Denise Petzold (D.)

Denise Petzold is postdoctoral lecturer at the Philosophy Department of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the ‘Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music’ (MCICM).

Her PhD project 'Archives of Change: An Art Conservation Studies Approach to Innovating Classical Music' (2018-2022) was supervised by Prof. dr. Peter Peters and Prof. dr. Karin Bijsterveld. In it, Denise brought together classical music and contemporary art conservation, seeking to rethink how classical music might be brought into the future in meaningful ways from the perspective of its practitioners. Thereby, she addressed the tension between conserving and innovating artistic heritage in a highly professional and tradition-loaden community of actors.

Denise has a background in science and technology studies (STS), contemporary art conservation studies, museum studies, and classical music. Her research interests revolve around the role of technology in artistic practice and heritage conservation, ephemeral materials and new materialisms, as well as processes of craftsmanship and making.

She also teaches in various BA and MA programmes at the faculty.

Previously, Denise has worked as an assistant curator at the contemporary art museum Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst in Aachen, Germany, where she co-organised two large-scale exhibitions including their accompanying publications. She obtained both her bachelor’s degree (BA Arts & Culture) and her master’s degree (MSc Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology) from FASoS and graduated cum laude in both programmes. After completing a research internship at Tate, London, during her studies, Denise focused on the conservation of performance art, more specifically the role of documentation in shaping the lives of performative artworks in museums.