Art permeates each and every part of our daily lives. It shapes the atmosphere of the city, not only in performance halls and art museums, but also in neighborhood alleys where festivals are held and playgrounds where children run around freely. However, in order for arts and culture to last, invisible support is necessary. Since its inception, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC) has gone beyond simple budget execution, playing a role in creating private funding sources so that citizens can encounter more art in their daily lives. And in 2025, SFAC launched a new partnership brand, “Seoul Art Partners” based on its 20-year history of sponsorship. This is an expression of its commitment to go beyond simple fundraising and create new connections between corporations, citizens, and the city of Seoul through the value of art.

When SFAC was established in 2004, the social awareness of donations and the arts and culture sector was minimal. Unlike welfare and relief activities in particular, arts sponsorship was regarded as an exclusive domain of the wealthy, or even as a non-urgent sector. In order to break this prejudice, SFAC started operating “Culture Network Division 2” immediately after its establishment, acquiring the status of a professional arts organization and laying the cornerstone to boost donations.

Initially, it sponsored festivals such as Hi Seoul Festival and Namsan Run (2004), and held civic participatory events to promote the joy of giving. It also secured credibility on an equal footing with the Korea Mecenat Association by operating the Seoul Cultural Support Awards’ “Honor Program,” which celebrates corporate sponsorship achievements, from 2005 to 2007. In particular, the “Cultural Playgrounds” program in 2005, which partnered with construction companies to transform apartment playgrounds into artistic spaces, is considered a representative example of integrating “cultural partnerships” into externally funded programs.

In 2012, SFAC established a “Cultural Partnership Team,” ushering in a full-fledged mecenat era. Through the Seoul Mecenat Support Program, which matches public funding with private donations, it provides artists with stable creative environments, while also providing corporations with effective social contribution opportunities.

In 2014, it launched the new online donation platform “ART SEOUL, GIVE TOGETHER,” lowering the threshold to individual donations. It has also spread the message that “donation is another form of art” through the “Mr. Givro” campaign, which featured a character created in collaboration with pop art artist ARTNOM. Moreover, through a civic participatory campaign “Wishful Firefly” in 2019, which partnered with corporations, as well as the “Art Seoul Bike” project in 2021, which featured 365 art bicycles, it has enhanced the value of art in citizens’ daily lives and connected corporate social contributions to the arts and culture. Ironically, SFAC’s external fundraising was the most active during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was the very result of concentrated interest from corporations and citizens, with the goal of helping the crisis-stricken art world. However, following the pandemic, economic downturn and changes in corporate management environments led to a decline in donations to the arts and culture sector, therefore necessitating a new strategy.

Corporate social contributions shifted from simple donations to focusing on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), which necessitated SFAC’s shift as well. In 2021, it held the arts and culture sector’s very first corporate briefing session, marking the start of elaborately matching corporate needs with artistic value. Rather than merely requesting sponsorship, it was about strengthening SFAC’s position as a “business partner” that proposes how art can create sustainable value for corporations. In the midst of this paradigm shift, SFAC aims to expand its partnership programs from corporate sponsorship to individual donations by launching “Seoul Art Partners” in 2025.

“Seoul Art Partners” goes beyond mere fundraising, as it builds a strategic partnership where corporations and SFAC work together to maximize the social value of art. SFAC understands corporate management mindsets and presents concrete synergies that art can create, resulting in a collaboration as partners that share each other’s visions. SFAC aims to harmonize public interest with professionalism, based on the solid trust and expertise it has built over the past 20 years. It serves as a hub for artistic and cultural networks, linking the creative autonomy of the private sector with the social responsibility of public institutions, while operating a transparent sponsorship system that anyone can trust and participate in.

Moreover, it fosters a sustainable ecosystem for our society through art. It aims for a circular structure where companies fulfill their social responsibilities while enhancing their brand image, artists gain creative momentum in a stable environment, and ultimately, citizens enjoy a rich cultural life.

“Seoul Art Partners” heralded new changes alongside its brand launch in 2025. It proposes customized artistic and cultural social contribution models corresponding to ESG indicators for partner corporations to discover large-scale partner programs, while fully revamping and operating the individual sponsorship system that has been suspended since the pandemic. Anyone can support artists’ dreams through a sponsorship platform that enables donations even in small amounts.

SFAC has nurtured numerous trees under the belief that “donation is another form of art.” Now, under the name of “Seoul Art Partners,” it aims to sow new seeds. Art has become an essential element in our lives, alongside food, clothing, and shelter. In order for the city of Seoul to become a warmer and more creative space, a partnership of all of us is necessary. Only when corporations’ strategic participation and citizens’ precious interests converge will Seoul’s artistic ecosystem be complete.