The Transhistorical Museum

A panel discussion with Mieke Bal, Ann Demeester, Hanneke Grootenboer and Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes, moderated by Melanie Bühler on the occasion of the book release of ‘The Transhistorical Museum. Mapping the Field’.

Since the turn of this century, we have witnessed a significant expanse in the field of transhistorical exhibition practices. A range of curatorial efforts have emerged in which objects and artefacts from various periods and art historical and cultural contexts are combined in display, in an effort to question and expand traditional museological notions like chronology, context, and category. Such experiments in transcending art historical boundaries can potentially result in both fresh insights into the workings of entrenched historical presumptions, and provide a space to reassess interpretations of individual objects in relation to their contexts and narratives.

On the occasion of the launch of the anthology The Transhistorical Museum. Mapping the Field, Mieke Bal (cultural theorist, Amsterdam), Ann Demeester (director of the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem), Hanneke Grootenboer (Professor of the History of Art, University of Oxford), and Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes (Professor and Chair of Modern and Contemporary Art History, University of Amsterdam) will engage in a panel discussion on the “transhistorical.” They will be talking about this concept by critically approaching it from an art-historical, theoretical and museological perspective and reflect on the possibilities and affordances of transhistorical methods and exhibitions.

The Transhistorical Museum. Mapping the Field (Valiz, 2018)
The anthology, which is part of the long-term research project on transhistoricity initiated by M-Museum, Leuven en the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, charts the territory for the transhistorical by bringing together contributions by leading scholars, curators and museum professionals of the field. It looks at the concepts that undergird the transhistorical, describes the theoretical horizon it relates to and illuminates the practical applications it has fostered. As such, it provides the grounds for further research and practical applications.

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