absa awards: a celebration of 10 years’ business sponsorship of the arts

Online version © Arts & Business 2014

www.artsandbusiness.org.uk



ABSA Awards A celebration of 10 Years’

Business Sponsorship of the Arts

“The role of business cannot be underestimated in our society.

Sponsorship of the arts is an important way business can be seen to

be helping the community to flourish.

I was delighted to have been able to present the Annual Awards in

1980 and again in 1987, on their 10th

anniversary. The work of

ABSA* in encouraging more companies to support the arts is well

illustrated in this commemorative book on the Awards.

I join with the world of business and the arts in congratulating ABSA

and the award winners, and wish them much success in the years to

come.”

HRH The Prince of Wales, 1987

The following businesses listed are winners of the first ten years of the

ABSA Awards, between 1978 – 87. In addition, the first five arts

organisations to receive the ABSA Arts Award are also mentioned.

These are extracts from the publication titled:

A Celebration of 10 Years’ Business Sponsorship of the Arts.

*In 1999 ABSA changed its name to Arts & Business.



1978

Benson and Hedges

Midland Bank Ltd

Crown Wall Coverings

The Bank of Scotland

Provincial Insurance Co. , Kendal

John Harvey & Sons Ltd

Bryant & May Ltd

Hallmark Cards Inc

Ciba-Geigy (UK) Ltd

Lloyds Bank Ltd



1978 Best Single Project

Benson and Hedges

Nominated by DVC Limited for their sponsorship of the annual Benson and Hedges Festival

at Snape Maltings and the associated Benson and Hedges Gold Award, an international

competition for concert singers. The Snape Maltings Foundation was also promised a share

of the profits from the sale of festival gramophone records and television programmes.

Midland Bank Limited

Nominated by The Royal Opera House Trust for their sponsorship of the Midland Bank Prom

week at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, then in its fourth year. The stall seats were

removed and standing room could be bought for £1, enabling audiences who could not

normally afford a ticket to attend. The scheme was extremely popular, especially with young

people.

Crown Wall Coverings

Nominated by the Contemporary Art Society for their sponsorship of its project „Interior

Motives‟. Art students from all over Britain were invited to submit two-dimensional works

on that theme. The winning entries, together with paintings on a similar theme by established

artists, formed the basis of an exhibition seen in London and several provincial towns.

Best Corporate Programme

The Bank of Scotland

Nominated by Kallaway for their wide-ranging sponsorship of the arts in Scotland. The main

recipient was the Scottish National Orchestra (six concerts and three records), but eight other

arts events were supported, including the International Festival of Youth Orchestras, the

major annual productions of the Scottish Youth Theatre, a concerto competition at the

Edinburgh Music Festival and a concert at the Perth Festival.

Provincial Insurance Company, Kendal

Nominated by Sadler‟s Wells Theatre which through their sponsorship was able to present

without loss a season by the English Music Theatre Company which included a special

production of Purcell‟s Fairy Queen. This was part of London‟s contribution to Her

Majesty‟s Silver Jubilee celebrations. The company were also nominated by Abbot Hall Art

Gallery, Kendal, for setting up the gallery, the Museum of Lakeland Life and the Brewery

Arts Centre; and by the Lake District Festival Society, the Lakeland Sinfonia and the Midday

Concert Club for supporting concerts.



John Harvey & Sons Limited

Nominated by Kallaway for their sponsorship mainly of the Western Orchestral Society,

including 13 concerts in Bristol and four in London. Other recipients were the Theatre

Royal, Bristol (a new production of Chekhov‟s The Seagull), the Bath Festival and the Leeds

International Pianoforte Competition. Harveys also commissioned and produced Harveys

Arts Guide to the arts in Bristol.

Best First Time Sponsor

Bryant & May Limited

Nominated by the Cambridge Theatre Company for their sponsorship of the company‟s

production of Thornton Wilder‟s The Matchmaker, which was expensive to mount and would

have been difficult without their help. The title had particular relevance for the firm‟s

products, and bookmatches publicizing the production were distributed in every town visited.

Hallmark Cards Inc

Nominated by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for sponsoring a three-month tour by the Royal

Shakespeare Company presenting three specially prepared productions including

Shakespeare‟s Twelfth Night and Chekhov‟s Three Sisters. The tour was primarily intended

to visit smaller theatres and non-theatrical halls in places often poorly provided with

theatrical performance. It would have been impossible to launch without Hallmark‟s

assistance.

Best Youth Sponsorship

Ciba-Geigy (UK) Limited

Nominated for their sponsorship of the Manchester Youth Theatre each year since 1974. The

MYT had staged large-scale, high standard productions, by and for young people, in

professional theatres in the Manchester area, as well as sending touring productions round

schools and clubs and running an Experimental Theatre Club. The support of Ciba-Geigy

had played a large part in broadening the scope and improving the standard of the work

achieved.

Lloyds Bank Limited

Nominated for their sole sponsorship of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain started

in 1976 and planned to continue until at least 1981. The long-term commitment enabled the

orchestra to plan courses, concert tours and the engagement of soloists and conductors, as

well as to keep down the cost of tickets. The Bank also sponsored a recording of

Stravinsky‟s The Rite of Spring, the orchestra‟s first recording under studio conditions. The

NYO, comprising 180 young people under 17, is chosen from 700 who audition for the

orchestra each year.



