Impact case study database

Through sustained regional partnerships, research on post-industrial heritage and regional culture has been used to inform a suite of regional arts and culture projects that have sought, at once, to preserve Tees Valley heritage and also foster new understandings, interpretations, and futures for the region.

Working in partnership with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and the SSI Task Force (established in 2015 to help those affected by the closure of the SSI steel plant), research on industrial heritage by Vall has underpinned the design and delivery of an award-winning exhibition at Kirkleatham Museum that explored Redcar’s industrial past. For the Museum Manager at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council: ‘research on the musealisation of the industrial past served as a key thought piece in helping us to navigate the complex landscape of post-industrial change and heritage practice. Through her research we were able to place the ambitions of the exhibition in a wider context of regional museum practice, which made it easier for us to understand both the pitfalls and opportunities of curating the industrial landscape’ [5.1]. For a reviewer from Arts Council England, the collaborative nature and research-informed approach was a key to the exhibition success: ‘the project was conceived with a number of partners locally, indeed without that involvement I doubt that the project could have come to fruition as it did, that indicates rigour and commitment from a number of key players including Teesside University’ [5.2]. The positive effect of University/Museum collaboration on museum audiences has also been recognised through the exhibitions receipt of the 2019 Museums Change Lives award. For the Museum’s Association, Kirkleatham museum won the award for its ‘co-curated project Steel Stories, celebrating local iron and steel heritage. Based on in-depth research and collaboration with local community groups, the project paid homage to the people who worked in the industry and prompted debate on the future of the area’ [5.3].

The ‘Steel Stories’ exhibition at Kirkleatham Museum launched in April 2019 and ran until Dec 2019. The innovative coproduced approach led to the museum attracting over 30,000 visitors in the period. Figures for April 2019 show an increase in visitor numbers of 28% when compared to figures from 2018 [5.4]. As well as exceeding expected visitor numbers, the exhibition also brought new audiences to the museum. According to the final report: ‘it is safe to assume that Steel Stories has both engaged and resonated with local audiences, particularly retired male steelworkers. This demonstrates that the community-led consultation aspect of the exhibition has been a resounding success; respondents would not have been universally positive to the exhibition had it not paid homage to local industry, in a manner that both respects and celebrates the region’s heritage. Furthermore, raw data suggests that the exhibition is pulling in large audiences, thereby boosting the local economy for Redcar and Cleveland as well as the cultural offer of Kirkleatham Museum’ [5.4].

Qualitative feedback also reinforced that the community-engaged approach devised at the outset resonated with visitors and supported the exhibition’s ambition to increase local pride and a positive sense of belonging: 86% of visitors reported that they ‘felt pride in Teesside’s heritage after viewing the exhibition’ [5.4]. Taking place at a time of intensified deindustrialisation on Teesside following the final closure of the coke ovens and blast furnaces in Redcar in autumn 2015, the exhibition supported attendees to negotiate feelings about the past. As one visitor remarked: ‘the exhibition really showed what it’s like to live somewhere like Teesside a while ago and shows how it’s affecting our lives today in this modern age’ [5.4]. For Arts Council England: ‘featuring as it does the decline of a once proud regional manufacturing tradition creates mixed emotions, on the one hand celebrating that history and the skills on Teesside whilst at the same time looking to find a new role for the area. Though not local I felt this quite keenly –it must be all the more emotional for those who live locally or who worked in the industry’ [5.2].

Research on cultural regeneration and the ‘settlement movement’ principle has also been used to underpin a large-scale cultural programme for the Tees Valley. As a result of a series of project meetings between Vall and Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) in 2016, a proposal was submitted to the Great Places Fund run by Arts Council England and National Heritage Lottery Fund. The proposal focused on five ‘settlement’ arts, heritage, and culture locations within the Tees Valley communities and the settlement principle was a key feature of the application [5.5]. For the Great Place Programme Manager at TVCA, Vall’s work ‘on regional culture and the settlement movement provided significant thought leadership for the bid’ [5.6]. Funding was secured in 2018 and the settlement principle developed by Vall provided the foundation for the delivery of the programme [5.7]. The programme evaluation shows that Great Place Tees Valley (GPTV) led to increased collaboration and partnership working across the Tees Valley, as well as the creation of training and employment opportunities for over 350 local artists and small businesses, supporting over 12,000 local people, children and families to create and enjoy cultural activities [5.8]. Perhaps more importantly, the settlement principle, and specifically the emphasis on the importance of authentic community involvement in cultural policy also ensured diverse population groups and geographies engaged with the project. Close to 50% of recorded participants live in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, running counter to national trends where engagement with arts and culture prevails in higher socio-economic groups [5.8].

Vall’s research also went on to inform the working practices of GPTV project partners. For the Managing Director of Tees Valley Arts, a charity that uses arts to create social change: ‘Vall’s research on how regional heritage can be used to reimagine a region’s future has directly informed our work. It led to the commissioning of three significant events as part of the Great Place Project that sought to actively foster and promote a positive sense of place through engagement with community groups, steelworkers, and young people, voices that have been side-lined in discussions of cultural regeneration’ [5.9].

As a result of the success of this research-informed programme, investment in culture for the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been expanded from £1.8m in 2016 to a planned investment of £20m in 2019 and a TVCA Creative Visitor Economy Recovery and Growth programme developed [5.10, 5.11]. For the TVCA programme manager for culture, Vall’s research has been central to this work: ‘The emphasis in this research on the importance of community engagement and authentic involvement as a prerequisite of effective regeneration (Vall, 2010) has informed the work done to date’ [5.6].