Engagement as a tradition:

Art plays an important role at DZ BANK. Contemporary photography is at the heart of the DZ BANK art collection, which was started in 1993. Pieces of photographic art can be admired not only in our public exhibition spaces, but also everywhere else in our buildings – along the corridors and in the offices.

The notion of getting employees within the company to engage in a dialog with art was a key objective when the collection was first started. Having art displayed in the workplace creates a space that can inspire and facilitate communication. For example, employees can to vote for which artworks they want to be displayed on their floors.

DZ BANK supports the exploration of societal themes in art and culture, viewing art as a living element of its corporate culture. The bank’s art collection is one of the biggest collections of its kind, with nearly 10,000 works of art by more than 950 international artists. It has been managed by the DZ BANK Art Foundation since 2021. The foundation’s remit is to support contemporary artists, exhibit the DZ BANK art collection, and invite the public to engage with the collection’s content through a wide-ranging learning program.

For many years, we have had also a particularly close collaborative relationship with Frankfurt’s Städel Museum.

In 2018, to mark the 25th anniversary of the DZ BANK art collection, we mounted three exhibitions in our 300m² ART FOYER exhibition space, which is open to the public. Each of the exhibition openings in 2019 was attended by around 200 people and the exhibitions were accompanied by workshops for children and school groups, and more than 120 guided tours for all age groups. All in all, our collection attracted around 4,650 visitors in 2019.