News and views
We are building a shared understanding of the differences that arts, culture, heritage and screen make to people’s lives and to society.
Catch up with our latest news and hear from a range of voices sharing perspectives on cultural value.
Fun Palaces, Feltham. Photo: Helen Murray
Orchestras Live, The Lost Letters with Britten Sinfonia at Saffron Hall. Photo: Paul Bellany
Featured news
The E word – why we’re talking about evaluation
Evaluation in the cultural sector isn't easy. In this joint blog our director Ben Walmsley and co-director Anne Torregiani, along with Oliver Mantell from The Audience Agency, discuss the essence ...
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Angela Awuah, founder Mental Health The Arts
From research to reality: mental health and young people
Angela Awuah is a young practitioner and the founder of Mental Health The Arts. Here she brings to life the ...
Dr Robyn Dowlen, the centre's Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Missing voices in culture, health and wellbeing research
Cultural practitioners often find themselves working in challenging health and social care spaces. But is there enough support and training? ...
Wakefield Council’s Rhubarb Festival 2020.
Stephen Garnett
A call for regenerative practice: reflections on our Covid-19 research conference
Ben Walmsley, Centre Director, reflects on the perspectives and conversations shared at our Covid-19: Changing Culture conference When we were ...
KALA CHNG performing at Knowle West Fest. Photo: Tanya Hazell
Art – who holds the power? It has to change…
Makala Cheung reflects on who gets to decide what kinds of art and culture are valued, and on other themes ...
Photo: Manos Gkikas
Will we fall under panto’s magic spell this year?
Trevor MacFarlane reflects on findings from our Covid research project and on what may lie ahead for this year's panto ...
Dr Robyn Dowlen recording the Reflecting Value podcast
Reflecting Value – call out for a co-created episode
We're producing our next series of Reflecting Value - our popular podcast that asks the big questions relating to cultural ...
Where next for culture? Join us at our online conference
Over the last 18 months, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the cultural sector like no other crisis in history. Not ...
Embracing evaluation for the right reasons
How can we make evaluation more meaningful? In this blog, Holly Donagh from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation reflects on some ...
Who Are Ya? Tate Exchange. Dan Weill Photography
A UK first – evaluation principles for the culture sector
As the Centre launches our co-created Evaluation principles, our Associate Director Dr Beatriz Garcia puts this work in a global ...
Some of your thoughts on evaluation…
We know talking about evaluation isn’t easy. But recently we invited you to share your views with us about evaluation, ...
Together to the Workhouse Door, with Sinfonia Viva, Gressenhall, Orchestras Live Photo: Charlie Jepson
We’re seeking a Collaborate panel member
Can you help us to develop new research-based partnerships between higher education and the cultural sector? As part of the ...
Natasha Fyffe (left) and Jessica Olliver (right), Centre for Cultural Value student interns
Reflections from our interns
This summer we were delighted to welcome two University of Leeds students, Natasha Fyffe and Jessica Olliver, to undertake paid ...
Three Tables, Tate, Photo: Tim Etchells
Creative commission – call for proposals
Call for artists: What artistic process could make a research conference about Covid-19 and the arts and cultural sector more ...
Circuit at The Lowry. Image: The Lowry
Come and work with us to share findings from our Covid research
We are looking for an Editor and a Marketing and Communications specialist to work on our Covid-19 research project The ...
Fun Palaces 2019. Photo: Roswitha Chesher
Join our Advisory group
We are seeking two new members to join the Centre’s Advisory group for a minimum two-year term. About the Advisory ...
Witness This, Company Chameleon. Photo: Joel Chester Fildes.
The Collaborate fund has now launched
We're excited to have launched Collaborate, a new fund to support innovative new research projects between cultural sector practitioners and ...
The Power of Our Ancestors. Tate. Dan Weill Photography
Collaborate: fostering research-based partnerships between higher education and the cultural sector
Ben Walmsley and Liz Harrop write about the opportunities our Collaborate fund offers for the cultural sector and academics. We ...
Calling cultural audiences and DIY creatives: share your creative and cultural experiences during Covid-19
Do you have a creative project produced during lockdown that you want to share? A moment of cultural engagement that ...
Image: Manchester Camerata
Announcing the Collaborate fund pilot
Image: Musicians from the Manchester Camerata orchestra The Centre for Cultural Value is supporting a new research partnership between Manchester ...
Wonderlab at National Science and Media Museum. Photo: Lee Mawdsley
More opportunities for Bradford-based practitioners
Image: Wonderlab, National Science and Media Museum. Photo by Lee Mawdsley. Applications now open for a creative commission and participation ...
Events at Left Bank Leeds. Photo: Sally Molineaux
Call for workshop participants: Valuing Culture – creativity and culture during Covid-19
Can you help us tell the story of your individual or community experiences of engaging with creative and cultural activities ...
Image: Greg Rosenke, Unsplash
We need to talk about the E-word
We know it's tough, but we need to talk about the E-word. The Centre for Cultural Value is launching a ...
