Introduction

Art is not just a decoration or a luxury. It is a powerful tool that can inspire, motivate, and transform people and organizations. In this article, we will explore how corporate art can be a catalyst for innovation, unlocking creativity in the workplace and enhancing the performance and well-being of employees.

What is corporate art?

Corporate art is the art that is displayed or created in a corporate setting, such as offices, lobbies, meeting rooms, or public spaces. This encompasses a diverse range of artistic expressions, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, murals, installations, and interactive pieces. Companies may acquire corporate art through commissions, purchases, rentals, or donations from the company itself or its stakeholders.

Why is corporate art important?

Corporate art is not just a matter of aesthetics or branding. It is a strategic investment that can have a positive impact on the company’s culture, values, vision, and goals. Corporate art can also influence the behavior, mood, and productivity of the employees, customers, and visitors who interact with it.

How can corporate art foster innovation?

Innovation is the ability to generate and implement new ideas that create value. It is a crucial element for the survival and success of any company in a competitive and dynamic market. Creativity, the capacity to think divergently, envision new possibilities, and solve challenges, is fundamental to innovation. The environment, stimuli, and mindset of individuals play pivotal roles in influencing creativity. Corporate art has the potential to enhance these factors, fostering an environment conducive to innovation.

In this article, we will discuss how corporate art can:

• Boost the power of corporate art as a source of inspiration, communication, and collaboration
• Reveal the benefits of corporate art for the employees’ engagement, satisfaction, and well-being
• Provide some tips on how to choose the right corporate art for your company and your audience
• Explain how to curate a corporate art collection that reflects your identity and values
• Suggest some ways to measure the impact of corporate art on your innovation outcomes
• Share some best practices on how to implement corporate art successfully in your workplace

The Power of Corporate Art

Corporate art can be a powerful stimulus for innovation, as it can:

• Inspire. Corporate art serves as a catalyst for innovation by exposing employees to fresh perspectives, ideas, and emotions, kindling their imagination and curiosity. It challenges the status quo, promotes critical thinking, and fuels experimentation. By encouraging employees to think beyond conventional boundaries, explore uncharted possibilities, and devise inventive solutions, corporate art becomes a source of constant inspiration.
• Communicate. In the realm of corporate identity, art becomes a powerful communicator. It conveys the company’s vision, mission, values, and goals, fostering a shared sense of purpose and direction. Beyond this, corporate art articulates the company’s identity, personality, and culture, constructing a distinctive and memorable brand image. Through its expressive forms, corporate art effectively communicates the company’s narrative, story, and values to employees, customers, and visitors, leaving a positive and enduring impression.
• Collaborate. The impact of corporate art extends beyond aesthetics, fostering a robust sense of community, belonging, and pride among employees, thereby forging a cohesive team. Facilitating social interaction, dialogue, and feedback, corporate art nurtures a culture of openness and trust within the workplace. It becomes a conduit for employees to connect, exchange ideas, and learn from each other, ultimately cultivating a collaborative and innovative environment. Corporate art becomes a powerful tool in building a workplace where collaboration thrives and innovation becomes a shared endeavor.

Benefits of Corporate Art

Corporate art can have a positive impact on the employees’ performance and well-being, as it can:

• Engage. Corporate art serves as a catalyst for increased interest, involvement, and commitment among employees, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility. By stimulating intrinsic motivation, passion, and enjoyment, corporate art contributes to a profound sense of fulfillment and meaning in the workplace. This engagement translates into heightened productivity and improved work quality.
• Satisfy. Corporate art plays a pivotal role in shaping employees’ perception, appreciation, and satisfaction with their work environment, creating an atmosphere of comfort and pleasure. It also contributes to a heightened sense of autonomy, competence, and recognition, instilling a feeling of achievement and confidence. Fulfilling employees’ needs and expectations, corporate art promotes loyalty and retention.
• Well-being.The inclusion of corporate art has a therapeutic effect, alleviating employees’ stress, anxiety, and fatigue, fostering a sense of relaxation and calmness. Furthermore, it acts as a mood enhancer, elevating energy levels and optimism, resulting in a workplace environment marked by happiness and positivity. The overall impact of corporate art extends to promoting employees’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being, contributing to enhanced health and happiness.

