Strabane businesses praised at Arts & Business Creative Advantage Breakfast

The Alley Theatre recently took part in a Arts & Business Creative Advantage Breakfast in Derry. The A&B ethos champions the power of innovative partnerships, in which businesses can create a ‘competitive advantage’ through creative innovation, inspired by engagement with arts and cultural organisations. The Alley has benifited wonderfully from developing strong Arts & Business partnerships and we were delighted not only to be taking part, but also to have several special mentions from the guest speakers.

With economists predicting a return to growth for the UK economy mid 2010, local businesses were keen to learn how engaging with the Arts could enhance their competitive edge and lead to future success and sustained economic regeneration.

Social and economic regeneration in Derry and the North West were addressed by Aideen McGinley, Chief Executive, Ilex – the Urban Regeneration Company. Speaking about the future plans for the area and her experiences of working with arts organisations to encourage community buy-in to social regeneration projects, Aideen said: “The importance of culture to Regeneration is fundamental to achieving social physical and economic success, which I understand at first hand and recognise its continuing importance in these challenging times.”
To succeed in the global or local marketplace, businesses need to consider their brand image and review corporate strategy to ensure marketing and communications strategies deliver key objectives.

David Beck, Head of Marketing Communications BT Ireland and sponsor of the Alley's BT Sounds Like Summer music festival focused on the changing face of brand sponsorship, and how BT’s new emphasis on Innovation and grassroots engagement - demonstrated through new partnerships like QFT & most recently the Alley Arts Centre in Strabane - is challenging perceptions about BT the brand; “Sponsorship is becoming a crucial part of the marketing mix as brand’s turn to new categories, Arts sponsorships in particular, add much needed credibility to their brand propositions.”

It was left to Joe Barber, Manager, Linton Robinson, Strabane and another Alley sponsor to showcase the value to local businesses, citing their own successful partnership with The Alley Arts Centre, which has seen increased footfall and increased sales throughout the store, as well as strengthening their customer base and enhancing their reputation, saying "We have remained in business for over 56 years thanks to our reputation for offering quality and value. The In-Store Gallery, curated by The Alley, has been enormously popular and extremely successful. As a local business, we have been able to give our customers a new consumer experience - something that the multiples would find difficult to recreate.”

Facilitating questions from the floor and bringing the event to a close, Mary Trainor, Director Arts & Business NI, said “It’s good to see that businesses have been increasingly using arts partnerships as a brand platform to express or even define who they were as a business. We want to inspire them to engage further to help them deliver successful marketing and corporate social responsibility campaigns that use culture in distinct and powerful ways!”

The Alley staff were delighted with the special recomendatons from the guest speakers and certainly reinforeced the Alleys position as the leading arts organisation in the North West!

North West Gallery seeks new artists!

Linton and Robinson, the North West’s leading department store and a Alley Theatre sponsor, is seeking submissions from North West artists who are keen in exhibiting in their new gallery space based in their award winning department store in Strabane.

The North West Artist Gallery, which has been opened for just 4 month’s with the help of the Alley Theatre and funding from Arts & Business, has been a tremendous critical and commercial success for Linton and Robinson’s and the artists who exhibited in the store. The gallery has exhibited a selection of different pieces from breathtaking sculptures from local artist Gloria Perry, stunning photography from Jim Hamilton and some superb fine art pieces from Maura Grey, ensuring the gallery has growing reputation for developing, nurturing and showcasing the very best on offer in the North West arts scene.

“We have certainly seen new faces come into our store because of the gallery and it has clearly given increased exposure to the artists and to the shop as a whole. The exhibiting artists have expressed their delight at the response each has had to their work and we are delighted to be supporting local artists and helping their endeavors in finding new markets for their work” commented Joe Barber, Linton and Robinson’s manager. “The results of the North West Artist Gallery have far exceeded my expectations and I would encourage everyone in the local art scene to submit work in the latest call-out.” Applications to submit artwork can be collected from customer services in Linton and Robinson’s Abercorn Square store or by calling customer services on 028 7138 4920. Artists are warned that all submission packs have to be in no later than November 6th, so don’t delay!

