A&B Awards show leadership of arts and commerce together.

The arts are showing the rest of the country the way out of recession, said Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts & Business, and the non-subsidy support of arts is ensuring they stay on course.

Speaking at the 31st annual A&B Awards at the V&A, Tweedy said the winners “show the astounding variety of imaginative partnerships possible between culture and commerce.

“If there has been a knock to the reputation of business during this recession, the arts are proving a perfect way for them to reconnect with their communities. Business has no obligation to support the arts” he said. “That they continue to do so is a force for good for all our collective futures.”

He said that In 2004 A&B had set themselves three years to change. “We relaunched with our young professionals programme; our master classes which have been sold out; Culture House for private givers; and the Prince of Wales Medal for philanthropy in the arts” he said. There was also, he said, a new online art gallery, and A&B were now working on a blue print for private giving for after the election.

The prestigious Goodman Award for an outstanding voluntary contribution was won by Lady Solti, the widow of conductor Sir George Solti, particularly for her work with young people through Sadler’s Wells theatre. Accepting her trophy – a miniature wooden temple made by Afghanistani craftsmen sponsored by the Turquoise Mountain Foundation based in Kabul, as all the awards this year were - Lady Solti said: “I want to share this with all fellow volunteers who are so important to the arts – now more than ever. It’s all about sharing, all about achieving accessibility together”.

Earlier, A&B’s chair Baroness Helena Kennedy had announced that she was standing down with immediate effect, a year in to her second three year term. She is being replaced interim by Steve Williams of Unilever and the post is to be advertised.

Other winners of awards were:

JTI A&B Community Award – Liberty Stadium and Pippin’s Designs
Pippin Designs, a charity that works with disabled, special needs and vulnerable children, has partnered with Liberty Stadiums on a community art project to fill the empty Liberty football stadium with art created by the children

Prudential A&B People Development Award – Translink Metro & Belfast Actors
Belfast Actors developed an unusual way to improve the services for Translink Metro through a training scheme where actors posed as customers. This engagement gave drivers the confidence and tools to deal with real life situations and resulted in the highest customer satisfaction on record and increased passenger numbers.

A&B Young People Award – Ernst & Young and South London Gallery
Ernst & Young and the South London Gallery came together to give young people from local schools the chance to put together their own exhibition. The highly successful Double Take programme took learning out of the textbook and made it real for over 4,000 students.

British Council A&B International Award – Takeda Pharmaceutical & London Symphony Orchestra
Pharmaceuticals giant Takeda has taken the London Symphony Orchestra to audiences throughout the world through a staggering 192 sponsored concerts so far. The “Musicians on Call” initiative takes music to the housebound or those in hospitals across the world, promoting the important relationship between music and health. Takeda’s continued support enables LSO to perform artistically demanding programmes across the world.

A&B Cultural Branding Award – Deloitte & Royal Opera House
Ignite, an annual contemporary arts festival broke new ground for both partners, building on their reputation for excellence. The judges felt the partnership was a stand-out example of cultural branding – revolutionary for both brands, as well as engaging staff and clients and bringing a new community together.

BP A&B Sustained Partnership Award – UBS and Circus Space
Circus Space was a derelict power station but with sustained support from UBS has been transformed into an internationally recognised arts powerhouse.

Prudential A&B Board Member of the Year Award – Ferry van Dijk and Hoxton Hall
Ferry Van Dijk is a manager for new business development at Shell. Ferry, who was previously a mentor for teenagers and involved in leading student and political youth bodies, was a perfect match for Hoxton Hall by bringing his business acumen to the arts today.



Lloyd’s A&B Innovation Prize – Edding Pens and Monorex
Monorex arts collective supports new talent on the London arts scene through their Secret Wars live art event. Monorex approached Edding (pens) UK to arm their warring artists with the necessary ink.