Roberta Comunian

Roberta Comunian is a Professor of Creative Economies at King's College London, based in the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries (CMCI) within the Faculty of Arts & Humanities. She joined King's in 2012 and specializes in researching the intersections between creative industries, cultural policy, and higher education. Her work focuses on global creative economies, with a particular emphasis on Africa and the Global South. Comunian leads major grants such as the AHRC-funded African Hub for Sustainable Creative Economies (AHSCE) and has published extensively on topics like creative graduates' career trajectories, knowledge transfer, and the role of complexity theory in creative economies.

Her research interests include public-private investments in the arts, creative networks, higher education’s role in fostering creative careers, and regional development through creative industries. Comunian teaches in the MA in Arts & Cultural Management program and engages in policy work, including the Creative Campus initiative. She has produced impactful reports like Future Festivals South Africa and contributed to international development projects addressing sustainable creative economies in Africa.

Comunian’s awards include an AHRC Impact Fellowship and leadership roles in prestigious research networks. Her recent work explores the dualities of circular fashion economies in Kenya and the internationalization of fashion designers in Lagos and Nairobi. She also investigates pandemic-related disruptions to creative work and post-COVID urban cultural recovery strategies.

• Grants & Projects: African Hub for Sustainable Creative Economies (AHRC), DISCE (EU Horizon 2020), Future Festivals South Africa (AHRC).
• Policy Engagement: Creative Skillset Research Committee, Creative Campus policy briefs, and equitable Africa-Europe research agendas.
• Labs/Teams: HECreativEcon research group, DISCE consortium, and collaborative networks in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.