Projects

Interdisciplinary research project studies new types art-storage-spaces and their implications for global relations between art and finance.

Cultural Property Protection for All (CPP4ALL). If you are an expert or researcher interested in the protection of cultural heritage, like MACCH affiliated researcher Donna Yates, now is the time to join one of the working groups in the COST action network Cultural Property Protection for All (CPP4ALL). This network responds to the ongoing illicit trade of cultural artifacts by seeks to establish a network of excellence that integrates, harmonizes, and disseminates existing knowledge while fostering the development of innovative services and tools to enhance cultural property protection across Europe and beyond. 

In this PhD project, researcher Jiaqi Liang investigates the interactions between dark heritage sites, such as the Memorial Hall of the Victims of Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (Nanjing Massacre Victims Memorial/NMVM) and the Memorial Hall of Datong Coal Mine Mass Graves (Datong Mass Graves Memorial Hall/DMGMH), and the well-being of local communities associated with such sites. Despite the growing interest in dark tourism, research focusing on its effects on the “host” communities is insufficient. This study aims to explore how dark heritage sites' presence and development affect local communities' well-being.

MACCH is involved in research as part of the Draden van ons Nederlandse slavernijverleden project in Limburg. The Draden van ons Nederlandse slavernijverleden project is a nationwide initiative that commemorates regional narratives of slavery through the co-creation of monumental tapestries across the Netherlands. Each tapestry—designed by professional artists and created through active community participation—represents the unique local history of slavery within a specific province. The FASoS research project, ran by Christian Ernsten and Diana Natermann, provides the historical grounding necessary for Draden to integrate archival documentation with artistic expression, community engagement, and embodied heritage practices, resulting in the creation of “living memory objects.” Specifically, the research seeks to uncover traces of slavery-related legacies in the cities of Limburg. The research is funded through SWOL and CEL. 

DRAPO is an ongoing project aimed at digitizing and unlocking association banners, a reflection of Limburg's society documented in collections from museums, archives, libraries, and associations. Members and partners of the Heritage Cooperative Limburg (CEL) are dedicated to preserving this rich assembly of publications and objects for the future. 

In the COST Action Network European Media and Born-digital Art Conservation and Knowledge Network (EMBARK) responds to the struggle of Europe’s heritage institutions to maintain their media art collections. EMBARK aims to strengthen Europe’s ability to safeguard its collections of media art–an overlooked and underestimated segment of Europe’s cultural heritage and research infrastructure–for current and future generations. In this Network researchers, heritage professionals and relevant experts, including MACCH affiliated researcher Vivian van Saaze, will join forces to identify common needs, build consensus on shared approaches and create transnational synergies. 

 The GLiM Project (Stained Glass Art and the Limburg Mines) primarily focuses on cataloging mining windows in Limburg

A dynamic Linked Open Dataset of digitized historical letterheads kept in the archives of the Centre for the Social History of Limburg (SHCL), regional archive of Limburg (HCL) as well as those of municipal heritage associations and local archives. After establishing procedures for digitizing and describing letterheads, the project aims to systematically incorporate the letterhead collections of other archival institutions. 

MERIAN is a space for collaborative research in between making and thinking. PhD and Professional Doctorate candidates engage in innovative styles of research, utilizing the powers and fragilities of artistic and scientific practices. Their research addresses urgent matters of societal concern apparent in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion. 

In the NWO-funded Pervserse Collections (PERCOL) project, Dr. Eliza Steinbock addresses concerns regarding Europe’s LGBTQ+ archives, asking: What is preserved by whom and why? How have these marginalised and often persecuted communities managed to preserve their own history? What can we learn about how to preserve history, categorise it and make it accessible and relevant?

The Project Polychromy Conservation (PoCo) (2024-2027) focuses on training a new generation of specialists in the conservation of polychrome objects. Knowledge transfer takes place in a master-apprentice setting, in cooperation with various project partners from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. 

Crimes involving high-value unique goods, such as luxury items and works of art have evolved significantly: as opposed to forgery or theft, criminals now exploit luxury items by turning them into financial assets which are then used for laundering wealth, obscuring transactions and evading sanctions. To unpack how this process works and can be prevented, PRICELESS has been launched under the leadership of Dr Christoph Rausch. 

The world has moved online, with entire repositories, archives and cultures now in the digital realm. PURE3D is a groundbreaking initiative that addresses challenges those working in Digital Humanities are currently facing by developing access infrastructure for viewing interactive Digital Heritage and Digital Humanities 3D content online.

Research, Education and Action Lab into Collective and Circular Transformation (REACCT) is a new research project (2024-2027) – c. 1 million euro - developed together with Huis Veendam-Dynaplak, a design and biochemical company that produces, recycles and designs with renewable materials.

The LACUNAE (LAsting Legacies: Contemporary Artists’ Estates Between PUblic Heritage and Private Inheritance) research network aims to explore how emerging networks of care for contemporary artists’ estates can better involve marginalized artists and their communities in co-constructing lasting legacies.

In October 2018, Dirk van de Leemput started his collaborative PhD project with Tate, London. Since the 1960s artists have been using a range of media technologies to create art. These artworks are dependent on these technologies and their associated networks of people, materials and skills, not only for their production but also for their on-going display and access. 

The REVITALISER project with Donna Yates, titled “Preventive Protection of Archaeological Sites in the EMMENA Region,” contributes to the fight against illegal excavations and protect cultural heritage using remote sensing, AI, and space-born technologies. The ECoE will work closely with the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC), Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), and Maastricht University (UM). The Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence (ECoE), a leading research institution based in Limassol (Cyprus) received funding under the Twinning Bottom-Up scheme of the EC WIDERA program for the innovative REVITALISER project.

Rivier Atelier is a newly funded research initiative by the Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed and the Province of Limburg in collaboration with Natuurmonumenten, led by MACCH researchers Christian Ernsten and Claartje Rasterhoff. The project seeks to formulate nuanced landscape visions and heritage management strategies in response to the impact of climate change on watermill landscapes. 

For many years, the SHCL has been engaged in the history of agriculture, industry and historical demography within a long-term perspective. Recently SHCL has expanded its focus to include the social history of the landscape. This entails a dedicated study of the interaction between people and their environment over time. 

Paul P. Stewens is a PhD candidate with the Faculty of Law's Department of Criminal Law and Criminology. His doctoral research focuses on the legal regulation of the extraction, ownership, and transfer of palaeontological objects, and how they challenge legal classification due to their ambiguous nature. As one of the few experts in the field, his interdisciplinary work has appeared in both science and law journals. Outlets such as Science and The Economist have featured his research. Paul holds a Master in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and has been actively involved in several high-profile fossil restitution controversies and initiatives to counteract harmful research practices in palaeontology.