About

'Beyond Measure? Research and Evidence in Culture and Health' was a programme of events co- produced by the Cultural Institute with Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network and the Centre for Cultural Value.

We began in May 2020 by asking people on Twitter what topics they’d be interested to see covered under the broad umbrella of research and evidence in culture and health. Throughout the programme, we invited anyone who has an interest in this year's discussions to join the conversation using the hashtag #BeyondMeasure on Twitter. 

In July we distilled these suggestions into three Twitter chats, the first on the role of the artist practitioner, chaired by Nicola Naismith, the second on ethics and equity chaired by MAFWA Theatre, and third on unpicking who research and evidence is for, chaired by CCV and The Audience Agency. You can catch up with these discussions here, and read reflective blogs written by their hosts.

In June we invited artists to creatively respond to the themes of Beyond Measure?, and we were lucky enough to be able to commission ten responses, covering media such as ceramics, dance, gardening, and poetry. The full gallery is here.

We also commissioned a programme of creativity on prescription, facilitated by Art Doctors, for a small cohort of health sector professionals and trainees, who were prescribed cultural activity during a consultation with an Art Doctor. They reflected on their experiences in a follow up consultation. Find out more here.

In November, we hosted four online events reflecting on the themes of the programme. You can find further details, and recordings of each event, on our Programme page.

The 2020 programme was made possible with generous support from the Oakley Memorial Fund.

Our programme