Blackheath man Justin Morrissey has won a Churchill Fellowship to look at how creative industries can work more sustainably.
He will also investigate ways to improve how creative groups can be more innovative and share their skills and work spaces.
Mr Morrissey, who is the creative industries cluster manager with Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise, is an experienced arts administrator who has worked in the Mountains across a variety of groups.
Five years ago he launched Toolo in Katoomba, a tool library which caters not only to DIY-ers but also to creative workers, offering projectors, microphones, amplifiers and other equipment.
Mr Morrissey, who worked for Sculpture by the Sea for five years before becoming the curator of the very successful Sculpture at Scenic World, said his fellowship will allow him to learn what other things creative communities are doing to help people share their knowledge, adopt sustainable practices and foster entrepreneurship.
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Mr Morrissey's fellowship will take him to Hong Kong, Hamburg, Edinburgh and Cincinnati - when travel restrictions are lifted.
Each of the destinations has been chosen because of innovative programs operating there which both help creative workers and do good in the community.
He has a masters in creative industries and an advanced diploma in screen, media and multiplatform media. His masters supervisor, Dr Benjamin Matthews, now a lecturer at Newcastle University, said in a reference that Mr Morrissey's work would help drive social change and economic development in creative industries.
"Justin is well positioned to examine these contexts because of his training and talent as a researcher ... and his experience in community organisations," Dr Matthews wrote.