1979

Tollemache and Cobbold Breweries

Ltd

Imperial Tobacco Ltd

Mobil Oil Co. Ltd

Crosby Group Ltd

IBM United Kingdom Ltd

Selfridges Ltd

Heredities Ltd

Marks & Spencer Ltd

WH Smith & Sons Ltd

Shell UK Ltd



1979 Best Single Project Tollemache and Cobbold Breweries Limited

Nominated by the Eastern Arts Association for their sponsorship of the highly successful

Tolly Cobbold Eastern Arts National Art Exhibition. The exhibition, which built on the

success of the original exhibition two years earlier, represented an outstanding opportunity

for artists. The prizes offered included one for the best picture by an artist from the Eastern

region. Tolly Cobbold Eastern Arts Photography, a second joint enterprise prompted by the

original art exhibition, was also to be repeated.

Imperial Tobacco Limited

Nominated by Glyndebourne Festival Opera for their sponsorship of its new production of

Fidelio, which followed sponsorship of Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute in 1977 and

1978, with backing for Der Rosenkavalier already announced for 1980. These productions,

reaching wide audiences beyond Glyndebourne through touring and television broadcasts,

would not have been possible without the backing of Imperial Tobacco.

Mobil Oil Company Limited

Nominated by the Victoria and Albert Museum for their highly imaginative sponsorship of a

series of guides to the twelve primary galleries of the museum. Each guide was designed as a

broadsheet and was intended to help the visitor focus on exhibits of particular importance.

The texts were written by experts, often the keepers themselves. The museum had long

recognized the need for such guides but had not been able to produce them from its own

resources.


Crosby Group Limited

For their sponsorship of Farnham Maltings Arts Centre, West Surrey College of Arts and

Design and Farnham Crosby Concert Band in a well-planned and carefully devised corporate

sponsorship programme. The donation to the Maltings gave considerable impetus to their

preservation, and the company also sponsored an annual concert there. The two other

sponsorships were of great benefit to young people.

IBM United Kingdom Limited

For their diverse programme of cultural sponsorship throughout the United Kingdom. The

sponsorship, embracing 25-30 events each year, was intended to make a contribution to

communities where IBM had a local involvement. Its recipients included arts festivals,



orchestras, the Royal Shakespeare Company (a new production of Shakespeare‟s Pericles)

and English National Opera North (a new production of The Merry Widow).


Selfridges Limited

Nominated for their sponsorship of the sixteen-week Young Musicians Festival (SYMF).

The musicians came from the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Live Music Now. Each of these four

organizations provided four weeks‟ programmes covering a wide range of music. The

concerts took place every weekday from 12.00am to 2.00pm on a specially constructed

bandstand in Selfridges‟ summer Garden Exhibition.


Heredities Limited

Nominated by the Royal College of Art for their sponsorship of the Heredities Awards and

Exhibition. Heredities, the world‟s largest firm of cold-cast bronze casters, offered awards

for sculpture in any medium from which they can mould and cast. The awards were in three

categories: animals, the human figure, and others. All entries were shown and judged at an

exhibition in London.

Marks & Spencer Limited

Nominated by Inter-Action for their sponsorship of the new Weekend Arts College (WAC)

run by the Inter-Action Trust. WAC had up to 200 young people training with top

professional teachers. On Sunday, WAC trained 100 teenagers in compensatory arts

education. It enabled these young people (80 per cent from immigrant backgrounds) to

overcome the inadequacy of training in their early years and go on to college or into

professional performing arts.

W H Smith & Son Limited

For their sponsorship of the Children‟s Poetry Week run by the Cambridge Poetry Festival

Society, the first of its kind to be held in the country: the Young National Trust Theatre, a

leading Theatre in Education group, for its first full-scale professional season; the National

Youth Jazz Orchestra, the only nationally based orchestra of its kind; the Newport Piano

Competition; the Old Vic Trust Education Project; the Poetry Society‟s „Poets in Schools‟

scheme which gave children the opportunity to write poetry under the guidance of a

professional poet; and the Ilkley Literature Festival‟s Children‟s Book Fair.

Shell UK Limited

Nominated by the London Symphony Orchestra for their sponsorship of the Shell/London

Symphony Orchestra Music Scholarship and the 1979 series of Shell Concerts. Shell enabled

the orchestra to make its first national tour, during which the area and national finalists

received their awards from Andre Previn, the orchestra‟s Principal Conductor.



1980


British Olivetti

Imperial Group Ltd

Amoco (UK) Ltd

The British Petroleum Co. Ltd

Capital Radio

C&J Clark Ltd

Herring Son & Daw

Tennant Caledonian Ltd

Lloyds Bank Ltd





For their sponsorship of „Post-Impressionism: Cross-Currents in European Painting‟ at the

Royal Academy. The exhibition, probably unrivalled in quality and scope broke all records

for a picture exhibition in financial terms at the Royal Academy and received massive

television publicity. The exhibits ranged from later works by Monet and Degas to major

early works by Picasso and Matisse; the core contained masterpieces by Van Gogh, Cezanne,

Seurat and Gauguin. Outside France, the emphasis was on neighbouring countries, such as

Britain and Germany, where the impact of Post-Impressionism was most clearly felt.

British Olivetti

Nominated by the Royal Academy of Arts for their sponsorship of the exhibition „Horses of

San Marco‟ which was conceived, organized, transported and paid for by them. The project

required a year of continual negotiations with over twenty different bodies in Italy, and

obtaining permission to remove these exhibits from their permanent place was in itself an

outstanding achievement. The exhibition was subsequently taken to New York.

Imperial Group Limited

Nominated by the Old Vic for their sponsorship particularly of the season ticket scheme, a

novel concept for the London theatre. It was launched to revive the Old Vic after two

unsuccessful years. The scheme was very popular, providing a larger (and earlier) injection

of funds that would otherwise have been possible, and helped to build a regular audience.

