
If Brands Are Today’s Patrons, Whose Culture Gets Funded?


A decade or so ago, brands shifted from increasing value of their products through utility, competitive comparison, and creative advertising to endowing products they made with aesthetic, sustainability credentials, a story of artisanship and provenance, and/or a community in order to give their products identity and singularity. (Virgil Abloh made
... See moreAna Andjelic • The Business of Aspiration: How Social, Cultural, and Environmental Capital Changes Brands
“Brands as Libraries” proposes that brands should think like cultural institutions in order to deepen their connection to the public – and create their own. Often lofty and frequently loved, these cultural institutions offer a new approach for how brands can interact with their audiences: by stepping back, providing space and facilitating the cultu... See more