CALDERDALE’S CULTURE MAP IS Live!

Bringing creative people and cultural organisations together in one place.

An image of Calderdale’s Culture Map

What did we do?

We created a culture map for Calderdale so that people and organisations could get a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of Calderdale’s cultural ecology.

Calderdale’s Culture Map brings together information that has previously not existed in one place to enable map users to see where cultural infrastructures and resources are located, learn about the type of work being made and who it is being made for as well as consider where cultural activity and engagement might be missing. 

We hope that with time, this project will enhance the sustainability and resilience of Calderdale’s Cultural sector by, increasing the visibility of our existing talents and resources, supporting new collaborations and partnerships, encouraging local investment and broadening conceptions of cultural activity and it’s value on our lives.

It’s exciting to see that in our small part of the world imagination is thriving and you can discover and create something new every day.

Where can we see the map?

We published the map and made it freely available on our website early July, 2021. You can take a look at it via this link: https://www.theartworks.org.uk/calderdales-culture-map

How to use the map

You can use the filter check box at the top left to select and search; 

• the type of cultural infrastructure you would like to see

• the services, activities or offers taking place

• the specialisation or discipline 

• the audiences they work with and make work for

You can also see where public transport is located as well as parks, gardens and natural areas.

We’re aware that many of the entries featured on the map will need to be changed, updated or added too so that information remains up-to-date.

For now entries can be added, edited or updated using the form below the map.

Why did we do this?

Working in Calderdale’s Cultural Sector over the years we knew our borough was home to some incredible cultural activity. We have towns full of artists, incredible collective enterprises, show-stopping events and iconic venues.

Alongside this, we also knew that values and concerns around inclusivity, relevance, environmental and economic sustainability were clear and pressing, and as a community we really cared for each other and wanted to work together more than we do.

With these things in mind it seemed to be a good idea to create a map featuring all the creative people and cultural places in Calderdale. We thought that with time and engagement this might become a useful tool to support connections, collaborations, visibility and engagement as well as enabling local investment and supporting inclusive growth for the sector.

After making our proposal and securing funding from East Street Arts GUILD programme and Arts Council England’s Cultural Recovery Fund we began working through what information should appear on the map. We consulted with our cultural sector partners, artists and creative practitioners to find out what they wanted the map to do and did our research looking at other mapping projects, how they were organised and presented and what tools and technology were available. 

We spread word about the map far and wide on social media, through our networks and pestering our friends and partners to do the same so we could have as broad and rich a representation of culture as possible. We sought out people, organisations, places and groups in Calderdale who were doing things that they considered to be cultural and asked them to add their details to our map. We collected information using an online form and this data was used to populate the map. We only asked people to share information which was likely to already be in the public domain via websites and social media and we took care that information shared with us was stored on a secure database and handled in line with GDPR regulations.

What's next?

This map is a first phase, proof of concept for our Culture Mapping plans. We are excited to learn about how it is used, in what way it supports the sector and how it can be developed further with and for the cultural sector, it’s audiences and beneficiaries. While we show the map we will also be listening to feedback about what works and what could be improved. Now this map is live we will be working on the second phase of the Culture Map which we hope to be ready by the end of the year. 

In this iteration we will create; 

• A public facing culture map for audiences and beneficiaries to use as well as the cultural places and creative people featured

• A directory listing feature and enhanced search bar

• An optimised map for mobile

• Enabled auto edits and manual updates for users

• Improved accessibility, usability and relevance

A huge thanks to our funders for making this first phase possible;