Reports, Reviews, Journalism, etc.

I was the creator and editor of CultureCase: a resource from King’s College London that takes carefully selected academic research from universities and scholars around the world and turns it into short accessible summaries that demonstrate the impacts of arts and culture, as well as informing future planning.

This report was the culmination of a ‘Researcher Residency’ at Creative and Cultural Skills. The review takes stock of developments in the sector since 2018 (when CCSkills published their Building a Creative Nation report). It highlights the need for policymakers to pay closer attention to the demand for skills and training (as opposed to supply of education or training) and shows how the fate of the sector reflects broader trends in the domestic labour market.

This essay is one of eight commissioned by the British Council as part of its Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth action research project. The essay shows how multilateral United Nations policy documents relating to sustainable development (especially the New Urban Agenda) can provide guidance and offer synergies with the stated mission of the British Council in this particular project.

I produced this report which highlights how Arts Cabinet shines a light on the processes inherent in research in art, and other research practises. It covers the first phase of the organisation since its inception in 2016, and profiles its story, mission, outcomes, contributors and partners.

IVE was the Arts Council Bridge Organisation for Yorkshire and Humber from 2012-2023: working with education, arts, culture and youth sectors to make sure all children and young people had access to great arts and cultural opportunities. In 2022 I led an impact study on IVE’s Bridge programme over the decade of its existence. The full report can be found on the IVE website.

I led a research project for Culture Forum North which comprised a literature review of existing research into the nature of HE/cultural partnership and a new investigation into the risks and opportunities posed to the sectors as a consequence of COVID 19. The full report and a bite-size summary can be found on the relevant CFN project page.

I worked with Kevin Osborne of MeWe360 to produce a report on Covid-19 and the Experience of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Creative Entrepreneurs. For the first time, our report intends to give voice to this group, and capture, in all its complexity, their various experiences of this pandemic.

Accumulate – The Art School for the Homeless – provides creative workshops to young, homeless people who are living in hostels or temporary accommodation in London. I have been Accumulate’s evaluator since 2020 and my report on their activity in 2019 can be found here.

To better understand the impact of its investments, the Canada Council for the Arts commissioned a Qualitative Impact Framework from WolfBrown and myself. This comprehensive framework and its supporting research will enable the Council to better articulate the many ways in which Canadians’ lives are enhanced by the arts.

Written in collaboration with Antonia Byatt and Lucy Hannah, this report examines the role of literature in the development of cities around the world (including Capitals of Culture, UNESCO Cities of Literature, World Book Capitals, etc.) to help the British Council develop their approach to policy in this area.

Written with Anna Marazuela Kim and commissioned by the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN), this report draws on primary research and a literature review to capture good practices, and identifies which stakeholders should be “at the table” for informed and effective decision making and oversight. The research has also revealed the range of business models that underpin these governing entities, reviewing how cultural districts are generating revenue and expending it.

Written in collaboration with Dr Melissa Nisbett, this report examines how diplomats at the United Nations Office at Geneva see the use of the arts and culture in the furtherance of their diplomatic objectives. We were given the opportunity to interview both diplomats and secretariat and observe cultural events and spaces at the UN. The Enquiry was supported by the United Nations Library Geneva and colleagues at King’s College London.

In collaboration with Melissa Wong I conducted a research project to help the Canadian Dance Assembly with ‘Re-imagining Service Organizations: Decolonizing Canadian Dance‘. Our involvement with the larger project was to provide robust data on the dance sector in Canada, and survey those working in the sector to discover their attitudes and expectations for dance service organisations in 2017 and beyond.

Written with Dr Viktoria Vona, this is an extensive literature review to lay the foundation for the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Inquiry into the civic role of arts organisations. Both the executive summary and the full report are available from the Gulbenkian. Their Inquiry seeks to increase awareness and understanding of the civic role that arts organisations play nationally and in their communities.

Commissioned by the League of American Orchestras, this report is full of research and analysis of data on gender and ethnic/racial diversity in orchestras among musicians, conductors, staff, executives, and board members in the United States.

