The Dutch financial services giant ING pays homage to its Dutch roots and at the same time showcase Filipino artistry under a charity art auction set for September 16 to mark its 25th anniversary celebration in the Philippines.
Up for grabs at the by-invitation-only “KLOMP/ART” live auction are over 25 works of Filipino visual artists using “klompen” or Dutch wooden shoes, which “traveled” all the way from the Netherlands and were donated by ING’s headquarters in Amsterdam to support the Manila office’s corporate social responsibility initiative. The auction will be part of the program at ING Bank Manila’s anniversary celebration with its clients on the evening of September 16.
The Dutch financial institution has partnered with Christie’s, the world’s largest auction house; Makati-based Tin-aw Art Gallery; and various Filipino contemporary visual artists to raise funds for the ING Foundation’s scholarship program. The program sends deserving students from impoverished backgrounds to high school, college, or post-high school (i.e., technological-vocational schools) on scholarships, covering tuition, miscellaneous school fees, textbooks and allowances.
“The klompen artworks are a fitting contribution from some of the country’s strongest voices in the arts. They also symbolize how ING, as a global financial organization with Dutch roots, has been empowering people to ‘Stay a Step Ahead in Life and in Business,’ which also happens to be our 25th anniversary theme,” ING Bank Country Manager Consuelo Garcia said.
Art is also embedded in ING’s corporate DNA: its 550 offices worldwide feature 10,000 works of art enjoyed by its 52,000 employees. For more than 40 years, ING Bank has collected international and contemporary art by both established and up-and-coming artists in a great variety of disciplines, which is overseen by ING’s global Art Management department in cooperation with local curators in Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom.