The Contemporary Turn in Historical Collections: Postcolonial Geographies

Cross-pollination of contemporary artworks and museum historical collections has become standard, especially since the 1970-80s heralding of institutional critique by Fred Wilson, Hans Haacke, Andrea Fraser, and others. Hybridized installations may fall into what Claire Bishop has described as “museums draw[ing] upon the widest range of artifacts to situate art’s relationship to particular histories with universal relevance.” Such installations often address objects’ colonial origin, but using contemporary strategies in their display is not a panacea.

An emergent question about this turn is how it is expressed based upon museums’ geographies. At a fall 2025 workshop at Vanderbilt University, Positioning the Contemporary in University Historical Collections, curators from university museums based in the UK, US, and Ireland shared perspectives from the vantage point of our peer network. This panel will convene a new cohort to probe the question of museum geographies further: is there a difference in how museums networked globally but shaped by varied intellectual/artistic heritages (and sectors) implement such integrations? Is there a schism between how museums in and outside of the US pursue institutional critique via the contemporary?

We view “historical” and “contemporary” as relational and shifting, and encourage submissions that probe the use of these terms. Similarly, we position “museum” as irrespective of size, scope, location, or departmental composition. Submissions could include: histories and (re)assessments of exhibitions and (re)installations of permanent collections; interventions by contemporary artists in museums; historiographies of intersections of art historical scholarship and curating; critiques or genealogies of curatorial trends.

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Amanda H. Hellman, Vanderbilt University Museum of Art, amanda.h.hellman@vanderbilt.edu  

Rachel P. Kreiter, Vanderbilt University Museum of Art, rachel.p.kreiter@vanderbilt.edu