The Guardian’s 30th Arts & Business Awards Supplement

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Arts & Business awards 2008

Rosie Millard Introduction

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amit lennon

hy should business support the arts?

Philanthropy, vanity, a desire for the immortality gained by having your name on a museum doorway? It’s a tried-andtested policy; last week I was in the men’s sauna at Pompeii looking at a giant basin sculpted from one sheer block of marble. The donor’s name was picked out in blue and green stone. 2,000 years on, and several nearby eruptions later, it’s still there.

Perhaps the end of the “greed is good” zeitgeist will herald a new spirit of comradeship in the business community. Bonding together to tough it out, and using creative inspiration as the

Koen Vanmechelen’s awards piece

spur. Because shoving a percentage of your profits towards the arts is not only about your name on a marble basin, or a chrome arts centre. Snuggling up to the arts community gives businesses a key into its biggest commodity — namely human thought.

As a bigwig at Bloomberg (which supports the arts generously every year) once told me: “Artists offer a different take on life. If we have David Shrigley designing our plates, people might think ‘Wow! These are the strangest plates on earth’. And the great hope of course, is that one of these people will think ‘God! Maybe I could do my phone calls this afternoon to my clients differently’. It sounds silly but that is what you are trying to encourage.”

Plus, there is collateral gain. Naturally the arts world benefits financially (to the tune of £600m last year — a record), but also via mentoring and the experience of working with people in suits.

We benefit, too. The Travelex sponsorship at the National Theatre seems to me to be the most eminently brilliant use of corporate cash. It gives the National the financial confidence to slam on daring and grand plays and it gives us a chance to try out these plays for the minimal outlay of a tenner.

It has worked — dramatically. The foyer of the National was always one of those places that seemed to be patronised by a) your parents and b) your parent’s friends. They still come, of course, but they are now joined by a vast crowd, varied in age and background, all up for blowing a tenner on that great rite of human expression that is live theatre.

And that has to be a good thing.

Rosie Millard is a journalist, broadcaster and author. She was also arts correspondent for BBC News for a decade.

The First Emperor, China’s terracotta army exhibition, sponsored by Morgan Stanley, at the British Museum: an award winning partnership between the arts and business Photo: Linda Nylind

Produced by the Guardian in association with Arts & Business

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Arts & Business

Introduction 30th Arts & Business awards

Editor Simon Rogers Design Mark Leeds Production Dave Hall, Pas Paschali Contact darren.sutton-warren@guardian.co.uk GNM Content Solutions T 020-7713 4039

What’s happening to arts funding?

Welcome Colin Tweedy

Liza Ramrayka Analysis The economic events of the past months may rival any gripping drama you’ll see on stage but corporate supporters of UK culture are not predicting a tragedy in arts funding. UK private investment in culture reached record levels in 2006/07, coming in just shy of £600m a year.

Individual giving (donations, legacies, friends schemes etc) is still the biggest source of income, accounting for half (£298m) of total private investment.

Trusts and foundations contribute around £129m. Business support — comprising cash and in-kind sponsorship, corporate membership and donations, awards and prizes — now accounts for 29% (£171m).

This compares favourably with public funding, with £417m distributed through Arts Council England in 2006/07 and £500m from Heritage Lottery funding.

When Arts & Business (A&B) was number-crunching these figures last year, corporate support for the arts had risen by more than 10% from 2005/06, ending the business investment plateau reported between 2003 and 2006. Significantly, the biggest growth was in cash sponsorship, up to £116m from £95m the previous year.

The subsequent credit crunch may alter this rosy picture: long-standing supporters of the arts such as Lehman Brothers and HBOS have disappeared from the scene; others will be looking at how to tighten their purse strings as they rationalise their operations.

Yet corporate support of the arts has been one of the great success stories of the last 30 years, during which time A&B has brought together hundreds of arts organisations and businesses for mutual benefit. A&B chief executive Colin Tweedy acknowledges that these are tough times for UK plc. However, he’s reluctant to

echo “the doom merchants who say it’s all over” for business support, pointing out that companies such as BP, Shell, UBS and Unilever have confirmed ongoing support for arts projects, while new players from the US and Japan may be picking up sponsorships where others have withdrawn.

“One of the issues is that business doesn’t want to be seen to be pulling out.

Immediately you stop being confident, your share price drops and it signals a slip,” he says. Alan Davey, chief executive of Arts Council England, agrees: “There’ll be pressure to cut funding to the arts, but I’d argue now is the time to expand.

Because in the times we are living in, the arts matter more than ever; they give audiences pleasure, succour, challenge and insight. As some national commentators have recently said, don’t dismiss the ‘solace factor’ — people turn more to the arts in times of crisis.”

Davey adds that businesses can help Arts Council England deliver its three-year plan of “great art for everyone” — which includes widening reach and increasing engagement — and cites the Travelex season at the National Theatre as an example of this.

“Travelex’s support allowed the National to offer greatly reduced ticket prices to all its shows, which meant it was able to attract a much broader audience, while Travelex raised its profile through the association.” He adds that the Cultural

Corporate support of the arts has been one of the great success stories of the last 30 years

Olympiad in the run-up to London 2012 offers another opportunity for business.

