MoMA R&D
Salon 3 Culture and Metrics
Culture and Metrics explored the puzzle of translating cultural values into a vocabulary of indexes and figures for communication among policymakers, economists, politicians, and‚ crucially, the public. Commercial businesses have a ready way of measuring their impact and success, and policymakers can count on clear metrics to quantify the impact of such sectors of the economy on the local or national baseline. However, when it comes to cultural institutions and initiatives, the traditional yardsticks don’t account for a whole host of intangible personal and social benefits. The contribution of culture and intellectual labor to society cannot be readily quantified, and the absence of direct metrics makes culture vulnerable to ad hoc cuts and obfuscates its urgency.
Watch the videos from the salon and explore some of these questions: How can museums appeal to individuals and organizations that—to paraphrase the scientist William Thomson, Baron Kelvin—believe that if a value can’t be measured, it can’t be a factor? Is there a way for cultural values to be translated into compelling data? Can collaboration between museums and relevant academic institutions studying this subject be formulated to move the needle in our favor—and to help the public better understand how cultural institutions are important to their lives?
The salon took place on February 4th, 2013.
Speakers
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Robert Crease
Robert Crease is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Stony Brook University, New York, and former chairman of the department. Robert is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Physics in Perspective, and he writes “Critical Point,” a monthly column on the philosophy and history of science, for Physics World magazine.
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Jer Thorp
Jer Thorp is cofounder of the Office for Creative Outreach, and adjunct professor at New York University’s ITP program. Between 2010 and 2012, Jer was the Data Artist in Residence at the New York Times R&D Group. More recently, he collaborated with NASA and visualized 138 years of Popular Science. Jer also sits on the World Economic Forum’s Council on Design Innovation.
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Kate Levin
Kate Levin is Principal at Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consulting firm that collaborates with cities worldwide to improve the quality of urban life. From 2002 to 2013, Kate was the New York Cultural Affairs Commissioner, and oversaw the commissioning of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates in Central Park, among many other ambitious public art projects.
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Andrew Ross
Andrew Ross is Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. Much of his writing focuses on labor, the urban environment, and the organization of work, from the Western world of business and high technology to conditions of offshore labor in the Global South. Author of Creditocracy and the Case for Debt Refusal, The Exorcist and the Machines, and Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World’s Least Sustainable City.
Reading Resources
- Anderson, Maxwell L. “Metrics of Success in Art Museums.” The Getty Leadership Institute, Los Angeles, 2004: 1-20.
- Baldwin, Joan H. “The Challenge of “Value” — Engaging Communities in Why Museums Exist.” Museum Association of New York & Museumwise White Paper, October 2011: 1-29.
- Crease, Robert P. “Measurement and Its Discontents.” New York Times, October 22, 2011.
- “Culture Count: Measuring Cultural Value.” Panel discussion from the Australian Council for the Arts, March 20, 2012.
- Donovan, Claire. “Art for Art’s Sake?” Department for Culture, Media and Sport, UK, 2012.
- Guetzlow, Joshua. “How the Arts Impact Communities: An Introduction to the Literature on Arts Impact Studies.” Taking the Measure of Culture Conference, Princeton University, June 7–8, 2002: 1-26.
- Holden, John. “Capturing Cultural Value.” Demos, 2004: 1-67.
- “Illinois Nonprofit Arts and Culture Sector is $2.75 Billion Industry.” Arts Alliance Illinois and Americans for the Arts, 2011.
- Jenkins, Tiffany. “Culture: It’s Not the Economy, Stupid!” Spiked, July 5, 2011.
- Kelly, Lynda. “Museum 3.0: Informal Learning and Social Media.” Paper from the Social Media and Cultural Communication Conference, Museum of Sydney and Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia, February 28-29, 2008.
- LaTour, Bruno. “Tarde’s Idea of Quantification.” In The Social After Gabriel Tarde: Debates and Assessments, edited by Candea Mattei, 145-162. London: Routledge, 2010.
- Lynch, Robert L. “‘Arts & Economic Prosperity IV’ Proves That the Arts Industry Is Resilient, Even in a Down Economy.” The Huffington Post, June 12, 2012.
- “Measuring Vibrancy: The Impacts of Arts and Culture Investments in Placemaking.” Panel discussion from The Arts Forum at The Municipal Art Society of New York, April 2012.
- “Metropolitan Museum’s McQueen, Caro, Serra, and “Rooms with a View” Exhibitions Stimulate $908 Million Economic Impact for New York.” Metropolitan Museum of Art Press Realease, September 12, 2011.
- Miller, Claire Cain. “A New Tool for Venture Philanthropists.” New York Times, September 25, 2008, Bits Blog.
- O’Brian, Dave. “It Isn’t Philistine to Judge Art Economically.” Spiked, July 13, 2011.
- O’Brian, Dave. “Measuring the Value of Culture: A Report to the Department for Culture Media & Sport.” Department for Culture, Media and Sport, UK, December 15, 2010.
- Powell, Walter W. “Metrics and Evaluation in the Nonprofit Sector.” Stanford University Website, 2014. Presentation from Stanford Pacs Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, Stanford, CA at the Academy of Management in Boston, August 7, 2012.
- Reeves, Michelle. “Measuring the Economic and Social Impact of the Arts: A Review.” The Arts Council of England, May 2002.
- Schneider, Barbara and Nicole Cheslock. “Measuring Results: Gaining insight on behavior change strategies and evaluation methods from environmental education, museum, health, and social marketing programs.” Report from the Coevolution Institute Understanding Metrics Project, San Francisco, CA, April 2003. (Key findings on pg 71.)
- Stubbs, Ryan. “Public Funding for the Arts: 2012 Update.” GIA Reader, Vol 23, No 3, Fall 2012: 8-9.
- Voelker-Morris, Robert. “Outcome-Based Evaluation: Practical and Theoretical Applications.” CultureWork, Vol. 8, No. 4, June 2004.
- Weil, Stephen. “Are You Really Worth What You Cost, or Just Merely Worthwhile? And Who Gets to Say?” In Assembly 2002: Asking the Right Questions, Museum Trustee Association in collaboration with the Getty Leadership Institute, 1-25. Los Angeles: The Getty Research Institute, October 11–12, 2002.
- “Why Should Government Support the Arts?.” State Policy Briefs: Tools for Arts Decision Making, Washington D.C.: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2014: 1-17.
- World Cities Culture Forum. Website. London: BOP Consulting/The Mayor of London & the Greater London Authority, 2014.