BMW and Independent Collectors launch online presence to accompany the “BMW Art Guide”. New interactive blog on art and collecting

Munich. In cooperation with Independent Collectors, BMW is initiating a blog on “BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors”, providing readers with comprehensive background information on the publication about international accessible private contemporary art collections worldwide. Since first being presented to the public at last year’s Art Basel, the pocket-format reference book has met with great interest worldwide. Thanks to the blog, an interactive site is being created that provides information about the publication and art collecting in general.

The contents of the book are accompanied by the newly initiated blog and supplemented by detailed reports on individual private collections, exciting insights into art collecting as well as interviews with well-known collectors. The interactive blog not only brings the collection portraits from the “BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors” closer to an internet-affine public, but also establishes a digital site for all relevant additional information that can be accessed at any time. Written in a journalistic manner, the blog combines text and image posts + videos with background reports on the origin of the publication as well as current recommendations on art. The blog can be viewed as from today on: www.bmw-art-guide.com.

The “BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors” is the first joint publication from the partnership between BMW and Independent Collectors, installed in 2009. A comparable compilation of international private collections, including some that are opening their doors for art fans and connoisseurs for the very first time, has never existed before – neither in digital form nor in book format. A new edition complemented by numerous additional collections will be published on 13 September 2013. 218 concise collection portraits will take readers on a journey to more than 30 countries, often to regions far away from the usual.  

In addition to the online network Independent Collectors, BMW supports numerous art platforms, including the Art Basel exhibitions in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong, the Frieze Art Fair in London and New York, the Art Toronto, the Art Amsterdam, the TEFAF Maastricht, the Paris Photo in Paris and L.A., the abc art contemporary berlin as well as the Gallery Weekend in Berlin. Furthermore, the BMW Group maintains sustainable collaborations with cultural institutions and artists around the globe, including a global partnership with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the National Gallery Prize for Young Art as well as the Young Curators’ Workshop of the Berlin Biennale.

About BMW’s Cultural Commitment

For more than 40 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on modern and contemporary art, jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Zubin Metha, Daniel Barenboim and Anna Netrebko have co-operated with BMW. The company has also commissioned famous architects such as Karl Schwanzer, Zaha Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au to design important corporate buildings and plants. In 2011, the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a global initiative of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the Guggenheim Museum and the BMW Group celebrated its world premiere in New York. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all the cultural activities it is involved in for granted – as this is just as essential for groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview

 The BMW Group

The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2012, the BMW Group sold about 1.85 million cars and more than 117,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2012 was euro 7.82 billion on revenues amounting to euro 76.85 billion. At 31 December 2012, the BMW Group had a workforce of 105,876 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last eight years.

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For further questions please contact:

Almut Stollberg

BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs

Spokesperson Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49 89-382-38770, Fax: +49 89-382-24418