In recent years, insurance group Lloyd’s has supported a number of arts projects, most recently working with City-based charity Poet in the City to commission new suites of poetry on subjects such as climate change and conflict and instability.

Spokesman Darragh Gray says: “Lloyd’s has never sponsored the arts for its own sake. We only engage in bespoke projects that will help to solve a specific business need, and the current economic outlook is unlikely to affect this strategy.”

Gray believes the current economic climate will see businesses becoming less willing to commit to “off the shelf” sponsorships and “increasingly keen to tailor their partnerships and relate them back to real business issues”.

Developing employees is an increasingly common aspect of business support for the arts. Prudential staff have shared business expertise with organisations including London’s Lyric Hammersmith theatre. “Working with the arts brings value to us because we want our people to look at new ways of doing things,” says head of community relations Helen Ellis.

Andrew Senior, head of the creative economy team at the British Council, believes companies with global presence should be looking at “how to support the arts in emerging economies”.

A&B is developing its business consultancy role to offer advice on how companies can best engage with the arts. It is also planning a roadshow to demonstrate to local businesses the practical ways in which they can engage with their arts communities on a limited budget (the top 50 arts organisations attract 62% of all private investment and over half are based in London).

Tweedy concludes: “Business is about other values, not just making money.

Companies are having to rebuild the trust of their shareholders and employees; the arts are a really good way of doing this.”

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rts & Business is changing.

We believe that when commerce and culture collide, our national creativity, economy and communities all benefit. At a time of global economic chaos, far from being at the margins, our creative industries are essential components of the UK’s financial health. Their rapid growth has happened because business and the arts in the UK, under the stewardship of institutions like Arts & Business, have found a synergy now being replicated worldwide.

The Arts & Business awards have provided extraordinary case studies of pioneering partnerships that have become a gold standard internationally of good practice. The days when a good sponsorship meant a logo on the poster are well and truly over. The arts have to compete against sport, corporate social responsibility and the environment.

This year, to mark the 30th awards, Lloyd’s is sponsoring a special innovation award to mark the achievements of the pioneers in business who have developed innovative partnerships in the arts through these 30 years. Creativity and innovation are at the heart of the best partnerships between arts and business. The physical awards this year, by Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen, comprise a silver glass egg in an incubator.

The metaphor is clear, creativity — the spark of life and the role of humanity in its development. That is what these awards and Arts & Business have strived to promote through the years.

Colin Tweedy is chief executive of Arts & Business

Award winners 2008

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Award winners 2008 Ballymore A&B business volunteer of the year award Paul Ralley and NoFit State Circus Las Vegas has Cirque Du Soleil. Cardiff has NoFit State. At a NoFit show, there is no barrier between the audience and the performers — the trapeze artists literally swing over your head. As the company’s chief exec Alison Woods puts it, “You are no longer simply admiring. You see just how demanding and dangerous it is. You get a sense of joining a community rather than observing a spectacle.”

Four years ago, NoFit State found itself a victim of unexpected success. The company, which was started in 1986 by five friends who just wanted to do something for Live Aid, had a big hit on its hands with a touring production called ImMortal, which was garnering rave reviews and sell-out crowds.

As a result, NoFit State was growing too fast, tripling its turnover in a matter of months and straining the infrastructure of a small-scale arts institution to breaking point. They didn’t know it at the time, but what they really needed was a juggling accountant.

In search of some financial knowhow for their board, NoFit approached Arts & Business, who paired them up with Paul Ralley, a senior business analyst at Legal and General. Ralley is not your typical financial expert. He was once a bungee jump instructor, a dalliance that he still likes to put on his CV, and as a student he toured community centres and fetes in Manchester teaching people to juggle. While at Oxford he found that the ability to breathe fire got him into a lot of parties.

Naturally, this combination of circus skills and financial expertise proved irrestistible to NoFit’s bosses, but a place

on the board was an attractive proposition for Ralley too, who learned his skills in a school outreach programme similar to the extensive community work carried out by NoFit. “They didn’t want just another guy in a suit to tell them what to do,” he says.

“They wanted someone who could appreciate the artistic temperament.”

Ralley and Alison Woods, who had just been appointed NoFit’s new general manager, set to work on rebuilding the company’s financial infrastructure, and in the process formed an extremely successful working relationship. “Paul knows enormous amounts of stuff that I know nothing about and vice-versa,” she says.

“We revolutionised the internal systems and management. It was incredibly useful to have somebody to act as a sounding board, somebody to run ideas past, spot things that I’ve missed. He was such a good teacher.”

Nowadays, NoFit is Britain’s biggest circus company, with an annual turnover of around £1.5 million. Paul Ralley is still working with them — he is chairman of the board now — and most (but not all) of the juggling he does these days is of the metaphorical variety. The company is hard at work raising funds to renovate a new headquarters in central Cardiff, and its training programmes offer a career path that stretches right from weekend workshops for children to international stage performance. Thanks to Ralley’s volunteer work, writes Arts & Business judge Andrea Sullivan, “NoFit State Circus possesses the financial and business skills to match its creative vision and talent.”

Paul Arendt

Funny business: Paul Ralley Photo: Brian Griffin

Old Mutual A&B cultural branding award Morgan Stanley and the British Museum

British Museum’s First Emperor exhibition Photo: Linda Nylind

It is no exaggeration to say that the First Emperor was the British Museum’s most successful show in more than 30 years.

Not since the display of Tutankhamun’s treasures in 1972 has an exhibition caused so much excitement, generating sell-out crowds and 4am ticket queues.

Widely regarded as the most important archaeological find of the 20th century, the terracotta warriors of Emperor Qin Shi Huang were discovered accidentally by Chinese farmers in 1974. The scale of the revealed necropolis rocked the archaeological world, most famously in the unearthing of three giant pits containing more than 8,000 life-size figures, an army for the first emperor of China in the afterlife.

In 2005 the British Museum negotiated, with some help from then prime minister Tony Blair, the loan of the largest number of Emperor Qin’s terracotta warriors ever to leave China. For the first time, the Museum’s Round Reading Room was converted into a grand exhibition space for the soldiers, archers, horsemen, acrobats and bureaucrats of the emperor’s army.

An exhibition on such a blockbusting scale needed a fitting sponsor, and the British Museum found an ideal partner in investment bank Morgan Stanley.

“Sponsorship has evolved a lot since the days when people just wrote a cheque and put a logo on the poster,” says Jennifer Suggitt, the museum’s head of corporate relations. “It is approached much more strategically. The aim is to create a deep partnership that works on many different levels.”

In this respect, Morgan Stanley was an obvious choice for the Terracotta Army’s

first trip to Britain. A long-time arts sponsor, Morgan Stanley was also one of the first international banks to open offices in China, and had extensive corporate contacts in the Far East. Its financial help allowed the British Museum to create a massive and memorable media campaign for the exhibition, as well as an extensive educational exhibition to accompany the warriors themselves.

“Without the involvement of Morgan Stanley and other private investors, exhibitions on this scale just wouldn’t take place,” says Gwendolyn DeSilva, acting head of marketing communications at the bank. “So that’s partly why we do it, to give something back.”

Which is not to say that Morgan Stanley didn’t benefit from the deal. First and most obviously, they were aligning their brand with both the British Museum and its blockbusting exhibition. They reaped the benefit of the worldwide media interest that the show provoked. And of course, they had the chance to entertain their favoured clients at private views of an exhibit that was proving to be an exceptionally hot ticket.

“They wanted to reach as many clients as they possibly could, so having access to the exhibition was incredibly important to them,” Suggitt explains. “They wanted to engage their employees, so we were doing things like having special staff days at the museum, so as many parts of their operation could get involved as possible... It’s fair to say that the number of people who attended their events was a little higher than they would normally have expected.” PA

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Arts & Business

BP A&B sustainability award Sage Group and the Sage, Gateshead Like a giant caterpillar chrysalis, the Sage Gateshead nestles on the south bank of the Tyne, its roof reflecting the changing sky. It is a remarkable building: the first performance space designed by Foster and Partners.

The Sage’s undulating roof of glass and steel encloses two concert halls, rehearsal space, four bars, two cafes and a 25-room musical education centre. It is the home of the Northern Sinfonia and Folkworks, an agency dedicated to raising interest in traditional music.

At a price tag of £70m, it is yet more evidence of a commitment to culture in the north-east that has given us the Angel of the North and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The Sage was named not for wisdom or herbiage, but as the result of a sponsorship deal. Sage Group, a software company that began its life in the north-east and has since become a business of global reach, donated £6m to the project, and the building will bear its name in perpetuity.

It was an extraordinary deal for a number of reasons, but mostly because when the company’s directors signed on the dotted line, the Sage Gateshead was nothing more than a building site.

“It was a big step for us,” admits Sage Group’s chief executive Paul Walker. “But it was very much a business decision: good for marketing and good for our employees as well. I think they felt proud that we were so heavily involved.

“Although we’re an international business, our roots are in the north-east. Without being too emotional about it, this business was formed on the banks of the Tyne,

a mile from where the Sage Gateshead was being built.”

One of the conditions of the Lottery funding that helped Gateshead Council build the Sage was the creation of an endowment fund to support the venue’s operation and prevent it from becoming a white elephant. The fund holds £12m — half of which came from Sage Group — and the interest from that account goes on to the Sage Gateshead’s bottom line every year as an unrestricted grant. That extra cash has aided the venue’s bosses to programme innovative seasons of work that encompass every form of music, from the Vienna Philharmonic to Nancy Sinatra.

It also helps to support the Sage’s extensive musical learning programme, whose participants range from 90-yearold pensioners to expectant mothers (via a set of pre-natal classes known as “musical bumps”).

For the Sage’s marketing and development director Lucy Bird, the deal with Sage Group is a “textbook case” of a modern sponsor partnership. “Gone are the days when arts organisations were pink and fluffy things that were just there and had to be supported. It’s a partnership of mutual respect, and that’s the way that the whole sector is going.”

