Creative Recovery: Cultural Policy Responses to COVID-19
Overview
As Research Assistant in the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries at King's College London, I supported the Creative Recovery? project—an interdisciplinary investigation of how city cultural policymakers around the world responded to COVID-19 and what these responses might mean for post-pandemic urban futures.
The Project
Conducted in collaboration with the World Cities Culture Forum—a network of 42 cities globally—the research examined policy responses across different phases of the pandemic and their implications for urban cultural life.
The interdisciplinary research team brought together scholars from the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries, the Department of Geography, and the Policy Institute, supported by King's Together Multi and Interdisciplinary Research Scheme.
My Contribution
In my assistant role, I supported the research team by contributing to literature review, data organization, and analysis of policy responses across multiple cities. This included examining how policymakers balanced immediate crisis response with longer-term strategic thinking about cultural recovery and urban futures.
Key Research Findings
The project identified how policymakers moved from mitigation to recovery phases, created opportunities for policy experimentation, expanded the scope of what urban cultural policy addresses, strengthened partnerships across sectors and cities, and maintained practices of hope amidst significant loss and uncertainty.
Implications for Post-COVID Urban Futures
The research emphasized the importance of:
- Extending time horizons beyond short-term crisis management
- Cultivating supportive professional networks and partnerships
- Ensuring effective processes for identifying citizens' needs
- Developing approaches to uncertainty that allow for creative future-building
- Remembering that different ways of working are possible
Personal Reflection
This project shaped my understanding of how policy interventions mediate relationships between institutions, communities, and urban futures. The work reinforced interests in cultural policy, institutional analysis, and the politics of urban space—perspectives that continue to inform my developing work on night-time urbanism and spatial governance.
Project Information
Institution: Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries, King's College London
Duration: April 2023 - June 2023
My Role: Research Assistant
Research Team: Dr Jonathan Gross (Lead), Dr Lucy McFadzean, Dr Kirstie Hewlett, Dr Luke Dickens, Prof Philip Hubbard, Prof Roberta Comunian, Dr Niall Sreenan
Report Published: July 2023
Learn more: Creative Recovery project page