Date: Sunday, October 5, 2025
Jori Hall & Marcel W. Foster at the CREA Conference, 2024
Jori Hall, PhD, is a President’s Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at University of Illinois Chicago. Marcel Foster, MPH, is the founder/director of Performance Hypothesis, serves as an Evaluation Associate for the Jameel Arts & Health Lab at NYU. Jori and Marcel, in addition to being troublemakers, are published enthusiasts on culturally responsive evaluation.
Marcel: Sooo, I heard this rumor that some folks in the Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE) space were saying things like “why talk about arts evaluation, when it’s just one facet of cultural expression?” I think about this, as someone who is mostly engaged in evaluating health outcomes related to arts initiatives. Curious to know if you’ve heard anything like this?
Jori: To the “rumor”… I have heard a version of that…like folks questioning why arts evaluation should get so much airtime when there are “bigger” social issues at play. And to be honest, that gets a gentle eyebrow raise from me. When we sideline arts evaluation, we risk flattening culture into categories that feel more fundable but less human.
Now, to your second question. I get that people want to ensure we don’t overly narrow our lens, and that’s fair. But side-eye moment: I don’t think that the arts are optional in the broader cultural equity conversation.
So yeah, I’ve heard it. And, we can’t treat the arts as an afterthought. Cultural expression includes the arts, but it also requires that we evaluate them with the same rigor and respect we bring to other domains.
Marcel: Well, I am surprised because I thought this rumor was just something “art nerds” were talking about! In thinking through the topic of “arts and/or/vs. cultural practice,” years ago I was tabling the Arts, Culture, and Museums TIG table at an AEA conference and an evaluator I deeply respect asked me if it was appropriate to use the term “culture” in the context of “arts and museums,” when there are so many other groups that directly address the importance of culture (e.g., International/Cross-Cultural; Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation; and others). I thought the question was a good one, and to this day, don’t have an immediate response…
I also appreciate your insight about not treating the arts/cultural practices “as an afterthought.” So, Dr. Hall — what do you believe are best-practices “arts evaluators” should keep in mind related to the arts being an important cultural practice?
Jori: First, I admit, I am not a fan of the term best practices. So, there’s that. Anyway, I would say, for me, some top things to consider would include deep listening — to the artists, to the audiences, and to the cultural context that shapes the work. It’s not just about documenting outcomes; it’s also about understanding the meanings/feelings/attitudes the artists, communities, etc., assign to the art or the intervention. Second, the evaluation design should reflect the art form’s commitment to craft and expression style. A community-based mural and a dance performance will demand different timelines, methods, and indicators of success, etc. Third, would be reciprocity. Evaluators should give back to the communities they’re learning from, whether through sharing findings in accessible ways or participating in the art-making process. So, while I might not call them “best practices,” I would call them responsive practices that start from the premise that the arts are an expression of culture. And if we evaluate them as such, we honor both the rigor and the respect they deserve.
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