Relative Values

Arts organisations in the UK and Brazil assess the value of their work in their local territories and become incubators for creative economy initiatives that develop resilient, low-stress communities.

Cultural Value and Heritage
Grafite: Ratão Diniz

Project Overview

Relative Values brings together Brazilian and UK organisations Agência de Redes para a Juventude (Agency of Youth Networks), Redes da Maré (Networks of Maré), Contact Theatre (Manchester) and Battersea Arts Centre to pilot a research methodology that helps organisations map and narrate their impact on the territories in which they operate.

The results of the research was shared at public events in London, Manchester and Rio de Janeiro in summer 2018. The final report is available on our dedicated website culturalvalue.org, which also includes a toolkit making the methodology of the project public for arts organisations to adapt and create their own model to assess and narrate the value of their work in their local territory.

Methodology

Bringing together academic and non-academic partners, the research asks how we can measure and strengthen practices and policies that maximise the social and economic value of the arts to individuals and society, particularly in peripheral urban environments. Following on from a case study in Paul Heritage’s previous research project The Art of Cultural Exchange,  this project contributes  to understandings about cultural value and to enable the four participating arts organisations to collaborate on testing effective ways to show how the arts can be incubators for creative economy initiatives that develop resilient, low-stress communities.