60 I SOCIETE GENERALE 2013-2014 Arts patronage: youth outreach In Societe Generale's office towers in La Défense, Paris, visitors often come across children with guidebooks absorbed in contemplating the artworks installed in the halls and common areas. Several times a week, the bank invites them on "discovery trails" to browse its Collection of Contemporary Art. Based on the same principle, it asked students at Sciences Po, the Paris social sciences university, to create an educational tour for 18-to-25-year-olds. Leaving the Collection's 350 artworks and 700 lithographs to gather dust in storage is not an option. They are all displayed in the Group's premises and are part of the everyday life of its employees. But the aim is also to make new connections. In this spirit, independent curators are invited to select artworks within the Collection and come up with new ways to display them. Likewise, as part of a partnership with the Université Paris Panthéon Sorbonne, students working towards a Masters degree in curatorial studies hold guided tours of the Collection. Building bridges with the audiences and talents of tomorrow: Societe Generale takes the same approach to the field of classical music, the second pillar of its arts patronage policy. In 2013, the bank awarded scholarships to 45 students of the national conservatories of Paris and Lyon – with more than 1,000 students supported since 1988. To encourage the development of young artists' careers, the bank launched its first instrument-lending competition: six young award-winning violinists were given high-quality contemporary violins ordered from the best-known European luthiers, for a period of three years. A second edition of the competition, in which violas and cellos will be loaned out, will be held in 2015. At the same time, Societe Generale makes an effort to bring classical music to young audiences by supporting the creation of school orchestras. For three years, the Group has also worked in partnership with La Cité de la Musique in serving the communitybased DEMOS orchestras, which comprise 800 children from neighbourhoods where classical music had been absent, who receive intensive training together from professional musicians. It is an initiative that combines excellence and sharing. AN EXTRAORDINARY CONCERT Classical music also creates bonds between the Group's employees. 200 of them, all amateur musicians and choir singers, joined the musicians of the Les Siècles orchestra – backed by Societe Generale – for a one-of-akind concert in Salle Pleyel, Paris, on 9 June 2013. It was a perfect way to hit the high notes of team spirit.
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