Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive, Business to Arts & Garry Ferguson, Managing Partner, Walkers with Olivia Forde, Lexi Forde, Anna Sheehan and James Ferguson at the launch of the Walkers Photographer-in-Residence. 

Business to Arts and financial services law firm, Walkers, have today launched a new Photographer-in-Residence programme under the Docklands Arts Fund which will see a photographer work with children and Walkers staff to develop their creativity and photographic skills.

The Photographer-in-Residence role will include working with pupils at a local school, participating in photography workshops with young people. The residency supports Business to Arts’ wider programme of activity, which promotes the Arts collaboratively with businesses, artists, audiences and communities.

The exciting venture marks the first time that a business in Ireland has engaged a Photographer-in-Residence programme with Business to Arts and Dublin City Council.

Commenting on the announcement, Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive of Business to Arts said:
“We are thrilled to partner with Walkers on this new project as part of the Docklands Arts Fund. Promoting photography and interaction between artists and audiences allows people to develop and explore their creative skills. It also gives them the opportunity to delve into the world of photography through a structured programme with a Photographer-in-Residence. The residency builds on projects funded across a variety of schools and organisations in the area”

Garry Ferguson, Managing Partner at Walkers said:
“As a long term resident in the Docklands area, the Docklands Arts Fund had an instant appeal for Walkers and we are delighted to launch this programme under the Fund with the guidance and support of Business to Arts. The focus of this programme, photography, was chosen for its accessibility and broad appeal – everyone has access to a camera on their smart phones or other device. The aim of this programme over the next 3 years is to bring photography as an art form into the daily routine of those living, working and attending school in the Docklands area. ”

Call for experienced photographers
The first stage of this partnership is to seek and appoint the Photographer-in-Residence. The successful candidate will have a passion for education, enjoy working with children and have a desire to create a new body of work around the Docklands area. Professional photographers can find more information and learn about the application process on the Business to Arts website https://www.businesstoarts.ie/artsfund/walkers/

The selected Photographer-in-Residence will be announced in January 2018.

Ahead of Business to Arts’ annual CEO Forum in association with PwC on May 29th, Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive Business to Arts; Feargal O Rourke, Managing Partner, PwC; Sean Rainbird, Director, National Gallery Ireland & Katie Molony, Chief Executive, Maximum Media experience Maser’s interactive artwork inspired by Vermeer at the National Gallery. Picture Jason Clarke

On Friday September 29th, PwC will once again host Business to Arts’ annual CEO Forum. The Forum is a group of over 100 CEO’s from across business and the arts in Ireland who come together each year to discuss new technologies and strategies and share insights from the cultural industries and the wider business sector.

The 2017 CEO Forum ‘Seizing opportunities from digital’ will take place on Friday, September 29th and will look at how corporate and cultural institutions use data and digital strategies to grow their businesses, enhance customer experiences and engage differently with respective audiences, users and customers. The panel will examine how digital and technological transformations impact the consumer experience. Participants will look at how this approach applies to business, and how a business can further its engagement with the consumer.

Confidence is high amongst Ireland’s arts & business community. Although high levels of digital investment are planned, there is room for improvement in understanding the opportunities presented from digital and upskilling in digital analytics needed.

This is according to a new joint PwC/Business to Arts Poll carried out amongst the Business to Arts community aiming to establish a benchmark on investment in digital technologies and the digital opportunities and challenges for this important sector in Ireland.

The Poll reveals:

• Just one in two (54%) Business & Arts executives with responsibility for the digital strategy highly understand the opportunities presented by the world of digital. This is in line with all Ireland business and technology leaders across all sectors as confirmed in PwC’s 2017 Digital IQ Survey where just half (52%) rate their Digital IQ score as strong, a key measure of the understanding of the value of digital technology.
• Improving customer experience (42%) is the single key opportunity as a result of enhancing digital offerings. Other opportunities cited by Business & Arts executives are increasing sales (27%) and increasing customer insight (18%). Growing revenues (88%) is the top opportunity for digital investment as seen by Ireland’s business and technology leaders followed by increasing profits (58%) and better customer experiences (42%).
•  An overwhelming majority (85%) of Business & Arts executives plan to increase investment in digital technologies to enhance their customer/audience experience in the year ahead. Key areas for investment are social media (88%); website/digital content (88%), customer data analytics (58%) and online/e-commerce (48%); According to Ireland’s business and technology leaders, a step-up in investment is needed in key emerging technologies such as the internet of things and artificial intelligence in order to keep pace with global levels;

