Clarity, balance and misrepresentation

We read the article in the latest issue of Arts Professional (issue 260) bearing the headline ‘Leeds rues blank canvas’. The piece quotes extensively from Wafer Hadley’s evaluation report and we were most disappointed to see how our work had been represented.
We take great care in all our evaluation to achieve clarity and balance. Our aim is to facilitate an honest appraisal, so that we can all learn and develop, helping the cultural sector to improve its practice. In this instance, we highlighted issues that had emerged during consultation, and we also reported on the project’s many successes, particularly its considerable success with regard to public impact. As our report highlighted, these successes were among the most significant outcomes of the project.

The ArtsProfessional article distorted that view. It seemed to want to tell a different story, and had apparently only selected phrases that served its purpose. We could not help but feel that it was taking a partisan stance, and despite careful combing of our report for content, had chosen not to reflect the more balanced picture contained within the report.

As long-term subscribers to your magazine, we feel this piece of writing falls below your established standards. We are sorry to have to write to you in this vein – but we take our work seriously, and to have it used in this way by colleagues is very dispiriting.

Read Liz Hill¹s response, Honest lessons