Contributors (alphabetical): Siobhan Argyll, Dr. Marisa de Andrade, Hannah Doyle, Emma Ferla, Scott Fleming, Aaron Hawthorne, Erasme Kakonge, Deborah McArthur, Mick O’Neill, Vincent.  

Edited by Aaron Hawthorne for North Lanarkshire Council.  

Introduction 

In a world increasingly governed by metrics, data, and quantifiable outcomes, the arts often find themselves sidelined in conversations about impact, policy, and progress. Yet, as explored in our podcast Amplifying Artistry, creativity offers a profound and transformative lens through which we can understand well-being, community, and human connection. This article delves into the concept of “Arts as Measurement,” not as a rejection of data, but as a reimagining of what counts as evidence, value, and truth in human systems. 

The False Binary: Science vs. Art 

Dr. Marisa de Andrade’s personal and professional journey – spanning medicine, performing arts, journalism, and health policy – embodies the tension between science and creativity. Her work challenges the entrenched binary that separates logic from emotion, evidence from experience. Through her research programme Measuring Humanity, she argues that arts and humanities are not merely complementary to science but essential to understanding health and well-being. 

She critiques the dominant paradigm that privileges quantifiable data, suggesting that the arts offer a “different kind of proof.” This proof is relational, emotional, and experiential. It is found not in spreadsheets but in shared moments, in the goosebumps from a song, or the tears shed during a performance. These are not anomalies, they are data of a different kind. 

Health, Humanity, and Creative Connection 

The REALITIES project, funded by UKRI and led in part by North Lanarkshire Council, exemplifies how creativity can be mobilised to address systemic health inequalities. It is not just a research initiative – it is a movement that uses music, storytelling, and visual arts as tools for inquiry, healing, and transformation. 

Dr. de Andrade’s early work with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde explored asset-based approaches to health – asking not “what makes us ill?” but “what makes us well?” The answers were not found in clinical settings but in community, nature, music, and identity. These “assets” are deeply personal and often creative. They resist standardization but are no less real. 

REALITIES in Practice: Music, Belonging, and Dialogue 

The podcast features voices from the REALITIES project, including sound engineer and musician Erasme Kakonge and participant Vincent. Their reflections reveal how music becomes a bridge across cultures, languages, and experiences. Erasme’s approach – asking participants about their musical preferences and researching their cultural backgrounds – demonstrates how empathy and curiosity can overcome barriers. 

Vincent’s testimony is especially powerful. As a new Scot, he speaks to the importance of being welcomed, of feeling part of a community. His words, “life was meant to be communal,” echo the central thesis of this article: that the arts are not just decorative but foundational to human flourishing. 

Emotional Resonance as Evidence 

One of the most compelling arguments for arts as measurement comes from the emotional responses they evoke. North Lanarkshire-based composer, Siobhan Argyll, recounts how her musical The Little Iceberg moved audiences to tears. She did not set out to make people cry, but the emotional impact became a metric of success. In feedback forms, children wrote that the show helped them breathe, helped them feel less anxious. These are not abstract outcomes – they are deeply personal and profoundly meaningful. 

Siobhan’s work with dementia patients further illustrates the power of music to reconnect memory, identity, and emotion. Songs written collaboratively with patients were remembered week after week, becoming anchors in a sea of cognitive decline. This is measurement – not in numbers, but in continuity, recognition, and joy. 

The Limits of Traditional Evaluation 

Dr. de Andrade critiques the obsession with quantifiable outcomes in policy and academia. She asks: “Why are you measuring? What are you trying to prove, and to whom?” This question reframes the entire discourse around evaluation. If measurement is only about hitting targets, it risks becoming performative, even harmful. But if it is about learning, understanding, and improving systems, it becomes a tool for transformation. 

The REALITIES project embraces this philosophy through its human learning systems approach. Data is collected not to prove success but to foster honest reflection. This includes both quantitative and qualitative methods, always contextualised by lived experience. It is a model that resists gaming and embraces complexity. 

Art Is Everywhere: Democratising Creativity 

A central theme of the podcast is the democratization of art. Dr. de Andrade and the North Lanarkshire arts team reject the notion that art is elite or confined to galleries. Instead, they argue that creativity is found in everyday encounters, in policy adaptations, in community conversations. This ethos underpins the Art Is Everywhere initiative, which laid the groundwork for North Lanarkshire’s first arts strategy. 

North Lanarkshire-based Visual artist, Emma Ferla, exemplifies this approach. Her work, made from recycled materials, challenges viewers to reconsider waste, value, and beauty. Her installations spark conversations about environmental responsibility and community action. The impact is not just aesthetic – it is behavioural and systemic. 

Creativity and Identity: Personal Journeys 

The podcast episode also highlights personal journeys of artists like Hannah Doyle, whose path from self-doubt to creative confidence underscores the transformative power of the arts. Her performances evoke deep emotional responses, connecting her to family, heritage, and sobriety. She reflects on how artistic expression provided more validation than academic grades – a poignant reminder that traditional metrics often fail to capture what truly matters. 

Policy, Power, and Possibility 

Dr. de Andrade’s work extends beyond community engagement into policy advocacy. She speaks of “magical realism in policy,” critiquing frameworks that make little sense to the communities they claim to serve. Her approach is to co-create policy with those communities, centring lived experience, intellectual property, and agency. 

This is not just theoretical. The REALITIES consortium, backed by £30 million in funding, is influencing government thinking on creative health, planetary health, and systemic change. It is a movement that challenges the status quo and reimagines what evidence looks like. 

Arts as Measurement: A New Paradigm 

So what does it mean to measure through the arts? It means recognising that a tear, a memory, a song, or a sense of belonging can be as valid as a statistic. It means embracing subjectivity, complexity, and emotion. It means shifting from proving to learning, from controlling to connecting. 

Measurement, in this paradigm, is not about reducing experience to numbers. It is about expanding our understanding of what counts. It is about valuing the human, the relational, the creative. 

Conclusion 

This Amplifying Artistry episode offers a compelling case for reimagining measurement through the lens of the arts. It challenges us to move beyond rigid frameworks and embrace a more holistic, humane approach to understanding impact. Whether through music, storytelling, visual art, or policy co-design, creativity becomes not just a tool for expression but a method of inquiry, a source of evidence, and a catalyst for change. 

In a world hungry for meaning, the arts remind us that what we feel, what we share, and what we create are not just valid – they are vital.