Communication of Cultural Value Through Big Data

Editor's Notes

1. Today we are here to talk about Culture Counts – a revolutionary system that crowd-sources standardized metrics of the quality of the arts from the perspective of the public, artists, peers, critics and investors through a single digital platform in real time Being a single digital platform, it means data on quality can be aggregated, benchmarked, compared to drive artistic and business innovation
2. To measure the quality of their work in their own terms And communicate the value they create through big data Support the strength of the arts – which is to touch move and inspire the public CC provides a rigorous system to provide that support Today’s presentation is the story of our journey
3. The system is being used in three countries – collecting standardized data. Governments and investors in each country have been drawn by the potential to harness mass data on artist and consumer reaction to the quality of work and the emotional response to it. It’s providing us with data pre and post event creating a closed feedback loop to drive innovation Enabling aggregation, scaling, benchmarking and comparison Scale of organizations and their audiences very large (comparable to sport), giving the sector a strong voice Transparent and open to academic and investor scrutiny (including government)
4. Governments and investors in each country have been drawn by the potential to harness mass data on artist and consumer reaction to the quality of work and the emotional response to it. The problems they and us have faced in trying to apply big data to the arts have been some of these
5. Before can get to big data needed to nail the final problem – can’t define artistic quality although at some level sector already does through awards, grants etc; Spent months in in-depth workshops with artists, gamers, creatives in Australia and UK using blank sheet of paper approach Found that core definitions that were common
6. Importance of these metrics is that they relate to what artist want therefore tightly aligned to emotional response. Once standardised then needed system to collect the information.
7. Additional user story Manchester Art Gallery were pleased that the exhibition (Jeremy Deller) exceeded the expectations of its peer reviewers, particularly in the area of international excellence “It was heartening to see that peers were persuaded of the international importance of the exhibition after visiting. We are in a period of change at the gallery, which for a long while was not delivering an international quality show. So, the lower expectations are understandable and we are pleased the actual experience changed peers’ minds.”
8. Beta testing, full roll out, Singapore, Australia, UK from July 2015