At the Creative People, Products and Places (CP3) Research Centre our research delivers real-world impact by informing cultural policy, supporting creative practitioners, and strengthening the value of arts and culture in society.
We collaborate with artists, cultural organisations, policymakers, and communities to address key challenges facing both the creative sector and society generally. From examining the impact of COVID-19 on the arts, to supporting neurodiverse comics creators, exploring gender equity in the music industry and raising the profile of Australia’s disabled writers, our work gives voice to underrepresented groups and promotes accessible creative futures.
We also lead research into craft and design-led sustainability, exploring how creative reuse and repair can reduce waste and reimagine consumer culture. Our work on transformative repair demonstrates how creativity can drive circular economy outcomes and inspire behavioural change.
Our first of its kind research into artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production generates new understandings about how craft and artisanal making are re-invigorating local economies. The research seeks to explore how small-scale and artisanal producers can maintain sustainable businesses, what impact cultural identities and discourses have in the selling and buying of Australian-made goods, and how locally made artisanal products can inclusively reach wider markets. The higher cost of the artisanal raises ongoing questions about equality and access: Who is able to ‘shop local’, and what does this mean for the sustainability and growth of local artisanal production? The answers to these questions will be valuable knowledge to policy-makers, artisanal industries, and consumers. The project team is made up of Associate Professor Michelle Phillipov and Professor Susan Luckman.
Our research has influenced cultural policy across local, national, and international contexts. Projects like keeping creative and urban cultural policy are guiding recovery strategies and planning decisions that support sustainable creative ecosystems. Through initiatives like the Inclusive Creative Research Alliance (ICRA), we champion diversity and inclusion across creative practices.
By foregrounding the social, cultural, and emotional value of creativity, CP3 helps shift how the arts are understood—not just as economic drivers, but as essential to wellbeing, identity, and community resilience.
We bring together interdisciplinary teams and diverse voices to create knowledge that is meaningful, accessible, and impactful. Through public events, partnerships, and publications, our research reaches beyond the university to support strong arts, culture and creative ecosystems as central to human thriving.
