Launch of the guide Making Culture Your Business and the 2012 Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal

MONTREAL, Jan. 29, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is proud to launch the guide Making Culture Your Business - Inspirational Profiles for Inciting People to Action. Intended for businesspeople, this practical tool explains different ways of getting involved with cultural organizations.

"In producing this guide, we wanted to remind the community that it is essential to support culture, which is a strategic driver of our city's economic development," says Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. "While the entire business community agrees on the central place of art in our society, the involvement of the private sector in arts organizations, as generous as it is been, has not yet reached its full potential."

"Businesspeople are still sometimes hesitant to get involved in the arts," Michel Leblanc says. "And yet, supporting culture is within everyone's reach, and there are many ways to do it if you know where to start. So I encourage the business community to consult the guide and draw inspiration from it to take action."

Produced as part of the 2007-2017 Action Plan for Montréal, Cultural Metropolis, this guide from the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal was written with the cooperation of the Conseil des arts de Montréal and can be consulted at www.btmm.qc.ca/cultureyourbusiness.

Two other Board of Trade publications in support of culture, Culture in Montréal: Economic Impacts and Private Funding (2009) and The Art of Investing in Culture - A Guide for Businesspeople (2011), are also available for consultation.

2012 Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal
On the occasion of the launch of this new tool designed to create connections between the world of the arts and the world of business, Michel Leblanc and the Honourable Charles Lapointe, President of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, also kicked off the 2012 edition of the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal.

Created to allow arts and cultural organizations in the metropolitan area to show their gratitude to members of the business community who have offered invaluable support during the year, these awards underline the spirit of innovation among businesspeople and promote different forms of support to the arts to encourage other individuals and businesses to get involved.

"The nominations for the Prix Arts-Affaires are proof that many passionate businesspeople are already getting involved to help develop the cultural community," Mr. Leblanc says. "I call on cultural organizations to come out in force to nominate their patrons this year so that they can become inspirations for their peers."

"With these awards, the Conseil des arts de Montréal wants to spotlight the quality of the involvement of businesspeople in the Montréal arts community," says the Honourable Charles Lapointe. "I encourage members of the arts community to take advantage of this extraordinary platform to provide visibility to the men and women for whom culture is an affair of the heart."

Arts and cultural organizations are invited to nominate their business partners by March 22, 2013. Their partners' involvement must have occurred between January 1 and December 31, 2012.

Details for the awards are available at www.btmm.qc.ca/prix_arts_affaires and www.artsmontreal.org/en/prizes/prix-arts-affaires.

About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is made up of some 7,000 members. Its mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.

About the Conseil des arts de Montréal
A dynamic partner in artistic creation in Montréal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal supports and recognizes excellence in professional artistic creation, production and dissemination through financial support, advice and cooperative and development efforts. For over 50 years, the Conseil des arts de Montréal has contributed through its base-building efforts to the development of "Montréal, Cultural Metropolis."

SOURCE: Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

Sylvie Paquette
Advisor, Media Relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Phone: [phone], extension 4015
[email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chambremontreal
Twitter: @chambremontreal
Follow the discussion: #ccmmqcca

Tania Orméjuste
Communication Director
Conseil des arts de Montréal
514 280-3991
[email protected]
www.artsmontreal.org
www.facebook.com/ArtsMontreal
twitter.com/ConseilArtsMtl