Contemporary Art, Rugby and Classical Music
Contemporary Art – Supporting Emerging Artists
Societe Generale Group has been supporting artistic creation for over 25 years. Our wide and varied Art Collection consists of photographs, paintings, sculptures, and lithographs from young emerging talents to renowned artists. A large number of pieces are exhibited in Societe Generale’s headquarters in Paris, France, with visits organised for cultural organisations to enable children, students, staff, partners and clients as well as the general public to discover the works. Take a tour in the virtual collection here.
In the UK, our One Bank Street office displays our first ever UK Art Collection. Attuned to a unique curatorial brief to showcase female artists either working or practising in the UK, the collection aims to solidify our stance on gender balance and equality for women. Over 30 works are showcased on the walls from artists such as Sarah Pickstone with her piece The Rose (2017) - adajcent, Clare Price, Emily Allchurch, Alexis Teplin, Sarah Jones, Cornelia Parker, Renee So, Terry Frost, Yves Tangay and Phoebe Unwin.
The collection starts in the centre of our main reception where stands a 4.5m piece,
The Stranger (2020) - adjacent, a bronze render of a lightning strike, created by Fabio Dartizio. Commissioned by a panel that included art specialists Victoria Bostrom (V&A), Sam Wilkinson (UCL) and George Vasey (Wellcome Collection), the sculpture was awarded after we had asked four universities to nominate recently graduated, Master’s level artists, who were paid to develop concept proposals for the prominent artwork. The collection is open to visitors, staff and clients of the bank.
Beyond its walls, Societe Generale has been a long-standing corporate partner of the Victoria & Albert Museum which has seen the bank act as main sponsor for two flagship exhibitions: ‘Botticelli Reimagined’ (2016) and ‘Opera: Passion, Power and Politics’ (2017-2018).
Rugby – A Team Spirit Story
Our support for rugby goes back several decades, over 30 years in fact. Since then, the Group has continuously reiterated its commitment and passion for the sport through building initiatives to support rugby at all levels, men’s and women’s teams, from rugby union to rugby sevens.
Societe Generale has been a Worldwide Partner of the Rugby World Cup since 2007 and is proud to be continuing to support this world renown event for the 2023 World Cup in Paris.
Rugby remains the sport at heart for the company and for our employees, embodying two of our core values - team spirit and commitment. For more information on our Societe Generale’s partnership with rugby, click here.
Classical Music – Believing In Everyone’s Potential
Societe Generale Group’s commitment to classical music goes back to the late 80’s and has been centred around three core pillars: support to young musicians, support to orchestras and structures promoting music as well as raising awareness among new audiences.
Last year, Societe Generale Group combined its solidarity and music sponsorship programmes under a single corporate foundation: Societe Generale The Future is You Foundation. Its mission is to step up its initiatives and resources aimed in particular at helping young people build their future. It will focus on supporting education projects (particularly programmes aimed at providing education through music and sport), guide young people as they take their first steps towards employment and share and promote classical music in France. Visit the foundation’s website here to read more about its exciting projects.
In the UK, Societe Generale has partnered with the Royal Albert Hall and the Glyndebourne Opera Festival as a Corporate Member.