Art consultancy ARTIQ has celebrated its 10th birthday at Burleigh Street Townhouse in London. The Townhouse – formerly the offices of Sherlock Holmes magazine publisher The Strand – was turned into an immersive art experience with the help of artists who work with the art curation and rental company.
Founded a decade ago by chief executive Patrick McCrae at the age of 21, the company curates and rents art collections and has become one of the biggest success stories of the London art market, connecting more than 300 artists with brands and businesses around the world, with a vision to create a sustainable art economy.
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ARTIQ has paid more than £5m to artists, makers and institutions since its launch, 75 percent of that in the last three years. Amongst the events ARTIQ hosts is the Graduate Art Prize, now in its seventh year, and Queer Frontiers, an exhibition of LGBT+ artists.
Reflection
Amongst the 250 guests at the party were artists and clients with whom ARTIQ works including Accor, CBRE, Ennismore, Howard Kennedy, Hyatt, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Investec, Linklaters, Mayer Brown, Savills and Taylor Wessing.
Reflecting on ARTIQ’s first decade in business, CEO Patrick McCrae told guests: “We support and work with more than 300 artists, renting and selling art. Individual artists have their studio rent covered by our payments and are free to work with whomever else they want. Culture and creativity allows ARTIQ to exist, but also adds over £100bn to the UK economy each year.”
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Initially run from Patrick’s bedroom in Cambridge, the business opened a London office in 2012 and now employs 28 staff. The first artist ARTQ worked with was Patrick Simkins, whose work parodies social media imagery, and who now exhibits worldwide. ARTIQ now works with more than 300 artists and has access to millions of pieces of art, thanks to partnerships with institutions, such as the V & A and the British Museum, and Patrick McCrae was voted Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2017 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