This Cultural Enquiry for King’s College London mapped policies and plans that have been developed and implemented over the last 70 years, analysing their impact and shedding light on successes and failures. The fully illustrated report looks at the various ways in which successive governments have sought to provide children and young people with access to the arts since 1944. By illuminating lived experience and archive material, King’s hopes that lessons from the past will suggest possible ways forward.

Review of “A Future in Ruins: UNESCO, World Heritage, and the Dream of Peace” by Lynn Meskell. (2020) LINK
Review of “Regenerating regional culture: a study of the international book town movement” by Jane Frank. (2018) LINK
Review of “The Roots of Culture, the Power of Art. The First Sixty Years of the Canada Council for the Arts” by Monica Gattinger. (2018) LINK
Review of“Landscape and branding: the promotion and production of place” by Nicole Porter. (2018) LINK
Review of “Curated decay. Heritage beyond saving” by Caitlin DeSilvey. (2017) LINK
Review essay: the Arts Council at 70. (2016) LINK
Review of “The science of evidence-based policy making.” by Paul Cairney. (2016) LINK
Review of “An encyclopedia of myself & Museum without walls” by Jonathan Meades. (2016) LINK
An Ode To “Two cultures: the use and non-use of hypotheses in cultural policy research, by Andrew Pinnock” as part of the special virtual issue marking the 25th anniversary of Cultural Trends. (2016) LINK
Four observations on The Arts (2015) by Jeremy Corbyn. (2016) LINK
Review of “This England: how Arts Council England uses its investment to shape a national cultural ecology” by Arts Council England. (2014) LINK

An independent Scotland could be our shot at revolutionary cultural policy (2024) LINK
The challenge remains: how can a country deploy culture to positive political ends? (2022) LINK
Blind data – why we should be cautious about positive audience stats (2022) LINK
The path back to normality post-Covid will be a challenge for decision makers (2022) LINK
Risky business: how will we know when it’s ‘safe’ to return to theatres? (2021) LINK
Forensic research is needed to count cost to society of shuttering theatre. (2020) LINK
Arts Council England goes back to the future as new strategy seeks to unwind 75 years of history. (2020) LINK
Electioneering is a performance, but will the audience lose out? (2019) LINK
BP or not BP, arts funding can get dirty in many ways (2019) LINK
Putting theatre under the microscope must have an impact on art (2018) LINK
Stage of reason: How theatre is being used to engage people in science (2018) LINK
How can the 52% get what they want without damaging the arts? (2018) LINK
The Arts Council wants to know what you think, but will it listen? (2018) LINK
Love Theatre Day is one of many ways of attracting new audiences. (2017) LINK
Arts’ top tier remains dominated by the privileged few. (2017) LINK
Six stories the latest NPO round tells us. (2017) LINK
Government reviews are unsatisfactory and contradictory. (2017) LINK
Is Arts Council’s plan to measure quality £2.7m well spent? (2017) LINK
Are ticket giveaways for teens the best use of arts funding? (2016) LINK
Brexit is just the start of the war on culture. (2016) LINK
Has Arts Council England abandoned its dreams? (2016) LINK
Culture White Paper – arts policy hasn’t evolved in 50 years. (2016) LINK
Culling data geeks is a short-sighted policy. (2015) LINK

Is England’s arts establishment set for a revolution? (2022) LINK
Can artists live off art alone? (2019) LINK
Funding the arts through the National Lottery is not a winning solution (2018) LINK

The case for cultural sanctions. [with Anna Marazuela Kim] (2022) LINK
A move towards self-determination. (2016) LINK
Awareness versus engagement. [with Georgina Chapman] (2016) LINK
Looking at Londoners. (2016) LINK
Out of Obscurity: Reflections on a year of CultureCase. (2015) LINK
The Partnerships Puff: How I researched the history of partnership in the arts. (2015) LINK

My work has also featured in Artsy, CVAN, and other outlets.