Speaking about the survey findings, David Lee, PwC’s Technology Partner, said:

“The Poll highlights a great deal of confidence in the future growth prospects of Irish Arts organisations. Leveraging digital technologies provides great growth opportunities for this sector, particularly to further engage with customers. While an overwhelming majority of Business & Arts executives confirm they are planning to increase their investment in digital technologies, many admit that they are not currently getting value from their digital spend. The survey also suggests that there is more work to be done by Arts executives to fully understand the value presented by digital with a step-up in digital & analytics capabilities needed. These trends are broadly similar when compared to business organisations across all sectors in Ireland as highlighted in PwC’s recent Digital IQ Survey. This Poll suggests that many Irish Arts organisations could really benefit from fully embedding digital technologies into how consumers enjoy the arts. There is also a big opportunity from seeking greater insights from the data that they are capturing from their patrons to drive improved consumer engagement.”

Chief Executive of Business to Arts, Andrew Hetherington states:

“From contactless payment stations to centralised data sources to VR educational experiences, it is clear that new ways of analysing data and harnessing new technologies will have a considerable impact on the Irish arts and heritage sector over the coming years. With this year’s Business to Arts CEO Forum we join forces with PwC once again to share technology insights and keep pace with relevant digital and data transformations in the banking, media and arts sectors.”

Launching the new partnership in TileStyle were (from left): Anne Clarke, and Aaron Monaghan, both former ITITA winners; Ruth McCarthy, Marketing Manager at TileStyle; Laurence Mackin, Arts Editor of The Irish Times and Gerard McNaughton, Retail Director of TileStyle. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw.

We are very happy to support two of our corporate members on a new three-year sponsorship agreement. This week the Irish Times announced that TileStyle have become Associate Partners for The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards. The partnership will allow the celebration of Irish theatre artists through the annual Awards, which have been run by The Irish Times for over 20 years.

“Design, innovation and creativity are core to TileStyle’s ethos and we align ourselves and our brand with others who share those values,” said Gerard McNaughton, the Retail Director of TileStyle.

“The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards celebrate those very things, talk about them and allow us to take a little time to reflect on them.

Theatre in Ireland is constantly reinventing itself, challenging itself and developing and growing. And through it we encounter a boundless energy in many forms that we at TileStyle love.  The Awards allow us to recognise the very best in theatre each year and TileStyle very much look forward to engaging with this new partnership and the mutual benefit it will bring both organisations.”

Laurence Mackin, the Arts Editor of The Irish Times was delighted to announce TileStyle as the Associate Partner for the next three years of The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards. “TileStyle has a fine history of supporting the arts in Ireland,” he said. “Too often we say that private organisations need to do more to support culture, and this is a terrific example of that. The Theatre Awards are only able to happen each year because of collaborations, enthusiasm and help from the world of theatre. The support of a company such as TileStyle throughout the year-long process is a huge boost for us, and for the arts.”

THE IRISH TIMES IRISH THEATRE AWARDS

The winners and nominees of the past twenty years add up to a Who’s Who of the Irish theatre scene and many of those who were recognized when they were up-and-coming have gone on to international acclaim, including Ruth Negga, Tom Vaughan Lawlor, Cillian Murphy, Conleth Hill, Fiona Shaw and Charlie Murphy.

Pictured (l-r) at this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards were Andrew Hetherington, CEO Business to Arts, Sean McGrath, CEO of Allianz Ireland, Laura Lynch, Head of Segments, Bank of Ireland, Richie Boucher CEO of Bank of Ireland and the Junk Kouture winner, Mariusz Malon (age 18) from Scoil Mhuire Secondary School, Buncrana. Picture Conor McCabe Photography.

