WELCOME TO THE YORKSHIRE CULTURAL OBSERVATORY

Finding timely, credible and relevant data about culture is a perennial issue.  Nationally, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has identified as a priority the need for cultural intelligence; regionally the response has been to develop the Yorkshire Cultural Observatory.

An Observatory is a ‘situation or structure commanding a wide view, with the ability to observe from an elevated position’.  What this means for us is the creation of a function with the capacity to ‘observe’ the cultural, social and economic information available in the region: who is collecting it and how, who needs to gain access to it, and who has the potential to contribute.  But the Yorkshire Cultural Observatory will do much more than observe and record what is going on. It will also be an active network, made up of all the people who supply information to inform public policy, putting them in touch with each other and disseminating their work. 

This website is constantly under review and some areas may be sparsely populated.  Please keep returning however, as the content will continue to expand and new items are added every day.