Choosing the Right Corporate Art

Corporate art can have different effects depending on the type, style, and content of the art, as well as the context, location, and audience of the display. Therefore, it is important to choose the right corporate art for your company and your purpose. Here are some factors to consider when choosing corporate art:

• Relevance. Corporate art should directly relate to your company’s industry, sector, and niche, along with aligning with your company’s vision, mission, values, and goals. It should also be pertinent to your employees’ roles, tasks, and challenges, as well as your customers’ needs, preferences, and expectations. Corporate art needs to mirror and uphold your company’s identity and purpose, catering to your audience’s interests and aspirations.
• Diversity. Ensure corporate art showcases diversity in terms of medium, format, genre, and theme, as well as the origin, background, and perspective of the artist. Diversity should extend to the level, intensity, and frequency of stimulation, as well as the degree, direction, and duration of impact. Corporate art should provide an array of options and experiences, striking a balance between novelty and familiarity, challenge and comfort, and harmony and contrast.
• Quality. Opt for corporate art of superior quality concerning craftsmanship, originality, and aesthetics, as well as the durability, functionality, and safety of the material. Additionally, it should demonstrate excellence and professionalism, while maintaining authenticity and integrity. High-quality corporate art is not only visually appealing but also reflects positively on the credibility, authority, and reputation of your company.

Curating a Corporate Art Collection

Corporate art is not just a collection of individual pieces, but a coherent and cohesive whole that tells a story and creates an impression. Therefore, it is important to curate a corporate art collection that reflects your company’s identity and values, as well as your audience’s needs and expectations. Here are some steps to curate a corporate art collection:

• Define your objectives. What do you want to achieve with your corporate art collection? What message do you want to convey? What impression do you want to create? What outcome do you want to measure? Define your objectives clearly and specifically, and align them with your company’s strategy and culture.
• Assess your resources. What is your budget, time, and space for your corporate art collection? What are your existing assets, resources, and partners? What are your constraints, challenges, and risks? Assess your resources realistically and objectively, and plan accordingly.
• Research your options. What are the available and suitable options for your corporate art collection? What are the current and emerging trends, best practices, and examples in your industry and sector? What are the feedback and preferences of your employees, customers, and visitors? Research your options thoroughly and systematically, and compare and contrast them.
• Select your pieces. What are the criteria and standards for selecting your corporate art pieces? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each option? How do the pieces fit together and complement each other? Select your pieces carefully and strategically, and justify your choices.
• Display your collection. How will you display your corporate art collection? What are the optimal locations, arrangements, and lighting for your pieces? How will you label, describe, and explain your pieces? How will you protect, maintain, and update your pieces? Display your collection attractively and effectively, and optimize your presentation.

Figurative Art for Workplace Collection

Measuring the Impact of Corporate Art

Corporate art is an investment that can have a significant return on innovation, performance, and well-being. Therefore, it is important to measure the impact of corporate art on your company and your audience. Here are some methods to measure the impact of corporate art:

• Quantitative methods. Utilizing numerical data and statistical analysis, quantitative methods offer a precise measurement of corporate art’s impact. This can encompass surveys, questionnaires, tests, ratings, scales, scores, indicators, metrics, and benchmarks. By employing quantitative methods, you can quantify the effects of corporate art on variables like productivity, quality, efficiency, profitability, satisfaction, loyalty, retention, health, and happiness.
• Qualitative methods. Qualitative methods, relying on textual data and thematic analysis, provide a deeper understanding of the impact of corporate art. Techniques in this category include interviews, focus groups, observations, feedback, reviews, comments, stories, and case studies. Qualitative methods assess the influence of corporate art on aspects such as inspiration, communication, collaboration, engagement, meaning, fulfillment, relaxation, calmness, happiness, and positivity.
• Mixed methods. Integrating both quantitative and qualitative data and analysis, mixed methods offer a more comprehensive evaluation of corporate art’s impact. By combining the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, mixed methods provide a nuanced understanding. This methodology assesses the impact of corporate art on both the objective and subjective dimensions of innovation, performance, and well-being.

Implementing Corporate Art Successfully

Corporate art is not just a one-time project, but a continuous process that requires planning, execution, evaluation, and improvement. Therefore, it is important to implement corporate art successfully in your workplace, and ensure its sustainability and effectiveness. Here are some tips to implement corporate art successfully:

Involve your stakeholders

Corporate art is not just a matter of the management or the art department, but a matter of the whole organization and its community. Therefore, it is important to involve your stakeholders, such as your employees, customers, visitors, partners, suppliers, and investors, in the process of corporate art. You can involve your stakeholders by soliciting their input, feedback, and suggestions, as well as by inviting their participation, contribution, and collaboration. By involving your stakeholders, you can increase their engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, as well as their sense of ownership and responsibility.

Align your strategy

Corporate art is not just a collection of random pieces, but a strategic asset that supports your company’s vision, mission, values, and goals. Therefore, it is important to align your corporate art strategy with your overall business strategy, as well as your marketing, branding, and communication strategy. You can align your strategy by defining your objectives, assessing your resources, researching your options, selecting your pieces, displaying your collection, and measuring your impact. By aligning your strategy, you can ensure your corporate art is relevant, diverse, and quality, as well as consistent, coherent, and cohesive.

