↓ Find out more
Having examined all of the data available on audiences across the District, we now know enough to know what we don’t know!
A woman and a young girl stand next to each other, blowing bubbles toward the viewer. Image ©Tim Smith
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We can see that the conventional tools to measure cultural engagement don't help us understand either the breadth of cultural activity in the District or people's level of engagement with it.
Even within our professional National Portfolio Organisations, very few operate box-office systems. The picture they can paint is partial at best.
Bradford needs to devise its own means of collecting and understanding data about cultural engagement. Fortunately, we have a unique asset to help us do this – and a great deal more besides.
At the Bradford Institute for Health Research, Born in Bradford is a world-leading study that has been tracking the lives of 13,500 babies and their families – around 30,000 people in total – for more than a decade. It is helping unravel the reasons for ill health and using the evidence to save lives. On top of this, the Connected Bradford project holds anonymised data for approximately 700,000 citizens across the Bradford and Airedale region.
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An evidence summary by University College London (UCL) on the role of arts in improving health and wellbeing concluded that many of the benefits of arts and culture are scientifically proven. Published by the Department of Culture Media and Sport in September 2020, the summary said the arts had positive impacts on child development, social skills and social cohesion, including a reduction of loneliness and isolation, an increase in prosocial behaviours, a decline in aggression and discrimination, and an improvement in social consciousness.
Bradford Council’s COVID-19 #Response funds have helped people cope with isolation, fear and poor mental health and to find their own creative voice. You can find out more in the case study.
Two older women sit side be side and watching, smiling and applauding a performer who is outside the image. Image ©Tim Smith
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Professor John Wright, who leads this work, calls Bradford a ‘City Co-laboratory’ in which the key determinants of health can be measured and acted upon. These determinants include art and culture.
Image of a magazine created to celebrate Bradford Council's response to COVID support for arts and culture. Feature a photo of a young woman, acting in a production by Bent Architect, carrying plates of food through a cafe in Bradford as if delivering them to the viewer.
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Not all of the benefits of arts and culture are yet proven beyond doubt. The UCL report concludes, for example, that 'evidence on the effects of the arts on social inequalities remains for future studies to explore'. Where better than Bradford to put this to the test?
↓ What we'll do
The Bradford Cultural Place Partnership will co-commission a UK-first, ten-year study using the unique Born in Bradford data. Working with the team at Bradford Institute for Health Research, we will get a better understanding of people’s engagement with culture. The study will give us evidence of the benefits of arts, culture and heritage to everyone's lives.