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2 FRAMING THE CONVERSATION
LANGUAGE AND CONCEPTS OF CULTURAL VALUE AND IMPACT
This section reviews the ways in which cultural value has been
framed and defined in the some of the most relevant literature
of the past fifteen years. It pays close attention to elements that
are considered to be constituent of cultural value, related terms
such as ‘intrinsic value’ and ‘intrinsic impact’, and the manners
in which cultural value has been positioned vis-à-vis other
benefits that spring from the arts. As will be seen, many authors
who have contributed to this literature use the same (or very
similar) terms with quite different meanings in their discussions
of cultural value, and occasionally they use different vocabulary
when they are essentially talking about the same thing.
The idiosyncrasies of the conceptual frameworks and the terminologies that are
used make it difficult to sum up or draw conclusions about the development of
the field as a whole, particularly since the contributors to this literature only occasionally
explain how their own approach relates to or extends the work of other
researchers in the field. This is no doubt partly to be explained by the fact that
the authors come from different disciplinary backgrounds and have different
ambitions. Some seek to contribute to an academic understanding of the value of
culture, some seek to assist arts organisations with practical advice, and some are
primarily interested in influencing public policy. In reviewing these various explications
of cultural value it is not our intention to evaluate them or declare one
approach or definition to be the ‘right’ or most promising way forward. Rather, by
laying these frameworks out side by side, this overview demonstrates the range of
current thinking about these issues and provides reference points that may help
position future work.
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