Meet the Fellows of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing hosts Fellows whose research interests reflect the three collections housed within the Wing: sub-Saharan Africa, the ancient Americas, and Oceania.
-
Bird (Sejen), Côte d'Ivoire, northern Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo artist, 19th–mid-20th century, Wood, iron, twine. The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 ( 1979.206.165).
-
Vessel, Mythological Scene, attributed to the Metropolitan Painter (active 7th–8th century A.D.), Maya, Guatemala or Mexico, Mesoamerica, 7th–8th century, ceramic. Purchase, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller and Gifts of Nelson A. Rockefeller, Nathan Cummings, S.L.M. Barlow, Meredith Howland, and Captain Henry Erben, by exchange; and funds from various donors, 1980 (1980.213)
-
Fan (Drel or Ral), Republic of the Marshall Islands. Late 19th–early 20th century, pandanus leaves, hibiscus fiber. Gift of American Friends of the Israel Museum, 1983 (1983.545.5)
Meet the 2021-22 Fellows
Elizabeth is the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow for the arts of Oceania (2020-2022). She is currently writing a book on the emergence of markets for Maori art and heritage in the Rotorua region of Aotearoa-New Zealand. She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of London in 2005.
Kristal is the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Conservation (2020-2022). She is exploring the use of modular cleaning systems with rigid hydrogels to mitigate stains and environmental contaminants present on a man’s wrapper from the Bondoukou Region of Côte d’Ivoire and is also participating in the de-installation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing in preparation for its renovation. She received her MA from the Bern University of Applied Sciences and the Abegg-Stiftung in 2019.
Elaine is the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow for the arts of sub-Saharan Africa (2020-2022). She is researching the collection and working with outside contributors to bring in a diversity of voices to comment on works to be displayed. She received her Ph.D. in Culture and Performance (with a focus on Central African arts and Museum Studies) from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2020.
Fernanda is the Sylvan C. Coleman and Pam Coleman Memorial Fund Fellow for the arts of sub-Saharan Africa. She was awarded a fellowship to study the mythical and historical imagery of the feminine in Yoruba and Edo artworks, and to explore new aesthetic languages for the reevaluation of Black lives and transnational feminism.