Learning from the Past: Cultural Value, then and now, in principle and in practice

There are many claims for the benefits to both the individual and society from access to and participation in cultural activities, such as visiting exhibitions and museums. Today these range from improvements in personal wellbeing to increased community cohesion and socio-economic regeneration. These claims relating to cultural value are not new, and contemporary justifications for cultural provision contain echoes of 19th century notions of self-improvement through 'rational recreation' and the 'refining' effects of access to art. However, both then and now, what people actually encountered in the exhibition or museum did (and does) not necessarily conform to these ideals. Instead there is much historical and contemporary evidence to show that people construct their own experiences of cultural value - for example, through their personal motivations for, and social contexts of, exhibition-visiting.

The objective of this project is to show how an understanding of how cultural value was conceived, promoted and experienced in the past can illuminate how it is conceived, promoted and experienced today. Many cultural organisations such as museums and galleries have rich and well-documented histories, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, but their relationship with these histories is often complex. On the one hand, there is a sense of pride in the institution's founding ideals; on the other hand, there is a drive to innovate and to deliver continuous improvement in response to shifting external policy and funding agendas. As as result, the motivation and resource for disinterested historical research and reflection are not high priorities for institutions. This project aims to address this omission by demonstrating the pertinence of historical perspectives on cultural value - from the perspectives of institutions and audiences - to contemporary policy and practice.

Specifically, the project focuses on the claims made for the benefits of visiting exhibitions and museums in the city of Manchester and the evidence of visitors' actual experiences, from the mid-19th century to 2010. A group of historical case studies, each based on specific periods of innovation or change in terms of cultural provision, provides a basis for analyzing continuities, shifts and ruptures in the 'public good' rationale for promoting museums and exhibitions. Each case study also compares the objectives of the organizers and patrons/funders with evidence of how the displays were encountered and interpreted by their visiting publics. The sites of study encompass a range of scientific and art exhibitions: the Manchester Mechanics Institute, Manchester Art Gallery, the Manchester Museum, and the Whitworth Art Gallery.

In terms of the research methodology, there are complex issues relating the survival and evidentiary status of historical sources and their interpretation, particularly in relation to how 'culture' was experienced and understood by audiences in the past. Surviving sources are partial, fragmentary and often suggestive rather than definitive. Therefore an important further project objective is to interrogate and reflect on the methodological issues arising from this kind of study, and thus provide a reflexive resource for future researchers, postgraduate students and cultural organisations.

Beyond the academy, the research findings will speak directly to those involved in the governance and practice of museums in particular, as well as to the wider cultural and heritage sectors. The project not only provides new data and interpretation on the relationship between, on the one hand, the rationale and rhetoric of cultural providers and, on the other hand, the ways in which audiences experience and respond to that provision, it also offers practitioners and policy-makers a set of tools for thinking through the value of understanding the past in developing current and future practice. Specifically, at a time when (with the exception of the Heritage Lottery Fund) public spending on arts and culture is under severe pressure, the research casts new light on the effects of past investment in buildings and spaces and associated processes of organisational change, particularly in relation to the public perception of those new resources.

Interest in the value of historical perspectives on the formation of contemporary cultural policy is evident in the current research project funded by Arts Council England 'Taking the Long View Taking the long view: interpreting long-term trends in museum and gallery attendances', led by Professors David Cannadine and Sara Selwood. Cannadine and Selwood's focus on statistical and demographic trends in museum visiting effectively complements the objectives and approach of this project - which has the potential similarly to inform ACE (and other agencies') intelligence-gathering on longer terms trends in cultural practice participation.

The choice of Museum and Society (http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/museumsociety) as the target journal for submission of a peer-reviewed article is deliberately designed to reach an inclusive readership: as a well-established, online journal, Museum and Society has a professional readership beyond, as well as within, the academy. Similarly, open access to the Case Study Report and audio/video clips from the Roundtable Workshop on the project pages of the University of Manchester website will enable the research findings to be easily accessed by practitioners and policy-makers, as well as to researchers and students. The dissemination plan is to make the findings as widely available as possible, in a variety of accessible formats.

The three museums (project partners) selected for the case studies (the Manchester Museum, Manchester Art Gallery, and the Whitworth Art Gallery) comprise the Manchester Partnership which, together with the Cumbria Museums Consortium, is responsible for a strategic development programme for museums in the North West Museums (until March 2015). As well as being of specific relevance to these individual museums, therefore, the research can contribute to a process of broader civic and regional development led, in part, by these organisations. Regular meetings with the case study museums will enable the PI and RA to explore the potential for additional dissemination activities to local and regional organisations and funding bodies. The attached letters of support from the project partners each testify to their interest in the research findings and in their application to the development of contemporary practice.