Sage Group’s relationship with the venue, she says, is an ongoing one. The company continues to provide core revenue support and frequently uses the building. “There’s nothing that either side feels we couldn’t bring up and discuss,” says Bird. “Nothing could exemplify a better partnership than the utter openness we have with Sage.” PA

Britten Sinfonia at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Photo: Brian Griffin

British Council A&B international award Cambridge University Press and Britten Sinfonia Sometimes in sponsorship, small is beautiful. The partnership between academic publishers Cambridge University Press and the Britten Sinfonia might not be the most financially impressive deal on the winners’ list, but the Press’s commitment has helped to transform an innovative chamber orchestra into an international force on the classical music scene.

The Britten Sinfonia began its life as a regional ensemble based in Cambridge.

Over the last 15 years it has developed a reputation for edgy programming, championing young British composers and displaying a refreshing disdain for the traditions of classical orchestras.

“The fact is that we very rarely work with conductors,” says the Sinfonia’s development director John Bickley. “Nearly all our programmes are directed either by a soloist or by the leader of the orchestra.

People recognise us as a very large chamber ensemble that can work without some maestro standing in front of it.”

As its reputation has increased, the Britten Sinfonia has ventured further afield in search of new audiences, and in 2007 the company made its first steps outside Europe, embarking on an ambitious tour of South America. In a neat bit of serendipity, the Cambridge University Press was in the process of restructuring its Latin American operation, and seized on the chance to help the orchestra find its feet in a new country.

“The two came together quite neatly,” says Bickley. “Without their investment the whole thing would never have happened. We had packed houses at every concert and lots of encores, fantastic press reception, so musically it was a great success. When we went to a restaurant nearby everybody would leap up and cheer the soloist like a football star.”

As well as providing some financial support to the orchestra, CUP mobilised

the staff in their Latin American offices to help Britten Sinfonia in any way possible, including advertising the concerts, brokering relationships with music venues, inviting their own contacts along to receptions and so on.

The CUP’s chief executive even accompanied the Britten Sinfonia on tour himself. Meanwhile, the Press’s financial contribution helped Britten Sinfonia to secure more funding from the Arts Council, Arts & Business and the British Council.

The tour was a big success both for the orchestra and its sponsors, who were able to use the concerts to boost their own South American profile.

“It was an opportunity to do some really fantastic networking with customers and partners in an unusual setting, which was good fun for everyone,” says Heidi Mulvey, CUP’s community and university relations manager.

“If you’ve got an amazing chamber orchestra coming all the way from Cambridge and you’ve been closely involved in getting them there, it sets you apart from other businesses locally.”

The success of the South American tour has spurred the Britten Sinfonia to look for more international dates, and the CUP are coming along for the ride, supporting an exploratory trip to Asia in search of interested venues.

The Sinfonia has revamped its website, introducing regular blogs and a foreign language section, and next year will see the first three releases from its own record label — one of which will be the orchestra’s concert in Buenos Aires.

“It seems inevitable that we should try and explore further afield,” says Bickley.

“As our reputation grows, as we put more CDs out and have higher profile concerts in Europe, other parts of the world are beginning to take notice of us. They are intrigued by the kind of programmes we do.” PA

Lucy Bird, the Sage Gateshead: ‘Partnership of mutual respect’ Photo: Kieran Dodds

Award winners 2008

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A&B young people award Bank of Scotland and Aye Write!

Karen Cunningham of Aye Right and Sarah Cann (top) of HBOS. Photo: Kieran Dodds A charge often made against book festivals is that they are accessible only to the literate middle classes. The aim of Glasgow’s Aye Write! festival is simple: to get as many people as possible — with an emphasis on children from areas of social deprivation — reading and writing.

Low levels of adult literacy on the west coast of Scotland make promoting children’s love of reading a priority for the library service in Glasgow: “It’s important that we stop trying to do the remedial work and start trying to address poor literacy early,” says Karen Cunningham, head of Glasgow libraries and director of Aye Write!

Which is where the festival, with its preparatory, free education programme aimed at schools, comes in. Based in Glasgow’s Mitchell Library, the largest public library in Europe, Aye Write! was started in 2005. The Bank of Scotland got on board as a sponsor in 2006, turning it into an annual rather than biennial event. “We both have the same fundamental objective: to increase access to the arts for young people,” says Sarah Cran, head of sponsorship for HBOS. Ten thousand children took part this year, a 25% increase on the previous year.

“We set ourselves a target that 65% of the children attending the festival should come from areas of social disadvantage.

We exceeded that by 3%,” says Cran.

Teams were sent to participating schools to supply them with reading lists and hold workshops in the run-up to the festival. Free transport was provided to encourage young people to use their local libraries, and the Books to Go scheme gave

children an incentive to borrow books and win points they could redeem for book tokens during the event.

