The positive effects of culture are demonstrated again and again. It is high time the sector used these facts in improving its image. Our western and southern neighbours, with a number of successful initiatives, have given the image of culture a boost given. The sports sector is another example of image building from which the cultural sector can learn. There are many possibilities and opportunities that can be taken up by everyone in the sector. A movement or campaign could shake up politics and business. This movement is here now: Culture makes happy. Join us!
Cultural healing
The Dutch cultural sector is slowly but surely recovering from the cuts it has had to endure in recent years, on the one hand, and is still in the process of taking the blows of it at the municipal level, on the other. The cuts were partly due to a negative climate in which the once uncontroversial and widely supported sector was suddenly portrayed as a subsidy-guzzling body by politicians, the press and the public. That noise may have been smothered, but the pain of this jaw-dropping blow still reverberates and little has changed in the breeding ground on which this vision of culture has been able to develop. The sector's image is still under pressure, politicians are still waving around terms like 'cultural entrepreneurship' and 'earning models' and the gap between society and the sector has still not been bridged. In short, the cultural sector has an identity problem.
High time, therefore, for a 'cultural healing', an attempt to strengthen the Dutch cultural sector's faulty foundation within society and help it shake off its victim role. To do so, it needs to increase its support base and stop locking itself away in ivory towers. It needs more positive media attention, there is still a lot of work to do to convince the business community of its (brand) power and education can also play a much bigger role.
Passed
More and more studies show that the social value of culture exceeds its social costs! And yet culture retains its elitist tinge. How can we change this poor image? What can we learn from other social sectors such as sport, for example? There, the image and media coverage of it have swung to the positive side. There is hardly any criticism of the large-scale subsidy culture within the sports sector and the fact that practising sport makes you healthy is obvious to everyone.
For these cultural healing we should also look at high-profile examples of cultural success at home but especially abroad. These actually demonstrate the added value of culture. From these, we can distil a framework for interpreting cultural significance each time. A measuring stick for the added value of culture, a kind of universal cultural added value meter, would not be a luxury here. Because, as director Ivo van Hove rightly noted in 2014 in response to the cultural crisis, "art is [...] essential to a society. You have to keep legitimising that".
Peeping in on neighbours
SEO Economic Research made an attempt back in 2007 to give a concrete meaning to the added value of culture. Yet that did not lead to a successful structural appreciation of that added value, let alone the consequent anchoring of perceived added value of culture in the Netherlands. How different it is in Germany, where people do not see culture as a cost but as a necessary investment. The link with science is also evident there. And how naturally is culture used as medicine to improve conditions in deprived neighbourhoods in England? Even distressed cities like Bristol and Liverpool have become vibrant cultural hubs by investing in culture.
Conversely, examples abound, unfortunately. When a community in a neighbourhood is left to its own devices for decades and its residents are completely ignored, as in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, a lot of dissatisfaction and indifference develops. This can sometimes even lead to radicalisation.
Ineradicable
Fortunately, culture proves ineradicable, and a few weeks after the attacks on Brussels Airport and the Brussels metro, the brand new Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA) opened - right in the heart of Molenbeek. The contemporary art museum aims to break down barriers and appeal to a wide audience, reflect on the contemporary world and pave the way for the world of tomorrow. The timing couldn't have been better. A wonderful counterpoint and a fine example of cultural healing in a neighbourhood literally under siege.
Surely there are lessons to be learned from this on how to definitively do away with the nutrient-poor soil on which culture grows in the Netherlands too? How good would it be for the sector's self-confidence if it could rely on basic anchoring and legitimisation in society? When nobody needs to fear being relegated to the realm of superfluous expense? Only then will cultural healing place!
For what goes what
The cultural sector must also reach out and continue to prove its right to exist. This requires a different way of thinking. Many cultural institutions still adhere to the adage that they know what is good for 'the people'. This supply-orientation causes little understanding, let alone appreciation, among the general public. Illustrative - also within the sector - is a finger pointing that is almost routinely made towards curators. They are said to terrorise museum policy with their - indeed - conservative motives of, above all, not tolerating any interference from the public to protect the collection. Across the board, however, communication, PR and education departments too often view public participation and co-creation with the public with suspicion.
Arts centres are better at this, partly because the contact with the public - the customer - is many times more direct and intense than in a museum or a theatre. With participation and co-creation projects, they achieve impressive results there that lead to high customer satisfaction. Cultural institutions should make participation and co-creation projects a standard part of their programming, so to speak. That way, audiences can and will understand the value of culture much better because the contribution to their own happiness is directly experienced.