Can the Arts create a competitive advantage for your business?

Joe Barber, the visionary manager at Linton and Robinson's and Alley Theatre sponsor feels the Arts can play a significant role in offering business a strong competitive advantage in today's current climate.

As part of a Arts & Business conference set to take place in the North West in September, Joe has recorded a podcast at the Alley explaining how he came to this conclusion after collaborating with the Alley Theatre over the last 2 years. Ocer the past two years the Alley has helped Linton's develop "Arty Parties" within their toy department and the "North West Arts Gallery" (pictured), which highlights the very best in commercial art on sale by local North West artists.

In his podcast Joe talks about his relationship with the Alley and concludes that .....

We feel we have moved into a new circle of potential customers and by being closely involved with the Alley in everything they do we are benefiting by getting more sales and spreading the word that Linton & Robinson has not only maintained its reputation of quality products and service but is more innovative and also is part of the Community of Strabane and the region. We now offer something we didn’t do before and which no-one else offers. It is working for us and the artists and this success story will generate sales for some time to come.

I know that by showing a wee bit of imagination, getting the right level of support from the Alley Arts Centre who have been excellent in everything we have asked them to do that we have created a model for success for the artists, the Alley and for us and we now are all working as one to further promote our Gallery and Linton & Robinson as a place to shop.

Joe is not the only Alley Theatre corporate sponsor which to feels this way, all of our sponsors can see how the arts can create an advantage in the business world. To hear Joe's comprehenisive views on the arts offering a creative edge in business, why not click here and hear his podcast.

Arts and Business proves a successful marriage for local artists!

The Alley Theatre recently launched a new Artist Gallery within the North West's leading department store, Linton and Robinson's. Supported by Arts and Business NI, this fantastic new venture works on several different levels. Firstly it will enable local artists the opportunity to reach a totally new client base, secondly it offers Linton's to offer a very unique product and make them "stand out from the crowd" in a busy retail sector, and finally for the Alley to implement its arts development mission. The launch was a tremendous success and I strongly believe if things go well, this project could run and run. See below the editorial which was seen across the North West.

New North West Artist Gallery launch hailed a success!

The launch of the new North West Artist Gallery, based within Strabane’s Linton and Robinsons’ department store, has been hailed by organizers as a “tremendous success for local artists and Strabane”. Featuring the artwork from 5 local artists, ranging from funky contemporary portraits, delightful sculptures and more traditional landscape and fine art works, the gallery was officially opened last week to large audience of dedicated art lovers and those interested in purchasing a unique item for their home.

“Linton and Robinson has been part of the community in Strabane and throughout the North-West for well over 50 years now. It is therefore very fitting that in conjunction with the Alley Theatre and through funding via Arts and Business NI, that we should promote local artists within our new Furniture 2 department store” commented Joe Barber, Manager at Linton and Robinson. “We hope the artists will benefit by having their works on display within a modern store, offering them extra exposure to the public and media. This is a new venture for Strabane and Linton’s, and when you see how the store has changed over the last 5 years, you can certainly see Strabane is changing, re-inventing itself and becoming far more competitive in the retail, arts and cultural tourism sectors.”

The North West Artist Gallery has been developed in association with the Strabane’s Alley Theatre and Arts & Business NI, a not for profit organisation, which aims to promote mutually beneficial relationships between business, the arts and the public sector in order to increase private sector investment into the arts through investment programmes. Commenting on the launch, Alley Theatre Manager, John Kerr stated “This has been a wonderful exhibition launch and I certainly hope that the public support this innovative project, which is showcasing some amazing pieces of new artwork, at what I must say is some excellent prices. By purchasing a piece you are not only supporting local artists, but you made never know a purchase might prove to be a valuable investment for the future.