Insurance company Zurich has won the award for best long-term partnership in the annual Business to Arts Awards.
Zurich partners with the National Gallery of Ireland with Crawford Art Gallery for the Zurich Portrait Prize and the Zurich Young Portrait Prize.
The Business to Arts Awards, presented at a National Concert Hall event, recognise businesses, philanthropists, artists, and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships.
Shortlisted partnerships focus on arts sponsorship, philanthropy, commissioning of artists, and CSR initiatives.
The new Accenture Digital Innovation in Art bursary, worth €10,000, was introduced to support an artist working exclusively in the digital space.
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The bursary was awarded to Nadia J. Armstrong whose work engages with the symbiosis between human and machine using video and digital animation.
The award for best large sponsorship, supported by law firm Arthur Cox, was won by TikTok for its backing of the St Patrick’s Festival.
Solas was a large-scale audiovisual project supported by TikTok, focusing on creating employment and a platform for creators to safely engage with the festival during the pandemic. The project included a national lighting and installation project in multiple locations.
The judges’ special recognition award was presented to Wexford Festival Opera and its multiple commercial sponsors, namely PwC, Danone, Arachas Insurance and Datapac.
The 14th Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 artist’s bursary was awarded to Barialai Khoshhal, a photographer and refugee from Afghanistan whose work documents the lives of Afghani refugees as they arrive and live in Ireland.
The DAA €5,000 arts award was awarded to That’s Life and Dublin Dance Festival for Bounce Club Night, a club night for adults with intellectual disabilities that offers a welcoming and safe space to dance and socialise with friends.
Louise O’Reilly, chief executive of Business to Arts, commented: “These winners all demonstrate the real power in partnership across sectors and disciplines, and through challenging times. I was overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness of so many entries arising from a time of lockdown - the passion and perseverance of our arts sector in Ireland is a model for all.”
Orla O’Connor, chair at Arthur Cox, stated: “Special congratulations to the winner of our category, St. Patrick’s Festival and TikTok for their innovative and cutting-edge Solas project. Once again it’s been a privilege to see such worthwhile submissions from organisations around the country, reinforcing the importance of partnership to maintaining our vibrant and engaged arts sector.”
Business to Arts is a charity that develops strategic creative partnerships between the corporate and cultural sectors.
Its corporate network ranges across the business sectors from local family-run companies, SMEs, and semi-state companies to FDIs and corporate foundations, and the organisation has c.300 members and affiliates.
