The impact of art in the workplace is commonly overlooked. And to be honest, we hadn’t comprehended the full effect of art in the workplace until we spoke with one of our client members,

Victoria Tate is CEO and Founder of Arterial, an agency dedicated to making workplace art a positive force for change. We asked Victoria to tell us more on the subject, and how working with freelance professionals is a key part of her business model.

Victoria, tell us a little about Arterial, the motivation behind starting the company and plans for the future.

Arterial is a relatively new business which focuses upon bringing art and artists into workspaces and businesses. We encourage companies to exploit the unique power of art by working with artists, creating residencies, organising private views, and commissioning artworks and culture programmes.  My own background lies in corporate communications and public affairs. I decided upon a career change and went back to university to study for a Masters in History of Art. After the intellectual challenges and stimulation of going through that I thought that employers and companies were missing a trick in not working more closely with art.  I also wanted to give artists a better opportunity to work in a different physical space than a traditional gallery setting.

Here at The Work Crowd, we strongly believe happy workers are productive workers. Can you tell us more about how art can contribute to this?

We argue that there are many properties contained within art and cultural interventions which can serve to increase happiness in the workplace, engage staff and customers, and encourage creative thought and behaviour.  From the research and work we have done, we know that art in and around the office has a very positive impact on wellbeing. This is well known in the hospital and healthcare sectors but less-so in offices and other workplaces.  Moreover, academic studies have shown an uplift in productivity of at least 15% when employees have visual stimulus on the walls and around the office and whether workers love or hate any particular artworks, they will engage their brains and feel enlivened by the impact of art.

The nature of work is changing, and more businesses are opting to work with freelancers, why did you choose to work with a freelancer over traditional methods of recruitment?

Arterial is a small business which regularly draws in specialists from the worlds of curating, marketing and psychology.  We also offer internships. We felt that a freelancer offered us the flexibility and expertise that was right for a small, growing business.

You have worked with Arham through the platform, what business objective arose that you wanted to solve with a freelance specialist?

Arterial needed to raise its profile through a variety of means and through working with Arham we were able to reach out through social media channels.  We also learnt a great deal from the process about what good practice looks like and what the basic steps are to getting out there.

‘The Work Crowd is a very straightforward platform which provided a very good solution to our business needs.  Through a non-traditional approach, the team at The Work Crowd found a good fit for our business quickly and efficiently.  We are very likely to use it again in the future.’ - Victoria Tate, Aterial

If you’d like to know more about how working with freelancers across all areas of marketing can support your business vision, call us for a chat on 0203 828 8440 or drop us a line here.