BCA Launches art@work® to Showcase Employee Creativity in the Workplace

New York, NY, December 15, 2000 - The art people create when they’re not at work finally has a home when they are at work. Why? Because of art@work®, a new national workplace program of the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA).

art@work® was launched during October, 2000 to foster greater appreciation and recognition of the level of creativity among employees, to increase dialogue among individuals who work together but may not know one another well, to enhance employee morale, and to foster an influx of new ideas into the workplace. art@work® enables companies of all sizes to recognize and celebrate the creativity of each and every employee - from the mailroom to the executive suite - by encouraging them to bring the art they create and perform into the workplace where they can share it with their colleagues.

Many companies participating in art@work® launched their programs with an employee art exhibition combined with an opening event featuring musical and theatrical performances, literary readings and film screenings, among other art forms. Some companies even kept the exhibitions of visual arts - including painting, photography, ceramics, needlework, jewelry and video installations - on view in their office spaces for a week or more.

“art@work® adds a new dynamic to the work environment,” said Judith A. Jedlicka, President of the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA). “It brings employees from different departments together, often for the first time, and it allows people who may have worked together for years to discover a new dimension of one another. The breadth and level of creativity is astounding.”

BCA, the foremost leader in bringing business and the arts together since 1967, developed art@work® to help businesses respond to some of the concerns of today’s workforce, such as finding a balance between work and personal time and feeling burnt-out, as well as the value of the individual being lost and a diminishing regard for the human spirit. These concerns are often a result of businesses trying to produce products and services “faster-cheaper-better,” keep pace with technological advances and seek a competitive edge.

art@work® offers companies the opportunity to designate one or more days each year to organize an array of activities that recognize and celebrate their employees’ creative talents and interests in the arts. These activities may include:

  • Organizing displays or exhibitions of art created and performed by employees in individual offices, conference rooms, dining areas, lobbies and on the company’s Intranet and/or Web site.
  • Providing opportunities in the workplace for employees to present poetry, book and play readings, vocal and instrumental music, and dance and theatrical performances.
  • Fostering employee discussions about the arts displayed and presented in the workplace.
  • Organizing receptions and events for employees, families and friends to showcase art@work® activities.

BCA, founded in 1967 by David Rockefeller, is a national not-for-profit organization that brings business and the arts together. It provides businesses of all sizes with the services and resources necessary to develop and advance partnerships with the arts that benefit business, the arts and the community, including professional consulting services and specialized workplace programs.

To get your company involved in art@work, contact Laura Dunaway, Director of Workplace Programs, at ldunaway@bcainc.org or call 718.482.9900 ext. 14.

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