You might think hiring a corporate art consultant is a luxury, but in 2025 top-performing workplaces know the importance of enriching the environment. Whether you’re seeking to attract tenants or entice employees back to the office, the right art executed properly can elevate your business or commercial setting. Enriched environments are places people want to spend time. That’s why business leaders team up with art consultants to curate and install the right art for their organizational needs.
The Role of Art in High-Performing Workplaces
How you feel in a workspace is directly tied to your performance. The office environment also influences your choice to take a job, return to the office, or become a client. Research shows that high-performing workplaces pay attention to the experience in addition to functionality. To make your workplace a space people enjoy, it’s important to enrich the environment. Art is a powerful way to do this. Science has found that art positively affects our well-being and increases our productivity. Details like light, color, texture, and sound influence us on a biological level. Understanding how this works is one of the special skills an art consultant brings to a project.
What Does an Art Consultant Do?
The best commercial art consultants combine art and project management expertise. This combination is critical! As art experts, they have a vast database of vetted artists and a nuanced understanding of the art market. Your art consultant must also be highly knowledgeable about interior design, architecture, and construction so they can work seamlessly with development teams to integrate art into any environment. In short, art consultants can lead you through the entire art acquisition process from selection to installation. They offer turnkey art services in the most cost-effective way possible. If you’re still unsure about hiring an art consultant, read on to learn five reasons innovative companies often work with them.
Lobby art at CHRISTUS Headquarters. Art Consulting by Art + Artisans.
1. High-Performing Workplaces Have More Art
A 2024 Gensler survey of 16,000 office workers around the world found that high-performing companies emphasize workplace experience. They contain “enrichment places” that provide workers access to arts, culture, entertainment or spirituality. In fact, high-performing workplaces provide twice as much access to arts and culture as low-performing workplaces. Many of these organizations choose to work with an art consultant. Art consultants can curate the best art for the space and the project. If you’re seeking to attract and retain top talent at your workplace, hiring an art consultant is key to creating an enriched environment for your workers.
A large-scale sculpture enhances the grounds of TIAA’s corporate center. Art Consulting by Art + Artisans.
2. Art evokes the top 3 workplace experiences people want.
The Gensler survey found that a great workplace has three main qualities. These are its beauty, a welcoming feel, and the ability to inspire new thinking. The right art executed properly can tick all these boxes, but you need a skilled art expert to pull it off. Art consultants specialize in curating and displaying art to fit the thematic and visual goals of your setting. Leaders of high-performing workplaces understand this and readily hire an art consultant to save themselves costly mistakes.
External mural at Curative headquarters. Art Consulting by Art + Artisans.
3. Art increases employee well-being and output.
The University of Exeter found that workers in places with art and plants were 32% more productive. They also had 45% better well-being and were 60% more engaged than workers in spaces without these features. Results were higher when workers participated in art selection. Many art consultants specialize in leading employee art selection committees. They make sure everyone’s opinions are heard and reflected in the final art package. Committee members feel invested and become ambassadors for the art and for the organization. If you appoint a selection committee for your art project, be sure to hire an art consultant who specializes in working with committees.
Office art at CHRISTUS corporate headquarters. Art consulting by Art + Artisans.
4. Art will outlast most things in their office.
If you think art is a frivolous investment, consider the following. Well-made artwork can last decades or even centuries. On the other hand, you’ll need to replace your office floor every 3-10 years. This is also true of your furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E). Art can appreciate in value and contribute meaningfully to the aesthetic and cultural atmosphere of your workplace for generations. Successful organizations know to include a separate line-item for art in their budgets. And they plan to work with an art consultant to get the most benefit from their investment.
Office art at the law offices of Thompson Coe. Art Consulting by Art + Artisans.
5. Expert guidance increases their chances of success.
When an organization attempts to manage their own corporate art projects, selection and installation mistakes are common. High-performing organizations know to hire an art consultant to avoid these issues. Art consultants are experts at guiding you to identify your organization’s unique art needs. They’ll help you establish goals for the artwork, finalize a budget, and set and keep deadlines. They’ll also help you identify selection criteria, including which art materials will work with your building’s specifications. They have the art connections to advise you about artist availability. And they’re immersed in the art market so they can guide you to make informed buying decisions.
A lobby sculpture at Sam Houston State University’s performing arts center. Art consulting by Art + Artisans.
Conclusion
How you feel in the workplace effects your productivity, creativity and happiness. Forward-thinking leaders understand that the right art executed properly can go a long way towards enhancing the environment. But if you’re installing art without considering organizational needs and the existing setting, you’ll fail in the execution. It’s for these reasons that high-performing workplaces include a separate line item in their budgets for art and plan to work with an art consultant. It’s an investment they can feel good about because well-made art can last decades or even centuries longer than any other item in the building. The art consultants at Art + Artisans can help you find the right art to enrich your workplace. Contact us to put our skills to work for your next project.
Learn More Reasons to Hire an Art Consultant
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- 6 Times Art Turned the Office Into a Destination [Art + Artisans]
[Art + Artisans] - How Workplace Art Improves Employee Productivity and Experience [Art + Artisans]
- 2024 Global Workplace Survey [Gensler Research Institute]
- 6 Times Art Turned the Office Into a Destination [Art + Artisans]
