Deutsche Bank renewed its support of New York’s famed Frieze Art Fair in 2017. With this commitment, Deutsche Bank supports Frieze New York’s non-profit arm, Frieze Education, a year-round program that prepares young New Yorkers from underserved communities across the five boroughs for future careers in the arts.
Frieze Education expands access to arts spaces by bringing in from students across the city for regular arts activities, such as workshops and tours of artist studios, galleries, museums and the fair. The educational programming includes discussions with professionals from different areas of contemporary art. Institutions visited in 2017 include locations such as The Met Breuer and the New Museum.
The crown jewel of the program is Frieze Teens, which is comprised of a diverse array of 18 teacher-nominated students aged 16-18 hailing from diverse backgrounds.
According to former Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank Americas, Seth H. Waught, “We believe the arts enhance our ability to respond to an increasingly complex and fast moving world with new perspectives, ideas, and insights. Partnerships between business and the arts embrace the vitality of the world around us and serve the human spirit.”
Over the past 5 years, due to support from Deutsche Bank, the Frieze Teens program has held workshops with popular contemporary artists like Urs Fischer and Julie Mehretu, who have been featured in major art events, such as the Whitney Biennial, the Armory Show and Art Basel.
Deutsche Bank has had a tradition of supporting the arts for more than a quarter of a century. The Bank believes that respect for the artist’s unique role in society as an important catalyst for change is integral to Deutsche Bank’s commitment to help create better communities and enlightened corporate citizens.
Through Deutsche Bank’s arts and education initiative, it has provided youth with a supportive environment and resources to pursue arts careers. Many of these arts programs developed skills in young people that are highly transferable to success in academic, professional and real life situations.
In collaboration with Partnership for Afterschool Education, Deutsche Bank co-created and designed an arts and career resource guide targeted to disadvantaged youth to help prepare them to enter the arts field. Deutsche Bank also provided grants to cultural organizations that work with youth in New York City public schools and local non-profits such as the Carnegie Hall Link Up, the School Partnership program at the New York Philharmonic and the Bronx Museum’s Teen Council.
Deutsche Bank employees actively contribute to developing the youth through annual volunteer programs. Deutsche Bank provides volunteers to community arts organizations such as Free Arts, which hosts Free Arts Day, a special volunteer event that pairs volunteers with elementary aged-youth. Bank employees and other volunteers offered a day of mini-mentoring and art-making, focused inspiring students to pursue their dreams.