Putting Art in the Heart of Corporate Culture: Why it Matters in 2023

I have really enjoyed my proximity to the Arts via my work with Tate Galleries, and often wondered how I could best bring the creativity that art inspires into the other companies I work with. It’s something I want to focus more on in 2023. A recent conversation with my friend, Laura Wright, triggered this lightbulb moment. She runs the Postal Museum (if you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth a visit one London afternoon) and we were talking about how exposure to the wider culture can influence corporate culture.

Our conversation got me thinking about the intersection of culture and enterprise. How can enterprises incorporate more culture into their world? Why should they? How do they already interface and interact with museums with cultural institutions? Is it in the fibre of their being or is it about simply about sponsorship? Or is it neither of these things?

We know a lot of large enterprises that like to be associated with cultural institutions because it gives them kudos with premium clients and serves as a key employee benefit. ?A major revenue stream for most museums is corporate sponsorship, where businesses underwrite major exhibitions and get access to entertainment opportunities and private viewings.?But that's very much at the enterprise level. What about at the SME level? What can be done? And why it is so important? ?What are the community or cultural institutions that businesses can mutually support?

Commercialising ‘the Feels’

I can go weeks without going to anything ‘arty’ – whether it's a photography exhibition or a theatre production, or anything else, but once I do, I come away feeling uplifted. Art makes you feel more expanded; art sparks in a different part of your brain, and makes you think and feel differently. Every business should be interested in infusing this benefit into their culture.

It’s a big topic, but to bring diversity of thought and expanding people's way of being right into the heart of how you engage your employees – that’s a powerful way to kick off the new year.?

There is increasing evidence in rehabilitation medicine and the field of neuroscience that?art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions, and the nervous system, and raises serotonin levels. Studies have also shown that?expression through art can help people with depression, anxiety, and stress. These benefits don't just come from making art, they occur by experiencing art too. Observing art can stimulate the creation of new neural pathways and ways of thinking, and it’s been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience in aging adults.

Bringing Culture into Organisations is a Win All Round

It's a win from a community perspective; it's a win from a creativity perspective; also, a win in terms of helping businesses to evolve. ‘Bringing creativity into the workplace’ may sound like a glib statement, but it's more about drilling down to into what and how our cultural organisations are partnering with businesses. I asked Laura if she’s noticed that there's a call for it, and what her interface is with the corporate world…

She pointed out that most cultural organisations don't deliver back what corporates think they need – a straightforward return on their pound – although sometimes those brands employ unimaginative methods of measuring that ROI. This is especially true for the big organisations since the pandemic; the ones that pooled for cultural organisations a couple of years ago but are now starting to ask, ‘Well, what are we going to see back from it?’ If audiences haven't quite returned and corporates are under pressure for their bottom line, they're going to rethink such strategies. Laura is right when she says that when it comes to that very straightforward donation, sponsorship, etc, organisations can find it difficult to justify.

So, corporates should focus on the softer benefits and softer partnerships that such partnerships can provide: idea generation. Looking at a collection or at history or at working methods, for example, and thinking, ‘How can we make our business work better by incorporating some of that?’ That's when you can end up with partnerships that are more fruitful.

It’s about brands thinking creatively about a way to give their staff something different and interesting, away from their normal everyday job. These slightly softer partnerships enable that.

Laura gave a great example. In late 2019, luxury leathergoods designer Anya Hindmarch approached the Postal Museum with its latest bag, inspired by the post-box, about wanting to set up a maze installation in a SoHo car park, and asking if they could borrow some items from the Museum’s collection. This partnership was all around letter-writing, and at the end of the maze, there was an area where people could sit down to write a letter and then post it for free. It was great fun for everyone involved, the Postal Museum got some excellent publicity, and Anya Hindmarch was able to draw creatively on a rich cultural collection.

Self-Reflection: Just a ‘Museum Thing’?

I think those softer partnerships open up space for more creativity and are easier to justify, and it's also a nice benefit for employees and an opportunity to tap into a different way of thinking about things. The V&A, for example, provides training courses for businesses focused on creative thinking for leadership. But Laura and I agreed that these soft partnerships are still uncommon. We won’t name names, but Laura and I both see large corporates with bad business practices and think that if they had some of the habits of museum professionals, they wouldn't get into such a mess. The issue is usually around self-reflection and self-criticism, and I think with businesses, often they tend to be too focused on ‘what’s next’.

