The Team

Founder/Director

In 2021 the United States Mint appointed Dr. Harcourt Fuller to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), as the member recommended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. This honor added to his many accomplishments gives Dr. Fuller the ability to effectively maintain the vision of BME.

Dr. Fuller is a Fulbright Global Scholar and a history professor in Atlanta, GA. He holds a PhD in International History from the London School of Economics, and was a Research Assistant in the Coins & Medals Department at the British Museum. Dr. Fuller is a widely published scholar and lecturer on the history of money in Africa and the African Diaspora. He envisioned the Black Money Exhibit to expose audiences to the importance of money not just as something to spend, but as a visual source of knowledge about world histories and cultures. Professor Fuller is a member of the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) and the American Numismatic Association (ANA). Dr. Fuller has also given invited lectures and conference papers on the history and symbolism of Africana money at educational and cultural institutions in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Irvin Wheeler

Staff Artist/Exhibits Coordinator

Irvin Wheeler’s art career spans over 50 years and his creative work has taken the form of multimedia sculpture, oil painting, collage and woodwork. He has exhibited in many venues including New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and Germany, among others. Wheeler was able to expand upon his love of African Diasporic culture to imagine the stately “money trees” in the Black Money Exhibit. These trees were grown from the seeds of influence that people of color have sown worldwide, depicted on the earth’s strongest and most popular commodity – money. In addition to his background as a working artist, Wheeler has had extensive experience as an arts educator, arts advocate and arts administrator.

Tracy Murrell

Curator

Tracy Murrell is a visual artist, art consultant and curator. A graduate of Centenary College, Murrell served as resident curator for Hammonds House Museum, the opening of Auburn Avenue Research Library’s art gallery, and the Soul of Philanthropy exhibitions in Atlanta and Charlotte. Atlanta Magazine voted Murrell “Rising Curator” in its 2017 Best of ATL issue. She was also a 2019 Artist-in-Residence for the UPROOTED Convergence Program at Green Olive Arts in Morocco.