In addition to the collection, the bank is
regularly involved in the organisation of exhibitions. For
over 40 years now, the bank has been staging exhibitions in its
Brussels buildings, both at its headquarters on Avenue Marnix or at
the Hotel Coudenberg on Place Royale (the ING Cultural Centre).
In times gone by, banks organising exhibitions
was very much the done thing, something practiced by all of the
leading institutions. Our bank's enduring commitment to organising
exhibitions today reflects two quite specific objectives:
Firstly, to honour our sense of civic duty by
helping to support and promote cultural values. The bank's active
support of the arts stretches back more than 30 years.
Secondly, to use the exhibitions as a platform
for enhancing the commercial objectives of the bank, by hosting
visits and social events for its clients.
Since ING became involved, the choice of themes for the
exhibitions has evolved. The bank has moved on from resolutely
contemporary and avant-garde shows, that would appeal to a few
thousand visitors, to exhibitions of a more classical nature, which
draw visitors in the tens of thousands. In other words, the
principle of art for art's sake has given way to a more pragmatic
approach to exhibitions, based on a desire to reach out to a wider
audience.
Latterly, the bank's artistic endeavours have been expanded through
the support that the bank lends to events such as
« Artbrussels »,, the contemporary
art fair in Brussels,
and « Prix de la Jeune Peinture » (The Young Artist's Prize), which is awarded
every two years to a handful of talented young artists.
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