Creative People, Products and Places Research Centre

Rosina Possingham commissioned mixed medium vibrant artwork

Exploring how we create, value, and foster culture and creativity

Creative People, Products and Places (CP3) at Adelaide University, is an internationally recognised interdisciplinary research centre undertaking high-quality humanities and creative practice research. 

CP3 explores the creative ecosystem of art, culture, and creativity, including its communities, economies, publics, practitioners, institutions, festivals, and values.

We focus on:

  • the people who make and participate in art, media, and culture
  • how creative outputs are produced, valued, and understood; and
  • the cultural spaces and communities where this ecosystem thrives.

The CP3 team welcomes interest in project collaboration and partnerships with others interested in exploring aspects of art, culture, and creativity, including what such perspectives can bring to multi-disciplinary research.

Explore our research

From the sparks of inspiration to the outcomes that shape culture, dive into our interdisciplinary research and see how creativity fuels change.

Engage with us

Ready to champion creativity? Let’s connect and research what makes culture tick.

Explore the Creative People, Products and Places

Our research investigates and promotes the value of arts, culture, and creativity to human connection and thriving. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, CP3 is guided by a commitment to supporting vibrant artistic cultures and recognising creativity as a vital form of human expression.

CP3 research is mobilised around the three inter-dependent drivers of culture and creativity – people, their outputs and the places and spaces that enable this:

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Creative people

Who makes art, media and culture and in what conditions? How easy is it to make a living? Is creative work open to all equally, and what is needed to make creative work flourish? CP3 researchers employ quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand the drive to create and how best to support those who do so.

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Creative products

What kinds of art, media and culture is being made and circulated? How are their products made, and what kinds of industries and institutions shape them? Under what conditions are they consumed? How are they valued, and with what consequences for our economic, social and political life?

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Creative places

Creative ecosystems are rooted places. How do art, media and culture reflect the communities around them? How do the cultural and creative industries intersect with the places they arise from, and their policy and planning regulations? What kind of spaces are best suited to promote a flourishing creative ecosystem, and how do places connect with regional, national and global flows of resources, people, and ideas?

Research activity in CP3 is aligned with Adelaide University’s Creative & Cultural signature research theme which aims to inspire curiosity and imagination to improve lives and help shape a better future.

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 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.

The Creative People, Products and Places Research Centre (CP3) at Adelaide University brings together a team of interdisciplinary researchers from across the University. With a range of specialisations and research interests, the CP3 team work with global partners to collaborate, advise, and create new knowledge.

As part of our commitment to the future of sustainable creativity and inclusive cultures, the team supervise higher degree by research and PhD candidates who share our commitment to the centrality of arts, culture, and creativity as at the heart of human thriving and connection.

Professor Susan Luckman

Director Creative People, Products and Places Research Centre (CP3)

Email: 
susan.luckman@adelaide.edu.au

Professor Susan Luckman

Collaborative, high-impact research into cultural and creative industries

The Creative People, Products and Places Research Centre (CP3) is a dynamic and supportive environment for collaborative humanities and practice-based research across the arts, media, and cultural ecosystems.

Guided by a commitment to uncovering meaningful outcomes for creative communities, CP3 researchers bring diverse expertise to partnerships with key sector organisations worldwide. Our work has shaped policy at international, national, and state levels; informed government and NGO initiatives; empowered individual artists; and laid the groundwork for future innovation across the creative industries.


Our partners

Some of the partners we have collaborated with are:

  • Australian Government, Australian Research Council
  • Australia-Korea Foundation
  • City of Victor Harbour
  • Copyright Agency
  • Crafts Council
  • CreateSA
  • Government of South Australia, Department for Innovation and Skills*
  • Guildhouse
  • History Trust of South Australia
  • Jam Factory
  • National Young Writers’ Festival
  • Society of Interior Designers of Australia
  • South Australian Museum
  • Uniting Communities
  • United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Diversity of Cultural Expressions
  • State Government of Victoria, Jobs, Precincts and Regions** 
  • Wellbeing SA
  • Yitpi Foundation

*now called Government of South Australia, Department of State Development
**now called State Government of Victoria, Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Explore our projects

Artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production

Artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production

Finding Australia's Disabled Authors: Connection, Creativity, Community

Finding Australia's Disabled Authors: Connection, Creativity, Community

The value of craft skills to the future of making in Australia

The value of craft skills to the future of making in Australia

Transformative Repair

Transformative Repair

Exploring Rural Women's Needs for Creative Spaces Through Co-design

Exploring Rural Women's Needs for Creative Spaces Through Co-design

Supporting Neurodiverse Comics Creators

Supporting Neurodiverse Comics Creators

Contact us

Creative People, Products and Places

Location

Location
Creative People, Products and Places
Adelaide University
Magill Campus, Magill SA 5072

Email

Email: cp3@adelaide.edu.au