Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Capturing, Interpreting, and Evaluating Cultural Value

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Audience Engagement in the Performing Arts

Part of the book series: New Directions in Cultural Policy Research ((NDCPR))

Abstract

This chapter provides a critical summary of the existing debates about cultural value and critically explores the diverse and contested notions of value that are relevant to the performing arts. It achieves this by interrogating a series of core questions: What do we know about cultural value and what is the purpose of asking questions about it? Who wants to know what about cultural value? Why and how do they want to know? In what sense are experiences of the performing arts significant to audiences? What are the most effective ways to evaluate these experiences? What are the implications of this for arts organisations and for cultural policy? In response to these questions, the chapter contends that only interdisciplinary and multi-perspectival approaches will ever be nuanced enough to capture the multidimensional value of audiences’ experiences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The Green Book is produced for the UK Government by HM Treasury to provide guidance for public sector bodies on how to appraise proposals before committing funds to a policy, programme, or project. The Magenta Book provides complementary guidance on the evaluation of ensuing policies, programmes, and projects.

  2. 2.

    Sir Nicholas Serota is currently the Chair of Arts Council England.

References

  • Arnold, M. 1869. Culture and anarchy: An essay in political and social criticism. Oxford, Project Gutenberg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arts and Humanities Research Council. 2013. Cultural Value Project [Internet]. London, Arts and Humanities Research Council. Available from: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/Funded-Research/Funded-themes-and-programmes/Cultural-Value-Project/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 25 June].

  • Arts Council England. 2018. Quality Metrics [Internet]. London, Arts Council England. Available from: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/quality-metrics/quality-metrics [Accessed 22 May].

  • Belfiore, E. and Bennett, O. 2008. The social impact of the arts: An intellectual history. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bergadaà, M. and Nyeck, S. 1995. Quel marketing pour les activités artistiques: une analyse qualitative comparée des motivations des consommateurs et producteurs de théàtre. Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 10(4), pp. 27–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, H. 1990. The audience. Baltimore, The John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boorsma, M. and Chiaravalloti, F. 2010. Arts marketing performance: An artistic-mission-led approach to evaluation. The Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 40(4), pp. 297–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. S. and Novak, J. L. 2007. Assessing the intrinsic impacts of a live performance. San Francisco, WolfBrown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting, C. and Knell, J. 2014. Measuring quality in the cultural sector: The Manchester Metrics pilot: Findings and lessons learned. London, Arts Council England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burland, K. and Pitts, S. 2012. Rules and expectations of jazz gigs. Social Semiotics, 22(5), pp. 523–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, D. 2007. Systemic action research. Bristol, Polity Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, D. 2010. Arts management. 2nd ed. London, Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colbert, F. 2011. Management of the arts. In: Towse, R. (ed.) A handbook of cultural economics. 2nd ed. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, pp. 261–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossick, G. and Kaszynska, P. 2016. Understanding the value of arts & culture. The AHRC Cultural Value Project. Swindon, Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • EPPI Centre 2010. Understanding the drivers, impact and value of engagement in culture and sport: An overarching summary of the research. London, DCMS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foreman-Wernet, L. and Dervin, B. 2013. In the context of their lives: How audience members make sense of performing arts experiences. In: Radbourne, J., Glow, H. and Johanson, K. (eds.) The audience experience: A critical analysis of audiences in the performing arts. Bristol, Intellect, pp. 67–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galloway, S. 2009. Theory-based evaluation and the social impact of the arts. Cultural Trends, 18(2), pp. 125–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giannachi, G. and Stewart, N. (eds.) 2005. Performing nature: Explorations in ecology and the arts. Bern, Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, C. 2016. Audience as performer: The changing role of theatre audiences in the Twenty-First Century. London and New York, Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemley, M. 2018. Arts Council to roll out toolkit to help theatre companies understand their audiences. The Stage, 5 July. Available from: https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2018/arts-council-toolkit-theatre-companies-audiences/ [Accessed 5 July].

  • Hewison, R. 2014. Cultural capital: The rise and fall of creative Britain. London, Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holden, J. 2012. New Year, new approach to wellbeing? Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2012/jan/03/arts-heritage-wellbeing-cultural-policy [Accessed 5 January].

