Last December Arts & Business (A&B) revealed figures showing support for the arts from private sources had grown to £530 million, at twice the rate of inflation. No one can deny that for a sector which is at almost constant threat of funding cuts or shortages, this is a good thing. In fact, many argue that a relationship with business is one of the most important of all for any arts organisations, and with Arts & Business giving away their coveted awards this month it has in many ways become the future of arts funding. No longer is it about businesses simply handing over the cash in return for a warm feeling and free tickets, it’s become much more about strategic relationships, sustainability and collaboration. As Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of A&B commented to Arts Hub, he hopes awards demonstrate “that the relationship between business and the arts are still alive and well in the UK” and that the awards “act as inspiration” for others.
A not-for-profit that now has over a hundred staff working across the UK, as their name suggests, A&B work to create partnerships between the arts and business, and it asserts itself as one of the most successful creative networks in the world. The A&B awards shortlist contains a diverse range of forty five case studies, in nine categories, that involve a range of arts organisations collaborating with a predominantly mainstream selection of large businesses.
It was clear by the awards ceremony that A&B certainly means business. High flyers in business mixed with the who’s who of arts circles at an event that opened and closed with music by MTV and ex-Royal Ballet dancers the Ballet Boyz from George Piper Dances performing contemporary dance in business suits. The wine was good and the canapés themselves looked like artworks. The atmosphere was one of pride, success and celebration. One business representative remarked to Arts Hub that of the many awards and arts events she attends this one was by far the flashest.
The glossy Guardian-produced brochure extolling the successes of the winning relationships in the 29th A&B awards is full of terms like “brand identity”, “developing creativity”, and “sharing goals”. The language of business has certainly entered the arts world, and judging by the case studies of the winners it’s not just rhetoric, it actually means something and is necessary as a means for arts organisations not just to survive, but to thrive. A case in point is the winner of the BP Arts & Business Sustainability Award: a partnership between UBS and London Symphony Orchestra. Although the organisations involved are relatively traditional, the approach is not: “UBS could have had their name on it, and gone away” says Kathryn McDowell, the MD of LSO, but instead they chose to get involved and “the sponsorship covers the whole spectrum of our work and what LSO now is… We’re in dialogue every day, every week”. UBS, like most large companies, has a global sponsorship strategy, as focussed as its business strategy. The invitation is for arts organisations to tap into this, without losing their independence or sacrificing creativity.
Last December’s report, Private Investment in the Arts, which is the only survey in the world to report on business investment and individual growth, highlights several other interesting trends. Thirty one years ago, when Arts & Business was founded in 1976, business investment in the arts was £0.6 million. The biggest growth area year-by-year has been in individual giving which now stands at £262.4 million, and trusts and foundations have risen to over £113.7 million while business investment remains static at £153.4 million over the last year. London accounts for 74% of all private investment and regionally, South West, North East and East Midlands saw an increase whilst Yorkshire, the West Midlands and the East had fall in private funding. Heritage is the top recipient of private investment, followed by visual arts/galleries, museums and theatres, while film/video increased. Museums and music received 43% of corporate donations.
While these figures deal with impressive amounts of money, it’s necessary to note that £400 million of all private investment to the arts goes to top 50 organisations – this means 3% of 4000 arts organisations received 75% of money. Asides from issues of geography and distribution, A&B have also highlighted another of their key challenges is to ensure that corporate giving does not lag behind other forms as it is a “key part of the private investment mix.”
In comments released with the report last December Colin Tweedy hints at their obstacles, and argues “There is more money going to the arts from the private sector than ever before. This is a great achievement, but Arts & Business will not be satisfied until we can help all arts find the resources and ideas to bring in additional private investment. We need to make sure the arts are in the best position to work with the private sector and to convince more businesses to engage with the arts to unlock their full potential. 83% of the arts would have had their audiences limited without private investment. We need it to grow – it is a force for good.”
The message is that arts organisations shouldn’t be putting all their eggs in one funding basket. A&B believe the findings reveal that every year the level of private investment moves closer to the main public funders of culture in the UK. They argue the culture sector faces a more dynamic and competitive funding landscape than ever before and that “too many cultural organisations rely on one source of funding to support their income – any radical changes could jeopardise the reliability of this income.”
Speaking to Arts Hub about the obstacles to connecting businesses and the arts, Tweedy said “there are so many different challenges and rival demands on business’s attention, for example corporate social responsibility and climate change. There is also the grey area between philanthropy and corporate sponsorship. A relationship between the arts and business needs to add commercial value, and it is always dependent on the health of business – for example the recent stock market dip”.
So what about the issue of public funding? Culture Minister David Lammy rather blandly commented that the figures in the A&B report were “fantastic” and that they “testify yet again to the generosity of individuals and companies in this country. This support ensures that together, private and public funding enables huge numbers of people to enjoy the wonderful and inspiring things the arts have to offer.” While Chief Executive of the Arts Council England, Peter Hewitt said “The Arts Council is committed to building on our relationship with Arts & Business to help maximise support for the arts and ensure their continued success.”
John Tusa, managing director of the Barbican Arts Centre, pointed out several other challenges in a Guardian blog, arguing that there are “attitude problems” from corporates who tend to have commercial goals in mind in any arts sponsorships – what events will attract their best clients, appeal to their staff or have a social or educational purpose they can justify support on grounds of corporate and social responsibility – and that there is a trend for corporates to rely on their very well-renumerated senior members of staff to individually shoulder the burden once born by the corporations themselves. But for individuals, spending on the arts “is about consumption” rather than philanthropy. So how do you “encourage companies to recognise that supporting the arts has an absolute value as well as delivering all the incidental social and economic benefits connected with them?” Tusa also believes government can be misled into relying on private funding, which the research shows is in many ways “unpredictable” despite the funding increases. Overall, it’s a delicate equation where there is no substitute for policy led funding.
Tweedy has been involved with A&B for twenty four years. When asked what he thinks the greatest achievement of A&B has been, his passion shines though. “Over the last 31 years we’ve put arts sponsorship, business volunteering and the creative agenda on the business agenda. There’s been a changing climate of opinion, so people see the arts as essential” he says, commenting that he can’t help but believe that A&B have been in part responsible for this change in thinking.
One of the points that A&B emphasises is the two way street, or collaboration that is necessary in a sustainable funding relationship. They believe that business can support the arts but that in turn the arts inspire business. “The creativity of the arts community is very powerful, it can motivate and stimulate an audience.” Tweedy says. He claims the arts can inspire business in many ways – from helping to develop a creative workforce or enhancing a work environment, to tapping into the current wellbeing agenda. “The arts are fundamental to creating a climate of creativity, motivation, and developing teams”. But overall Tweedy, like the organisation’s president, the Prince of Wales, argues that the arts “are essential to a creative, cultured and civilised community. The arts should be a weather vane to business – it’s a win win opportunity”, he concludes.