Statistical analysis of the results was to be made available to other theatres and arts

organisations.


Amoco (UK) Limited

Nominated by Welsh National Opera for their sponsorship of WNO covering five years and

totalling over £250,000, the most comprehensive commercial sponsorship of the arts hitherto

negotiated in the United Kingdom. The money was to be used to provide a biennial week of

opera in London, alternating with visits by foreign guest companies invited by WNO. Other

funding was to include a tour in Wales of Handel‟s Rodelinda, bursaries for players and

singers, and records.

The British Petroleum Company Limited

BP‟s arts sponsorship was an integral part of their UK community and educational affairs



programme. It included sponsorship of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the

National Youth Orchestra of Wales and the British Youth Symphony Orchestra; children‟s

concerts by the London Mozart Players; and four scholarships at the Guildhall School of

Music and Drama.

Capital Radio

For their intensive corporate sponsorship programme which has included sponsorship of the

London Choral Society, the Wren Orchestra, a performance of Berlioz‟s Grande Messe des

Morts at the City of London Festival, concerts at the Snape Maltings and three rock weeks.

Capital had also commissioned two symphonies and purchased the Duke of York‟s Theatre in

London, which they undertook to retain as a live theatre.


C & J Clark Limited

For their sponsorship of the Whirligig Theatre which could not have existed without it.

Whirligig was the first national touring company for children to provide high quality work in

medium-sized and large theatres. The company aimed to play at venues in areas where

theatre-going would probably be a new experience for children. The target attendance of

75,000 children for the inaugural tour was achieved, each of the children receiving a set of

giveaways to take home.

Herring Son & Daw

For their sponsorship of a series of six concerts in National Trust houses, using performers of

international standard who raised the quality of music in these locations to a previously

unattainable level. The concerts would not have been possible without support from the

sponsor, the first firm of chartered surveyors to embark on sponsorship of the arts. Another

series of six concerts was planned, some of them in houses further from London.

Tennent Caledonian Limited

For their sponsorship of an annual cast award, initially for three years, for the commissioning

and production of a new work in any art form. The first recipient was Peter Maxwell Davies

for his 90-minute music theatre piece The Lighthouse, premiered at the 1980 Edinburgh

Festival, where it received very favourable notices.


Lloyds Bank Limited

Nominated by the Leeds Youth Opera Group for sponsorship dating from 1978. The group

performs operas written for young people both in conventional theatres and in schools.

Lloyds were also nominated by the New Shakespeare Company for a series of eight schools

workshops on Shakespearean comedy; the Mercury Theatre Trust (Ballet Rambert) for a new

matinee programme for young people; and by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

for sponsorship dating back to 1976.



1981

The Littlewoods Organization

Norwest Holst Ltd

Gallaher Ltd

John Harvey & Sons Ltd

Commercial Union Assurance Co.

Ltd

LG Harris and Co. Ltd

Matthew Brown Brewery Ltd

House of Du Maurier

J Sainsbury Ltd PLC

The British Petroleum Co. Ltd




The Littlewoods Organization

Nominated by the Walker Arts Gallery. The judges believed the biennial J M Exhibition

(established in 1957) made a significant contribution to the arts in the North West. By

organizing the competitive exhibition of modern art and sculpture, Littlewoods did much to

stimulate creativity and provide an opportunity for the public to see some of the best and

most vital contemporary work.

Norwest Holst Limited

Nominated by the Manchester Palace Theatre Trust and the Royal Opera Company. Norwest

Holst‟s contribution to the artistic life of the nation had been considerable and permanent, for

they have saved the Manchester Palace Theatre and enabled the building to be restored and

reopened as one of the best equipped and most beautiful of the major regional theatres. In

addition, they had sponsored the first regional appearance of the Royal Opera Company for

seventeen years at the Palace Theatre.

Gallaher Limited

Nominated by the Ulster Orchestra Society Limited, to which responsibility for the Ulster

Orchestra was transferred in 1980 from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. At the same

time, the BBC was disbanding its own Northern Ireland Orchestra. The Gallaher sponsorship

enabled the Ulster Orchestra to increase in size and employ some of the BBC musicians. The

sponsorship had helped to produce a first-class orchestra for Northern Ireland and was a

brave and constructive move in a part of the country very much in need of cultural support.

John Harvey & Sons Limited

Nominated by the Leeds International Piano Competition, which John Harvey & Sons

Limited first sponsored in 1978. The judges were most impressed by the ways in which

Harveys had developed and expanded an already successful sponsorship. The three particular

areas of expansion were

(a) organizing and subsidizing a nine-concert tour for the winner

(b) commissioning six records of major piano works performed by Leeds winners or

leading pianists from past competitions (the records form part of „The Harveys

Collection‟).

(c) Commissioning six artists to design sleeves for the records.




Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited

Nominated by Cantilena, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Schools Prom, the Royal

Opera House Trust, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Scottish Opera, Commercial Union

Assurance Company were chosen for the wide regional spread of their sponsorship and for

the weight, continuity and breadth of their support. Events sponsored included the City of

London Festival and new opera productions. Support was also given to the British Museum

Society, the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

L G Harris & Company Limited

Nominated by the Bromsgrove Music Festival, which had been arranged by L G Harris for

seventeen years and whose events covered a wide section of the arts. The citation stated „that

the festival makes use of the company‟s offices, corridors, Board Room, conference room

and dining hall as well as the gardens‟. The judges felt that few sponsors involved

themselves to this remarkable degree. The festival was a significant contribution to the

cultural life of the Bromsgrove district, and the scale of the sponsorship large in relation to

the size of the company and the area in which they operated.


