Melanee Harvey

Dr. Melanee C. Harvey is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Art History in Howard University's College of Fine Arts. She holds a Ph.D. in American Art and Architectural History from Boston University, with research specializing in African American visual culture, religious iconography, and photography. As programming chair for the James A. Porter Colloquium since 2016, she advances scholarship on African American art and diaspora studies.

Her research examines the intersections of art, architecture, and Black religious expression, with publications on AME Church architecture, Gordon Parks' photography, and Black Arts Movement artists. Current book projects include 'Patterns of Permanence: African Methodist Episcopal Architecture and Visual Culture' and exhibition catalogs for Gordon Parks retrospectives.

Curatorial Projects:

• Wherever There is Light (TILT, Philadelphia 2024)
• Gordon Parks: Pastor E.F. Ledbetter and Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church (Gordon Parks Foundation Gallery 2025)
• Temples of Hope, Rituals of Survival: Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life (Howard University Museum 2025)

Dr. Harvey has presented research internationally at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Portrait Gallery, and Smithsonian, exploring themes of African American artistic networks and religious visual culture.