30 years of Business to Arts
2018 sees Business to Arts celebrate its 30th anniversary with a series of bespoke events
In February 1988, a small group of business people representing seven Irish companies met to discuss setting up an organisation that would help establish partnerships between the business community and arts organisations and encourage sponsorship of the arts by business.
This group was actively involved in commissioning or collecting art for their companies. They were aware of the economic reality of working as an artist and arts manager. Crucially, they believed there was more that could be done by the private sector. Six months later, in August 1988 Cothú – The Business Council for the Arts, was established.
Fast forward to 2018, we now mark the 30th anniversary of Business to Arts. Our membership-based, charitable organisation brokers, enables and supports creative partnerships between businesses, individuals and the arts. We work to team up our business members with arts organisations and artists to develop solutions in areas such as sponsorship, commissioning, brand development, training, leadership development, internal and external communications and events. We also work with artists and arts organisations providing a range of training opportunities and coaching to help diversify income streams, grow audiences and improve efficiencies. Over the years, Business to Arts has offered its members behind the scenes access to some of Ireland’s leading Irish talent, arts organisations and events. In our 30th anniversary year we created bespoke events around Arthur Cox’s art collection in their beautiful new building on Earslfort Terrace and discussed Brexit and its effect on culture at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre ahead of the performance of Akram Khan’s Giselle by the English National Ballet. We look forward to the world premiere of a new composition at the House of Lords, Bank of Ireland and a theatrical promenade in TileStyle.
Our in-house projects include ‘New Stream’, supported by Dublin City Council’s Dublin’s Culture Connects and the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, which saw our Fundraising Fellowship Dublin programme continue and our Fundraising Fellowship, Ireland commence. The aim of this project is to enhance the investment by arts, cultural and community organisations in their strategic plan- ning and fundraising capacity through the recruitment of four Fundraising Fellows.
Our crowdfunding website Fundit.ie celebrated its seventh birthday and has now helped over 1,400 Irish projects to raise €4.5m from over 69,000 funders around the globe. Finally, 2018 saw the third round of small grants to artists and arts organisations being released through the Docklands Arts Fund. This fund aims to enhance, develop and grow the practice, appreciation and development of quality arts experiences in the Dublin Docklands Area.
Should you like to discuss how you can be involved in any of the above, please don’t hesitate to talk to us (www. businesstoarts.ie).