ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the intersection of arts evaluation, digital technology and mobilities theory in the context of the artist room’s collection and touring exhibition programme. Artist rooms is a collection of more than 1600 works of international contemporary art, jointly owned and managed by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. The chapter introduces Artcasting and also explores the issues of instrumentality and criticality in contemporary arts evaluation. It focuses on project data, including interviews with cultural heritage staff and funders, to examine the challenges that come with inventive evaluation. Instrumental evaluation seeks to judge the impact of the arts in terms of measurable financial benefit, social inclusion, or educational attainment they can be seen to generate. Instrumentality is rooted in understanding causal relationships and taking action based on that knowledge. It is linked to Enlightenment rationality founded on the development of scientific experimentation and explanation, and as a consequence of the scientific logic informing it.
