WORM and Melly and the Theory of Change Project

WORM and Kunstinstituut Melly are friends, neighbours and cultural partners. As participants in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and Impact Centre Erasmus (ICE) Theory of Change project, where we explore how we can measure our socio-cultural impact in Rotterdam and beyond, we decided that working together is the way forward in understanding what we do, and how we can move forward as cultural institutions. This first meant understanding the street we are situated on and our respective histories on it.

You can read the respective histories in a series of articles found in the ribbon at the end of this article.

We are also If you wish, you can also fill out this joint questionnaire by scanning the QR code in the image directly below. This questionnaire will be available to fill out at all Kunsblock evenings in 2025.

For the OCW impact trajectory, WORM and Melly decided to focus on the people who walk through the Witte de Withkwartier (WdWK) and our respective audience. The measuring properties that will shape our impact relate to the relationships with the street and, eventually, the way we adapt to the world around us. We have to change with the activity, and communities around us. And offer an antidote.

We wish to know:

• How are we viewed by the public? What image do visitors have of us?
• What do visitors experience in our buildings?
• Is what we offer a simple transaction in their eyes?
• What is the audience take-away and what do they want to share with us?

The people who use the WdW are not those from twenty or ten years ago. More tourists, more casual visitors, more “grazers”, more wedded to mobile technology to guide them in their cultural and leisure choices.

The original role of the street – maybe the start goals of the Witte de Withkwartier – to rejuvenate the street with (alternative) culture – is changing. The question is: how do artists work here, or artistic institutions keep their place in the public eye, and evolve with the street?

Further, the buildings that house the art institutions in the WdWK do not have the same presence or relationship with others on the street. There are more retail outlets offering food and drink experiences, more hotels, more middle to high end gifts. And, there is a very clear and open transaction to most outlets on the street. The transaction with most outlets is obvious: you stay at a hotel, buy food and drink or buy a gift.

Melly and WORM and these other institutions demand a deeper and more committed engagement, on many levels and in many situations, which is the opposite of most other shops and restaurants here.

At this point it is fruitful to think about what we should be doing – indeed why we are here, on the WdW, now. This period is a time to rethink, and to adapt.