Culturing business partnerships

THE West Australian Ballet is looking to team up with the business community as it seeks sponsors for a planned tour of China this October.

Executive director Louise Howden-Smith believes the ballet’s China tour is an opportunity to promote business ties in a framework of cultural awareness.

“If an Australian company is trying to promote itself as a business that China wants to become involved with, it needs to promote that it is culturally aware also,” Ms Howden-Smith said.

Her comments came at the launch this week of the 11th State Arts Sponsorship Scheme Awards in Perth.

At the awards launch, Culture and Arts Minister Sheila McHale said successful business-arts partnerships were the vital intersection of economy, creativity and vision.

“Business-arts partnerships offer profound benefits to the community and demonstrate how effective our shared vision and skills can be when we collaborate in new and imaginative ways,” she said.

“A core goal for businesses is giving back to the communities in which they are operating, building goodwill, a positive profile and a strong community support base.

“Business-arts partnerships are important in supporting an arts and cultural sector that makes a significant economic and social contribution to our State.”

Ms Howden-Smith said the awards were very important in terms of acknowledging business people who had taken an interest in the arts.

“If businesses are earning something from the community, it is good for them to put back” she said.

“If business is supporting the arts it identifies a sophisticated, well-educated society which values arts as important.”

The arts sponsorship scheme awards, sponsored by WA Business News, features four levels of acknowledgement in the partnership endorsement section and nine prestige award categories.

Last year the awards attracted 253 nominations, representing more than $11 million in corporate support of the arts and culture in WA.

Winners included: BHP Billiton Iron Ore for its contribution to the film Japanese Story; the Hyde Park Hotel for its long-standing relationship with the Perth Jazz Society; and Sealanes and the WA Fishing Industry Council for their partnership with the WA Museum to establish a gallery at the Maritime Museum in Fremantle.

Nominations for the awards can be obtained from the Department of Culture and the Arts, or from www.cultureandarts.wa.gov.au and close on July 30.