The Atlanta art world’s favorite corporate sponsor, MailChimp, has been selected as the 2017 Nexus Award recipient by Atlanta Contemporary. It’s the first time the award has gone to a corporate entity.
The award is given to “individuals, groups, or organizations that have made significant contributions to the contemporary arts landscape and celebrates local leaders who are instrumental in making Atlanta an exceptionally vibrant arts community.”
MailChimp’s community giving program has supported numerous arts organization, including BURNAWAY, Atlanta Contemporary, Dashboard, gloATL, Living Walls and more. Their loopy text logo or mascot Freddie are prevalent at arts events, fundraisers, and elsewhere. The email marketing service was founded in 2001 and now boasts over 600 employees at their Ponce City Market headquarters.
“MailChimp supports artists, people, and organizations not only through their funding but also in their pledge to invest in those who promote the arts as a means of expression, innovation, or social change” says Veronica Kessenich, executive director of Atlanta Contemporary. “The 2017 Nexus Award highlights MailChimp’s promise to add value to Atlanta strategically. By actively integrating contemporary art – both on the local and national level – into their company culture, MailChimp also established a new philanthropic benchmark amongst their peers in the corporate community.”
Lain Shakespeare, Corporate Citizenship Director at MailChimp, says: “Arts organizations make an outsize impact on Atlanta’s culture and economy. We’re committed to adding thoughtful, strategic value to our hometown through our work at MailChimp, and we’re thankful to have the opportunity to invest in their success and share in the benefits of their creativity.”
Randy Gue, chair of the Board of Directors at Atlanta Contemporary, “ MailChimp has distinguished itself with its support of arts organizations and artists and its commitment to make Atlanta weirder. By awarding MailChimp the 2017 Nexus Award, Atlanta Contemporary recognizes the range of voices necessary to create a vibrant arts community.”
The public recognition of the 2017 Nexus Award will be held on Saturday, August 26 in conjunction with the Contemporary’s ART PARTY fundraiser.
Previous Nexus winners include artists Larry Walker and Lucinda Bunnen, High Museum curator Michael Rooks, Whitespace gallery owner Susan Bridges, Community Foundation director Lisa Cremin, Flux Projects’s founder Louis Corrigan, Spelman Museum director Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, and art critic Jerry Cullum.
