AMHERST, Mass. -- Beginning on Thursday, Oct. 18, for the third consecutive year, the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College will host Exposing the Mead: Conversations on Photographs in the Collection. This popular original series is inspired by photographs from the Mead's collection and is organized and facilitated by passionate Amherst College students. Each of four informal discussions will highlight a pair of photographs from the collection, exploring questions of photographic trends and the unique influence of the photographic medium on artistic choices.

Series creator Maggie Dethloff, the acting curator of American art at the Mead, remarks, "The third installation of the Exposing the Mead series will surely continue to engage visitors with a wide variety of inspired topics."

"The opening discussion," she continues, providing a sneak peek at the topics on tap for this year, "will be led by spirited Amherst College senior Perry De La Vega and will focus on 19th-century travel photography. With the upcoming National Archaeology Day [Oct. 20] in mind, the pair of photographs will feature fascinating monumental archaeological artifacts."

This year, the discussions will take place at 8 p.m. on four Thursday nights over the course of the Fall and Spring semesters. Free and open to the public, the Fall discussions will take place on Oct. 18 and Nov. 29. (Spring dates to be announced.)