Corporate Art Collections in Canada

Businesses and Art: a long-time love story

Art can be enjoyed in many different ways and looking at art throughout your working week in the office is one of these ways. It has been confirmed that employees who are surrounded by art tend to feel more relaxed as well as more productive.

Corporate Art Collections are functioning in diverse ways and all have their own specificity. Recently in Québec, companies are spending as much money on Art purchases as museums.

Usually, companies decide to purchase either artwork from reputable artists which are recognized by their peers, or artwork which supports young and unknown artists. It usually depends on the company’s nature and purchasing power; with the budget often acting as a limitation.

The choice of artwork purchases can be made by the company’s Conservator, Director, CEO, a jury or an acquisition committee. In the case of a jury or a committee, the artworks are previously selected by the Conservator followed by a vote.

Testimonials

Paul Maréchal, Conservator at Power Corporation of Canada, says that he doesn’t choose artworks based on personal taste, but rather considers the artistic development of the artist and the representation of the topic. Paul understands that the main critique made with regards to Corporate Art Collections is that the artworks are unseen by the public. Therefore, he lends the company’s art pieces to museums so that they can be appreciated by a larger number of people.

Jo-Ann Kane, Conservator at the National Bank of Canada, wants her company’s artworks to create discussion. She says Art increases well-being at work, it inspires and educates employees and clients about the artistic history of Canada and Québec. Indeed, 90% of her company’s artworks are made by the Québécois and the remaining 10% come from other parts of Canada.

Anne-Claude Bacon, Conservator at Hydro-Québec, thinks that in the corporate world, we always talk about efficiency, performance, results and yield but we forget about art. Therefore it’s worth taking a break in order to admire great artwork, get inspired and de-stress.

Anne-Claude says that people react differently to her company’s Art Collection. They are either indifferent, admire it as solely decorative or they are curious. She believes that the overall Art Collection she manages must be coherent, and the artworks must be responsive to one other in some way. This has also a pedagogical aspect, and she communicates around the collection in many ways. The art pieces are available on an intranet, the artworks have captions, and she organizes exhibition visits during lunch time.

Christiane Beaulieu, Vice-President of Communication and Public Affairs at Montreal Airports, exhibits a lot of technological artworks, media artworks and lighting effects. Most of the art pieces were created by Montreal artists so that the travelers (40% European and 30% American) get a true feeling for Montreal whether leaving or arriving at the airport.

Uart for Corporate Art Collections

Uart is a platform to share and discover Art Collections from all over the world. You can create your company’s profile, add your artworks and localize them on the Global Map of Art! Then, with a simple link, you can enable your connections, clients, employees (and so on) to discover your Corporate Art Collection!