re.think is based on the fundamental belief that art and culture have something to contribute in helping us make the leap to a more liveable world. This belief stems from the experiences of the re.think team and others which suggest that the participative, creative, disruptive, reflective nature of art and culture can have profound effects on our values as individuals and communities. re.think believes that if art and culture can help people to understand, share and challenge values, they can also help to promote the kind of values we need in order to tackle ‘bigger-than-self’ problems.
However, surprisingly little is known about what actually happens to people during an artistic or cultural experience, particularly in comparison with the wealth of data that’s been produced in an effort to demonstrate the wider social and economic impact of the arts. (A notable exception is the work undertaken by Wolf Brown and partners to measure the ‘intrinsic impact’ of live arts performances). Is it true that art and culture offer the opportunity for deep engagement with values? If so, can artistic and cultural experiences help strengthen ‘bigger-than-self’ values such as empathy and community feeling? What is it about artistic and cultural activity that enables values to shift? Do some kinds of activity have more impact than others? And if art and culture do have the power to influence the values that shape our lives, what can practitioners, funders and policy makers do to make the most of that power?
To address these questions re.think is developing Common Cause, a major, two-year research project on how participation in art and culture affects our values. The research is being developed in collaboration with the Common Cause Working Group and leading psychologists Professor Tim Kasser and Professor Greg Maio. Combining laboratory experiments with a number of ‘real world’ art and cultural projects, the study will use Kasser’s Aspiration Index to assess the importance of different values to individuals before and after they take part in artistic and cultural activities, with control groups to compare how values shift and develop among those who don’t take part. The research will through light on the nature of artistic experience, exploring whether the impact of the experience depends on how engaged an individual is in the activity (is the impact greater for audience members or for active participants?) and whether the individual has an opportunity to reflect on the experience along the way. Through this systematic approach re.think hopes to generate new and highly robust evidence on whether and how art and culture really can change the way we think and feel about the world.
Common Cause is at an early stage of development and we would love to hear from you if you know of similar research taking place or would like to keep up-to-date with our progress. So if you’d like to join the search for Common Cause please don’t hesitate to get in touch.