NBR Sponsorship of the Arts Awards won by visionary philanthropist

The Supreme Award winner in this year’s NBR Sponsorship of the Arts Awards was Fiona Campbell for her personal philanthropy in funding the Real Art Roadshow through the Real Art Roadshow Trust.

The project which takes art to schools around New Zealand in purpose built gallery trucks is visionary not only in its inception but in the way that it allows for other sponsors to become involved in a local, regional or national capacity.

Supreme award winner: The Real Art Charitable Trust / The Real Art Roadshow

This year there were 23 entries in the NBR Arts Sponsorship Awards which ranged from the sponsoring of small local festivals such as the Alexandra Blossom Festival by two local firms (Touch Yarns & Hirequip) through to involvement by large corporate sponsors such as Genesis Energy and NZ Bus in major festivals and significant arts organisations.

Five sponsors were selected; Anderson Lloyd, Lawyers, NZ Listener, Staples Rodway, and The University of Otago along with the Real Art Roadshow Trust as the supreme award winner.

The finalists were chosen on the basis of sponsors involved in arts partnerships which: delivered genuine business benefits to their own organisation, meeting the objectives of the arts partner; demonstrating a high level of interaction and involvement on the part of the sponsor and the arts partner in the joint setting of common objectives as well as in the execution of the partnership.

Other factors included using the strengths and qualities of both parties for the benefit of the partnership, introducing new concepts and a creative approach to Sponsorship of the Arts; and setting an example of excellence and innovation in the process of the partnership.

Award winner: The New Zealand Listener / The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

Many of the entries spoke of the “natural fit" between the sponsor and the arts organisation but some managed that fit better than others such as the NZ Listener and The Auckaklnd Writers and Readers Festival. Here the synergies worked extremely well and provided interlinked benefits for the two organisations focussed on literature and information.

Award winner: University of Otago / Shakespeare Globe Centre. University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival

The University of Otago funding of the Sheilah Winn competitions enabled them to identify and present themselves to a sophisticated audience of secondary school students who were seen as their target audience.

Award winner: Anderson Lloyd Lawyers / Le Sud

Anderson Lloyd Lawyers sponsoring of a play about the South Island was a well focussed strategy to promote the firm across the area of its business interests.

Award winner: Staples Rodway / Auckland art fair

With their sponsorship of the Auckland Art Fair Staples Rodway saw how the event would create an excellent hosting venue in a high quality environment which also attracted high net worth clients as potential collectors at the Art Fair.

For a full list of sponsorship finalist and awards winners in the NBR Arts Sponsorship Awards see National Business Review November 13th

Barry Colman, Fiona Campbell, John Daly Peoples and Jenny Gibbs: Ms Campbell’s Real Art Charitable Trust takes two trucks filled with contemporary New Zealand art to secondary schools around the country – so far 100,000 students from 200 schools have seen it

Chris Gwin and Carolyn Adams: The New Zealand Listener couldn’t have found a better partner than the festival since both were about good writing, new thinking and creativity, the judges said

Wendy Adam, Prof. Evelyn Tribble and Dawn Sanders QSM: The university was praised for sponsoring the Shakespeare performance festival which featured exactly the students the university wanted to attract

Roger Thompson and Jennifer Buckley: Mr Thompson revealed the accounting firm’s clients were enthusiastic about the Auckland Art Fair sponsorship, which he said had worked far better for the firm than a corporate box at Eden Park