Banks' support for the arts fits with their advice to high net worth individuals wanting to invest in and collect fine art.

Kleinwort Hambros, the UK private bank, has granted its inaugural prize for an emerging artist to Evan Ifekoya, who is based in London. The award is an example of wealth management firms' support for the arts as part of their marketing and brand development.

The Kleinwort Hambros Emerging Artist Prize was launched last year and is aimed at artists aged up to 35 who made an original artistic contribution in one or more of the following fields: painting, photography, sculpture, digital, installation art, drawing and video.  

Five finalists, who were nominated by independent experts from the UK contemporary art scene, were selected for their individual art projects and contribution to the emerging art scene. These included Larry Achiampong, Rebecca Ackroyd, Evan Ifekoya, Liam Crichton and Freya Dooley. London-based Evan Ifekoya was chosen as the winner in recognition of the “creative originality and urgency of her artistic output, exploring issues of gender, community and identity through complex art installations, performance, sound and video work”, the bank said. 

Ifekoya was announced at a gala dinner last week, having been chosen by a jury comprising Hans-Ulrich Obrist, director of the Serpentine Gallery, Clare Lilley, director of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Andrew Nairne, director of Kettle’s Yard at the University of Cambridge, Fiona Bradley, director of the Fruitmarket Gallery and Aurelie Deplus, head of Contemporary Art Sponsorship at Societe Generale.

A number of private banks support fine art. Deutsche Bank recently widened its backing of the Frieze arts events, having held that position for more than 15 years. A number of wealth management players have supported arts exhibitions, such as Credit Suisse, Societe Generale and BNY Mellon, while UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is lead partner with the Art Basel programme of art exhibitions and fairs. This support dovetails with banks advising on art to high net worth individuals wanting to invest in and collect fine art.