ING announces three-year sponsorship for The ING Discerning Eye
London, 07/19/2006 ING is pleased to announce a three year sponsorship deal for the annual Discerning Eye art exhibition, the leading UK art event which aims to discover both new audiences and new artists for the UK contemporary art market. The event will now be known as The ING Discerning Eye.The ING Discerning Eye is a unique art event, which aims to foster up-and-coming talent in the UK’s contemporary art scene. It allows any developing UK artist the chance to have their work selected, via nationwide submission, by one of a panel of six leading figures in the art world, for exhibition alongside work by internationally recognised names. Each year over 30% of the six hundred or so works hung are by lesser-known artists selected via the submission process. ING has also increased its sponsor’s purchase prize to £5,000 with the winning picture being added to ING’s prestigious London art collection.
By limiting all works to a 20”x20” size, The ING Discerning Eye aims to reconnect the public with contemporary art via a show which welcomes all media and techniques on a scale suitable for the domestic environment, and at a wide range of prices.
The Discerning Eye has a natural fit with ING. Through its purchase of Baring Brothers in 1995, ING in London has one of the City’s premier art collections, featuring works by artists such as LS Lowry, Sir Stanley Spencer and Samuel Palmer. ING Group, headquartered in Amsterdam, also has a collection of over 20,000 Dutch contemporary pieces. These credentials as a collector of fine art, both by established artists and from emerging contemporary names, are complemented by the active role ING plays in the art world as a major sponsor in The Netherlands with both the Rijksmuseum and the Maastricht Art Fair. In London, ING runs an imaginative art programme which seeks to develop opportunities for up-and-coming artists.
To encourage an interest in the visual arts amongst ING staff in London, ING in partnership with Discerning Eye, curated a show of 100 works at the bank’s City offices, while 35 members of staff have been tutored in drawing skills by professional artists. The bank has also sponsored projects inspired by its own permanent collection involving art students at local schools and art colleges. The ING Discerning Eye partnership and annual exhibition is a perfect extension to all these activities and allows ING to bring its established art agenda to a wider public.
John Howland Jackson, CEO of ING Wholesale Banking UK said:
“ING has a long-held policy of actively using our outstanding UK art collection, together with Discerning Eye’s expertise, to stimulate an interest in the visual arts – not only for staff, but for local communities as well. Our three-year partnership with Discerning Eye via the flagship ING Discerning Eye event is a natural extension of a close relationship, and one which aims to connect the wider public with emerging art talent in the UK.”
Tony Humphreys, CEO of The Discerning Eye said:
“Such a commitment from ING is great news for artists; not only does it secure the future of one of the most prestigious exhibitions truly 'open' to submissions from anyone, but it also helps put the Discerning Eye charity on a firm financial footing. “
Jon Tracey
ING Wholesale Banking Communications
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