Feb 06, 2016
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
Best Corporate Programme
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,
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orchestras, the Royal Shakespeare Company (a new production of Shakespeare‟s Pericles)
and English National Opera North (a new production of The Merry Widow).
Best First Time Sponsor
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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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1980
IBM United Kingdom Ltd
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
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1980 Best Single Project
IBM United Kingdom Limited
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.
Best Corporate Programme
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
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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.
Best First Time Sponsor
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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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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
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1981 Best Single Project
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.
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Best Corporate Programme
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.
Best First Time Sponsor
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.
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Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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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
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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.
Best Corporate Programme
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.
National Westminster Bank PLC
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.
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Best First Time Sponsor
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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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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
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1983 Best Single Project
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.
Mobil Oil Company Limited
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.
Best Corporate Programme
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.
Best First Time Sponsor
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.
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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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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1984 Kennedy Brookes Hotel and Catering Ltd
Whitbread and Company PLC
National Westminster Bank 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
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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.
Best Corporate Programme
National Westminster Bank PLC
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.
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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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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1985 Booker McConnell plc
J Sainsbury plc
Royal Bank of Scotland plc
Citicorp/Citibank
Scottish Postal Board
The British Petroleum Company PLC
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
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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.
Best Corporate Programme
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.
The British Petroleum Company PLC
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
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BP‟s support of young people through the arts which stood out so dramatically through the
years.
Best First Time Sponsor
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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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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
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1986 Best Single Project
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.
Mobil Oil Company Limited
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.
Best Corporate Programme
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
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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.
Best First Time Sponsor
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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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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.
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1987 Allied Irish Bank plc
IBM United Kingdom Ltd
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
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1987 Best Single Project
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.
IBM United Kingdom Limited
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.
Best Corporate Programme
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.
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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.
Best Youth Sponsorship
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.
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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
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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
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@arts_business
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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.
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