Dr Robyn Dowlen recording the Reflecting Value podcast
Behind the scenes: making the Reflecting Value podcast
What goes into making a podcast? Our research associate and podcast host Dr Robyn Dowlen talks through the process of ...
Company Chameleon. Photo: Ben Williams
Calling recent creative arts graduates: take part in our research study
Are you a recent creative arts graduate? Do you want to be part of a national research project exploring the impacts of ...
Visitors looking at Tim Peake's Soyuz Capsule in Exploring Space. Photo: Science Museum Group
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 the pandemic. This article was ...
The Lowry in lockdown. Photo: Nathan Chandler.
New Covid-19 data shows audiences slow to return to live events
The latest data from The Audience Agency shows people are still reluctant to return to live arts and cultural activities ...
Liz Chege and Julia Negus share their stories and reflections on the Covid crisis
In this blog, Liz Chege and Julia Negus share their first-hand perspectives and reflections on how they and their organisations ...
Photo: Giu Vicente on Unsplash
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 ...
Healthcare students, University of Leeds
Stepping out of the role – arts approaches in healthcare training
In this joint blog, lecturers Simon Burrow and Dr Helen Pusey reflect on our latest research digest. They look at ...
Image courtesy of Grace Quantock
The wounds that arts and culture can cause – stealing our stories and selling our pain
Can arts and research spaces create barriers for marginalised identities instead of supporting them? Psychotherapeutic counsellor and writer Grace Quantock ...
Who are we? Counterpoint Arts and The Open University. Tate Exchange. Photo: Dan Weill Photography
Survival depends on safer spaces
Following a year in which racial trauma was brought to the fore, Amanda Huxtable reflects on the role of cultural ...
Move Dance Feel - a dance project for women affected by cancer - founded by Emily Jenkins Photo: Camilla Greenwell
When two worlds collide
We asked our recent podcast guest Mike Chitty to reflect on what happens when you bring the different worlds of ...
Dr Roaa Ali and Lara Ratnaraja share their responses from our first Covid-19 webinar
In this blog, Lara and Roaa share their thoughts on what the research presented at the webinar is telling us ...
Visitors to an interactive exhibit at the Exploring Space Gallery. Photo: Science Museum Group
Reflecting value – a new podcast about culture and research
Asking the big questions about cultural value in a reflective space We're delighted to launch Reflecting Value, our new podcast ...
Power Play, Tate Exchange. Photo: Dan Weill Photography
New research reveals scale of crisis affecting creative freelancers
There are 38,000 fewer freelancers working in creative occupations since the start of 2020, new findings from our Covid-19 research ...
Chuttersnap, Unsplash
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 among ...
Tate Families, 20 Days. Photo: Rob Harris
Impacts of Covid-19: a snapshot from the cultural sector
Karen Gray and John Wright reflect on themes emerging from their case study research examining the impacts of Covid-19 on ...
Photo: Joshua Hanson, Unsplash
Culture-led funding or funding-led culture?
Ben Walmsley and Emma McDowell reflect on what they’re hearing about the research, evaluation and policy needs of the sector ...
Music in Mind. Manchester Camerata. Photo: Rachel Bywater
Academic call-out to take part in the pilot project of our Collaborate fund
Stephanie Pitts tells us about an opportunity to be the academic partner in the pilot of a new fund to ...
Left Bank Leeds. Photo: Sally Molineaux
Open call: take part in research exploring the impacts of COVID-19
Do you want to be part of a national research project exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on the cultural industries ...
Left Bank Leeds. Photo: Sally Molineaux
What’s next for cultural value
Over 1,000 people took part in eleven free events over ten days - our inaugural 'festival of ideas' has given ...
I love working within the arts – dancer Kevin Edward Turner
Kevin Edward Turner is an award-winning dance artist who co-founded Company Chameleon in 2007 and regularly promotes mental wellbeing. What’s ...
Community is at the heart of culture – Zulfiqar Ahmed
Zulfiqar Ahmed is an expert in community-led development and is now progressing, in the midst of coronavirus, the 10-year £3.5m ...
Five minutes with Dr Kat Taylor – culture for mental wellbeing
Ahead of this November's festival of ideas, we delve deeper with some of our guest speakers. What's your earliest cultural ...
Image: Jason Kerley
Creative commission – exploring cultural value
As part of our inaugural festival of ideas online this November, we launched a Creative Commission callout, to engage the ...
To the Beat of a Different Drum, co-produced by RJC Dance and Yorkshire Dance. Photo: David Lindsay
What value culture?
Ben Walmsley, Director of the Centre for Cultural Value, introduces our online festival of ideas How do people define culture ...
Reflecting Value
Reflecting Value – call for contributors
We are looking for guests for our first mini-series on culture, health and wellbeing. Interested in being involved? Reflecting Value ...
Who Are Ya? Tate Exchange. Dan Weill Photography
How global issues are driving a new cultural agenda
Maintaining an international perspective and collaborating with global partners will be key to rebuilding the UK’s cultural sector and securing ...