New research centre to investigate how creative industries and cultural activities impact local and global economies and society

The Centre for Creative Economies (CCE) is the latest development in Coventry University’s challenge-led research portfolio and continued investment in the arts and humanities.

Creative economies see value creation as based on human creativity, imagination and technology alongside traditional resources of land, labour and capital. It focuses on the value of creative and cultural industries and activities – such as the arts, film, design, music, media, and tourism – for economic, social, and cultural development and the potential for new expressions and forms of placemaking.

Under the leadership of Professor Nick Henry, the new centre will investigate creative economies through their entwined local and global formation – how they offer opportunities for positive transformations in economic and social structures, but also how they present challenges that need to be addressed for more inclusive, sustainable and socially just futures.

Ongoing projects include an online resource that showcases Coventry city’s culture and heritage through an ever expanding digital archive, a comprehensive report that evaluates the cultural, economic and social impacts of Coventry’s award as UK City of Culture 2021 and commissioned research that explores how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting art galleries across the UK.

As creative economies are considered important for the transition to economies driven by knowledge, innovation and creativity, the new centre is testament to the university’s commitment to research and activities that directly engage with the intersection of creativity, culture, technology, and economic development.

CCE is part of Coventry University’s long-term investment in the arts and humanities following the newly established £70m Delia Derbyshire Arts and Humanities building, creation of a new Associate Director, Cultural and Community Engagement post and collaboration with Coventry City Council for the multi-million-pound Cultural Gateway.

The Cultural Gateway is a further example of the city’s cultural investment with the transformation of a huge empty retail space into a new and energised beacon of cultural production in the city. CCE will co-locate in the Cultural Gateway with the university’s three other arts and humanities research centres (Arts, Memory and Communities, Dance Research, and Postdigital Cultures) when launched in 2025.

Art and design at Coventry University had major success in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 after ranking in the top 10% for research impact, to which CCE will contribute and strengthen further through research that focuses on the role of creativity and culture in society.

Find out more about the new Centre for Creative Economies.