Matthew Brown Brewery Limited

Nominated by the Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston. Matthew Brown, an independent

brewery based at Blackburn, won an award for choosing such an imaginative way of

celebrating their 150th anniversary, namely enabling the Harris Museum to purchase a

collection of English coloured glass, thus adding to the extensive decorative arts collections

already housed in the museum. The collection included a significant number of drinking

glasses – an appropriate link with the sponsor. The contact with the museum had since led to

Matthew Brown sponsoring two exhibitions.

House of Du Maurier

Nominated by the Philharmonia Orchestra. The judges were impressed at the sheer

magnitude of the Du Maurier sponsorship of the orchestra and also by the countrywide

element of the sponsorship, the emphasis on recordings, commissions and publicity

incorporating the Du Maurier colours and logo. The judges also felt it to be a successful

development of sponsorship allied to brand promotion rather than solely a corporate

advertising activity.

J Sainsbury Limited PLC

Nominated by Kent Opera, Polka Children‟s Theatre and Sadler‟s Wells Royal Ballet. The

judges felt this was a significant departure from Sainsbury‟s traditional charitable support of

the arts. Their sponsorship of these organizations was promoting excellence and enabling

that excellence to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. The programme had been

designed for further development and the judges felt that this, together with its strong

regional flavour, should be recognized.




The British Petroleum Company Limited

BP won this award for their extensive programme of Youth and Music. Their support

included sponsorship of the three National Youth Orchestras, Scholarships at the Guildhall

School of Music and Drama, the BP/London Mozart Players concerts for children and the

Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra. The support was nationwide and was particularly

associated with areas where BP had plants and offices.



1982

American Express Co.

Habitat/Mothercare PLC

Midland Bank International

The British Petroleum Company

PLC

National Westminster Bank PLC

Winsor & Newton

Matthew Gloag & Son

Arthur Price of England

Sherry Producers of Spain

Rediffusion PLC



1982

Best Single Project

American Express Company

The National Trust‟s 1982 Summer Festival was funded by attribution of two pence made by

American Express every time cardholders used their cards to make a purchase in Britain

during June and July. The substantial donation to the National Trust enabled more than one

hundred arts events to take place in National Trust properties.

Habitat/Mothercare PLC

Habitat are well known for their investment in design of the highest standard, and the

Boilerhouse Project at the Victoria and Albert Museum was created at the personal

instigation of Sir Terence Conran. As well as staging several exhibitions a year, the

Boilerhouse Project would make ideas about design available to both students and the general

public.

Midland Bank International

The Great Japan Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts which attracted over 750,000

visitors was not only an artistic and financial success but was also of major educational and

diplomatic significance. A full public relations programme in Japan was simultaneously

instigated by the sponsor, Midland Bank International. This international campaign and the

extensive television news coverage in Tokyo brought Midland Bank International into direct

contact with the Japanese government, media and corporate bodies.


The British Petroleum Company PLC

BP in their outstanding programme had assisted an increased number of smaller groups and

acted as a catalyst for smaller events. BP‟s programme covered many different art forms and

they had helped to bring the arts to more people than ever before, to new parts of the country,

to their own employees and to schools, colleges and universities.


The continuing diverse arts sponsorship programme of National Westminster Bank included

a new production of The Marriage of Figaro by Kent Opera, twentieth-century music, a new

production of A Midsummer Night‟s Dream by the Royal Shakespeare Company, a new

work by Christopher Bruce for Ballet Rambert and the Wren Exhibition at the Whitechapel

Gallery.




Winsor & Newton

„Paint and Paintings‟ at the Tate Gallery was sponsored by Winsor & Newton to celebrate

150 years of research. There was an exhibition inside the gallery and outside there was a

studio where visitors were offered free advice on the use of watercolours and oils. Also,

Winsor & Newton sponsored a one-day symposium on the conservation of modern paintings.

Matthew Gloag & Son

The Sporting Crafts exhibition at the British Crafts Centre was of an extremely high artistic

standard, and was aimed at an audience which was of interest to both the sponsor and the

Crafts Centre. The theme of Famous Grouse Labels was used for the publicity leaflets,

posters and signs.

Arthur Price of England

The first public performance in Wales of Messiaen‟s „Turangalila‟ Symphony by the City of

Birmingham Symphony Orchestra sponsored by Arthur Price was an imaginative first

venture into arts sponsorship. By enabling this work to be performed in Wales, the sponsors

felt they were presenting the right kind of image for their company.

Sherry Producers of Spain

The Segovia International Guitar Competition sponsored by the sherry producers was an

extremely important collaboration. The event was held at Leeds Castle, Kent, and Segovia

himself was involved throughout the competition. The sponsors funded two specially

prepared films on the competition which were scheduled for worldwide networking and video

distribution.


Rediffusion PLC

Now in their eighth year, the Rediffusion Choristers‟ Awards attracted wide national and

regional publicity through newspapers, radio and television. Over 1,600 choirboys

participated in the competition which increased social awareness of the work of church

choirs.



1983

Agfa-Gavaert Ltd

Mobil Oil Company Ltd

J Sainsbury plc

Capitol Radio Ltd

TCB Division – Alberto – Culver Company

(UK) Ltd

The Langdale Partnership

The Orion Insurance Company PLC

York Avenue Garage

Pork Farms

Texaco Ltd

First ABSA Arts Award by IMB UK Ltd

Pioneer Theatre for Theatre Royal

Stratford East




Agfa-Gavaert Limited

Agfa-Gavaert sponsored the „Light Dimensions Holography‟ exhibition held by the Royal

Photographic Society in Bath. The exhibition was an undoubted success with more than

70,000 visitors, and the sponsors had gambled courageously on this new art form.


