project

Willamette University

The Moralization of the Apple: Knowledge as a Developing Hermeneutic from Hans Baldung Grien to the Apple Company

Willamette University

Expanding Accessibility & Inclusivity for Neurodivergent Students

Willamette University

Faculty and staff training attended by more than 70 participants.

Accessibility, Disability, and Neurodiversity Conversation

Willamette University

Inclusivity of Neurodivergent Students

Willamette University, Starting the Conversation

First-year orientation presentation.

Student panel

Oregon Association of Higher Education and Disability conference

From Naturalism to Abstraction: Languages of Realism

Willamette University

Introducing the Neurodivergent Student Union; Portrayal of Autism in Netflix’s Atypical

Willamette University

Two presentations.

The Vessel Paradigm in Renaissance Mythological Painting

Willamette University

TFA Texas Summer Fellowship

Teach For America

Selected as one of 25 fellows from 175 applicants.

Erwin Panofsky Research Award

Willamette University, Art History

Awarded for senior thesis research on Remedios Varo.

Roger P. Hull Art Museum Award

Willamette University

Recognition for contributions to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Pegasus Research Travel Grant

Art History Department, Willamette University

$600; funded in-person senior-thesis research at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Phil Hanni Scholarship

Institute for Continued Learning, Willamette University

$500; supported the one-hour public presentation “The Autistic Psyche as a Labyrinth.”

Presidential Scholarship

Willamette University

$10,000 award; one of two recipients. Supported five Dalí portfolio catalogues, exhibition research, and related public scholarship.

Carson Undergraduate Student Research Grant

Willamette University

$3,000; supported art-history and neurodiversity research for the Matthew Mythology podcast.

Mary Stuart Rogers Scholarship

Willamette University

$10,000.

Esther Wright Huffman Scholarship

Willamette University, Art History

Seeds of Change Award

Willamette University, Student Affairs

Recognition for community building and advocacy for neurodivergent students.

College Colloquium Student Research Grant

Willamette University

$3,500; supported research on Surrealism, Dalí, and Varo in Mexico City, Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris.

Shannon P. Hogue Scholarship

Willamette University, Civic Communication and Media

$3,000.

Robert Matejek Scholarship; Schmidt Scholarship

Undergraduate scholarship awards

Robert Matejek: $10,000; Schmidt: $30,000.

Eagle Scout

Boy Scouts of America, Troop 381

Service project: a Little Free Library in Wills Point, Texas.

Catalogue of the Salvador Dalí Print Portfolios at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Five digital portfolio catalogues

Research, photography, transcription, and design for Le Tricorne, Alchemy of the Philosophers, Les Caprices, Don Quixote, and Selected Poems of Mao-Tse Tsoung. Prepared translations through personal work, translation software, and assistance from another person.

Matthew Mythology: Stories by an Autistic Art Historian

Creator, writer & host

Five published audio essays and written scripts. Developed through research and recording during 2022-2024.

An Autistic Activist’s Guide to Contemplation and Action

Independent zine

Created for the Inner Life of Activism course.

Exhibition labels and curatorial writing

Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Interpretive writing for Internal/External Nature, Singular Visions, and Dalí’s Dialogues.

The Divergent: A Zine about Autism and Neurodiversity

Independent zine

Campus reporting

Willamette Collegian

Articles on the Bistro, Residence Hall Association funding and restructuring, and a dean-candidate open forum.

The Pythian Paper: The Colored Knights of Pythias Temple and a City’s Hidden History of Racism

Independent historical research

6,000-word study developed during 2019-2020, concerning Black history, urban planning, and public memory in Dallas.

Deep Ellum People

Deep Ellum Foundation

Interview subject.

Art & Architecture Committee Member

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Salem, Oregon

Advised on accession, deaccession, preservation, storage, and art handling using museum standards. Reorganized archival storage, digitized records, and reduced a ten-page accession form to four pages.

Department Coordinator & Office Assistant

Art History Department, Willamette University

Designed seven events, created materials for majors, and organized shared research resources. Improved workroom organization and visual communication while supporting faculty. Included Ford Hall office support and departmental liaison work.

Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society

Willamette University

Member.

