Pause! Please take a moment to look up and around your office

What do you see? Company logos and posters? Plants? Great expanses of white walls? How about any artwork? For those of you with artwork, here’s another question: When was the last time they were changed?

If your answer is to any of the above is: “We don’t have any artwork” or: “I forgot we had those” then this article is for you.

Many organisations are competing to create work environments that look great and stand out to attract customers and talent. At the same time, the modern workforce expects dynamic, engaging workplaces to work in; ones that integrate health and wellbeing into its design.

But the cost of creating such immersive environments can be difficult to justify, and quite time- consuming and resource-intensive to implement.

Look good with art

Our solution to this is art. But not just hanging art and then leaving it there to fade into the background. What if, by changing the artwork on display, we can help you affordably create environments that are constantly changing? What if you could walk into a space that looks and feels different every few months, all without needing to invest in costly refurbishments?

ColourSpace provides an affordable art rental service that not only curates art to suit your office’s aesthetic, culture, and vibe, we bring new art in every 3 months, all sourced from local emerging artists.

What if we bring artworks you don’t like? Well that’s why we chat to you first, so we can understand what styles are suitable for your space. Whilst we’re not the same as an interior decorator, we do respect that there’s a diverse range of people who work in an office, and curate art that’s appropriate for your space.

That’s why we’re trusted by law firms, accountancies, tech companies, the Victorian Governor Solicitor’s Office, and even the Reserve Bank of Australia!

Feel good with art

But this is about more than just ‘a picture on the wall’. There’s a growing body of research that demonstrates the benefits of art in a workplace, from increasing productivity, reducing stress, encouraging collaboration and creativity, and improving overall quality of life. But why is that important?

The recent Shared Value Project conducted in partnership with PWC brought to the surface a need to focus on mental health, and the important role that businesses can play in addressing this. Scarily, 45% of Australians will experience a lifetime mental illness. For those seeking a quantifiable impact, KPMG have estimated the direct cost of mental health issues on businesses at $13b a year. We’re by no means suggesting that simply bringing art into your space will save you millions of dollars in lost productivity. But we do know that by investing in different ways to integrate mental health initiatives throughout the workplace, you will contribute to creating a thriving workplace that genuinely engages everyone there.

This is perhaps the more important reason why we change art in a workplace. We’re giving people a reason to stop and look at something different. We want people to learn about what they’re seeing. We want people to debate and discuss and open their minds to new ideas. We want to enrich people’s lives with art. We want to give people a chance to learn about some of the stories, ideas, and emotions from local Australian artists.

Do good with art (our social impact)

In order for our lives to be enriched with art, we need a thriving artist community. It’s no secret that funding to the arts has been cut year on year, and it’s harder than ever for the Australian visual arts community. To support them, ColourSpace shares 25% of our rental revenue from each artwork on display with our artists, with all art displayed for sale.

For artists, it’s not just about selling art; it’s about having meaningful opportunities to get their art out and in front of people. Here’s what we found following a blind survey of over 100 artists whose works have been displayed at ColourSpace clients:

• More than 80% of our artists felt validated, joyous, and motivated to continue to create art once their art was out on display

• 35% of the artists also create art for mental health and therapy reasons

• Almost half of the artists who exhibited with ColourSpace were exposed to more art-related opportunities; both commercial and artistic

• To date, we have shared over $45,000 in revenue to artists through royalties and sales

We also want to share the benefits of art with those who can’t afford it. That’s why a further 10% of each artwork on display funds art therapy and creative workshops for children from the Save the Children’s Cubbies program, an initiative that supports children from low socio-economic and often refugee backgrounds.

Supporting social procurement

ColourSpace is a certified social enterprise by Social Traders. For those not familiar with social procurement, it outlines a positive and vital change to the way organisations procures for good, using their buying power to generate social value above and beyond the value of the goods, services, or construction being procured.

There is a growing number of large organisations, from banks to Government who are not just leading the way in procuring from social enterprise, they are also encouraging greater supplier diversity from Tier 2 and 3 suppliers. If this applies to your organisation, we can help you achieve with your social procurement criteria.

Ready to look good, feel good, and do good with art?

Book in your free on-site consultation and let’s talk about how we can bring local art into your space. For any consultations booked by the end of 2019, we will offer your first month of art rental free. Simply quote EAN2019.

Beyond our art rental, we also facilitate the sale and commission of artworks, creative team-building events, and pop-up art exhibitions.

Contact us today on info@cs.gallery or on 0433 403 044.

Back To The Assistant