Business and Culture sparkle at the Allianz Arts Business NI Awards

Arts & Business NI kicked off their 25th Anniversary year by celebrating in style at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast at the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards 2012.

A total of 5 businesses, 2 individuals and 1 prestigious arts organisation celebrated their success at the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards 2012.

The Awards showcase examples of excellence and the delivery of tangible business benefits with winning partnerships coming from across the spectrum of Northern Ireland business and arts sectors.

Arlene Foster, MLA, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, recognised the increasing importance of partnerships between commerce and culture saying: “Retaining existing customers and attracting new orders is crucial if Northern Ireland firms are to increase their competitiveness on the global stage. Sharing knowledge, experience and skills, has been proven to deliver significant advantages to industry. Partnership between our business and cultural sectors is therefore key to growing a vibrant and dynamic economy for Northern Ireland. By encouraging similar collaborative practices across both business and arts, benefits to both sectors can be maximised.”
 
Presenting the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards Paul McCann, Allianz, congratulated the partnerships and all the winners saying: “All of these creative partnerships demonstrate just how new perspectives are opened and new initiatives come to fruition in the workplace when artistic engagement begins. Congratulations to all this year’s Award winners and to all those partnerships who showcase precisely just how successful arts and business ventures can be.”

The importance of a sustained level of investment in cultural branding saw Belfast Bred venues & Kabosh partnership lift the Allianz Arts & Cultural Branding Award with Kabosh who also scooped the coveted Arts Awards which is accompanied by a cash prize of £2,000.
The banking industry celebrated success with Northern Bank & Lyric Theatre and Ulster Bank & Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s picking up Employee Engagement and Community Engagement Awards respectively.

Recognising the success of all the partnerships, Mary Trainor-Nagele, Chief Executive, Arts & Business Northern Ireland commented: “The partnerships honoured here tonight are an amazing testament to the benefits of arts, business partnerships. Many congratulations to all our winners and their fantastic achievements.”

The importance of continued private sector support for the arts was reinforced by Bob Collins, Chairman of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, saying: “A growing number of local businesses are recognising the benefits that the creative arts can bring to their organisation, helping them to flourish and grow in new ways. The Allianz Art & Business NI Awards gives recognition to some of those valuable relationships and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to once again pledge its support to the scheme.”
Arts Individual of the Year Award, recognises and acknowledges the work of an individual within an arts organisation who has demonstrated business acumen and excellence in partnership development. Sheila Sloan, Chair, Belfast Music Society collected the award for her role in securing long term sponsorships for the organisation. Sheila’s efforts have made a huge difference to the Belfast Music Society which is stronger than ever, thanks to her hard work and dedication.