The British Film Institute urgently needed funds to preserve old film stock stored in the

National Film Archive. Seventeen classic British films had been restored as a result of the

first year of the sponsorship. It was important to recognize the first commercial sponsors of

film restoration.

J Sainsbury plc

Artists and illustrators were invited to submit work based on „Images for Today‟ which had

to be capable of reproduction by photolithography in four colours only. The exhibition

sponsored by Sainsbury visited seven different cities and had brought contemporary art

within the price range of many.


Capital Radio Limited

Capital Radio‟s sponsorship reached a cross-section of all Londoners. The Chairman, Sir

Richard Attenborough, said that Capital Radio „may properly claim to be an indispensable

part of the London scene‟ and the judges endorsed the view.


TCB Division – Alberto – Culver Company (UK) Limited

TCB were the first major sponsor of the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, and sponsored

Welcome Home Jacko. The success of the production at Stratford East encouraged an

American branch of TBC to sponsor it on its US tour.

The Langdale Partnership

The Langdale Partnership‟s sponsorship of the Theatre in the Forest was of great benefit to

both parties. The sponsorship had enabled the theatre to mount events of a higher artistic

content than would otherwise have been possible.



The Orion Insurance Company PLC

The Orion Insurance Company sponsored the First Yehudi Menuhin International Violin

Competition. Orion had taken on a very large and perhaps rather risky project as its first step

into sponsorship and the judges congratulated them for their vision. The event was held in

Folkestone, the headquarters of Orion, rather than in London.

York Avenue Garage

York Avenue Garage sponsored an exhibition of figurative paintings by six Northern artists,

arranged by the Bede Gallery. The exhibition was unusual in two ways: it took place in the

garage showroom and all the paintings were bought in advance by the garage which gave

them to customers purchasing a car from the garage during the exhibition.


Pork Farms

Pork Farms sponsored Taking Steps, a small street theatre company, to take a production

called Simple Simon into shopping centres. Simple Simon was based loosely on the nursery

rhyme and involved pantomime, tumbling, slapstick and audience participation.

Texaco Limited

Texaco Limited sponsored for the second year the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

As a result of this sponsorship, the theatre had been able to expand its activities and offer

opportunities to more young people than ever before. Texaco also financed the

Texaco/National Youth Theatre Playwriting Competition launched that year.

First ABSA Arts Award by IBM UK Limited

This award of £1,000 was presented by the arts organisation making the best use of arts

sponsorship to develop and maintain the quality of its activities. It was awarded to Pioneer

Theatres for the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Having obtained sponsorship from Alberto-

Culver Company (UK) Limited, the Theatre was able to offer reduced price tickets to young

unemployed people, to take a production to New York and to establish a series of theatre

workshops in association with the Black Theatre Co-operative.



1984 Kennedy Brookes Hotel and Catering Ltd

Whitbread and Company PLC


Radio City (Sound of Merseyside) Ltd

JVC (UK) Ltd

Austin Rover Group Ltd

Pedigree Dolls and Toys Ltd

Cadbury Ltd

TSB (Trustee Savings Bank)

W H Smith and Son Ltd

Second ABSA Arts Award donated by

Rank Xerox

Phoenix Arts



1984

Best Single Project

Kennedy Brookes Hotel and Catering Limited

The Henley Festival was created by Kennedy Brookes who realized that the potential of a

Thames-side setting, combined with the marquees and grandstands of the Regatta, could

produce an exciting arts festival. The festival and the sponsor had brought together a lively

new addition to Britain‟s festival life.

Whitbread and Company PLC

The judges, aware that business sponsorship of literature was very difficult to achieve, were

delighted to give an award to Whitbread who had supported the Whitbread Prize for fourteen

years. An additional award for a first novel had been introduced in 1981, and this year a

Short Story Award for Young Writers was added.



This remarkably varied and substantial arts sponsorship programme was nominated by

twenty-five separate arts organizations. National Westminster‟s programme created a

balance between national and local arts events of every variety, with a strong emphasis on

youth.

Radio City (Sound of Merseyside) Limited

Radio City‟s sponsorship programme was bold and imaginative, with a genuine commitment

to the region in which the company operates. Radio City‟s workshops for disadvantaged

young people, with artists and choreographers from leading dance companies, were

particularly important.

Best first time Sponsor

JVC (UK) Limited

The JVC/Capitol Radio Jazz Parade was an effective first arts sponsorship by a company well

known in the sports sponsorship field. The Jazz Parade, part of the 1984 Capital Music

Festival, gave 21,000 people the opportunity to hear live some of the world‟s greatest jazz

musicians.

Austin Rover Group Limited

A first time sponsorship by a major division of a nationalized industry was most welcome.



The Austin Rover Group sponsored a concert at the National Exhibition Centre with 3,000

children taking part. The company used arts sponsorship to associate themselves with the

community where they had both their Group Headquarters and a major plant close by.

Pedigree Dolls and Toys Limited

The Royal Academy of Dancing was sponsored by Pedigree for its International Summer

School. This school, for 9 to 13 year olds, was open to children from all over the world. Five

„Sindy‟ scholarships, named after a Pedigree doll range, were awarded to children showing

the most promise to attend next year‟s school.


Cadbury Limited

For thirty-six years the National Exhibition of Children‟s Art has been an important platform

for young aspiring artists. Cadbury took up the sponsorship in 1980 and the exhibition has

since grown in scope and educational importance. In 1983 Cadbury introduced „Poetry‟, a

new category, to the exhibition, from which the Cadbury‟s First Book of Children‟s Poetry

was produced.