Adapt to change

Corporate art is not a static or fixed entity, but a dynamic and flexible one that evolves with time and context. Therefore, it is important to adapt your corporate art to the changing needs, preferences, and expectations of your company and your audience, as well as to the changing trends, best practices, and examples in your industry and sector. You can adapt to change by monitoring your performance, evaluating your results, identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and implementing your improvements. By adapting to change, you can ensure your corporate art is innovative, effective, and sustainable.

How Companies Add Corporate Art

Corporate art can be added in various ways, depending on the company’s objectives, resources, and preferences. Some of the common methods are:

Commissioning Corporate art

Commissioning is the process of hiring an artist or a group of artists to create a specific artwork or a series of artworks for the company. This method allows the company to have more control over the content, style, and format of the art, as well as to support the artist’s career and development. Commissioning can also result in unique and original artworks that reflect the company’s identity and values. For example, Google commissioned the artist Jenny Holzer to create a large-scale LED installation for its New York headquarters, featuring texts from various sources that relate to the company’s mission and culture¹.

Purchasing Corporate art

Purchasing is the process of buying existing artworks from galleries, auctions, fairs, or online platforms. This approach provides the company with more flexibility and variety in choosing the art, as well as to benefit from the potential appreciation of the art’s value. Purchasing can also result in diverse and quality artworks that enhance the company’s image and reputation. 

For example, Deutsche Bank has one of the world’s largest corporate art collections, with over 60,000 artworks purchased from more than 100 countries, covering various genres and themes.

Renting Corporate art

Renting is the process of leasing artworks from art rental services, museums, or artists for a fixed period of time. Leasing or renting allows the company to have more affordability and accessibility in acquiring the art, as well as to change the art regularly and keep it updated. Renting can also result in fresh and dynamic artworks that stimulate the company’s environment and audience. 

For example, Microsoft rents artworks from the Microsoft Art Collection, which is a rotating collection of over 5,000 artworks by emerging and established artists, curated by the company’s employees.

Donating Corporate art

Donating is the process of giving artworks to the company by external donors, such as artists, collectors, foundations, or institutions. This process not only fosters goodwill and generosity for the company receiving the art but also enables contributions to the social and cultural causes of the donors. Donating can also result in meaningful and impactful artworks that showcase the company’s values and vision. 

For example, UBS received a donation of 37 artworks by the artist Ed Ruscha from the artist’s foundation, which are displayed in the company’s offices and public spaces around the world.

Conclusion

Corporate art is more than just a decoration or a luxury. It is a powerful tool that can inspire, communicate, and collaborate, as well as engage, satisfy, and well-being. Corporate art can be a catalyst for innovation, unlocking creativity in the workplace and enhancing the performance and well-being of employees. Corporate art can also create a positive and lasting impression on customers and visitors, as well as reflect and support the company’s identity and values.

However, corporate art is not a simple or easy task. It requires careful planning, execution, evaluation, and improvement, as well as the involvement, alignment, and adaptation of the stakeholders, strategy, and change. Corporate art also requires the selection of the right pieces, the curation of a coherent collection, and the measurement of the impact.

By following the tips and steps in this article, you can create a successful corporate art collection that can boost your innovation, performance, and well-being, as well as your brand image and reputation.

FAQs

Q: What is corporate art?

A: Corporate art is the art that is displayed or created in a corporate setting, such as offices, lobbies, meeting rooms, or public spaces.

Q: Why is corporate art important?

A: Corporate art is important because it can have a positive impact on the company’s culture, values, vision, and goals, as well as on the behavior, mood, and productivity of the employees, customers, and visitors.

Q: How can corporate art foster innovation?

A: Corporate art can foster innovation by exposing the employees to new perspectives, ideas, and emotions, sparking their imagination and curiosity, challenging the status quo, provoking critical thinking, and encouraging experimentation.

Q: How to choose the right corporate art?

A: To choose the right corporate art, you should consider the relevance, diversity, and quality of the art, as well as the context, location, and audience of the display.

Q: How to measure the impact of corporate art?

A: You can use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods, and measure the impact on variables such as productivity, quality, efficiency, profitability, satisfaction, loyalty, retention, health, and happiness, or aspects such as inspiration, communication, collaboration, engagement, meaning, fulfillment, relaxation, calmness, happiness, and positivity.

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Disclaimer:

“Please note that I am not a expert in this field. I am an artist with a deep curiosity and a passion for learning. The topics I write about are ones that intrigue me, and I find researching and writing about them the best way to enhance my understanding and I hope that sharing these articles might be helpful or interesting to others as well.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it!”