Creatives, Communities & Economies Research Project Report

We considered three key research themes and issues:

1. Social Enterprise & Humanitarian

2. Creativity & Design Thinking

3. Commercial, Creative & Cultural Value Creation & Capture

The above key research themes and issues, all important to the RMIT PlaceLab initiative, led to the collaborative project Creatives, Communities & Economies with academics from RMIT’s School of Art including Associate Professor Grace McQuilten, Associate Professor Marnie Badham, Dr Alison Bennett and Dr Alan Hill.

Creatives, Communities & Economies is an exploration of how creative practitioners are responding to the ongoing challenges facing the arts through hybrid and digital approaches. It explores what working life for creatives is like in Brunswick, and how creative practices might evolve sustainably beyond existing economic and social models. This includes new methods for artists working in community contexts, new working models for photographers, and how creative social enterprises activate communities, artists and economies for social change.

The research recognises the economic crisis facing the arts nationally and locally, in key creative districts such as Brunswick, while federal, state and local governments have positioned new forms of economic sustainability as a priority. Creatives, Communities & Economies tests new models of economic organising and showcases emerging research in this field relevant and applicable to the local creative community of Brunswick.

Creatives, Communities, & Economies (CCE) is an exploration of how creative practitioners are responding to the ongoing challenges facing the arts through hybrid and digital approaches.