TSB (Trustee Savings Bank)

The TSB Music Club embraced the Manchester Lunch-Box Concerts, Aberdeen International

Youth Festival Cushion Concerts and the Royal Philharmonic Society/Youth and Music

Project.

The second nomination was for the National Schools Rock and Pop Competition and the third

was for the „TSB All Wales Young Musicians 1984‟ nominated by Theatr Clwyd in Mold.

WH Smith and Son Limited

WH Smith sponsored the 1984 Youth and Music Cushion Concert Tour and Fifth London

Season. The Youth and Music Cushion Concerts attracted new young audiences through the

combination of art and music in informal settings at art galleries nationwide. Five hundred

bright orange WH Smith cushions were toured around the country by the company‟s area and

transport managers.

Second ABSA Arts Award donated by Rank Xerox

Limited

The Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester, Was considered to have made the best use of sponsorship

during the year. Central Independent Television sponsored „The Hobbit‟, by the Phoenix

Theatre Company, with 12 actors and two casts of 25 local children. It was Phoenix Arts‟

most successful production and the run was extended to six weeks with capacity houses. Fifty

percent of the audiences received concessionary tickets as students, school children or

unemployed people. The sponsorship created strong links between Central Television and

Phoenix Arts which led to further collaborations.



1985 Booker McConnell plc

J Sainsbury plc

Royal Bank of Scotland plc

Citicorp/Citibank

Scottish Postal Board


Lederle Laboratories

Coombs & Son Bakers Ltd

Imperial Chemical Industries plc,

Agriculture Division

Allied Steel and Wire Limited

Third ABSA Arts Award donated by Rank

Xerox

Battersea Arts Centre



1985

Best Single Project

Booker McConnell plc

The Booker McConnell Prize for Fiction, administered by the National Book League and set

up in 1968, was increased in prize money to £15,000 in 1984, and remained Britain‟s most

valuable and prestigious literary award for this sponsorship, though in the first year of these

Annual Awards in 1978 they received a Certificate of Honourable Mention.

J Sainsbury plc

The Sainsbury‟s Choir of the Year Competition began in 1984 with 22 regional venues, 38

adjudicators, 260 choirs and 11,500 performers. The sponsors had created a national choral

competition tailor-made to Sainsbury‟s requirements.

Royal Bank of Scotland plc

In June 1985 the Royal Bank of Scotland received Royal Assent to merge with Williams &

Glyn‟s Bank. To celebrate this event and to highlight the bank‟s increased presence in the

South, they sponsored a spectacular open-air firework concert with the Royal Philharmonic

Orchestra. A crowd of 125,000 people were given free concert which was subsequently

broadcast.


Citicorp/Citibank

The Citicorp/Citibank corporate programme heralded a major new force in arts sponsorship.

The wide range of art forms supported, balanced between the regions and London, from

Glyndebourne to Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Jersey, contemporary British art in

Edinburgh to jazz in Lewisham, was exemplary.

Scottish Postal Board

The breadth and imagination of the programme, devised to support the Scottish Postal

Board‟s corporate promotion, deserved praise. The Board‟s enthusiastic support, from the

loan of Post Office vans and even aircraft from Orkney to London, through to financial

sponsorship in particular for contemporary music, must act as inspiration to other public

bodies.


BP won best corporate programme in 1980 and 1982 and the youth award in 1981. A large oil

company would be expected to have a considerable arts sponsorship programme, but it was



BP‟s support of young people through the arts which stood out so dramatically through the

years.


Lederle Laboratories

Lederle Laboratories‟‟ first time sponsorship was conceived in December 1984 by Lederle

and a Royal College of Nursing Oncology Nursing Officer. The initial programme entitled

Invitation to the Ballet, took dancers from the Royal Ballet and Sadler‟s Wells Royal Ballet

together with musicians from the Royal Opera House to 26 oncology units, specialist

hospitals and hospices.

Coombs & Son Bakers Limited

Coombs‟ directors decided that their Christmas advertising budget should be spent on

sponsoring the Leicester Haymarket Theatre‟s children‟s Christmas Production of Charlie

and the Chocolate Factory. Coombs are retail bakers and confectioners and this was their first

sponsorship. A new cake called a Willy Wonka Cake was sold in the shops and in the theatre

snack bar.


Imperial Chemical Industries plc, Agricultural Division

ICI Agricultural Division sponsored Nightshriek, an original musical based on Shakespeare‟s

Macbeth, written and composed by Trisha Wood, a 21-year-old Cleveland girl, performed at

the National Youth Theatre back in the North East.

Allied Steel and Wire Limited

Allied Steel and Wire sponsored a Welsh National Opera Community Programme which took

place in a deprived dockland area of Cardiff. Allied Steel and Wire were able to increase the

company‟s profile in the community through the sponsorship, while bringing Welsh National

Opera closer to young people who had previously no experience of their work.

Third ABSA Arts Award donated by Rank Xerox

The Battersea Arts Centre‟s approach to sponsorship impressed the judges in selecting the

Centre from over two hundred arts organisations for the third ABSA Arts Award. Particular

interest was taken in the sponsorship in kind supplied by ICL of computer equipment. With

the delivery of the computer, a new membership and mailing scheme was introduced bringing

in one third of the Centre‟s audience. Sales of the mailing lists to other user groups created a

new source of income for the Centre.



