ReCrEA is led by Roberta Comunian, Professor of Creative Economies at the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London. The research team includes Susanne Gehrmann, Professor of African Literatures and Cultures at the Institute of Asian and African studies at Humboldt University Berlin and Teke Ngomba, Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Journalism Studies, School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University.
We’ve asked Roberta to share some insights about their project and what they are aiming to achieve this year. Let’s have a closer look at ReCrEA.
What is your project about?
Research on creative economies (CE) in Africa is limited and fragmented across different disciplines, making it hard for academics to establish shared frameworks and practices. So, the project aims to create a network of activities to rebalance this perspective by supporting research on Africa to be shared and made more visible, giving space to PhDs and ECRs to interact and share ideas. The project also recognises that CE are important for sustainable development, community engagement and dialogue across cultures and generations. With a mix of online seminars and hybrid events it aims to:
- create an opportunity for academics across our Universities and Circle U to share their research on CE, prioritising contributions from ECR and scholars from the global majority, including opportunities for mobility amongst the partners.
- create opportunities for PhD students and ECRs to collaborate through online workshops, present ongoing research, present methodological questions, and reflect on their practice in a supporting and collaborative network.
Why is this topic important?
The project is an important opportunity for the partner universities and their departments to establish an international network of creative economies in Africa that will put the partners and Circle U. at the forefront of this research field (currently underdeveloped). The project can potentially attract more funding, collaborations, and students from Africa to Circle U. universities to enable strong Global North and Global South collaborations based on equity and shared research.
The project will be an opportunity for academics to consider further development such as collaborative funding applications, visits and exchanges, as well as the idea of a Marie Sklodowska Curie Doctoral Network on creative economies in Africa. Working alongside universities of the Guild and other partners in Africa, we hope to give more visibility to this area of work.
This topic has great potential for new research but also impact; however, because there are no hubs or networks in this area, it can be quite challenging for research and PhD students to find the right opportunities for exchange.
What are you aiming to achieve with this project over the year?
The activities will include a mix of online-only seminars (5) and three hybrid events; all will be accessible and open to everyone. All the events offer networking opportunities, sharing ideas and collaborations for people attending in person and online interaction for people attending remotely.
We are currently promoting a call for papers for 2 events (London in July and Aarhus in August (creative-economies-africa.org)), and more seminars and events will be advertised on the page soon. Building on all the papers and activities of the year, we aim to compile a special issue in partnership with an academic journal.
We also aim to publish a brief manifesto summarising some of the challenges researchers face and some of the research questions and themes that need addressing by new research projects and future PhDs.
Explain in which way your project has an interdisciplinary approach.
The project has a strong interdisciplinary approach. Creative economies build on complex socio-cultural and economic dynamics. The network's focus on Africa adds important geopolitical, historical, and postcolonial approaches.
The three departments involved show the level of multidisciplinarity: the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London specialises in the relationship between all three of culture, media and the creative industries -from the origins of the first through the development of the second and the energy of the third. African Studies at Humboldt University comprise literary/cultural studies, history, and linguistics, while anthropology is also a cross-cutting discipline. The teaching of African languages is fostered in a way that facilitates disciplinary research with original oral or written sources. The Department of Media and Journalism Studies is within the School of Communication and Culture at the Faculty of Arts at Aarhus University. It investigates the accelerating developments in media and journalism and addresses the ensuing questions and key issues facing society and the human condition. A core field of interest is the development and digital evolution of mass media and new digital media. All events and activities are open to academics, PhD students and ECRs from a variety of disciplines interested in creative economic development in Africa.
