How to choose Indigenous Art for your Commercial Office Pt 2
Emu Jukurrpa By Margaret Nangala Gallagher - Original Painting - 70x46cm. Courtesy of Yarn Gallery, Unsplash, 2021.
Inspire your Team
“Aesthetic in the truest sense means energy-giving which is what a workplace needs, rather than a bland, industrial environment which can be more like giving workers a dose of anaesthetic.” - Alex Heath, managing director at International Art Consultants, 2016.
The inclusion of art in the office is one of the most accessible and practical ways to transform the mood and atmosphere of your workplace. Just the presence of an artwork amongst your employees’ cubicles or personal offices has been identified in multiple studies over the past 10 years in Europe and the United States as an effective tool to help reduce tension and stress in the office. We all know that this usually occurs when deadlines are on the horizon and employees are feeling cognitively exhausted from long hours of highly-focused work (Work Design Magazine, 2021).
According to Dr Craig Knight, in his years of experience analysing working environments as a psychologist, he believes that by enriching or creating a visually-stimulating working environment it will help motivate your employees and get them excited about coming into work. In doing so, it will help restore your employees’ mental energy and reduce stress, which in turn boosts performance and productivity. This philosophy is one that the Deutsche Bank is certainly on board with as they have the largest collection of corporate art in the world, with approximately 60,000 art pieces in 40 countries across 900 offices (The Guardian, 2016).
Ngapa Puyurru by Chantelle Nampijinpa Robertson - Original Painting - 183x61cm. Courtesy of Yarn Gallery, Unsplash, 2021.
Having art in the office provides your employees, clients or visitors with a momentary distraction. This is not a bad thing in the workplace as art has historically always been about providing an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Just looking at the artwork will give your teammates a mental break and time to pause, reflect and breathe. This promotes a healthy state of mind, especially if they are feeling overwhelmed with their workload or stressed from having writer’s block or brain fog. Further, if the artwork that the employee is looking at is really appealing to them, it will induce dopamine which is a chemical in the brain linked to feelings of happiness and satisfaction (Work Design Magazine, 2021).
When your business is choosing Indigenous artwork, consider the mood and atmosphere you want to create for your team: think inspiring and creativity-inducing. The chosen artworks’ compositions and subjects should reflect and elevate these moods. It can also be a great idea to involve your employees and colleagues in this process; it could be a fun team-building activity! Your business could host a vote as to what Indigenous artworks they like the best and that best reflect the brand’s core values and culture. This is sure to boost creativity, open-mindedness and employee engagement in the workplace! (Work Design Magazine, 2021).
Art as an Investment
International interest for Australia’s 60,000 year old Aboriginal arts heritage has skyrocketed over the past few years. Investors around the world are becoming aware that the artworks created by traditional First Nations artists have a unique and unbroken link to their rich, cultural heritage. This is especially in regards to remote community art centres as they have been established as a means of preserving their cultural heritage for generations to come. Subsequently, these art centres have become a favourite to investors all over the globe, especially since many works from remote art centres are supplied to major international exhibitions and auctions (Oasis Magazine, 2020).
Water Dreaming by Marissa Napanangka Anderson - Original Painting - 61x46cm. Courtesy of Yarn Gallery, Shutterstock 2021.
Your establishment may not be able to start your Indigenous art collection with a painting by the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye, whose ‘Earth Creation I’ painting sold for a whopping $2.1 million in 2017, but there are other First Nations artists out there whose works are much more affordable and are highly sought after by collectors. At Yarn Gallery, you will find a wide range of original paintings from the internationally-renowned art centre Warlukurlangu Artists, whose works are well worth investing in for your business (Oasis Magazine, 2020).
We hope these tips have inspired you to consider incorporating First Nations art into your office decor. By doing so, you are not only celebrating one of the oldest living cultures on the planet, you are communicating respect and recognition for the First Nations artists who put their heart and soul into these magnificent works. So, if your business is a first time buyer of Indigenous art or is adding to the office’s collection, we hope that you find an artwork in Yarn Gallery that connects and speaks to your team, whether it be on a philosophical, educational or emotional level.
You can browse the beautiful collection of Indigenous artworks on Yarn Gallery here. To find out more about Yarn Gallery, check out our previous blog here. For further inspiration, check out Yarn Gallery's Instagram here!
For further enquiries about the acquisition of an artwork, simply call or email our Customer Service team and we can forward you to Yarn’s Art Consultant.