The Travers Smith Art Programme is at the heart of our new corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
Through the CSR work we undertake in local schools we have seen examples of the challenges students face when considering going to university. Of course, the Art Programme was born of high ideals but it dovetailed nicely with an element of necessity.
I found myself simultaneously the partner responsible for CSR and a member of a small group tasked with guiding a major refurbishment of our offices. The opportunity to both refresh our art collection and broaden our CSR education programme from schools to higher education facilities seemed too good to miss.
A fair amount of planning then ensued and the Art Programme began to take shape. We found an enthusiastic partner in the University of Westminster and enlisted the support of an excellent art consultant. We decided that the art collection should change every year in line with the university’s final year degree shows, and we earmarked more than 30 spaces in our refurbished offices to exhibit the work of shortlisted art graduates.
A presentation on the subject to the full partnership followed.
Running a successful CSR project
Experience taught us that the key to an enthusiastic reception for a CSR project such as this would be providing a variety of ‘hooks’ that would appeal to different people – not everyone is an art fan, after all. So we promoted the Art Programme as being:
- A good thing to do – supporting students burdened with high tuition fees and operating in an increasingly challenging environment;
- A great chance to engage with all our people through a staff and partner vote for their favourite piece and an Art Committee drawn from across the organisation;
- An opportunity to promote our CSR programme while showcasing students’ work – both on a day-to-day basis and through events; and
- A new and immediate talking point for clients and other visitors to our offices.
Happily, support was forthcoming and the Art Programme was further developed.
We expanded our idea of a staff vote by enlisting a panel of judges to award an independent prize in addition to a ‘popular’ one. We also held a successful series of events that proved popular with clients, contacts and our people, and which helped promote a silent auction.
With two months still to go, more than half the works of art have already been sold to a variety of lucky bidders.
But it is not only about the great art on our walls. Recognising that the transition from student life to professional practice can often be a particular challenge for graduates, the Art Programme is designed to nurture the emerging talent of the artists involved. We have, therefore, offered them a range of professional support mechanisms including workshops on business skills and legal advice relevant to being a professional artist.
It has been rewarding to see the strong support for the Art Programme across the firm, as well as colleagues’ enthusiasm for particular artworks.
The programme has even become part of our vocabulary. I often overhear colleagues identifying client meeting rooms by the artworks displayed there. All of this, in turn, serves not only to ensure the continuation of the programme but also to strengthen still further the position of CSR as a whole within the firm.
And we are just warming up. Next year’s Art Programme will contain a new element, encompassing work from postgraduates from the Royal College of Art in addition to pieces from Westminster undergraduates.
We are committed to sharing our experiences to promote CSR and I would be delighted to speak with anyone who is interested in starting something similar. My top tips for this programme and ones like it are:
- Make a strong case early on to establish enthusiastic support;
- Draw on personal experience (my time as a school governor was really useful, as were comments from clients about some of our previous artworks);
- Establish a varied and dedicated committee;
- Do not underestimate how much time and hard work a project of this type will take – or the positive results it can yield.