“For some of these children it’s the first time they’ve ever owned a book,” says Cunningham. “You have no idea of the impact that delight in book ownership can have.” At the festival “children get to meet their favourite authors in a prestigious city-centre venue and, because of the advance support we provide, they’re comfortable,” adds Cunningham.

The children’s programme also included a poetry slam competition open to Glasgow schools, which pulled in 1,200 participants, and a young book reviewer’s competition held in conjunction with the Herald newspaper.

Cunningham is looking to see longterm improvements in children’s literacy: “We don’t want this to be a one-off. It is about providing children with a depth of experience that goes beyond attending a single event.”

Aye Write! also boosts use of the Mitchell Library itself. “We get a significant rise in our book-borrowing statistics,” says Cunningham.

Cunningham says the partnership with the Bank of Scotland has changed and developed: “At first it was just about them giving us cash, but it has become so much more than that.” HBOS employees take part in the festival with their families, and staff from the Mitchell Library have helped the bank to establish online book groups. According to Cran, the latter have been a great success: “You don’t know how these things are going to work until you do them.” Maxie Szalwinska

JTI A&B community award Port of Tilbury London and Thurrock council Mary-Ann Connolly, a former Tiller girl and cultural project officer for Thurrock council, was having trouble finding somewhere to stage a big, live event “to bring people in Thurrock together”.

When she looked around the London cruise terminal at the Port of Tilbury, the building that witnessed the arrival of the Empire Windrush from the Caribbean in 1948 and the exodus of the “£10 Poms” to Australia after the second world war, she knew her search was over: “It’s huge, like a cathedral,” says Connolly. “I thought, we’ll build a 500-seat theatre there and put on a Christmas extravaganza.”

The council approached the Port of Tilbury in 2004, and the latter has been sponsoring the annual 12 Days of Christmas spectaculars, and providing a venue, labour and equipment ever since.

The shows have given the cruise terminal’s profile a leg up. The Grade-II listed building “wasn’t particularly accessible to the public and stood empty much of the time,” says Lynda Viccars, the Port of Tilbury’s cruise and marine coordinator.

Thurrock council has also staged plays about the history of the building, and it recommended the site to the Royal Opera House for a community project in 2008.

As well as sparking the regeneration of the area, the song and dance productions provide a Christmas event for employees of the port, local schools and the wider community in Thurrock.

Last year, 1,500 schoolchildren took part, appearing on stage alongside professional performers. This year 2,000 are involved. “These are not kids who can regularly afford to go to the West End to see shows,” says Viccars. “There isn’t a lot here for them.”

Connolly prides herself on the show’s high production values, but the children are the real stars: “The kids love it. This year it’s all glitter, glitter, glitter.”

Mary-Ann Connolly and Lynda Viccars (left). Photo: Brian Griffin And it gives their parents, some of whom work at the port, the chance to watch them: “Thurrock is docker country. It’s a big change for families to go to this rather than down the working men’s club,” says Viccars.

The port gives 300 tickets away to its employees, seats routinely sell out and ticket prices are heavily subsidised: “It’s a very affordable night out, and every year we try and make it better,” says Connolly.

Working with hundreds of children and converting a 1930s building partly on stilts into a temporary theatre has been a huge logistical challenge for Viccars and Connolly, but “we’ve had a lot of fun doing it. We’re a very enthusiastic team,” says Viccars.

Winning the JTI A&B community award is “a coup for a business that’s seen as big cranes and heavy blokes, and a council in a terribly unfashionable area that’s been long overlooked” reckons Connolly.

“We’re raising aspirations and the cultural bar in Thurrock.” MS

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Arts & Business

A&B Lloyd’s innovation prize Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank’s commitment to art is obvious from the minute you walk into its London offices on Great Winchester Street. For one thing, there’s a large Anish Kapoor sculpture in the lobby. Oh, and a Damien Hirst painting on the wall behind it.

Back in the late 1970s, when much of the art world regarded commerce with undisguised hostility, Deutsche Bank embarked on an ambitious programme of art buying and support for emerging artists, under the motto “art at work”. It did this, and still does, not for the sake of investment but to decorate its offices and engage its employees.

Today, the bank has the biggest corporate art collection in the world: a staggering 53,000 pieces, most of them on display in its offices around the globe, or on loan to various art galleries. They collaborate with the Guggenheim Museum to run the Deutsche Guggenheim, an exhibition space in Berlin.

It was thus a natural choice for Deutsche Bank to sponsor the Frieze Art Fair, a mecca for contemporary art fans around the world. For the past five years the bank has funded the event, enabling 150 galleries from 20 different countries to display works of more than 1,000 artists. It has exhibited parts of its own collection at the fair and adds to it every year with new acquisitions. As well as sponsoring the main event, the bank supports an edu-

cational programme at Frieze that offers workshops, guided tours and a website for children and young people.

“We feel that we bring something to Frieze that other corporations might not because of our long-term commitment to art,” says Alistair Hicks, Deutsche Bank’s art adviser.

“We’re committed to change, and the association with Frieze, with young and new art, is a good match for a forwardthinking bank. We take a lot of our clients to the fair, and part of our deal is that we can invite 800 of our staff. That allocation usually goes in half an hour.”

