It has been just over a year of ArtKoti’s official existence, plus about a year of preparations before facing the first customer. What do we mean by “preparations”? We mostly did research and talked to people: artists, regular workers in different fields, entrepreneurs, officials, gallerists, architects, academics.
From the idea of wanting to bring visual art to places where people can effortlessly encounter it, we realized that, since people spend a lot of their time at work, that’s where art should be.
Based on our research, what we usually see at people’s workplaces is
Option 1: nothing, empty walls, maybe some plants here and there.
Option 2: artworks selected by the leader of the company or received as a gift and that have been there for as long as anyone can remember.
Option 3: functionality or everything that keeps people focused on their work – equipment, whiteboards, screens for virtual meetings.
Do people notice that certain working places create pleasant feelings and other ones do the opposite? – Yes. Do they consciously analyze what makes the difference? – It’s some people’s job to do that, e.g. human resources managers’, office space planners’ and designers’.
The companies caring about the employer’s brand collect employees’ opinions on what types of working places are more appealing, what perks are expected or wished for, and what would really boost work motivation and efficiency. Do people consciously think of these things when they come to work? – Not really.
In fact, most people are in agreement that art – be it paintings, art performances, or music – has a positive effect on them or at least provokes new ideas. Observing, experiencing, feeling – in short, stimulating one’s senses – is a special way of relaxing one’s mind. And yet again, while most people admit this is happening, they rarely find time to actively engage in art experiences.
So, here we have a problem: it would be beneficial to engage with art more often, but time constraints are too inflexible to remove. Bringing art to where people are would solve this problem.
Workspaces combined with visual art have the least destructive element in them – it just sits patiently on the wall waiting for the moment to act, and once it does, the effect it has on the viewer is quiet but undeniable!