Pictured launching the event are l-r: Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Business to Arts; Fionnuala Croke, Director, Chester Beatty and Feargal O’Rourke, Managing Partner, PwC. Picture Jason Clarke

PwC and Business to Arts will host their annual CEO Forum this coming Thursday, 26 September, to bring corporate and cultural leaders together to shine the spotlight on empowering the consumer through digital technology.  Through case studies, the event will explore how emerging technologies such such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence can bring the customer experience to new levels. PwC research has revealed that over three-quarters (77%) of Irish business leaders are of the view that Artificial intelligence will significantly change how they will do business in the next five years, but more investment is needed. The CEO Forum will showcase examples of companies whose business strategy involves putting their consumer more in control of their content, artefacts and consumables. Panellists will include Orla Carroll, Director of Product Development, Fáilte Ireland; Fionnuala Croke, Director, Chester Beatty; Geraldine Heavey, Executive Director, Enterprise Services, ESB and David Lee, Technology Partner, PwC.  The event will take place at PwC.

At this year’s judging day in The Merrion Hotel were: (from left) Gerard McNaughton, TileStyle; Donal O’Donovan, Independent News & Media; Antonia McTaggart, Facebook; Robert McEvoy, Allianz Ireland; Rachel Hussey, Arthur Cox; Andrew Hetherington, Business to Arts; Petal Pilley, Blue Teapot Theatre Company. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

The standard of partnerships in the Allianz Business to Arts Awards is continually rising and judges this year were really taken with the quality of activity and thought that went into the shortlisted projects

“Fusing business and the arts facilitates artists and makes both businesses and arts organisations think differently. The Allianz Business to Arts Awards shortlist demonstrates this. There are so many worthwhile projects which have resulted in wonderful experiences and creations that give back to the community in fantastic ways.” – Rachel Hussey, head of business development and client relations at Arthur Cox.

“The teams on the shortlist have real interest in what they’re doing. Staff are invigorated by their involvement in the collaborative projects and the nourishing two-way exchanges are bringing about something more sustainable than was originally envisaged. The consideration of what a community needed or wanted was quite evident in a lot of partnerships. You could see that this was genuine from both the businesses and arts organisations.” – Petal Pilley, CEO and artistic director, Blue Teapot Theatre Company

For first-time judges Rachel Hussey, head of business development and client relations at Arthur Cox and Petal Pilley, CEO and artistic director of Blue Teapot Company, the judging process was an eye-opener in terms of the extent and diversity of business and arts collaboration going on around the country.

“It was a fantastic experience to see the amazing work that is happening. I was so impressed by how partnerships give back to the community, in both innovative and sustainable ways. Even the smallest of businesses can have a really big impact in their communities and can facilitate artists to access wider audiences,” says Hussey.

One of the things that struck Hussey was how imaginative both business and arts partners are in relation to the types of experiences and creations they come up with. “I really like Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival with Colourtrend, as this has made a real and lasting artistic impact on the local community,” she says.

“Children’s Books Ireland [CBI] has also done some really great work around encouraging children to read. A number of businesses have collaborated with CBI across various projects, including KPMG, Brown Bag Films and Coca-Cola.”

Always a big supporter of Irish visual art in particular, Arthur Cox worked closely with Business to Arts two years ago when it moved its headquarters to a new building on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin. “We had amassed a lot of artworks over the years and the collection wasn’t being displayed in the best way possible. Business to Arts helped us to do that in our new premises,” explains Hussey.

Sustainability in supporting the arts is important to Arthur Cox and Hussey was impressed by the efforts of businesses in the shortlist in this regard. “There are some excellent commissioning practices in relation to working with artists to develop bespoke art for buildings. Businesses are taking part in initiatives seen by a huge variety of people which improve living and working environments in imaginative ways.”

Remarking on the breadth of projects, Pilley noticed a strong emphasis on addressing gender imbalance through art in the Allianz Business to Arts Awards shortlist. “There are more and more collaborative projects in the past few years which invest in the promotion of positive images of women and the advancement of women as emerging artists. In this year’s shortlist, the Female Conductors Programme and Women on Walls were particularly impressive to me.”

Blue Teapot is a relatively small theatre company, which has previously won a number of Allianz Business to Arts Awards. Pilley was the 2014 winner of the TileStyle Bursary for Artists. In this year’s shortlist, she observed that businesses and arts organisations have become much more considered about who they partner with and are putting a lot of effort into finding ‘the right fit’.

“There are some ingenious pairings between businesses and theatre companies which involve healthy risk taking. Businesses are taking a punt and backing innovative projects, such as Irish Rail’s support of ‘A Play for Ireland’ by Fishamble: The New Play Company and Dublin Port Company’s commissioning of Bitter Like a Lemon to produce ‘In our Veins’,” she notes.

This article features in the 2019 Allianz Business to Arts Awards Sunday Independent supplement published on Sept 8th 2019.

Conductor, Alice Farnham, winners of the Best Large Sponsorship Category with the ‘Female Conductor Programme’ at the 2019 Allianz Business to Arts Awards pictured with Paul Jacobs, Partner, Grant Thornton and Sean McGrath, Chief Executive, Allianz (right), celebrating the 2019 Allianz Business to Arts Awards which took place at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Sept 3rd. Pic. Robbie Reynolds

Dublin Port Company, Grant Thornton, Farmgate Café and McGarrell Reilly were among the winners in 11 categories at the 28^th annual Allianz Business to Arts Awards ceremony at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on September 3rd.

The 2019 Allianz Business to Arts Awards received significant levels of entries in its 28th year, showcasing a diverse range of creative partnerships incorporating architecture, dance, design, film, music, literature, theatre and visual art. This year saw increasing regional activity, community engagement and long-term partnerships that are evolving through diverse activation campaigns.

Over €8.5m was 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 2018/2019.

The 2019 Allianz Business to Arts Awards Winners are:

Leading the congratulations among over 500 business and arts leaders at the theatre was Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, Cavan-Monaghan Heather Humphreys, TD.

Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation said:

“The relationship between business and the arts, demonstrated by these Business to Arts Awards, enables businesses to be more innovate, more creative, and ultimately deliver meaningful impact for society. Businesses increasingly understand that it is not just economic impact that matters. More and more are coming to understand that a sustainable and successful business is one that has a good CSR strategy at its core.

I want to congratulate all of the businesses and arts organisations that have participated in the Business to Arts Awards this year and hope that these wonderful partnerships will continue to grow and flourish in the future. My goal through Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility is to make Ireland a Centre of Excellence for responsible and sustainable business practice. These Awards make a very important contribution to achieving that goal and I’m sure it will help to inspire more exciting collaborations between business and the arts.”

Speaking at the announcement of the winners, Sean McGrath, CEO of Allianz Ireland, said:

“For the last 19 years, the Allianz Business to Arts Awards have remained a source of inspiration to us all at Allianz and the 2019 awards have lived up to the high standards set across the many years of their existence.  Yet again we are impressed by the significant mutual benefits derived by both business and arts organisations through their innovative collaborations. Of growing importance within this powerful initiative are the community and wider societal benefits enjoyed by us all when business and arts organisations partner to achieve some truly amazing results. By showcasing what is achieved, the annual Allianz Business to Arts Awards remind us that we are all winners of this truly extraordinary process of collaboration” 

Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, said:

‘With our partners Allianz, we are delighted to celebrate the 2019 Allianz Business to Arts Awards wining partnerships. These relationships are proof that businesses in Ireland are increasingly looking to arts and culture to address business opportunities and societal challenges. Encouraging creativity is at the core of many of the winning projects. Business to Arts’ flagship event continues to enable, develop and support creative partnerships. We call on businesses across Ireland to engage with their arts and cultural neighbours.’

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 28th anniversary of the Allianz Business to Arts Awards, the awards sculpture once again has been commissioned by daa. This year’s sculpture ‘Symbiotic’ was created by Mayo based artist Emma Bourke.