The Dean Dublin, A&L Goodbody, Bank of Ireland, ESB and Dublin Port Company were among the winners in 11 categories at the 26th annual Allianz Business to Arts Awards ceremony at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

This year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards, attracted a record number of nominations with over €6.5m spent on arts sponsorships submitted. The Awards recognise businesses, artists and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships and bring businesses and the arts into mutually beneficial relationships across society. The evening was a celebration of the most innovative and creative partnerships in Ireland in 2016/2017.

The 2017 Allianz Business to Arts Awards Winners are:

Best Use of Creativity in the Community
A&L Goodbody & Writer-in-Residence Catherine Ann Cullen

Best Creative Staff Engagement
ESB & Science Gallery Dublin for ‘MAKESHOP Programme’

Jim McNaughton Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice
Dublin Port Company & National Concert Hall with Paul Noonan and various musicians for ‘Starboard Home’

Jim McNaughton / TileStyle €10,000 Artist’s Bursary
Clare Monnelly

Allianz Community Art Award
ReCreate Ireland

daa €5,000 Arts Award
Smashing Times Theatre Company

Best Small Sponsorship – under €15,000 value
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council & Institute of Art, Design & Technology for ‘Young Women in Film & Television’

Best Long Term Partnership
Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture

Best Large Sponsorship – over €50,000 value
Accenture & Royal Irish Academy for ‘Women on Walls’

Best Mid-Size Sponsorship – over €15,000 -€50,000 value
The Dean Dublin & IMMA

Judges’ Special Recognition Award for Portfolio of Investment
Accenture

Leading the congratulations among over 500 business and arts leaders at the theatre was Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD.

Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD said:
“This year marked the launch of Creative Ireland, the cross-government initiative putting creativity at the centre of our lives, and at the centre of public policy. It’s an initiative that is every bit as important for business as it is for the arts and artists. It’s great to see the diversity in this year’s shortlist for the Allianz Business to Arts Awards showing how mutually beneficial relationships are possible in all sectors no matter the size. The Awards are a platform to celebrate, communicate and inspire others. The organisation continues to make a very important contribution to both the cultural and commercial sectors, by building new partnerships between businesses and the arts for the benefit of communities across Ireland. I would like to congratulate all of the winners of this year’s Allianz Business to Arts Awards, and wish Business to Arts and its partners the very best for the remainder of 2017 and for the foreseeable future.”

Speaking at the announcement of the winners, Sean McGrath, CEO of Allianz Ireland, said:
“Allianz has always seen these awards as underscoring the crucial importance of the relationships that exist between businesses and arts in Ireland. The arts, and our active participation in them, are a key component of Ireland’s national identity, both at home and abroad. This partnership has mirrored Irish’s recovery and growth in uncertain times where change is a constant. It is through the creativity on display tonight that we see how Ireland will continue to thrive economically, artistically and socially.”

Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, said:
“The 2017 Allianz Business to Arts Awards season celebrates another incredible year of creativity. We are seeing increased regional activity, a wider audience reach and a clear focus on consumer reach and assessment of return in the sponsorship categories. Our winners are collaborating to address social, environmental and workplace issues and it is more relevant than ever to acknowledge the impact creativity and art industry interaction can have on Irish society.”

2017 marks the 26th anniversary of the Allianz Business to Arts Awards, which recognise businesses, artists and arts organisations that develop and sustain creative partnerships. The awards recognise large, mid-sized, small and long-term sponsorships, staff engagement activities, commissioning, corporate social responsibility programme, community engagement and portfolio-based partnerships.

For the 26th anniversary of the Allianz Business to Arts Awards, the awards sculpture once again has been commissioned by daa. This year’s sculpture was created by Cork based artist Kevin Callaghan. Kevin created a beautiful ceramic piece called `Dream Roads’, which is a reference to the potential of togetherness in moving forward with creative ideas.