Deutsche Bank’s commitment to the arts — it also sponsors Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal College of Art among others — has won them the innovation prize, making its debut this year. The prize marks 30 years of the Arts & Business awards.

Sponsored by Lloyd’s, it celebrates the most groundbreaking partnerships of the last three decades.

“Deutsche impressed me on two accounts,” says Dr Richard Ward, chief executive of Lloyd’s and one of the judges.

“Frieze Art Fair was pretty humble when it started out, and it was a bold but shrewd decision of Deutsche Bank to sponsor it.

Now it has become very much part of the international art calendar. Secondly, Deutsche has built up a world-renowned collection, which really does bring art to the attention of its employees.”MS

Finalists Winner: Deutsche Bank Shortlisted: Beck’s BP Land Securities Sky Arts Longlisted Bank of Scotland Coutts & Co HSBC Orange Travelex UBS Unilever S

A man stands looking at an untitled piece by Anish Kapoor, Frieze Art Fair in London. Photo: Anna Gordon

Prudential A&B people development award Rolls-Royce and Sinfonia ViVA It may be hard to imagine a roomful of highly qualified engineers from RollsRoyce, maker of jet and marine turbines, sitting in a circle playing clapping and drumming games together, but that’s what an away day with Sinfonia ViVA got them doing.

Not only that: by the end of the day the Rolls-Royce team had to perform an original work of music in front of an invited audience. For a group of people with little or no musical experience, this could have been a blush-inducing business. “I’m sure a number of them thought ‘I’ve got better things to be doing with my time’,” admits Rachel Clarke, Rolls-Royce’s community relations manager. But that scepticism soon melted away. “Led by musicians who knew what they were doing, the group found they could suddenly produce something quite complicated that sounded quite good,” says Clarke.

The workshop with the east Midlandsbased orchestra was set up to pep up a “weary business improvement team and re-establish confidence in its ability to succeed” in the run-up to a multimillion pound project.

It was also intended to bring together employees from different parts of the company and its subcontractors. The 36-strong team were due to start work on Project Ocean, rolling out a new business system in Rolls-Royce’s submarines division in Derby. In the course of the workshop, “we got a team rhythm going,” says Mark Gration, SAP implementation manager.

The day began with everyone messing around with percussion instruments and talking about the similarities between col-

laborating on a musical composition and developing business systems: “you put little bits together and the bits come together into a whole,” says Clarke.

Then the group split up to work on four pieces of music with the help of a double bass-player, a viola player and two percussionists from the ViVA orchestra.

The four sections of music were later stitched together and performed for an audience of family and friends. The resulting composition had a nautical theme, featuring a Jaws moment and the sinking of the Titanic.

“The fact that they weren’t musicians didn’t matter,” says Peter Helps, chief executive of Sinfonia ViVA. “People were made to feel comfortable contributing what they could, either by singing, or banging or blowing an instrument.”

The workshop helped to build friendships and motivate the Rolls-Royce team, who were given their own copies of a DVD about their day with ViVA: “Sometimes work gets hard and it’s nice to remind yourself of a bit of fun,” says Helps.

The DVD has also proved a useful promotional tool for ViVA: “Rolls-Royce is a top UK company and it’s great to have an example like this to demonstrate how successful music can be as a learning tool in the workplace,” says Helps.

Founded in 1982, ViVA has been working with Rolls-Royce since the mid-1990s.

Rolls-Royce’s support of the orchestra “is not going to sell them another 24,000 aeroplane engines” says Helps. However, “in Derby, it’s about investing in the community from which they draw a lot of expertise.” MS

Sinfonia ViVA in performance, with principal conductor Andre de Ridder

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Arts & Business 2008

Comment 30th Arts & Business awards

Creativity in a crunch

Charlotte Higgins Expert view How will Britain’s cultural life fare in a coming recession? The publicly funded arts in this country may not always be on best-friend terms with the government, but at the moment they are certainly thanking their lucky stars — and James Purnell, the former culture secretary.

During the last stages of the spending review last year it was Purnell who persuaded his chum Andy Burnham, then chief secretary to the Treasury, now doing Purnell’s old job, to pare away thin shavings from the giant government departments to give the relatively small Department for Culture, Media and Sport a funding settlement in line with inflation. And, though Arts Council England bungled when it came to dividing the spoils, on the whole the arts were set up very nicely: particularly when it had been strongly feared that they would be making do with a standstill settlement, or worse, cuts.

The pattern of the past 10 years has been one of steady and regular state funding for the arts. This has provided the firm base from which organisations have been able to plan their output — and, importantly, pitch for private sponsorship, whether from companies or from individual philanthropists. Gone are the days of yo-yo funding of the last Conservative government. Understandably, philanthropists and potential sponsors are much more eager to give to the arts when they can help a vibrant company build on success, rather than throw a lifeline to a founder-

Rory Kinnear at the National Theatre 2008 in the Revengers Tragedy by Thomas Middleton, directed by Melly Still

Arts organisations are having to countenance the possibility the next government will be Conservative

ing, crisis-ridden organisation. The circle of consistently generous government funding is wholly virtuous.

