Rethinking the Social Impacts of the Arts

Abstract

The paper presents a critical discussion of the current debate over the social impacts of the arts in the UK. It argues that the accepted understanding of the terms of the debate is rooted in a number of assumptions and beliefs that are rarely questioned.The paper goes on to present the interim findings of a three-year research project, which aims to rethink the social impact of the arts, with a view to determining how these impacts might be better understood. The desirability of a historical approach is articulated, and a classification of the claims made within the Western intellectual tradition for what the arts 'do' to people is presented and discussed.Key words: social impacts of the arts, cultural history, civilising mission, intellectuals and cultural policy, unconscious and un-measurable impacts, negative impacts; evidence-based policy.

Beyond the “Toolkit Approach”: Arts Impact Evaluation Research and the Realities of Cultural Policy‐Making

“…If instrumental considerations and political expediency cannot be ignored in the attempt to understand the policy process, it becomes understandable how the suggestion could be made that what has really taken place is not, in fact, a shift towards "evidence-based policy-making", but rather a phenomenon of "policy-based evidence-making" (Belfiore & Bennett 2007a). In the latter case, evidence is produced to support and legitimize policies that would have been implemented anyway because of political will, irrespective of evidence (the PAT 10 reports and the notion of the arts as a means to promote social inclusion and cohesion being a case in point), or to support advocacy and lobbying activities by organizations with a specific agenda to push forward.…”

“…For instance, our previous historical work in this area, which looked at claims made -from the times of Plato to the present day -for the power of the arts to bring about both individual and societal transformation, shows that policies based on the perceived benefits of the arts are ultimately based not on evidence, but rather on millennial, deep-seated beliefs about the role and functions of the arts in society which, through incorporation in the educational system and important cultural institutions, have become accepted and are therefore rarely questioned or scrutinized in contemporary Western societies (Belfiore & Bennett 2008). Yet, despite its influence, contemporary public debates around policies for the arts seem to have become disconnected from this rich and varied tradition of thinking and writing about the effects, both positive and negative, of the arts (Belfiore & Bennett 2007a).…”

Presentación

“…De este modo, podemos interpretar las dinámicas posmodernas iniciadas hace cuarenta años como un proceso de mayor centralidad social de la cultura y a la vez su mayor mercantilización e instrumentalización para fi nes económicos y sociales (Gray, 2007). En este sentido, evidenciamos una situación paradójica: por un lado, existe un discurso sobre las industrias culturales y creativas que le asigna un rol fundamental en el desarrollo económico, social y personal (Schlesinger, 2009) y unas prácticas que asignan a la cultura un potencial transformador e innovador con capacidad de transformar la sociedad (Belfi ore y Bennett, 2007). Pero, por el otro, todos los sectores culturales, y parece que ninguno queda a salvo, van cayendo bajo el torbellino perfecto de la gran recesión económica, la caída de la fi nanciación pública y una crisis de los paradigmas institucionales basados en el mercado y la intervención del Estado establecidos en Europa en los años sesenta (Dubois, 2010;Levine, 2013).…”

The Promise of the Affordable Artist's Studio: Governing Creative Spaces in London

“…These shape the life courses of creative practitioners (Bain, 2003), the aesthetics of neighbourhoods (Helbrecht, 2004), the communities artists encounter when undertaking the work (Blessi et al, 2011) and the political impetus to deliver 'value' and ideas about 'value' to wider audiences (Belifiore and Bennett, 2007). The spaces in which these activities are carried out are key in formulating practices we understand as creative.…”