Culture makes you happy
We advocate using the one-liner 'CULTURE MADE HAPPY' as a slogan. It should make clear that a world without culture unmistakably leads to the impoverishment of society. By contrast, active participation in culture increases individual or collective happiness. This applies to the average citizen and to those with a disability, illness, refugee status or any other special position. Especially in such groups, culture creates self-confidence, increases quality of life and can even lead to healing. This has been long and widely demonstrated.
If we define happiness as quality of life, it makes sense that visiting a theatre performance, an exhibition or taking drumming lessons contributes positively to it. George MacKerron, researcher at the London School of Economics, shows in his Mappiness Project indicate that four out of six happiness-inducing activities are culture-related. Following intimacy/sex (1) and sport/running/fitness (2) are theatre/dance/concert (3), singing/performance (4), exhibition/museum/library (5) and hobbies/arts/crafts (6). Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Britons took part in the survey. The results show unequivocally the value of culture.
Soft value
Culture adds more to prosperity every year than the taxpayer puts in! This was the main conclusion of the study The Value of Culture in Figures (.pdf) conducted by Atlas for Municipalities in 2011. Politicians ignored this fact when they made the cuts in 2013. At best, the public debate looked at what art and culture directly generated in terms of money. The 'soft' values of arts and culture were often overlooked.
A good example of such a soft value is the livability of big cities. People pay not only for the surface area of their homes but also for the surroundings. Cities and neighbourhoods that are in demand have many cultural amenities. Research has also shown that job and marriage market opportunities are higher in cities with many cultural facilities, without people necessarily visiting those locations!
Id.
An equally important value of art and culture lies in the individual's search for identity. Especially in these times of panic, fear and individualisation, people are looking for distraction and new stimuli. In this sense, culture can serve as the oxygen of our society. Happiness increases with a varied life with lots of new stimuli. Expressing where you come from gives great self-insight and helps shape everyone's identity.
Financing cultural activities that cause these indirect social effects can therefore be a good reason for public funding. In the sports sector, this is fully socially accepted. Subsidisation is also important for diversity of supply. This cannot always be regulated by free market forces. Again, sport is an example where nobody questions the need for subsidisation. It is perceived as obvious.
Productivity
Another indirect value is productivity generated by a country with a lot of cultural offerings. It attracts highly educated people, which has a positive impact on economic growth. Finally, economic value also includes the export value of art and culture. On average, a visitor to the Rijks Museum also spends another €100 in the city of Amsterdam.
The direct values of arts and culture are health and quality of life. Much scientific research is available on this subject. Actively listening, watching and especially participating in cultural activities is associated with better health. It appears that people who are both actively and passively involved in culture are less likely to visit a GP. Music in particular has a positive impact on health. Recently, we saw in The World Turned Door (youtube) explain to a neurologist how important music is for a child's brain development.
Invest
Backed by scientific evidence, politicians are ready to invest substantially in music education in schools. Minister Jet Bussemaker is going to invest millions in it from next year. In Boekmancahier 104 (trends and culture) contains a string of publications on the beneficial effects of art on health. Active and passive art is good for the brain and helps against Alzheimer's, for example. Applying art practices in healthcare improves overall quality of life. Art is also used in therapy and the effects are monitored. Theatre, music and dance are used in nursing homes, among other things. This creates a more pleasant atmosphere and has a positive influence on behavioural problems. For children with autism, visual therapy can help provide more structure and build self-confidence. Music therapy helps patients in forensic institutions regulate their emotions.
The conclusion is that the possibilities of using cultural activities in various forms for people's well-being seem endless. Ineke van Hamersveld sums it up nicely: ''With public spending under pressure, encouraging healthy lifestyles and promoting preventive strategies are new policy priorities. Encouraging regular engagement in arts and culture, as a fundamental contribution to the well-being of individuals and communities, flows naturally from this.''
Take action
The positive effects of culture are demonstrated time and again, so it is time for the sector to use these facts in improving its image. A movement/campaign could wake up politicians and the business community. There are many possibilities and opportunities that can be taken up by everyone in the sector. A key driver could be an advertising campaign, a tool that often has a high return on investment. After all, in the sports sector, media coverage and advertising campaigns have also galvanised society.
The above examples at home and abroad show that culture does make people happy. It cannot be any different in the Netherlands. At facebook.com/culturemakes-happy people tell in short self-made videos why culture makes them happy. The growing database shows that the presence of culture makes an important contribution to everyone's experience of happiness. By setting this movement in motion, the initiators are trying to give the status of culture in the Netherlands a hefty boost. Province of Drenthe - the province where people appear to be happiest - recently officially adopted the movement.
Text: Arnoud van Aalst and Thomas Royé
(with contributions by Myriam Sahraoui, Klaartje Bult, Marieke Vegt and Tom van Nouhuys)
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