In September 2005, Independent Photography commissioned Dr. Lynne Friedli and Felicity Callard to undertake an evaluation of Imagine East Greenwich (IEG) based on the completion of the first 8 arts/health projects in the programme. Their completed report and this summary can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Their evaluation provides an overall assessment of the achievements of IEG in the context of growing interest in, and evidence for, the health impact of participation in the arts.
Imagine East Greenwich aimed to enable the communities of the Caletock and Flamstead estates to examine their own health and to identify what they felt was important in improving their health and wellbeing. Through the production of displays, books, a calendar, a film, artworks and other health-related material, it also aimed to maximise health awareness in the community.
The evaluation of arts/health projects is challenging and raises complex questions about the way in which health is defined, the validity and reliability of different indicators for measuring impact and ultimately about whose definition of success counts. To capture some of this complexity, the IEG evaluation looks at the different pathways through which participation in the arts might impact on health, via increases in three forms of capital:
• human capital (knowledge and skills);
• social capital (trust and interdependency);
• identity capital (positive self image, assertiveness and confidence)
The evaluation identified three types of impact:
• Some activities may have a direct and measurable impact on participants e.g. learning a new skill, increased confidence, making new friends
• Some may also have an influence beyond participants and their immediate social group e.g. the screening of the film Outside/In may have influenced attitudes to the Flamstead Estate.
• Other activities may (also) create building blocks or foundations for achieving objectives in the future e.g. stronger partnerships with primary care, greater awareness of the potential of arts for health in schools, positive media interest in the neighbourhood.
IEG also influenced health at different levels:
• For individual families e.g. by providing opportunities for parents and children to work creatively together, strengthened the bonds across the generations
• Across the Flamstead and Caletock estates, bringing together different communities and people of different ages, culture, religion and generating new interpretations of the neighbourhood e.g. in the film Outside/in
• Across the borough of Greenwich, for example bridging real and perceived divisions between three schools
The evaluation provides strong support for the value of IEG’s arts/health projects in addressing individual and community health, and for IP’s distinctive approach to arts/health work. Among the most notable outcomes were the high quality of the art works produced, the contribution of the projects to building cohesion and community capacity, the development of new skills and new levels of health awareness. Key factors which appear to have influenced positive impact include the following:
• The quality of the art matters: aesthetic quality was central to the success of projects
• The approach of the artist matters: the commitment, artistic integrity and creative approach to engagement of the artists was crucial
• Health has many meanings and dimensions: the complexity and capaciousness of the concept of ‘health’ in IEG allowed participants to shape and own projects
• Combining creativity and technology is a potent force for the development of skills
• In for the long haul: the sustained presence of IP over time and IP’s geographical proximity to the communities with whom it work were central to maintaining momentum.
There is a growing policy interest in how cultural activities can contribute to changing residents’ perceptions of where they live, developing community confidence and organisational capacity and developing local partnerships. There is also a growing emphasis on well-being generally, and how a ‘well-being focus’ might influence the future direction of policy on the economy, health, education, employment, culture and sustainable development. These developments provide an important opportunity to sustain and expand debates about the role and value of the arts, notably in deprived and fragmented communities. This evaluation aims to make a contribution to these debates and to demonstrate the achievements of arts for health in East Greenwich.
Download the full evaluation report (pdf file, 450K)
Download this summary (pdf file, 10K)
Report authors:
Dr.Lynne Friedli lynne.friedli@btopenworld.com
Felicity Callard felicity.callard@virgin.net
Commissioned by Independent Photography in 2005