Arts and Culture

Learning about your work's social value provides a holistic picture of why your work is important.

Organizations often partner with Wilder to learn about the social value of their work—like whether people learned something new, deepened their relationships, or simply felt better because they experienced your work.

A common tool for this is a theory of change. A theory of change describes what you do, who experiences it, and where and how often—and then depicts the resulting social change. Stating your social value is a critical part of the creative process for artists and culture workers who want their work to bring about social impact.

A theory of change will vary by program, but you can see some examples from:

• Arts Midwest
• Saint Paul Public Library
• Theater Mu
• Kid City
• Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
• Minnesota Historical Society Native American Artist-in-Residence Program

The people who experience your work have important insights into its social value. You’re probably familiar with getting feedback through surveys and interviews—but there are arts-based ways of getting feedback, too. For example, we’ve partnered with artists to lead community conversations and visually document people’s insights. Wilder will figure out how to get feedback so that it’s practical, useful, and timely for your organization.

There are many ways to share your social value, so it’s important to know why you’re sharing it. Do you want to celebrate your work with your staff and partners, show your funders what their support helped you accomplish, or inform your plans and goals for future work? Wilder will help you make a plan and share your social impact with anyone that you want.