The Transhistorical Museum

Since the turn of this century, we have witnessed a significant expanse in the field of transhistorical exhibition practice. 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.
 
The transhistorical museum offers us a way to look at the past via the present (or another historical period) and vice versa, and has the potential for new ways of interpreting and learning.  The book is divided in three parts: 1. What is the Transhistorical? Definitions & Terminologies; 2. Art, Time and Periodization; 3. Curatorial Strategies of the Transhistorical.