1986 Shell UK Ltd

Gallaher Tobacco (UK) Ltd

Imperial Chemical Industries plc,

Agricultural Division

Mobil Oil Company Ltd

Rank Xerox

Scottish Post Office Board

Colour Film Services Ltd

Eldridge, Pope & Co plc

Heritage Shops

Marks and Spencer plc

British Railways Board

Fourth ABSA Arts Award donated by WH

Smith & Sons Ltd

Bath International Festival




Shell UK Limited

The creation of new work in the 1986 Edinburgh International Festival‟s Scottish Art Today

– Artists at Work‟ project was sponsored by Shell. Twelve young artists, nine painters and

three sculptors worked for the three weeks of the festival in the Edinburgh College of Art and

other locations. All the artists sold some of their work and the project attracted much media

coverage, including television.

Gallaher Tobacco (UK) Limited

Gallaher had supported the Ulster Orchestra since 1981 with an annual series of eight

concerts in Belfast and other towns and cities throughout Ulster Orchestra since 1981 with an

annual series of eight concerts in Belfast and other towns and cities throughout Ulster, as well

as an orchestral tour of the UK. Gallaher had also funded a series of five recordings of British

music, thereby enhancing the orchestra‟s reputation as a notable performer of twentieth-

century British music.

Imperial Chemical Industries plc, Agricultural Division

For the second year running ICI Agricultural Division had won an award. The Framework

Photographic Project, a commission from West Midlands Arts, was designed as a

comprehensive documentation of modern British agriculture.

The project was the largest single photographic documentation of British Agriculture. The

judges hoped this award would extend sponsorship into field of photography.


The Mobil Playwriting Competition for the Royal Exchange Theatre Company was launched

in 1985 to encourage new full-length plays written in English and the winning plays were to

be performed whenever possible by the Royal Exchange. The judges were encouraged to see

a company supporting contemporary literature.


Rank Xerox

The growth of Rank Xerox‟s corporate programme and the substantial sponsorship of the

1986 Commonwealth Arts Festival has to be encouraged. Rank Xerox‟s support of the

contemporary arts and their commissioning of young artists to create new work for their Head

Office was important. The personal commitment of Derek Hornby, the Rank Xerox UK



Chairman, who attended nearly every event of the Commonwealth Arts Festival, should act

as an inspiration to others.

Scottish Post Office Board

For the second year the Scottish Post Office Board won an award for its remarkable support

for the arts in Scotland. Their support of the Twentieth-Century Music weekend at the 1986

Edinburgh International Festival advanced the frontiers of business sponsorship. The Board

flew the instruments of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra by Royal Mail to the 1986 St

Magnus Festival in Orkney. Peter Maxwell Davies also premiered his own overture,

„Jimmack the Postie‟, a portrait of the ebullient postman of Hoy, dedicated to Ian Barr,

Chairman of the Scottish Post Office.


Colour Film Services Limited

Colour Film Services Limited sponsored „Images of Wales‟, an ambitious three-week film

season mounted by Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff in February and March 1986. The judges

were particularly pleased to hear that other potential sponsors were coming forward after this

initial sponsorship.

Eldridge, Pope & Co plc

The Colway Theatre Trust‟s production of the Dorchester Community Play in Dorset, written

by David Edgar, was estimated to have involved over 60,000 hours of amateur effort and

many letters of appreciation were received. The Chairman of Eldridge, Pope offered £2

sponsorship for each £1 raised voluntarily. The employees were encouraged to apply for parts

in the play and the Chairman of Eldridge, Pope undertook the role of the Mayor of

Dorchester.


Heritage Shops

Heritage Shops were looking to Channel their sponsorship into a single project and the lack

of support for young string quartets seeking professional status was highlighted. National

String Quartet Week 1986 for post graduate musicians was launched and at least six

professional engagements had already been offered as a direct result of the week.

Marks and Spencer plc

Marks and Spencer had played a major role in supporting the arts for many years, but in 1986

decided to take on their first major arts sponsorship with Music for Youth, which involved

over 20,000 young people performing annually nationwide, with regional auditions, a

national festival and schools proms in the Royal Albert Hall and in Cardiff and Manchester.

Marks and Spencer also supported the Yorkshire Sculpture Park Artists in Residence scheme.



British Railways Board

The Brixton Station Improvement Scheme was designed to revitalize the railway

environment in Brixton and was the most ambitious supported by British Rail. The scheme

was a collaboration between British Rail, local authorities, the Department of the

Environment, the Public Art Development Trust, artists and local people, and created the first

permanent sculpture of black British people in the United Kingdom. The models were

selected from young people of the local Brixton community. British Rail later issued a new

policy statement, „Art on the Railway‟, enabling many more such projects to take place.

Fourth ABSA Arts Award donated by W H Smith & Son

Limited

The ABSA Arts Awards was presented to the Bath International Festival. The Bath Festival

obtained £1135,000 its £500,000 1986 budget from the business community.

Sponsorships ranged from Art Plan, sponsored by Bath Securities who extended interest-free

credit to purchases of art, to Banque Paribas helping the Bath Festival to return to Bristol

after an absence of ten years. The Bath Festival‟s income from sponsorship in 1986 equalled

the Festival‟s total budget of two years previously and the Chairman, Director and Staff of

the Festival have to be congratulated for their superb work.



1987 Allied Irish Bank plc


Yorkshire Electricity Board

The British Petroleum Company plc

National Westminster Bank plc

Digital Equipment Company (DEC)

James Henry Estate Agents

Monc Blanc

Prudential Corporation

W H Smith & Son Ltd

Rixon Matthews Appleyard Ltd

Hickson International plc

ABSA Arts Award donated by WH Smith

& Son Ltd

Artists’ Agency and London City Ballet




Allied Irish Bank plc

Allied Irish Bank showed great imagination as a first time sponsor by backing a new

company, touring nationwide and abroad. The bank‟s commitment and enthusiasm for the

English Shakespeare Company‟s opening productions was outstanding. The success of ESC

has encouraged the bank to expand its sponsorship to cover the company‟s next cycle of

seven Shakespeare plays.

