Recent research into creative work includes Dr Heidi Ashton's investigations of freelance theatre workers in the West End and Broadway, Dr David Wright's exploration of 'Hopeful Work' in the creative industries, and Dr Chris Bilton's examination of digital skills education in the creative economy. Our research centres on the idea of creative work as a representative case of 'non-standard work' in which many of the challenges of working in the 21st century converge: precarity, digitisation, motivation, wellbeing and 'good work', exclusion and inequalities. Alongside academic and applied research, members of the Centre have coproduced several podcast episodes during 2020/21, addressing the lived experience of creative workers under Covid - including the Realities and Dreams podcast series, We'll Meet Again podcast series and Artists with Benefits podcast.

The ecology of the sector, the relationship between work and policy and the intensity of work in the sector have been the focus of recent research including a video series that unpacked these issues in various ways in 're-thinking the creative industries post-covid' by Dr Chris Bilton, Dr David Wright, Dr Maria Barrett and Dr Heidi Ashton. These areas form the basis of a range of publications and research activities.

Dr. Carolina Bandinelli's research has explored the subjectivity of creative workers in UK and Italy, with a focus on the entanglement of ethical and economic logics.

Selected publications

Ashton, H. (2021) Comparative analysis of pay and conditions: London's West End and New York's Broadway, Policy discussion paper for PEC at NESTA

Ashton, H and Banks, M. (2017) Step into the zone: Career dancers, cultural work and intensity. In: Jordan, T., McClure, B. and Woodward, K. (ed.) Culture, Identity and Intense Performativity. Routledge, pp. 95-111

Bandinelli, C. (2020) Social Entrepreneurship: Making Money While Doing Good. London: Rowman and Littlefield International.

Bandinelli, C. (2020) ‘The Production of Subjectivities in Neoliberal Culture Industries: The Case of Coworking Spaces, in International Journal of Cultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877919878449

Bilton, Chris (2020). Creativity 2.0 : new approaches to creative economy work and education in the creative industries. In: Hearn, Greg, (ed.) The Future of Creative Work: Creativity and Digital Disruption. Edward Elgar, pp. 212-228

Bilton, C., Eikhof, D.R. and Gilmore, C., 2020. Balancing Act: motivation and creative work in the lived experience of writers and musicians. International Journal of Cultural Policy, pp.1-15.

Bilton, Chris (2021 - forthcoming). Artists With Benefits - podcast with Martin Bright (Creative Society), Simon Sharkey (The Necessary Space) and Bard Kleppe (Telemark Research Institute).

Roy, V. (2020) 'Becoming a Craft Entrepreneur: A Journey of Identity Change and Conflict In Patel, K. and Naudin, A (eds) Craft Entrepreneurship, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham MD, pp. 161-178

Wright, D. (2018) '"Hopeful work" and the creative economy' in L. Martin & N. Wilson(eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Creativity at Work, Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp 311-325

Selected podcasts

Bilton, Chris (2021). Artists With Benefits - podcast with Martin Bright (Creative Society), Simon Sharkey (The Necessary Space) and Bard Kleppe (Telemark Research Institute).