We have co-organised a Seminar Series with King's College London's Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries (CMCI) and Developing Inclusive and Sustainable Creative Economies (DISCE). Taking place at King's College London in the Spring 2020, the four research seminars explore emerging issues and research challenges in the creative industries.

Call for papers

We welcome innovative research papers for inclusion in the programmes. The papers might include new methodological approaches or new data sources or provide new theoretical insights. The participation in the seminars is free but participants will need to cover their own travel expenses. The four seminars and their focus are highlighted below.

The submission deadline for papers for the first and second Seminars is 18th November 2019. The submission deadline for papers for the third and fourth Seminars is 5th January 2020.If you are interested in submitting a contribution, please send your research paper (between 5,000 and 9,000 words) for consideration to Dr Tamsyn Dent at tamsyn.dent@kcl.ac.uk

Selected according to criteria of originality, significance and ‘fit’, a range of papers will be chosen by the Scientific Committee for inclusion in the seminar programmes alongside the keynote speakers. The Scientific Committee includes: Hasan Bakhshi, PEC and Roberta Comunian, KCL (co-chairs); Tamsyn Dent, KCL; Bridget Conor, KCL; Jonathan Gross, KCL; Nick Wilson, KCL; Bruce Tether, Manchester University; Lesley Giles, The Work Foundation.

For more information, please download the call for papers.

Seminar Series

Each seminar will start at 1:00pm with a keynote opening presentation; it will include 3-4 papers and a final policy panel. A key objective of the seminars is to reach a shared understanding of the gaps in the evidence base, which will inform future research priorities and collaborations.

Seminar 1: Creative and cultural ecologies: mapping and understanding

1:00-6:00pm on 22nd January 2020 at Anatomy Museum, King’s College London

Recent research highlights the importance of understanding local creative and cultural ecologies in order to consider how much places can foster creativity – both for the benefit of the economy and society at large. However, it is important to consider what methods and theories can help us achieve a better understanding of the individuals and organisations involved in place making.

Seminar 2: Understanding the Value of Creative Arts Higher Education

1:00-6:00pm on 5th February 2020 at Anatomy Museum, King’s College London

Whatever political currency Philip Augar’s Review of funding for post-18 education in England has in government, the issues it raises mean there may be significant change in funding for creative arts and design higher education in the coming months. This seminar will explore what academic research says about the value of creative arts and design higher education and consider its policy implications in England. It will consider findings from different academic disciplines, including research that has tried to measure the value of higher education more broadly using a range of data sets.

Seminar 3: Creative work and gender: barriers and activism

1:00-6:00pm on 4th March 2020 at River Room, King’s College London

The seminar will explore data and issues in relation to gender barriers and inequality in creative work. It will provide insights from different sub-sectors of the creative industries as well reflections on the general gender dynamics of the sector. It is hoped the seminar will include both quantitative and qualitative papers. Furthermore, the policy debate and research will also touch on policies and forms of engagement and activism that are trying to address the current barriers.

Seminar 4: Creative industries and intersectional barriers: class, race and place

1:00-6:00pm on 29th April 2020 at Anatomy Museum, King’s College London

Building on seminar 3, the fourth seminar will focus on a range of barriers affecting access to work in the creative industries. The papers included will address the role of class differences, issues of race and geography as well as combinations and intersection of these dynamics. We welcome both quantitative and qualitative contributions as well as reflections on policy initiatives and interventions that have had an impact on making the creative industries more inclusive.