By Faruk Arig

For a business to continue to grow, it needs to consistently reach the hearts of consumers through innovation. This does not mean merely to provide new products or services.

A business should share experiences, sympathize, and maintain relationships and reliability with customers through active communication.

For this reason, a number of companies are attempting to go beyond the boundary of donations or marketing activities and share new experiences with customers. This is significant since such attempts are not limited to a certain business or industry. Trying for new cooperation between two different areas such as the arts or a business and academic circles may lead to a new world that we have never experienced.

The recently-held ``Henkel InnoART Project” exhibition is a Mecenat project arranged in this respect. With Henkel’s key value of innovation as the motif, efforts will be put forth to support diversified artistic activities.

Every year, renowned artists in Korea are selected to present creative and innovative artworks. This year, four artists have been selected to participate in the project through a diversified screening process and given the opportunity to show their changing world works.

In particular, this exhibition is a place not only for experimental artistic expression but also for the rebirth of artworks in various genres including film, multimedia art and performance through which the public may observe how ordinary objects such as Henkel’s glue, detergent, and stationery meet art. This type of exhibition is especially significant since it focuses on supporting established artists.

The project is not a mere one-way support for culture and arts as before, but a program of strategic partnership through a one-to-one relationship between a business and an organization of culture and arts in order for co-development.

Such efforts contribute to establishing a common foundation for businesses, culture and art circles and an increasing number of companies are presenting new exhibitions and concerts in association with artists and related organizations.

Since 1990, the art industry in Korea has grown on a global scale, but the post-promotion for senior artists who have gained a certain level of awareness is insufficient although the finding and support of young artists is active.

Now that the art circles in Korea focus on finding new artists and repeatedly hold a series of exhibitions for them, active support and international promotion for recognized artists to make further advancement are of great urgency and importance. Accordingly, businesses should all work together to support and provide senior artists with opportunities to advance further in the world.

As businesses and arts go beyond the level of simple donation or one-off events and make a mutually developmental partnership, both can lay a foundation for consistent growth. On the part of businesses, they can acquire fresh experiences that they have never attempted before in association with art and culture circles.

By supporting artistic activity, businesses can be more flexible in accepting creative cultures, and be inspired to pioneer new groups of products or markets. In addition, artists and related organizations are given opportunities for stable and new creative works with the support from businesses and draw closer to the public for intimacy and better communication.

When the two different entities, businesses and the arts, meet each other and present models for creative and cooperative works, the public can meet and share another world of art that they could not observe or see before.

In the future, in valuing such new attempts, an increasing number of businesses will put forth more efforts for such innovation, by which we will be touched and joyful, and motivated to grow all together. This is why the meeting of businesses and arts makes me excited.

The writer is president of Henkel Korea. He can be reached at youn1980@prone.co.kr.