To borrow a phrase from Gordon Brown’s speech to this year’s Labour party conference, many arts organisations in Britain have mended the roof while the sun was shining. This time of year is the season when arts organisations’ annual reports tend to be published. From the ranks of the big national companies — the Royal Opera House, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the National Gallery — I haven’t yet come across one that has not announced a break-even or a small surplus in funds. Though the credit

crunch will undoubtedly present challenges, there is a confidence that those challenges can be met.

For the National Theatre, for instance, it is business as usual — or, in fact, business has expanded, since it is about to launch Sunday performances. According to Nicholas Hytner, its artistic director, “Over the past few months we have had more corporate sponsors stepping forward than over the past five years.” Joining the regular supporters — Accenture, Shell and Travelex — come AmEx and Prudential. Coutts will be sponsoring next year’s production of Phèdre, starring Helen Mirren. French Wines is sponsoring In-i, the dance-theatre

piece by Akram Khan and Juliette Binoche now in repertory.

“The wisdom is that theatre is one of the last things that people stop doing in a recession,” says Hytner. “In the last recession, we did OK. We hope that the £10 shows and the rigorous determination over the past five years not to raise the price of tickets above RPI mean that we are, we hope, pretty well-placed to ride out a recession.”

Michael Boyd, the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, says: “We have simply got to try to make beautiful work that people find irresistible ... I don’t think theatre could be better placed to ride out this tricky time.”

A greater question mark hangs over organisations that have large capital projects on the go and great sums of money to raise. The Tate, for example, is hoping to complete its enormous new extension to Tate Modern in time for the Olympics. Of the £215m needed, only £70m has been pledged, and the Tate is sounding increasingly circumspect about its chances of completing the building by 2012 — when the country’s cultural life will be on display to the world.

The Tate’s ex-chairman, Paul Myners, has said if the extension is not built, it would be “a blow to the nation”; and it is undoubtedly the project that Sir Nicholas Serota, the Tate’s director, wishes to see completed before he thinks of retiring.

When one talks of economics, politics can never be far behind. For the first time in a decade, arts organisations are having seriously to countenance the possibility that the next government will be Conservative. Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, and Ed Vaizey, the shadow arts minister, have repeatedly sought to put across the message that theirs is now the natural party for the arts, and that arts funding would be safe in their hands. One can only hope they are right.

Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian’s chief arts writer.

Award winners 2008

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Philanthropy can still flourish Barbara Follett

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n the surface, the arts in Britain appear to be in rude health. David Tennant’s appearance as Hamlet with the RSC inspired a frenzy of ticket buying, Mamma Mia has become our most successful film ever and Liverpool has defied the sceptics to deliver an inspirational year as European Capital of Culture.

Yet on the same day that Damien Hirst sold his new works at auction for £112m, Lehman Brothers, one of the oldest banks in the world, collapsed. The icy wind blowing through the economy is likely to have repercussions for most of us, including those in the arts and cultural sectors.

But, although the arts and cultural sectors should be prepared to deal with difficult times, there is no need to panic. Both sectors are much better placed now than they were in the recession of the 1990s, especially after the 73% increase in funding over the last 10 years. The cultural sector has built up its audience numbers — the number of visits to museums has doubled since the introduction of free admission in 2001.

The people running our cultural organisations require highly sophisticated business management skills at all points in the economic cycle, and those best-placed to weather the storm will be those who have diversified their revenue streams. For example, individual giving schemes may help in difficult times. These allow people to give between £20 to £100 to become a member of a group, organisation or theatre, like the Donmar in London. Schemes

like this widen the donor base of an organisation like the Donmar — where individual giving is bigger than sponsorship — and make them better able to fight back in difficult times.

Philanthropy and business investment can continue to flourish at this time, but effective donor cultivation skills will be at a premium. There will still be significant potential sources of private investment, but they will need to be cultivated through effective engagement and sophisticated relationship management.

Times may be uncertain and they could get tougher for everyone, but we should take heart from the fact that we have world-class arts. Quality is one of the key elements of survival in hard economic times and Britain’s arts organisations have that in abundance.

The government should continue to support those artists and organisations that are creating excellent art through core funding and appropriate tax measures. The arts community has told us what it wants through its Private Giving for the Public Good campaign. We need to help nurture appropriate skills and build fundraising capacity in the arts across the whole country. We need to explain to those potential business supporters and donors why it is in their interests to invest in the arts, even during an economic downturn.

Finally, we need to recognise those who have generously supported British artists. The pioneering work of Arts & Business is crucial here. The level of entry to the 30th Arts & Business awards proves the strength and quality of arts and business partnerships throughout the UK. By working with the private sector, we will foster artistic excellence that can continue to provoke admiration, inspiration and stimulation for generations to come.

Barbara Follett MP is minister for culture, creative industries and tourism

Stick with it Ed Vaizey

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his recession is going to be bad news for many people.

