Aims & Objectives


​In line with the Highlight Notice and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to build collaborations across a range of countries which receive Official Development Assistance (ODA), the research network will connect and mobilise different communities, including academics, practitioners in the creative/cultural sector and cultural and creative policy bodies. It aims to develop a better understanding of the creative economies in emerging African countries and to explore strategies to encourage and enable sustainable context-specific cultural, social and economic development. The network will provide a platform for academics, creative practitioners, and policy and network bodies to reflect on their work and practice in relation to creative economies in Africa. It will facilitate knowledge exchanges between the Global North and the Global South, highlighting the importance of context specific knowledge and encouraging connections between local
cultural production networks.
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The research network has four main objectives:
1. Compile a literature review of existing research which aims to understand the specific context of emerging creative economies in Africa, with a focus on the role of creative education, cultural production networks and policy;
2. Develop an open access knowledge platform which acts as a point of reference for the work of academics and
practitioners in this area, with case studies, links, interviews, working papers and policy briefings;
3. Through systematic analysis, develop a clearer articulation of the relationship between localised knowledge and practice in the creative economies of three African countries (Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa) and opportunities for the development of sustainable ecologies of cultural production and consumption;
4. Explore the potential role that universities might play in the African context for bringing together researchers, creative practitioners, policy makers and civil society to work towards sustainable and local cultural development.


Research Team

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Dr. Roberta Comunian is Reader in Creative Economy at the Department for Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London.   She is interested in: relationship between public and private investments in the arts, art and cultural regeneration projects, cultural and creative industries, creativity and competitiveness. She has been Marie Curie Fellow at University of Newcastle (Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies) investigating the relationship between creative industries, cultural policy and public supported art institutions. She has also undertaken research on knowledge transfer and creative industries within an AHRC Impact Fellowship award at the University of Leeds.  She has previously researched the role of higher education in the creative economy and has recently explored in various papers the career opportunities and patterns of creative graduates in UK. 
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Brian J. Hracs is a lecturer at the School of Geography and Environment at the University of Southampton, UK. He is interested in how digital technologies and global competition are reshaping the marketplace for cultural products and the working lives and spatial dynamics of entrepreneurs and intermediaries in the creative economy. He has published articles about the contemporary music industry, aesthetic labour, cultural intermediaries, the linkages between music and fashion and the factors that motivate 'talent' to move within and between cities. In 2016 he co-edited a book for Routledge entitled ‘The Production and Consumption of Music in the Digital Age.’ Brian is currently conducting research on curation in the music industry and the trans-local nature of cultural scenes.
  

Researchers & Collaborators

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​​Lauren England is a PhD student at King's College London working in partnership with Crafts Council UK. Her research investigates professional development pedagogy in craft higher education and the requirements for sustainable business development in the UK’s contemporary craft sector. As part of her PhD Lauren has published reports via Crafts Council UK on craft entrepreneurship and higher education policy. Her research interests include the dynamics of creative work and entrepreneurship, creative graduates, higher education in the creative economy and creative cluster development. 
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Damilola Adegoke is a Doctoral Fellow and Research Associate with the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London. His research seeks to explore the roles and place of Big Data in Security Leadership Decision-making in Crisis Situations. He has a BA in Philosophy and a MSc  in Sociology of Development from the University of Ibadan. Damilola also holds a MSc in Security, Leadership and Society from King's College London. He was a Peace, Security and Development Fellow at the African Leadership Centre, King's College London. He taught Africa in International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis at the University of Buea in Cameroon. He is an alumnus of the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes, Brown University, USA.  ​
Irma Booyens is a Senior Research Specialist in the Economic Planning and Development unit at the Human Sciences Research Council in Cape Town. She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Johannesburg (2015), and a Masters in Development Studies from the University of the Free State (2008). She is a National Research Foundation rated researcher, also affiliated with the School of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Johannesburg. Her research interests include local and regional economic development and planning particularly in relation to tourism, innovation and creative industries.
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Taylor Brydges is a Postdoc Researcher at Stockholm University and the University of Zurich. Originally from Toronto, Canada, I completed my HBA in Urban Studies (with Minors in Political Science and Sociology) and my MA in Human Geography from the University of Toronto. In September 2017, I completed my PhD in the Dept. of Social and Economic Geography at Uppsala University, Sweden. 
My research explores economic competitiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative industries. A dominant theme in my research relates to exploring the contemporary nature of work in the creative economy, and the impact of digital technologies on patterns and spaces of labour & entrepreneurship I am also interested in issues relating to sustainability and the circular economy, with a focus on the fashion industry.  
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Charlotte Campbell is a Postgraduate student within Geography and Environment at the University of Southampton. She is currently working on a project that explores the role of local physical anchors in trans-local scenes and ideas, knowledge and practices diffuse across space. Charlotte is also interested in the Creative Economy and process of curation and value creation in particular.