The Davidoff Art Initiative (DAI) Recognized by2017 International Corporate Art Awards®
Oettinger Davidoff is honored to announce that the company’s groundbreaking art program, the Davidoff Art Initiative, is one of the recipients of the 2017 International Corporate Art Awards. Developed under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Culture, the award reinforces visibility, recognition, and best practices in collaborations between the corporate world and the art world.
The Davidoff Art Initiative was selected from 90 projects in 22 countries for the prestigious award. Recent winners have included major companies with decades-long involvement in art, including Deutsche Bank,American Express, and Shiseido. The prize was conferred during the ceremony on November 22, 2017 in Rome, Italy.
“It is truly an honor to be named a winner of this award alongside such notable peers,” said Beat Hauenstein,CEO of Oettinger Davidoff AG. “It confirms our firm approach and encourages our team and many collaborative partners to continue strengthening our activities of the past five years and to discern and advocate for the noteworthy artists and creative spaces around the Caribbean and the international scene.
This award signals our efforts are valid. The promotion of inter connectivity between the many nations and regions within the Caribbean itself, at all levels of production, as well as our decision to motivate thoughtful cultural engagement from and around the international community, will be even more decisive with this nomination.”
Since its inception in 2012, when it was launched in conjunction with Davidoff’s Associate Partnership with Art Basel, the Davidoff Art Initiative has championed contemporary artists in the Caribbean, strengthened art organizations that promote Caribbean art, and fostered cultural connections within the region and with the rest of the world. With the Dominican Republic’s historic cigar-making landscape and essential arts institution Altos de Chavón as the foundation, the DAI has evolved to include five unique residency venues across the globe, as well as a dedicated program within the Dominican Republic designed specifically for international artists, curators, and writers. Beyond its centerpiece artist residency program, the DAI supports art production and cultural engagement in the Caribbean and diaspora via three dedicated sectors: Davidoff Art Dialogs, Davidoff Art Grants, and Davidoff Art Editions.
The Davidoff Art Initiative will continue to promote the vibrancy of art in the Caribbean and beyond. News of the 2018 International Art Residency participants is forthcoming, along with further programming toward next year.
In the words of Luca Desiata, Curator of the Corporate Art Awards®, the DAI was selected on the merits of the program’s wide reach and its commitment to deep and sustained engagement with art and artists from the Caribbean region: “A lasting contribution to the world of contemporary art. A profound social impact on the communities and the stakeholders.An international perspective with the involvement of five prestigious art institutions worldwide. These are the features that made the Davidoff Art Residency program one of the winners of the 2017 edition of the Corporate Art Awards.”