Neurodiversity Resources & Cultural Center proposal

Willamette University

Developed a proposal for a campus resource and cultural center; advocacy and planning project.

Founding President & Co-founder, Neurodivergent Student Union

Willamette University

Student advocacy from August 2020; founded and led the Neurodivergent Student Union, building an eighteen-member organization. Delivered faculty training for more than seventy participants and represented neurodivergent students on four committees.

Student advocacy and committee service

Willamette University

Represented neurodivergent students and residents through accessibility, student-life, and community conversations. Earlier service included the Disability Advocacy Club and Residence Hall Association.

Hall Representative, Residence Hall Association

Willamette University

Participated in governance and outreach meetings and a regional residence-life conference. Co-authored a proposal and design plan for improved residence-hall cleaning equipment.

Teen Council Leader

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

Helped organize Teen Nights and facilitated discussion of works in the permanent collection.

Owl Ambassador

Uplift Luna Preparatory

Led school tours and represented student perspectives.

Student Board Member

Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas

Participated in youth programming, artist conversations, and art-making workshops.

Student Volunteer Coordinator and market-booth coordinator

Deep Ellum Arts Festival / Deep Ellum Outdoor Market

Organized student participation in community arts activities.

Eagle Scout Service Project Coordinator

Wills Point, Texas

Designed and installed a Little Free Library at Russell Memorial Methodist Church; coordinated painting and woodworking with younger scouts.

Founder & President, Luna Ambassadors

Uplift Luna Preparatory

Built community relationships and organized student arts and service opportunities in Deep Ellum.

Muralist & Mural Coordinator

Deep Ellum Urban Garden, Dallas, Texas

Collaborated with students on a public mural and community cleanup.

Scout and peer mentor

Boy Scouts of America, Troop 381

Supported younger scouts and taught skills related to fitness, disability awareness, crime prevention, and cyber safety.

Direct Support Professional, Artist-in-Residence, and Art Instructor

Living Studios, Salem, Oregon

Organized creative workspaces and guided collaborative projects for neurodivergent artists. Managed the Salem studio launch, artist-support records, and gallery curatorial contributions.

Personal Stylist

Gap, Woodburn, Oregon

Assisted customers with wardrobe selection and provided retail customer service.

Asset Protection Customer Host / Greeter

Walmart

Provided customer-facing asset-protection and greeting support.

Resident Advisor & Summer Housing Assistant

Willamette University

Built community for eleven residents through accessible programs and responsive support. Created a campus-resource guide and served on the RA Advisory Council.

Writer, Artist & Photographer

Willamette Collegian

Reported on campus organizations and events, conducted interviews, and contributed photography and artwork.

Art Guard

The Warehouse, Dallas, Texas

Provided gallery interpretation and artwork-safety guidance for visitors during March and August engagements.

Alternative Certification Program coursework

University of Texas at Arlington

Preparation in EC-6 Core Subjects, Special Education, and ESL. Coursework is listed separately from awarded certification.

STAR Autism Support training

Professional development

Colloquium Associate training

Willamette University

Belonging, leadership, empathy, academic support, and conflict resolution.

Resident Advisor training

Willamette University

35 hours of preparation in student support, community safety, and conflict response.

Independent artist and designer

Matthew Mythology

Drawing, printmaking, collage, symbolic objects, zines, and journal-cover design. The online portfolio brings together 189 artworks and designs.

Psychocentrism, Surrealism, and neurodiversity

Independent scholarship

Developing a framework for reading Dalí, Varo, and outsider art through psyche, personal mythology, and neurodiversity.

The Kidsvania Chronicle

Independent creative writing

Novel project continuing an invented world developed through maps, stories, and visual work.

Horarium

Personal software project

Built a personal schedules-and-routines app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with routine tracking, reminders, alarms, timers, and optional synchronization through Google Drive.

Languages

English.

Research

Archival, object-based, and primary-source research; visual analysis; art-historical writing; bibliography development; accessible interpretation.

Museums

PastPerfect; cataloguing; collections documentation; art handling; exhibition development; label writing; digitization; archival organization.

Education and Media

Curriculum research and development; standards-aligned and modified curriculum; accessible instruction; assessments and rubrics; IEP-progress systems; podcast production; photography; public presentations.