The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Fellowship Program Announces 2020–2021 Fellowship Appointments

On September 1, The Metropolitan Museum of Art welcomed 47 fellows from seven countries and 29 universities to take part in The Met’s 2020–2021 Fellowship Program. During their twelve-month residencies, which began virtually, these 16 postdoctoral and 31 predoctoral scholars have exceptional access to staff, libraries, collections, research facilities, labs, and the time and space necessary to complete their book manuscripts, doctoral dissertations, scholarly articles, conservation training, research experiments, and other academic pursuits. Working across the fields of art history, anthropology, critical theory, philosophy, museum studies, historiography, conservation, and the material sciences, each fellow is paired with a supervisor or primary contact in their host department who can help them navigate the Museum and facilitate access to resources.

The fellows’ research projects this year embrace an immense range of subjects, including the documentation of Te Arawa Māori pieces in museums as a globally dispersed “collective oeuvre,” an examination of the art of the Achaemenid Empire through the theoretical perspectives of materiality and memory, research into developing cold storage procedures for plastics in the Costume Institute collection, and an interdisciplinary study of musical instruments from the Mandé region of West Africa at The Met. Through their monographs, cross-cultural investigations, and stunning originality of thought, this year’s fellows explore connections among cultures and collections in the Museum in ways that go beyond traditional boundaries, bridging the visual arts and other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, performing arts, and fine arts.

A Met fellowship allows scholars from around the world opportunities to immerse themselves in a curatorial, conservation, education, or scientific research department at the Museum. Drawing on the particular strengths, resources, and expertise of their host departments, fellows use the Museum as a vibrant space for dedicated research, professional development, and the dynamic exchange of ideas. During their yearlong terms, Fellows have unique access to the Museum's inner workings and are fully integrated into the life of The Met.

Additional details about current and former fellows, including their fellowship projects, institutional affiliations, and areas of study, can be found on The Met’s website.

For more information about the fellowship program and how to apply, please visit metmuseum.org/fellowships.

THE 2020–2021 MET FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Full List of Awardees

SENIOR FELLOWS

History of Art and Visual Culture Fellowships

Caitlin Meehye Beach

PhD, Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University

Assistant Professor of Art History, Fordham University

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Alexandra Chiriac

PhD, Art History, University of St. Andrews

Leonard A. Lauder Fellowship in Modern Art

Modern and Contemporary Art—Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art

Miriam Chusid

PhD, East Asian Art History, Princeton University

J. Clawson Mills Scholarship

Asian Art

Elizabeth Cory-Pearce

PhD, Anthropology, University of London

Honorary Senior Research Associate in Anthropology

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Seth Estrin

PhD, Classical Archaeology, University of California, Berkeley

Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Chicago

J. Clawson Mills Scholarship

Greek and Roman Art

Meghan Forbes

PhD, Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Leonard A. Lauder Fellowship in Modern Art

Modern and Contemporary Art—Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art

Nancy Micklewright

PhD, History of Art, University of Pennsylvania

Research Associate, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship

Islamic Art

Alexis Romano

PhD, History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art

The Gerald and Mary Ellen Ritter Memorial Fund Fellowship

The Costume Institute

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowships

Amy Butner

PhD, Ancient Egyptian Art History, Emory University

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship

Egyptian Art

Elaine Sullivan

PhD, Culture and Performance, University of California, Los Angeles

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Curatorial Research/Collections Specialist Fellowships

Vanessa Boschloos
PhD, Archaeology and Art Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University