Yorkshire Electricity Board

The first Leeds Film Festival in 1987 was created to give people in Yorkshire a chance to see

new films. West Yorkshire is a major business centre for the YEB and this sponsorship

proved more cost effective than conventional forms of advertising.


This innovative sponsorship made possible a unique collaboration between Welsh National

Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera in a new production of Berlioz‟s The Trojans. IBM

was involved from the earliest stages in a project which involves an unusually wide spread of

audiences over a long period thus enhancing the company‟s image nationwide.


The British Petroleum Company plc

From the small but important “Dance for Everyone” project with disabled people to a major

exhibition of British Art in the Twentieth Century”, at the Royal Academy, BP remains a

consistently innovative corporate sponsor, encompassing many art forms, with a particular

emphasis on youth and education, and it‟s programme is constantly growing in size and

variety.

National Westminster Bank plc

National Westminster‟s comprehensive arts programme enables so many projects to flourish

that it continues to demand recognition. The sponsorship of “Arts Access”, a national report

on access in the arts for disabled people was a highlight of their community support

programme this year .It will be the basis for action to improve facilities throughout the

country.



Best Time First Sponsor

Digital Equipment Company (DEC)

DEC conceived a complete programme of seven projects designed to make a major impact on

British dance at all levels. “Partners in Dance” balanced classical with contemporary, linked

the regions to London, ranged from student scholarships to new choreography, and is the

largest, most comprehensive single sponsorship of one art form by a first time sponsor.

James Henry Estate Agents

For a first-time sponsor to support a new play is unusual, but imaginative sponsorship by a

small estate agent broke new ground. The theme of David Pownall‟s “The Viewing” at the

Greenwich Theatre inspired a poster design incorporating the sponsor‟s “For Sale” board,

thereby advertising the sponsor in a highly ingenious way.

Mont Blanc

“Comic Iconoclasm”, a major international exhibition of the art of the comic strip at the ICA

in London, gave Mont Blanc the opportunity for product promotion. Their slogan “The Art

of Writing” was used to advantage in a caption writing competition at the show, which

highlighted the work of artists within the pop culture and the art of the pen.


Prudential Corporation

The London Philharmonic Orchestra wished that its educational schemes were more

imaginative than simply inviting children to concerts. Prudential planned to give its

corporate image a “human face”. The resulting sponsored concert was the climax of months

of work for the LPO musicians and over 50 Tower Hamlets schools and featured Carl Davis‟s

specially commissioned piece “Beginners Please”.

W H Smith & Son Limited

W H Smith re-launched its art sponsorship programme to increase public awareness of its

commitment to literature, the performing arts and young people. An important new element

of the programme is “Interact” with the National Theatre Education Department, where

students across the country can, through workshops, share the skills and imagination of our

National Theatre.

Best Commission of New Art in Any Medium

Rixon Matthews Appleyard Limited

These insurance brokers raised their profile in Hull by an exciting commission of 5 new

sculptures on a maritime theme from young sculptors. The long-term commitment of a first-

time sponsor to contemporary sculpture should be an example to others in a region and art

form much neglected.



Best Sponsorship of Arts and Disabled People

Hickson International plc

Amongst many imaginative projects initiated by Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Hickson

International‟s sponsorship of the Access Sculpture Trail is particularly significant. Disabled

visitors to the Park can enjoy sculpture in a specially designed and landscaped environment.

Hickson International, a local firm, also gave timber products for walkways, signs and other

structures on the Trail.

ABSA Arts Award donated by W H Smith & Son Limited

Artists’ Agency and London City Ballet (Joint Winners)

The Artists‟ Agency persuaded business to commission art and house residencies in an area

of high unemployment. The works of art and the satisfaction of the sponsors are a tribute to

the small staff‟s pioneering work. London City Ballet‟s existence depends on private funding

and the drive and imagination of all the staff and volunteers in attracting sponsors to enable

the company to grow in size and quality is remarkable.

Ends



A brief history

1976 Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts (ABSA) founded,

based on a model developed in New York by David Rockefeller. The

first organisation of its kind, ABSA pioneered business sponsorship of

the arts in UK, which in 1976 was worth £600,000. (By 2009 that figure

had risen to £686 million)

1978 Created the Arts & Business Awards in seven categories

1983 Colin Tweedy LVO OBE becomes Chief Executive of Arts & Business

1987 HRH The Prince of Wales becomes Patron, now President

1988 Develops UK-wide coverage, with offices in England, Scotland, Wales

and Northern Ireland

1988 Launches new programme to bring business skills into the arts

1991 Develops the largest national network for information, knowledge and

skills sharing for fundraisers

1991 Co-launches CEREC (the Comité Européen pour le Rapprochement de

l‟Economie et de la Culture) a pan-European body to develop national

and cross-border business support of the arts

1999 ABSA changes name to Arts & Business, and includes nine offices

across the UK




@arts_business

Facebook.com/arts.business

ABSA Awards: A Celebration of 10 Years’ Business

Sponsorship of the Arts.

Original hardcopy published by Telegraph Publications. Designed by

Kate Stephens and Philippa Ovens.

Typeset in Great Britain by Paragraph; Printed by Richard Clay,

Chichester

ISBN 0 86 367 1837. © Telegraph Publications 1987.


absa awards: a celebration of 10 years’ business sponsorship of the arts

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