Author: Chagy, Gideon

Publication Year: 1970

Media Type: Book

Summary:

Abstract:

Corporations, no less than arts organizations or artists, like to be recognized for what they do. But in the field of arts support, the importance of recognition goes beyond its effect on the image of the corporate donor. Examples of what is already being done by corporations provide the best possible arguments to the, as yet, uncommitted and add persuasiveness to the appeals made by arts organizations to local businesses.

One of the first to recognize the need for effective channels through which such examples can be communicated to both businesses and arts organizations was Esquire magazine. The magazine has actively encouraged the spread of the arts, and its publisher, Arnold Gingrich, has for years conducted a one-man crusade across the country to dramatize both the need and the mutual advantages of the business-arts relationship on the community level. In 1966, Esquire established an annual series of Business in the Arts Awards to provide a national platform to honor those companies that merit special recognition for their contributions to the upgrading of the cultural environment of their cities and towns.

The long-range goal of the awards is to spur many more business firms, regardless of size, to assume comparable responsibilities, thereby broadening the base of needed support for artists and arts groups.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Private Sector