But people working in the arts may be more nervous than most. Too often, we hear the arts described as an add-on or a luxury. When times are tough, thoughtless people argue that cutting the arts should be the first place to start.

In Britain, the arts will be fighting on two fronts — not only to maintain their share of government support, but also to try and maintain the high-level of private funding that marks us out from our European neighbours, and which gives us our envied mixed economy.

The arts have a strong case to argue to business. In my experience, we not only have some of the most creative people working in the arts today, but also some of the most professional and efficient people working in any private or public sector organisation. If there is any organisation where you can guaran-

tee that your investment will be spent wisely it is an arts organisation.

For businesses to take a slash-andburn approach to their support for the arts would be hugely damaging, not only to the organisations they support, but to their own brand.

They will gain a reputation as a fairweather friend, and hurt the long-term relationships that are so important in arts sponsorship.

Is there anything the government can do to help? We have argued for a long time that government must support philanthropy, both in practice and in spirit. The rules on Gift Aid are far too complicated, and it is still difficult to give works of art to the nation while you are still alive.

But government can cheerlead as well. I especially welcome the special medal for arts philanthropy the Prince of Wales and Arts & Business are instigating, because we think that philanthropy of this kind should be specifically recognised in the honours system.

Few people can predict how this recession will turn out. It will be all too easy for businesses to retrench and pull back. But business should stick with the arts, and government should be by its side.

Ed Vaizey is the Conservative MP for Wantage and shadow culture minister

Arts hold the key to success Don Foster

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rivate investment in the arts has reached impressive levels in recent years. Since Arts & Business was founded in 1976, corporate sponsorship has risen from under £1m to £172m last year. Just £6m of public investment generated nearly £600m from private sources in 2006/07 and nearly 80% of arts organisations now receive non-government funding.

A quick glance at the longlist for the Lloyd’s A&B innovation prize reveals just how rewarding partnerships with private companies can be, and the sizeable contribution of the financial sector to the arts. Seven of the 12 organisations nominated for the prestigious award are either banks or financial services institutions. The strength of these projects is that they can offer cultural organisations a different kind of support, creating long-term partnerships to achieve mutually beneficial goals.

These private investors should be applauded for their commitment to the arts over the years; hopefully many more like them will be encouraged to

It is vital cultural organisations don’t lose faith A figure from Antony Gormley’s Another Place, Port of Liverpool

years in pictures

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support cultural projects in the future.

The credit crunch will undoubtedly affect some of these investments, and many organisations dependent on the generosity of individuals and the private sector will be bracing themselves for the worst.

The early signs are that the majority of investors won’t renege on their commitments. However, many are biding their time before making final decisions.

It is key that neither the government nor Arts & Business hold their breath during this period.

The Liberal Democrats have long argued that more needs to be done to encourage arts organisations to seek diverse funding sources.

If the messages concerning the commercial benefits of investing in the arts and the existing tax benefits of arts sponsorship are successfully communicated over the coming months, we will hopefully see sustained investment for the future.

The change in mood surrounding business and the financial sector may, in fact, be advantageous for the arts.

During this time of reassessment and rebirth for big business, the opportunities for community engagement represented by arts sponsorship may be just what companies are looking for.

Above all, it is vital cultural organisations don’t lose faith. The non-commercial sector has traditionally been more resilient to economic downturn than the commercial. During the 1980s, charities and non-profit organisations sharpened their bids for investment and came out relatively unscathed. For this to be repeated, government investment must be maintained. If it is, I see no reason why the burgeoning relationship between the arts and business cannot continue to develop.

Don Foster is the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport

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Arts & Business

Timeline 30th Arts & Business awards “The past is another country; they do things differently there” said LP Hartley, author of The Go-Between. But, when the Arts & Business awards started up 30 years ago, was Britain’s cultural life so very far removed from today? Judge for yourself with our pick of the best from the UK arts world’s last three decades

1978

1979

1980

Lloyd Webber Rice et al: Evita

Warren Mitchell in Death Of A Salesman

Brenton’s play The Romans in Britain

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children wins Booker

Bleasdales’s Boys from the Black Stuff

Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists

Inaugural Turner Prize: Malcolm Morley

Pravda at the Olivier: Anthony Hopkins

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

Michael Gambon: The Singing Detective

Julie Walters in Bennett’s Talking Heads

Freeze art show includes Lucas and Hirst

Bussell is youngest ever principal dancer

Channel 4’s The Word

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

Bleasdale’s GBH

Damien Hirst’s The Kingdom

Building begins on Shakespeare’s Globe

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Will Kemp in Bourne’s Swan Lake

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Helen Dunmore wins Orange Prize

Myra, Marcus Harvey, Sensation exhibit

The Angel of the North

Stuckist party champions traditional art

Tate Modern opens

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Iain McEwan publishes Atonement

The Play What I Wrote

Grayson Perry (left) wins the Turner

The Sage Centre, Gateshead

Quinn’s plinth sculpture of Alison Lapper

2006

2007

2008

Helen Mirren as the Queen

Record price for Banksy’s Space Girl.

New Saatchi gallery: Atmosphere