Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 119

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Empathizing With Many
Voices in Cultural Production
Douglas Lonie
Douglas Lonie, Senior Consultant, BOP Consulting http://bop.co.uk/people/douglaslonie LinkedIn,
Twitter: @douglaslonie. Douglas has over 12 years’ experience working in the academic, third and
private sectors researching the effects of culture on people and society. He has particular expertise
in cultural participation and health and wellbeing, children and young people’s engagement with
culture, and culture and sustainable development. Since joining BOP Consulting in 2014 Dougie’s
projects have included an evaluation of the British Council’s Culture and Development programme,
data analysis for UNESCO’s 2017 Global Report on international cultural policy, and evaluations
for Liverpool Biennial, BALTIC, Creative Scotland and the British Film Institute, amongst others.
Dougie has an MA in Social Research and a PhD in Medical Sociology from the University of
Glasgow where he studied links between music and health across a 20-year longitudinal sample. His
work on the social impact of culture has been published in a number of journals and publications
and he has presented his work at over 30 international conferences.
Art creates opportunities to challenge common sense perceptions of the
world. It enables a viewer, listener, or participant to see into another person’s
life, experience what they feel, and understand the complexity of making
difficult decisions or dealing with challenging situations.
Most of my own research over the past �� years has focused on how taking part
in creative activities affects people’s mental health and wellbeing. Engaging
in, making, or consuming something creative provides a moment to “switch
off” from all the other distractions and stresses of
life. Participating in this way can help people resolve
complex emotions and better understand and cope
with the human condition.
A participant in Tia DeNora’s seminal Music in
Everyday Life (����) describes how she uses music
to “luxuriate in sadness”. This expression shows how
some people use cultural artefacts and experiences
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