STRONG BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS BUILDING VIBRANT ARTS SECTOR

Strong partnerships between the arts and cultural sector and business were celebrated with the announcement of the Queensland 2007 Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) Award winners tonight.

Arts Minister Rod Welford said the AbaF Awards acknowledged the integral role business played in supporting the growth of the arts industry and the mutual benefits gained from these partnerships.

“Strong partnerships between business and the arts are essential to the development of an innovative, forward-looking economy and community,” Mr Welford said.

“The partnerships acknowledged by these awards reveal how business and the arts can work together to achieve long term and strategic business results in corporate reputation, employee relations, marketing and branding, networking and community engagement.

“Importantly they also show how these partnerships enrich the community’s cultural life by extending the reach of the arts to remote areas, introducing exciting artists to the world and building cultural amenities that will enrich the lives of this and future generations.”

Queensland winners go on to the national AbaF Awards to be announced in Sydney on Thursday 25 October.

The Queensland Government supports AbaF, a company of the Australian Government, to promote private sector support for the arts through its partnering, volunteering and giving programs.

The Queensland 2007 ABaF award recipients are as follows:

Marsh Partnering Award – Department of Natural Resources and Water and Riverfestival

National Australia Bank SME (small-medium enterprise) Award – HLB Mann Judd and Brisbane Cabaret Festival

­Toyota Community Award – Queensland Gas Company and La Boite Theatre Company

­QantasLink Regional Award – Heritage Building Society and Toowoomba Photographic Society

KPMG adviceBank Award – Theodora Le Souquet and Queensland Writers Centre

­AbaF Giving Award – State Library of Queensland

Media contact: Emma Clarey on 3237 1000