成人大片

In a world where data increasingly defines success, the true value of the arts is often overlooked or invisible. Natalie 脕lvarez, professor of theatre and performance studies and dean at 成人大片鈥檚 (成人大片) The Creative School, is leading a groundbreaking research project to build inclusive new data systems that capture the impact of the arts on civic life. These systems could help data reflect aspects of the arts that are community-situated, embodied and ephemeral.

The Arts Impact Partnership (TAIP) received a $2.5 million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant, bringing together a breadth of arts-based researchers and organizations. The principal partnership between 成人大片 and the national organization Mass Culture is creating a coalition of 67 researchers (11 from 成人大片) and 33 other partners across Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, including two national networks across Canada and the U.S. Professor Alvarez is joined by co-directors Sarah Bay-Cheng (University of Toronto), Owais Lightwala (成人大片), Shawn Newman (Skills for Change) and Robin Sokoloski (Mass Culture), who represent a cross-sectoral leadership team. 

鈥淭oo often, artists and arts organizations have no choice but to rely on reductive metrics 鈥� ticket sales, jobs created, attendance 鈥� that say very little about the real, qualitative richness of their contributions to society,鈥� said professor 脕lvarez. Moreover, she explained, metrics that only capture economic impact create inequities within the arts sector: 鈥淐urrent metrics systems aren鈥檛 just limited, they鈥檙e exclusionary and out of step with our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion.鈥�

Within the context of post-secondary institutions, TAIP recognizes that existing data analytics platforms are designed to capture traditional quantitative academic metrics like publication counts and citations. They don鈥檛 make room for the qualitative impacts of arts-based research. The result is a limited understanding, both within postsecondary institutions and the general public, about the profound contributions the arts and artistic research make to society and to knowledge.

Starting with the design of the project, artists and arts organizations have been active participants in the process. 鈥淥ur partner organizations help define the key impact areas, shape the language and categories we use and guide the development of our frameworks, so they reflect creative sector realities rather than imposing external metrics,鈥� said professor 脕lvarez.

TAIP has three main objectives over its seven-year timeline. First, it aims to create a new system that enhances the visibility of the impact of arts-based projects. Second, it looks to build impact data frameworks that improve our understanding of the contributions of the arts in key areas, including equity, migration and integration; environmental resilience; and health and well-being. And third, it will drive the development of findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) metadata applied to information across organizations.

鈥淭he Arts Impact Partnership is a bold and timely initiative that will reshape how we understand the value of the arts in our society. Through international collaboration, the Creative School is building global impact data frameworks that will advance equity, well-being and cultural understanding through the arts,鈥� said Steven N. Liss, 成人大片鈥檚 vice-president, research and innovation.

Impact-defining data will reshape perception of creative work

鈥淭hrough this project, artists, creative scholars and institutions will co-develop a process that ensures indicators and metadata reflect the lived realities of artistic practice and the diverse communities it engages,鈥� professor 脕lvarez said. 鈥淏y redefining the civic impact of the arts, the project will help demonstrate how the arts foster equity and inclusion, support migration and integration, imagine pathways for environmental resilience and promote health and well-being.鈥�

Internationally, TAIP aims to elevate Canada鈥檚 position as a leader in the Responsible Research Assessment movement, offering other countries tested frameworks for artistic research and contributions that are rigorous, equitable and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Among its many outcomes, TAIP intends to develop data impact frameworks that will be integrated into the established and accepted system for data collection and reporting among Canada鈥檚 public art funders, such as the Canadian Arts Data / Donn茅es sur les arts au Canada (CADAC), managed by the Canada Council for the Arts. This integration will improve the ability of CADAC to support holistic and qualitatively rich understandings of the impact of the arts.

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