Creative Arts Research Institute

This research partnership aims to advance educational inclusion, social awareness, and cultural recognition of the Marapu Indigenous cultural and religious minority group of Sumba Island, Indonesia. Through cultural documentation, participatory action research, and cultural sustainability initiatives, it works with Indigenous Marapu religion practitioners to advance social and cultural goals and… Read More

Ordinary plastic objects transformed into extraordinary soundscapes. A sonic journey into the world of plastic, featuring 11 exquisite musical compositions accompanied by evocative animations, that explore our complex relationship with plastics. Drawing on decades of sonic curiosity across the fields of classical, jazz and experimental music traditions, pianist Erik Griswold,… Read More

Although UNESCO has a stated aim to incorporate culture into all development policies, culturally integrated approaches to realising the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are arguably yet to gain widespread traction. Focusing on cultural practices relating to music and sound, this project explores the role of culture in advancing the SDGs… Read More

Music researcher Catherine Grant joins artist and scholar collaborators from four continents to explore the deep—and sometimes surprising—interplays between music, cultural sustainability, and social justice. Through case studies in Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, India, Vanuatu, and Western Sahara, this project emphasises the potential for strong and sustainable cultural practices to advance… Read More

The Performance + Ecology Research Lab (P+ERL) is an initiative dedicated to furthering climate justice across all aspects of contemporary theatre-making and building sustainable futures in and beyond the performing arts.

This is a practice-led research collaboration between CARI researchers and Vulcana Women’s Circus, a physical theatre community arts organisation. In association with Drs Samid Suliman and Kaya Barry (HLSS/GCSCR) Climate Scape unites performance researchers with social scientist/scholars and professional circus artists to explore how physical theatre and circus methods can… Read More

The Creative Change Project is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship at the Creative Arts Research Institute, investigating the role community music can play in addressing social inequities in Australia. Through our research and partnerships with communities that address social inequities and create music, we aim to map current… Read More

The project explores: (1) the potential of music, especially “traditional” music, to contribute to poverty reduction efforts, and (2) the relationships between poverty and the sustainability of musical and other cultural expressions. In its first phase, the project worked with youth musicians in Cambodia to gauge their experiences and perspectives… Read More