Historians of Netherlandish Art Conference (HNA Boston, MA, July 14-17, 2027)
Panel: Theory and Praxis at the Intersections of Museums and Academia
Chairs: Anna-Claire Stinebring and Jun Nakamura
The assumption that there is an inherent division between academia and museums—and between theory and object-based study—has been tested in recent years by curators and academics alike. Nevertheless, visual arguments put forward in museum installations remain fundamentally distinct in form and content from those developed in scholarly books and articles. When it comes to exhibitions and permanent collection displays, scale, medium, availability of loans, conservation and condition, limited word counts for gallery didactics, and making content accessible to a range of audiences must all be factored in. These variables require nimbleness and creativity from curators, who face challenges as well as opportunities from the circumstances of object-based argumentation.
This session will focus on case studies where recent developments in academic art history have been successfully translated into a museum context, where, with the right framework, complex theory can come alive through objects and be made accessible for diverse audiences. The session is equally interested in how methodologies initially developed in a museum context have been incorporated into university curricula. The organizers seek proposals for 10-minute case study presentations, concluding with a roundtable discussion.
Relevant topics could include:
- Instances where arguments are better suited to exhibitions rather than books or articles, or where books/articles/symposia take on new dimensions through translation into an exhibition.
- Strategies for translating theoretical discourse (such as queer theory or ecocriticism) into accessible exhibition didactics without losing conceptual richness.
- Innovative activation of exhibitions through programming or events.
- Historically grounded interdisciplinary and cross-temporal displays.
- Role of academic museum in bridging museums and academia.
- Role of technical art-historical research—in collaboration with conservators and scientific researchers—in academic contexts.
To Submit: Please send a 150-200 word abstract along with a current CV to Anna-Claire Stinebring (Anna-Claire.Stinebring@
Visit the HNA website to view the full list of calls for papers for this conference.