Petrena’s master’s thesis focused on Barbara Brooke, a Canterbury arts administrator, arts magazine editor, and an early dealer gallery founder and director who was ‘the ultimate supporter and promoter of contemporary New Zealand art in the period after WWII. She was a woman who helped establish the careers of many New Zealand artists’.

After submitting her master’s thesis in 2014, Petrena collaborated with the Auckland artist, Julia Holderness, to bring part of this thesis to life. The pair created an installation about Gallery 91 – the first contemporary dealer gallery in Christchurch that was founded by Barbara Brooke and her husband Andre in 1959 – for SCAPE Public Art in October 2017.