"The Arts of Byzantium"

Helen C. Evans oversaw the installation of the Mary and Michael Galleries of Byzantine Art, the first galleries of Byzantine art in a major encyclopedic museum. Her groundbreaking exhibitions include (1997), (2004), (2012), and (2018). She is a former head of The Met’s Forum of Curators, Conservators and Research Scientists and a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. She is a past President of both the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) and the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC). In 2020, the Armenian General Benevolent Union established the Helen C. Evans Scholarship for students studying Armenian art, art history, and the early church.

Melanie Holcomb oversees the collection of western medieval art at The Met 5th Avenue, in addition to guiding the Department’s strategic vision across its two locations. She has organized or co-organized numerous exhibitions including (2009), (2016–2017), (2018–2019), and (2023–2024). Her projects have been fueled by a career-long fascination with how art works—the functions it serves and methods it uses to communicate. She holds a PhD from the University of Michigan, a BA from Smith College, a Certificate in Horticulture from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and has lectured, taught, and published widely.