  • Holden, J. 2015. The ecology of culture. Swindon, Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knell, J. 2007. The art of living: A provocation paper. London, Mission Models Money.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. 2010. Principles of marketing. 13th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ., Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matarasso, F. 1996. Defining values: Evaluating arts programmes. Stroud, Comedia.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, K. F., Ondaatje, E. H., Zakaras, L. and Brooks, A. 2004. Gifts of the muse: Reframing the debate about the benefits of the arts. Santa Monica, CA, RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • New Economics Foundation 2008. Capturing the audience experience: A handbook for the theatre. London, New Economics Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, D. 2010. Measuring the value of culture: A report to the Department for Culture Media and Sport. London, Department for Culture Media and Sport.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Toole, J., Adams, R.-J., Anderson, M., Burton, B. and Ewing, R. (eds.) 2014. Young audiences, theatre and the cultural conversation. Dordrecht, Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, J. and Walmsley, B. 2011. Assessing the value of the arts. In: Walmsley, B. (ed.) Key issues in the arts and entertainment industry. Oxford, Goodfellow, pp. 83–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oman, S. and Taylor, M. 2018. Subjective well-being in cultural advocacy: A politics of research between the market and the academy. Journal of Cultural Economy, 11(3), pp. 225–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne, A. F., Storbacka, K. and Frow, P. 2008. Managing the co-creation of value. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36, pp. 83–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phiddian, R., Meyrick, J., Barnett, T. and Maltby, R. 2017. Counting culture to death: An Australian perspective on Culture Counts and Quality Metrics. Cultural Trends, 26(2), pp. 174–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piber, M. and Chiaravalloti, F. 2011. Ethical implications of methodological settings in arts management research: The case of performance evaluation. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 41, pp. 240–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitts, S. E. 2005. What makes an audience? Investigating the roles and experiences of listeners at a chamber music festival. Music and Letters, 86(2), pp. 257–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radbourne, J., Glow, H. and Johanson, K. 2010. Measuring the intrinsic benefits of arts attendance. Cultural Trends, 19(4), pp. 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reason, M. and Reynolds, D. 2010. Kinesthesia, empathy, and related pleasures: An inquiry into audience experiences of watching dance. Dance Research Journal, 42(2), pp. 49–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinelt, J. G. 2014. What UK spectators know: Understanding how we come to value theatre. Theatre Journal, 66(3), pp. 337–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rittel, H. W. J. and Webber, M. M. 1973. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4, pp. 155–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanderson, I. 2000. Evaluation in complex policy systems. Evaluation, 6, pp. 433–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schechner, R. 2003. Performance theory. 2nd ed. London, Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, C. A. 2010. Searching for the “public” in public value: Arts and cultural heritage in Australia. Cultural Trends, 19(4), pp. 273–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe, B. 2010. Economies of life: Patterns of health and wealth. Axminster, Triarchy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. 2015. Cultural value: A perspective from cultural economy. Swindon, Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Throsby, D. 2006. The value of cultural heritage: What can economics tell us? In: Clark, K., ed. Capturing the public value of heritage: The proceedings of the London Conference 25–26 January 2006. London, English Heritage, pp. 40–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, V. W. 1969. The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. London, Routledge & K. Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations 1948. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Paris, United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vuyk, K. 2010. The arts as an instrument? Notes on the controversy surrounding the value of art. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 16(2), pp. 173–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walmsley, B. 2011. Why people go to the theatre: A qualitative study of audience motivation. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 10(4), pp. 335–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walmsley, B. 2012. Towards a balanced scorecard: A critical analysis of the Culture and Sport Evidence (CASE) programme. Cultural Trends, 21(4), pp. 325–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walmsley, B. 2013. ‘A big part of my life’: A qualitative study of the impact of theatre. Arts Marketing: An International Journal, 3(1), pp. 73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, T. R. and Hede, A.-M. 2008. Using narrative inquiry to explore the impact of art on individuals. Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 38(1), pp. 19–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, R. 1958. Culture and society. London, Chatto & Windus.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School Performance Cultural Industries, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK

    Ben Walmsley

Authors
  1. Ben Walmsley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben Walmsley .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Walmsley, B. (2019). Capturing, Interpreting, and Evaluating Cultural Value. In: Audience Engagement in the Performing Arts. New Directions in Cultural Policy Research. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26653-0_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation