Hidden Culture

Urban leaders globally have shown increasing interest in the city as a site for artistic and culture-led regeneration, and as such attempts to measure the value of culture and the impact of cultural growth have increasingly come under scrutiny. Arguably the application of traditional methods of capturing, measuring, and assessing impact using units of financial measurements remain totally unsuitable for the diversity and nuances of cultural activities, as cursory assessments leave much ‘hidden’ form public view. This research begins with the problem of how to suitably capture value in hidden cultural forms. Hidden in this sense might relate to:

1. Hidden culture can be hidden from view (in other words taking place in the home, or in marginalised communities)
2. Hidden culture may lie outside of mainstream society
3. Hidden culture may be tacit, and cannot easily be communicated outside of those who have an intrinsic understanding of it. Finding ways to capture and articulate the impact of this type of hidden culture is the primary objective of this study.