Current Curatorial Staff and Activities The Brooklyn Museum of Art’s department of Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Classical Art (ECAMEA) continues to develop special exhibitions of ancient Egyptian art, to investigate and publish studies on the permanent collection, and to pursue archaeological research. The curators’ publications on diverse topics may be found in the Wilbour Library of Egyptology.   Richard A. Fazzini, Chairman, directs the Museum’s excavations at the Precinct of Mut at Karnak. His specialization is Egypt from the New Kingdom (especially at the Precinct of Mut, described below) through the Third Intermediate Period. He had the primary responsibilities for the first phase of the current Egyptian reinstallation—Later Egypt and “Temples, Tombs, and the Egyptian Universe” in the Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery. He has also been a consultant for the Egyptian reinstallations of several museums, including The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. James F. Romano, Curator, planned and oversaw the second phase of the Egyptian reinstallation, which opened in spring 2003. He also serves as Curator for ancient Middle Eastern Art and reinstalled the Hagop Kevorkian Gallery of Ancient Middle Eastern Art in fall 2002. In addition, he has served as a consultant for the installations of the Egyptian collections at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Edna R. Russmann, Curator, a noted art historian, recently organized the traveling exhibition Eternal Egypt, which came to the BMA in the winter of 2001–2002, in conjunction with The British Museum and the American Federation of Arts. She was also the principal author of that exhibition’s catalogue. Her major interest is Egyptian sculpture, especially the Old Kingdom and the Late Period. She has been a consultant for other exhibitions, including the recent African show at the Guggenheim Museum, and for installations at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, among others. Edward Bleiberg, Associate Curator, is an expert on the economy and language of ancient Egypt. He recently organized the traveling exhibition Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt, drawn entirely from the Museum’s permanent Egyptian collection. The department still acquires objects in accordance with contemporary legal and ethical standards, but most of its resources are dedicated to preserving objects already in the collection, to “resurrecting” interesting and fine objects from storage and putting them on view, and to the ongoing reinstallations of the Egyptian galleries. These reinstallations emphasize the illustration of Egyptian art history and the display of individual objects to their best advantage, with a strong focus on making the collection more accessible to Museum visitors by fostering a better understanding of ancient Egyptian history and culture. The Wilbour Library of Egyptology provides reference services to the public and is open to the public by appointment only. Please visit the Brooklyn Museum of Art Web site (www.brooklynmuseum.org) for more information about the library.         Back to Introduction Building and Exhibiting the Collection Excavations at the Temple Precinct of the Goddess Mut Publications