The shortlist for the 33rd Business to Arts Awards, which take place at the National Concert Hall in September, has been announced.

The awards celebrate collaborations between private sector entities and the arts that demonstrate true cultural partnership. 

First-time nominees include Ace Autobody, Clancourt, Peugeot, Xestra Asset Management, Specavers and Aeolus Engine Services, but long-standing supporters of the arts in the business world are also represented.

Award winners will be presented with a limited edition award sculpture made by Limerick craftsman Noel Donnellan, commissioned by Business to Arts and supported by Catapult, the awards' new sculpture commissioning partner. 

The 2025 Judging Panel featured representatives from CBRE, ESB, Community Foundation Ireland, Irish Life, The Irish Times, and TileStyle, chaired by an independent arts expert and stewarded by Business to Arts.

The 2025 Business to Arts Awards will take place on Monday, September 8 at the National Concert Hall before it closes for renovations.

A total of €25,000 will be presented to successful artists and arts organisations through bursaries and awards on the night.

“This year’s shortlist attests to businesses engaging at a deep and considered level, ensuring there is a positive impact on both partners and wider society, with exciting newer initiatives emerging alongside more established partnerships," said Louise O'Reilly, chief executive of Business to Arts.

"We are so grateful for the time, attention and consideration of the judges in what is a mammoth task.”

This year, ESB is supporting a new category in the awards, the ESB Creative Sustainability Award, which recognises creative partnerships that address issues around the environment, climate crisis, and circular economy.

The award is intended to honour the power of arts and culture in shaping a greener future.   

"As a long-term patron of the arts in Ireland, ESB recognises the important role that artists play not only in recording and interpreting social and economic developments, but also in engaging communities by fostering creativity and innovation," said Sarah Sharkey, corporate reputation manager at ESB.

"Through this new Creative Sustainability Award, ESB hopes to empower artists to drive positive change with projects that contribute to the arts and a more sustainable future."

New sponsorships include the Community Foundation Ireland Arts Philanthropy Award, the CBRE Creativity in the Workplace Award, and the Irish Times €5,000 Arts Award.

The awards have a total of ten categories and three bursaries in 2025, celebrating arts sponsorship, commissioning, philanthropy, staff engagement programmes, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, access programmes, and creative community initiatives, ranging from small-scale initiatives to large-scale and long-term engagements with national reach.

The full list of nominees can be seen below

Major Arts Partnership Award  - €25,000 and above

• Ace Autobody & Royal Irish Academy of Music: RIAM Spotlight Awards
• Xestra Asset Management & Dublin City Council Arts Office: Artane Artist Studios
• Dublin Port Company & Temple Bar Gallery + Studios: Longest Way Round, Shortest Way Home
• Tanqueray 0.0%  & Dublin International Film Festival

Small Arts Partnership Award  - under €25,000

• Kildare Credit Union & Blueway Art Studio: A Little Book of Brigid
• Clinch Wealth Management & ANU Productions, Landmark Productions, MoLI: The Dead
• Aeolus Engine Services & Sing Ireland 
• Samaritans & Smashing Times: Acting for the Future                                                                                    

The Irish Times Long-Term Partnership Award 

• HLB Ireland & Graphic Studio Dublin: Echoes of Home
• Henry J Lyons & Temple Bar Gallery + Studios: Dublin Art Book Fair
• University of Galway & Druid
• Clem Jacob Hire & Spraoi International Street Arts Festival

Irish Life Creativity in the Community Award 

• British Irish Chamber of Commerce & Fishamble: Taigh Ty Teach
• WALK & Smashing Times
• Rethink Ireland in partnership with TikTok & Dublin International Film Festival: Irish Film Pioneers

CBRE Creativity in the Workplace Award 

• Cork & Kerry County Councils & Sample-Studios: Make or Break
• Connected Hubs & Contemporary Irish Art Society
• Spencer Lennox & Irish National Opera: INO Future Leaders Network

ESB Creative Sustainability Award 

• Irish Rail & Mild, Laura McMahon: Tern the Tide
• Environmental Protection Agency, National Library & Paula T Nolan: Photographer in Residence
• MaREI & Croí Glan: CHANGE
• Native Events & IMMA: Earth Rising

Jim McNaughton/TileStyle Best Commissioning Practice Award

• Peugeot,  Ruth Medjber & Photo Museum Ireland: Her, Allure
• Irish Life & The Meditative Creative: Our City, Our Future.
• Drogheda Port Company & Emily McCormack: Brig Manley
• Sherkin North Shore & Open Ear Festival: Island Residency Programme

Creative Access Award 

• Clancourt & The Ark: Ark Access
• Saint John of God & Dr Sinead McCann, AlanJames Burns: Our Place
• Specsavers Limerick & University Concert Hall: Panto For All
• The Ireland Funds & Irish Chamber Orchestra

Community Foundation Ireland Arts Philanthropy Award 

• Tomar Trust
• Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland for Movement for Good
• Bank of Ireland for Begin Together Arts Fund

Judges' Special Recognition Award 

• Cork International Film Festival with Murphy’s, Tomar Trust, Future Planet,  Irish Examiner & The Arc Cinema Cork
• Cork Midsummer with Tomar Trust, Ecclesiastical Insurance & University College Cork
• RIAM & Ace Autobody, Clinch Wealth Management & Ecclesiastical Insurance

The following awards will also be presented on September 8 

• Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 Artist’s Bursary
• Accenture €10,000 Digital Innovation in Art Bursary
• The Irish Times €5,000 Arts Award

(Pic: Conor McCabe Photography)