The Ashmolean Museum, Audley Travel, Beard Construction and the Oxford Bus Company are short listed for three Arts & Business awards

Arts & Business South East, the charity dedicated to creating sustainable partnerships between the business and arts worlds, has short listed the Ashmolean’s corporate relationships with Audley Travel, Beard Construction and the Oxford Bus Company for the following:

• Audley Travel & The Ashmolean Museum - Arts & Business First Time Sponsor of the Year Award sponsored by Evonprint
• Beard Construction & the Ashmolean Museum - Arts & Business Cultural Branding Award sponsored by SEGRO
• Oxford Bus Company & The Ashmolean Museum - Arts & Business Museum, Library and Archive Award sponsored by MLA South East
  

Arts & Business South East hosts the only annual awards in the region that celebrate the best of corporate and cultural collaborations. This year the winners will be announced to 300 of the region’s top arts and business decision-makers by ITV Thames Valley presenter, Hannah Shellswell, at a glamorous black tie ceremony to be held at the state-of-the-art home of MINI, BMW Group Plant Oxford, on 17th June 2008.

Audley Travel became a sponsor of the arts for the first time with their support of the Ashmolean’s exhibition Chinese Prints 1950 – 2006.  The partnership was a huge success. Both organisations’ client and patron groups share similar backgrounds and interests which created a mutually beneficial match. The Ashmolean is in discussion with Audley Travel about future collaborations.

Beard Construction closely aligned their brand with the Ashmolean’s to endorse the quality of their work in fine building.By using the restoration of the Museum’s Grade 1 listed, neo-classically designed exterior, in 2007, Beard created a case study to promote their skilled workmanship. Beard sponsored the conservation of a limestone monument, in preparation for its redisplay in the new Cyprus sculpture gallery due to open in 2009. Both parties have a true understanding of each other’s business needs and have adapted their relationship accordingly to maximise the benefits.

The Oxford Bus Company sponsored Picturing the New Ashmolean, providing the children’s art competition with its unique selling point: the winning artwork features on the mega rears of two Park and Ride buses and on the internal coves of over sixty buses.Both parties received extensive press coverage and as buses travel through Oxford for the next 12 months the benefits of the relationship continues. The Ashmolean is developing a second project with the Oxford Bus Company due to take place in November 2008.

Jane Chambers, Director, Arts & Business South East, said, “Arts & Business South East is delighted that we have such a strong short list for our regional Awards in 2008. The quality of these partnerships between business and the arts indicates that creative engagement between the two sectors is going from strength to strength in the region. Good luck to all the short listed partnerships – we look forward to celebrating with them all at our Awards evening on June 17th.”