Culture and place: Why we need to look beyond cities
Arts and culture are integral to shaping the places we live. We now need to understand the effects cultural placemaking practices…
Centre for Cultural Value are Editorial Partners of Arts Professional
Arts Professional is working with the Centre for Cultural Value to produce a series of articles supporting an evidence-based approach to examining the impacts of arts, culture, heritage and screen on people and society.
The Centre for Cultural Value wants cultural policy and practice to be shaped by rigorous research and evaluation of what works and what needs to change. The Centre works alongside cultural practitioners and organisations, academics, funders and policymakers to advance knowledge of the value of culture and the difference it makes.
It is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Articles
Creating space for collective learning
Evaluation reports in the cultural sector can be packed full of learning. Emma McDowell explores how we might unearth this existin…
What would a regenerative cultural sector look like?
The sector’s resilience and creativity in navigating crises show how art and culture will sustain even in the toughest of ti…
Joining the dots for better cultural policy
As Anna Kime begins working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority, she explores how integrated data and evaluation can aid decisi…
Has beauty become a dirty word?
Artist Sarah Hunter, physicist Rox Middleton and philosopher Lucy Tomlinson spotlight what they learnt from spending a year explor…
What is an equity steering group?
Maher Anjum, Julia Bennett, Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas and Rose Sinclair reflect on how an inclusive steering group helped place eq…
Making evaluation valuable
As the Centre for Cultural Value launches a free online evaluation course, Dawn Cameron explains how evaluation can help organisat…
Cultural encounters of the empathic kind
Driven by funder requirements and sector expectations, evaluation can feel top-down. Stephen Welsh argues for a more people-centre…
What kind of ancestor do you want to be?
As Chair of the Centre for Cultural Value’s advisory group, Adah Parris reflects on the challenges and opportunities facing…
Learning the lessons of cultural mega-events
As Liverpool stages Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine, Jenny Elliott considers the lure, risks and opportunities inherent in large-s…
Why understanding the value of culture matters
In the face of multiple crises, Matthew McCallum and Ben Walmsley argue that now is the time to make the case for culture as a pub…
Why we need to use the F word in evaluation
Talking of failure can feel uncomfortable and we often avoid it when carrying out evaluation. But, as Susanne Burns argues, being…
Why better data is vital for future-proofing the cultural sector
Why do we struggle to convey the cultural sector’s significant impact? There’s no easy answer but an obvious solution…
Call to collaborate
As the Centre for Cultural Value (the Centre) re-opens its Collaborate fund, Alice Chandler reflects on the value of research…
The value of everyday creativity
What is the impact and value of everyday creativity in the home and community settings? John Wright and Jo Hunter reflect on what…
Many voices, open minds, commitment to change
What should underpin our evaluation practice in the arts? Oliver Mantell reflects on the new Evaluation Principles from the Centre…
Older people: culture, community, connection
What’s the impact of cultural participation in later life, and how do we capture its value? Helen Manchester explores what t…
Culture in crisis
Ben Walmsley reports on the key findings from a 15-month research project into the effects of the pandemic on the cultural sector.
Missing voices in culture, health and wellbeing research
In recent years, cultural practitioners have been working in ever more challenging health and social care spaces. Robyn Dowlen loo…
Reflecting on renewal and recovery
Ben Walmsley, Abigail Gilmore and Dave O’Brien share the latest findings from a research programme examining the impacts of…
Why digital isn’t enough
As Covid-19 has pushed culture online, Danielle Child, Karen Gray, Harry Weeks and John Wright examine how arts and cultural organ…
Survival depends on safer spaces
Amanda Huxtable reflects on how racial trauma has shaped leadership within the cultural sector, taking on the responsibility for c…
Recovery isn’t a black and white picture
Ben Walmsley, Abigail Gilmore and Dave O’Brien share findings from a research programme that shows there are silver linings…
Culture-led funding or funding-led culture?
There is a crucial disconnect between how the sector evaluates the impact of culture and using it to influence policy. It’s…
