“This was an incredible opportunity,” she said. “It’s the first time we had Andy Warhol at the Bronx Museum.”
Started two years ago, the Bank of America program placed 12 shows last year and has placed 10 so far this year, with 10 more scheduled for next year and 6 for 2011. And there is a waiting list.
“At first we were calling museums,” said Rena DeSisto, the bank’s global arts marketing and philanthropy executive. “Now the calls are coming in to us.”
DeSisto said the bank had initially hoped to place its shows in big museums, to build credibility, but has come to realize that its collection could instead play an important role in serving institutions with fewer resources.
“Smaller community museums with more need began to ask for our program,” she said. “They just don’t have the deep pockets, and they don’t have the luxury of saying, `We don’t do corporate collections,’ nor do they frankly have the snobbery about it.”
Given the current state of the economy and the considerable expense of maintaining and storing art, corporations might be expected to want to sell all or part of their collections, and many smaller companies are doing some divesting. But Bank of America determined that there were other marketing benefits to be gained from their collection.
“We have determined that a sale would result in an overall loss or a break-even, and that it is better used as a community support and marketing tool,” she said.
Bank of America said its cost per exhibition can range from US$5,000 to US$25,000, depending on how far the artwork needs to travel. DeSisto said the expenditure — which she declined to quantify — has paid off.
“The income we have generated through increased business is superior to any income we could generate from selling the collection,” she said. “Attracting even one individual client can cover the entire cost of lending a turnkey exhibition.”
Other banks too have recognized the potential for such intangible dividends. “
“It’s not about collecting as an investment strategy,” said Gary Hattem, president of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation in New York, which administers the bank’s philanthropic activities in the US, Latin America and Canada. “It’s really about being fully engaged in the communities in which we do business.”
Deutsche Bank, with a collection of about 56,000 pieces, has made art “a major part of our identity as a bank,” said Liz Christensen, the company’s curator for the Americas.
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