The Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts has decided on a name change, reflecting the expanding role of the organisation. From March 11, ABSA is to be known as Arts & Business, the name encompassing all types of partnerships between business and the arts. Work on the new name and visual identity was donated by Interbrand Newell and Sorrell. Last year, arts organisations recorded ?115 million in support from companies, a record amount. Contact Paul Brown, A&B, on 0171 378 8143
MORE TO US ARTS
American business giving to the arts has grown throughout the 1990s, two recent reports have found. According to The Business Committee for the Arts, a non-profit organisation that promotes arts sponsorship, corporations gave 61.2 billion in direct arts funding in 1997. This represents nearly one in every four dollars that businesses gave to charity that year. The median annual contribution grew by 50 per cent between 1994-1997.
Meanwhile the Foundation Center’s report, Arts Funding: An Update on Foundation Trends, found arts giving by all foundations rose to 61.7 billion in 1996, even though the arts have fallen as a proportion of total grant giving. Corporate foundations, however, increased the arts’ share to 14.5%. Both reports attribute much of the increase to the strength of the economy, but also recognise the success of arts organisations in promoting themselves to companies. Contact BCA on 00 1 212 664 0600 or the Foundation Center on 00 1 212 807 3690
MANCHESTER AIRPORT GRANT
Manchester Airport is committing a record ?600,000 to the arts in 1999/2000, reflecting its commitment to invest 1% of profits in the arts. Now in its tenth year of arts sponsorship, the publicly-owned airport announced on February 22 support for over 30 diverse arts projects across the North West. A new addition this year is the Test Drive the Arts initiative, to attract new audiences. Contact Roz Hughes, Manchester Airport, on 0161 489 2705 (www.manairport.co.uk)
SAINSBURY’S THEATRES
Sainsbury’s has launched a ?500,000 three year drama initiative, Sainsbury’s Checkout Theatre, which will commission new writing and productions targeted at the 10-14 year old age group. The announcement on March 18 followed research commissioned with the Arts Council’s New Audiences programme, showing this age group in particular perceives theatre as lacking credibility, kudos and relevance.
Eight new productions will be sponsored over three years, with Sunday performances and the low ticket prices. Participating theatres will have marketing opportunities through local Sainsbury’s stores. Contact Marah Winn Moon, Sainbury’s, on 0171 695 0147
SCHOOL ART AWARDS
On February 23, four schools were presented with computer equipment donated by Compel IP at a special awards ceremony to mark the culmination of the Tate Gallery’s literacy and arts initiative, Constructing Identities. More than 600 children from 11 schools in the Tower Hamlets area had taken part in the initiative, sponsored by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, in which professional artists visited the schools and worked with children to develop their visual awareness and literacy skills. Contact Colin Grigg, Tate Education, on 0171 887 8771 (www.tate.org.uk)
NEWS BRIEFS
Glaxo Wellcome is supporting the Tate Gallery’s Turner on the Seine exhibition this summer, having sponsored the Royal Ballet’s Dance Bites and accompanying education programme in March. Contact Claire Jowett, Glaxo Wellcome, on 0171 493 4060
Insurance and credit group, Provident Financial, is to sponsor the National Portrait Gallery’s Painting the Century exhibition in 2000/01, bringing together one hundred work by Picasso, Matisse, Dali, Warhol, Hockney and others, one for each year of the 20th Century. Contact Ben Rawlingson Plant, National Portrait Gallery, on 0171 312 2452
BT sponsored the 1999 National Orchestra Week held during March, in which 26 leading orchestras took part to increase public access and spread knowledge about professional orchestras. Contact Julie Cork on 0171 251 1191
Volunteers from companies in the North West have donated over 1,000 days of free training under the Business in the Arts:North West Training Opportunities Initiative. Companies involved include BT and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Contact Jim King, BIA:NW, on 0151 709 8780
Comment
Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts & Business, sets out in a `trends’ article below the thinking behind ABSA’s name change. Back in 1976 when ABSA was founded, arts sponsorship was in its infancy in the UK. Now it is a ?100 million business. Likewise in America, as the figures above show, corporate support for the arts is huge.
However surveys of public attitudes, including of opinion formers, show the arts low down the list of perceived priorities. Education, employees and the environment predominate as issues of corporate responsibility. Yet companies persist in supporting creative endeavour. Why?
Partly, the business case is real, both the traditional communication benefits to key audiences and the more new fangled strategic inputs. Partly, the arts can be an effective tool for community development. Partly, the chairman’s personal penchant can be sustained if there’s an element of taking the arts to the masses. Partly, the arts organisations are very creative at presenting themselves to companies, and so they should be.
But in part it is also that the arts are simply more fun than urban decay or failing schools. All work and no play makes community affairs a dull business. Long may the arts continue to be a modest but integral part of the total package.
Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue no: 45 – April, 1999
COMMENT:
Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts & Business, sets out in a `trends’ article below the thinking behind ABSA’s name change. Back in 1976 when ABSA was founded, arts sponsorship was in its infancy in the UK. Now it is a £100 million business.
Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts & Business, sets out in a `trends’ article below the thinking behind ABSA’s name change. Back in 1976 when ABSA was founded, arts sponsorship was in its infancy in the UK. Now it is a £100 million business. Likewise in America, as the figures above show, corporate support for the arts is huge.
However surveys of public attitudes, including of opinion formers, show the arts low down the list of perceived priorities. Education, employees and the environment predominate as issues of corporate responsibility. Yet companies persist in supporting creative endeavour. Why?
Partly, the business case is real, both the traditional communication benefits to key audiences and the more new fangled strategic inputs. Partly, the arts can be an effective tool for community development. Partly, the chairman’s personal penchant can be sustained if there’s an element of taking the arts to the masses. Partly, the arts organisations are very creative at presenting themselves to companies, and so they should be.
But in part it is also that the arts are simply more fun than urban decay or failing schools. All work and no play makes community affairs a dull business. Long may the arts continue to be a modest but integral part of the total package.
COMMENTS