Within cultural institutions such as museums, there is a lot of self-reflection, and businesses can help themselves to evolve through these learning-focused habits across departments, where you sit down and ask, “What went well? What went badly? Let's talk to the people who we interacted with. Let's talk to our partners. Let's learn from them.”

I think retailers can find this tricky, because it’s an industry with little time for self-reflection, especially smaller brands who are intensely focused on short-term trade. Retailers think, “We've done Christmas, now focus on Easter,” and businesses tend to make the same mistakes over and over. If these could take on any of the practice of museums, however, they would be better for it. Cultural institutions understand that they can benefit from being more commercial; likewise commercial operations could benefit by taking a moment to consider where they are and where they are going.?

Culture Depends on Who’s at The Top

It comes down to how the culture is set from the top, and there are a few things that affect that. Who's in charge? What are their objectives? What pressures are they under, and who do they need to answer to?

Often, culture is driven by one person at the top, wanting it to work, and making it work, but when that person holding the relationships together moves on, the culture crashes, because there wasn't the longevity there. That’s not how museums want to work (nor enterprises either); they want to feel some value in an ongoing connection, and enterprises should take a cue from that. Laura and I agreed that it's much easier to influence culture from the top in smaller organisations, because people see you every day.

There needs to be a proper appreciation for those who will come after. That’s a very ‘museum’ mindset too, that I don't think exists in commercial enterprises. I think people have a respect for the institution as a whole, but I don't think there's an obvious sense of obligation to pass on this thing that is greater than you; that you're a custodian for a moment in time. At museums, that implies a care for what the leader is doing.

It's a mixture of the personal and the strategic. You want the people working in an organisation to understand that it has a purpose and a mission; something they can believe in. Since her first job working in a feminist bookshop, Laura has always worked for mission-driven organisations. You need to be efficient in the purpose and you need all your strategic business and operational aims to feed into that, so everyone understands it.

Which Cultural Institutions Are on Your Doorstep?

To summarise, my conversation with Laura got me thinking about how I can take elements I’ve learned from my time working with the Tate to the other commercial enterprises that I'm a part of.

I think that everyone should have a role or try to play a part in a cultural institution, in your community, in your world. It’s where I always tell people to start if they want to become a non-exec or to really learn, and it's also a way to give back. I'm seeking to do that on a larger scale where I live now, a little closer to home in France.

I also think that every business could do with a little bit more culture in its workings, and there are lots of other ways to do it besides becoming a corporate sponsor – although of course that's always wanted and loved by museums and other cultural institutions everywhere.

Look at the museums that are right on your doorstep. I was just put in touch with a brilliant woman in France who runs a program called The Arts Arena. It’s all about making art more accessible , and I’ll be looking into it. Do the same. Really make some time to consider how cultural institutions can help you to articulate your vision and mission more thoroughly, as well as being a cool perk for employees. Reach out to them and drop me a comment or a message if you’re happy to share your ideas or opportunities.

The Tech Spec

Interesting tech I’ve seen this month:

• Culture Amp – enables organisations to create and deliver employee engagement and performance management programs and provides actionable insights on everything from engagement to DEI to well-being.
• 15five ?– helps keep the lines of communication open between managers, direct reports, and peers, and provides engagement insights to see where your company is flourishing and areas of opportunity.?
• Kudos ?– helps companies build positive cultures and prioritise open communication through enabling peer-to-peer recognition and providing actionable insights into employee performance and?workplace culture.?
• Polly ?– allows you to create polls directly in Slack and includes several free templates including “First 30 Days on the Job,” “All-Hands Meeting Feedback” and “Quarterly Employee Engagement Survey.”
• MindMeister? – a mind-mapping tool to visually organise thoughts, ideas, and new concepts, and encourage collaborative brainstorming, project planning, and other creative tasks.

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Written by Gabrielle Hase.

CEO of?Soleberry Advisory ?and digital Non-Executive Director. I want to help solve the problem of the lack of appropriate female and digital skills and perspectives at the board table.?

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