2024 marks five years of the Centre for Cultural Value. Our recently published five-year review reflects upon the work and impact of the Centre across its first five years.

With funding from the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Centre for Cultural Value was established in 2019 to develop a shared understanding of the differences that arts, culture and heritage make to people’s lives and society.

In this Arts Professional article from April 2020, the Centre’s inaugural director Ben Walmsley and co-director Anne Torreggiani laid out the ambitions and priorities for the Centre at what was an increasingly perilous time for the cultural sector.

“Our aspiration is to create a movement of cultural value. We are a small Centre dedicated to enhancing understanding of the value and impact of arts and culture, and we can only make real inroads into this if we work collaboratively, always”.

Working together to articulate cultural value, Arts Professional, 1 April 2020

As champions of reflection and learning, we commissioned an external evaluation, which, in turn, has led us to consider the Centre’s impact across this initial five-year period. During this time, we navigated unpredictable changes, inevitably resulting in the Centre adapting some of its original plans.

Using these findings, we have been reflecting upon the Centre’s work and impact during its first five years. The resulting five-year review presents an overview highlighting the three strands of our core work – research, evaluation and policy – and celebrating successes and learning.

Former Centre director Ben Walmsley says:

“I am proud that the Centre has built much-needed bridges between academic research, the cultural sector, funders and policymakers”.

He adds:

“Our inclusive, independent approach has helped us become a trusted source for research insight and evaluation expertise across the sector, and the Centre is now rapidly gaining a strong reputation for supporting policymakers in making evidence-informed decisions. Thanks to all the partners, collaborators and our core team who have contributed to the success of the Centre in its first five years.”

Former Centre co-director Anne Torreggiani also reflects:

I’m particularly proud of the impact the Centre has made on the sector, stimulating a new interest and confidence in purposeful, people-centred evaluation, and its role in driving positive, inclusive change. This and other success have been down to an incredible small core team who were genuinely committed to listening and responding to sector needs. They’ve built a great foundation for the Centre’s future.

Moving forward, the Centre will continue to benefit from Ben’s expertise in his new policy-focused Associate Director role, with Anne also becoming an Associate Director for the Centre.

Discover more and read the five-year review.

Photo credit: English Touring Opera. Photo by Julian Guidera.