Global financial services law firm Walkers wanted to display its commitment to developing local communities with a programme that engaged both its staff and local residents.
In 2017 Walkers attended a breakfast briefing on opportunities available through Business to Arts’ Docklands Arts Fund programme to support community cultural practice in the Docklands area.
This led to a proposal from BtoA for Walkers to develop a three-year education-based CSR initiative working with a photographer to engage Walkers staff and schoolchildren from CBS Westland Row with street photography and their local area.
Business to Arts supported Walkers by running an open call to select photographer Kate Nolan as the lead artist on the programme, scoping staff and school engagement workshops, running a public photography competition, and producing a book commemorating the works and outcomes of the programme.
The programme became a staple of the CBS Westland Row transition year programme for three years. In 2019 an open call photography competition for street photography of the Docklands area was run generating 67 entries which were judged by Walkers staff.
- 63 students engaged at CBS Westland Row
- 120+ staff members engaged at Walkers
- 100+ student workshops delivered
- 3 staff workshops delivered
- 7 prizes awarded to Open Call photography competition
- Commemorative book produced for client and staff engagement
- Photography programme clearly connected with transition year objectives of personal development, self-directed learning and experience of the adult and working life.
- Enhanced technical photography skills, confidence, and awareness of local social issues for CBS Westland Row
- Expanded practice for photographer Kate Nolan
- Creativity, collaboration, and appreciation for the local area developed within Walkers
