Announcing the 2012 Allianz Business to Arts Awards sculpture commission, ‘Striped Bulb’, were Oliver Cussen, Acting Chief Executive, DAA; artist Catherine Keenan; Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive, Business to Arts.

The winners of the 2012 Allianz Business to Arts Awards will be announced on 4 September at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. These awards seek to recognise the importance of arts and business organisations working together. The Awards will be presented by Minister for Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, TD.

This year’s categories reflect creative collaboration across a diverse range of businesses, local communities and public sector groups. The shortlisted projects are:

Best Large Sponsorship – over €25,000 value
• Calor & Moth Productions for ‘Victor’s Dung’
• Fire for The Copper House
• Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard (Absolut) & Dublin Fringe Festival
• Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard (Jameson) & Dublin International Film Festival

Best Small Sponsorship – under €25,000 value
• Ballymaloe Cookery School & The Moth for The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize
• Gaby Smyth & Co & Graphic Studio Dublin
• Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals & Fishamble: The New Play Company for ‘End of the Road’
• Shimmer Research & The Lab Gallery

Best Long Term Partnership
• Dublin Airport Authority & Dublin Theatre Festival
• Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard (Jameson) & Dublin International Film Festival
• KBC Bank Ireland & KBC Great Music in Irish Houses
• Kerry Group & Siamsa Tire, the National Folk Theatre

Best Use of Creativity in the Community 
• The Irish Times & Fishamble: The New Play Company for ‘Tiny Plays for Ireland’
• KPMG & Dublin Contemporary
• Mayo County Council for the ‘Landmark’ Public Art Programme
• Sweny’s Pharmacy & community volunteers
• U2 and The Ireland Funds for Music Generation

Best Creative Staff Engagement
• Accenture & Boz Temple Morris for ‘The Festival of Ideas’
• Finglas Addiction Support Team & Michelle Culligan for ‘The Journey of Life’
• National Transport Authority & Theresa Nanigian for ‘Travelogue’
• Shimmer Research & The Lab Gallery

Jim McNaughton Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice
• Finglas Addiction Support Team & Michelle Culligan
• Mayo County Council for the ‘Landmark’ Public Art Programme
• National Transport Authority & Theresa Nanigian for ‘Travelogue’
• Offaly County Council & Vincent Kennedy for ‘The Kilcormac Cantata’

The following special awards will also be presented on 4 September 2012 :
The Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 Bursary for an Artist and the Dublin Airport Authority Arts Award for €5.000 will also be presented.

For the 21st year the award has been commissioned by Dublin Airport Authority. This year’s award sculpture “Striped Bulb” is being made by glass artist Catherine Keenan, who is based in Portstewart, Northern Ireland. She describes ‘Striped Bulb’ as “an exploration of form and pattern. The shape has been developed to compliment the lines, the rounded forms of different proportions cause a subtle distortion to the lines”.

2012 marks the 21st anniversary of the Business to Arts Awards which recognise businesses, artists and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships, bringing the arts and artists into the workplace and building mutually beneficial sponsorship relationships that reach and benefit communities throughout Ireland.

Members of this year’s Jury Panel were:

• Alyssa Bonic, Arts Manager, BSkyB
• Joanne Looby, Guinness RM and Digital Brand Manager at Diageo Ireland
• Natalie McGuinness, Marketing & Business Development Director, Mason Hayes & Curran
• David McLoughlin, Chief Executive, Wexford Festival Opera (Chair of Jury Panel)
• Gerard McNaughton, Retail Director, TileStyle
• Ursula Murphy, Director of Human Resources, Allianz Ireland
• Paul O’Kane, Public Affairs Director, DAA

Report of the Forum on Philanthropy & Fundraising Launched

A new report from the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising (of which Business to Arts is a member) which was launched last week by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD and Minister Phil Hogan TD in the National Library of Ireland, seeks a 60% increase in philanthropic giving to the non-profit sector by 2016.

The report contains four main recommendations that will be implemented in the next four years. Those recommendations include:
• A National “Giving Campaign”- aimed at the public, high net worth individuals and corporates in Ireland to increase their giving.
• Improving the fiscal environment and incentivising greater giving.
• Developing better fundraising capacity, education and training among not-for-profits.
• Creating a National Social Innovation fund – supported by the Government and the philanthropic sector.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan TD re-convened the Forum on Philanthropy in June last year and set them a task to increase the level of philanthropic and charitable giving along with developing fundraising capacity and best practice across the sector.

In the context of fundraising capacity building, Business to Arts is delighted that the Forum on Philanthropy & Fundraising recognises the New Stream Programme (which is supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch) as a sector specific case study of the results that can be achieved via an investment in fundraising capacity building in Ireland.

The full report can be downloaded here.