The CIAC is a research unit assessed by the Foundation for Science and Technology. It was created in 2008 as a result of the merger of two non-funded research centres: the Centre for Research in Communication Sciences and the Arts (University of Algarve) and the Centre for Research in Theatre and Cinema (Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema do IPL).

Currently, it brings together researchers from the University of Algarve (host institution), the School of Theatre and Cinema (Lisbon Polytechnic), the Instituto Superior da Maia, the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, the Higher Institute of Advanced Technologies and the Open University.

The Arts and Communication Research Centre currently has three active hubs: one at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School (IPL), another at the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, dedicated to digital literacy and social inclusion and, finally, a third hub at the Open University, associated with the PhD in Media-Digital Art.

This R&D Unit has been conducting innovative research in the field of artistic (visual arts, cinema, theatre) and cultural studies, communication and, more recently, literary studies (digital archives, digital critical editions), associating the production of dissemination platforms with the study of ways of communicating scientific knowledge in the designated areas.

Therefore, it has maintained an interdisciplinary character since it first opened. Its objectives are to develop applied research and research networks in the arts (in the broadest sense of the word) and communication, and to implement artistic creation laboratories in the areas of theatre, cinema and other arts, namely in the Mediterranean region.

Since its foundation, it has promoted and actively collaborated in several partnerships in the artistic and cultural activities of the Algarve, where it is based, through specific collaboration agreements with Municipal Councils, Cultural Associations and with the Algarve Regional Directorate for Culture. It is currently an important stakeholder in the region. The research produced at the CIAC is often disseminated by the surrounding community through the multiple extension activities promoted, as well as discussed in international networks.