A bank and an art gallery met…

By City Of Good  /
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…and lots of goodness happened, with the two collaborating on various giving initiatives since they met on the Company of Good Fellowship, as Maybank and Goshen Art Gallery shared on Channel 8’s Hello Singapore segment.

A bank and an art gallery – as many would point out, they are as different as night and day, and it’d be difficult to think of situations where they would meet, let alone collaborate!

But our Company of Good Fellows – Head of Corporate Sustainability at Maybank Sharon Eng and Managing Director at Goshen Art Gallery Jack Yu – showed that the common drive of doing good can do wonders! On Channel 8’s Hello Singapore interview, they shared more about how they met and eventually decided to collaborate.

As part of the first intake of the Company of Good Fellowship, the two met and learnt alongside other business professionals from diverse industries and backgrounds about how organisations can drive change and do good better, beyond the ad-hoc activities many would normally associate with CSR and giving back.

At that point, Maybank was preparing for the launch of MSpace, the first branch in the Maybank network that combines a cafe with modern banking services, right in the heart of Orchard Road; Goshen Art Gallery was curating and supporting an art exhibition by Mr Sim Kah Lim, an artist who paints from his memory of Singapore over three decades ago, prior to being warded at Institute of Mental Health. Goshen Art Gallery’s plans would not only fulfill Mr Sim’s dreams of becoming an artist with his first solo exhibition, but hoped that proceeds from the sale of his paintings through the exhibition could support Mr Sim and his family.

Sharon had met Mr Sim before the Fellowship, and when the two spoke about Mr Sim, they both realised that Maybank could play a big role in supporting Mr Sim. With Goshen’s talent in curating art exhibitions, the two worked together in showcasing some of his works at the newly launched MSpace. With its central location and constant stream of customers coming in for their various banking needs, it would be a perfect place to show his works and possibly attract potential customers to support Mr Sim.

A bank and an art gallery met 02
Jack and Sharon at MSpace, with a painting of Mr Sim’s!The Fellowship provided a platform to facilitate conversations not just about insights of the giving landscape, but about how companies from various industries could leverage on their expertise and work together to do greater good. And as Sharon and Jack both reiterated in the interview, organisations now have to consider their purpose alongside their profits too – a timely call to action as we build our City of Good together.