2019 Arts and Business Partnerships Awards Recap

On October 3, 2019 Americans for the Arts celebrated the recipients of the 2019 Arts and Business Partnerships Awards at the Loeb Boathouse Central Park. This year’s honorees exemplify the range of businesses partnering with the arts across America.

David Machado Restaurants, Doyle Coffin Architecture, Erie Insurance, Grounds for Thought, Jiffy Lube of Indiana, Nokia Bell Labs, Northwestern Mutual, Omaha Steaks, The Marcus Corporation, and Warby Parker were honored. The David Rockefeller pARTnership Award was awarded to Gensler and Access Gallery, and the BCA Leadership Award was granted to Michael Martella, President of Boar’s Head Brand.

Anthropologie provided furniture to activate and beautify the reception space. This venue styling partnership with Anthropologie not only enlivened the space, but exemplified how businesses and arts organizations can partner for mutually beneficial goals.

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Tony Yazbeck performed at the midpoint of the awards ceremony, evidencing the power of the arts as he drew smiles, tears, and raucous applause from the audience. Between songs, Mr. Yazbeck shared the story of his own journey to the stage, exemplifying the individual impact of access and education in the arts.

Ariana Rockefeller presented the David Rockefeller pARTnership Award on behalf of the David Rockefeller Foundation. In her speech, Ms. Rockefeller invoked her grandfather David Rockefeller, saying, “Art is important because it expands how we look at and understand the world. It can make us think beyond our own experience, and often, in our appreciation, we find things that link us in a common humanity.”

David Rockefeller pARTnership honorees Amy Siegal of Gensler, and Damon McLeese of Access Gallery spoke of the intangible benefits of their cross-sector partnership, sharing their story of mutual learning, workplace fulfillment, and collective success.

Awardees emphasized their commitment to the future of the arts, echoing the words of David Rockefeller as they shared their partnership stories with the assembled business leaders, friends, and family. “The evidence is in and we know when students are exposed to arts programs…(they) are more interested in how other people feel and are more likely to help people in times of need,” Michael Martella said in his speech.

Closing out the evening , Edgar Smith, Chair of the Business Committee for the Arts and Vice Chair of Americans for the Arts Board of Directors, reiterated how inspired he was by the work each of the companies do across the country to advance the arts.

 

2019 Arts and Business Partnership Award Sponsors

Sustainer   

                                                           

 

 

 

 

Investor

AFD Contract Furniture & Steelcase
The George Barrett and Deborah Neimeth Fund
Martha Rivers Ingram Advised Fund at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
Jiffy Lube of Indiana
The Marcus Corporation
Nokia Bell Labs
Northwestern Mutual
Quaver Music
Zions Bank

Patron

Anne and Albert Chao/Westlake Chemical Corporation
Golden Artist Colors, Inc.
Raymond James
Western & Southern Financial Group

Venue Styling

Anthropologie