Business art
A book that has recently been published narrates how the artistic process resembles the production process and how their combination can lead to innovation
Artistic process and production process are similar paths. Although they appear very distant from one another. They are both the expression of a particular culture. They both have a method through which they take shape and develop. When the first process – i.e. the artistic process –, actually becomes one with the second – the production process –, this can result in highly innovative forms of business that go beyond the canons of innovation tied solely to new technologies. This is the case of Elica – a company in Fabriano which specialises in the production of hoods – and of the Fondazione Ermanno Casoli, a foundation named after its founder and which has incorporated the use of contemporary art as an instrument capable of generating innovation in production organisations.Their stories are told in “Innovare l’impresa con l’arte. Il metodo della Fondazione Ermanno Casoli” (Innovating business with art. The Fondazione Ermanno Casoli method) written by Chiara Paolino, Marcello Smarrelli and Deborah Carè.
The book tries to provide an answer to a single question: how can contemporary art generate innovation in business? The answer is given through the tale of the activities of the Fondazione Ermanno Casoli (FEC) with artists, trainers and companies. This is an activity which over the years has developed a work method that combines artists and workers, art professionals and business professionals.
The book then investigates in-depth topics such as the process of learning through art, product and process innovation, and also the situations of interaction between art and management, the creation of opportunities for sharing experiences and information through interventions of art and the relationships between the presence of art in a company and the latter’s competitive edge.
The themes that emerge from the book are therefore the relationship between art and opportunities for renewal of both individual identity and professional identity within organisations, the change in learning processes aimed at innovation, and also the contribution of art in defining a new perspective of company performance.
In other words, Paolino, Smarrelli and Carè look at contemporary art as a key through which it is possible to focus business activities more on the person, on the way they work and rethink their actions and related results. For each topic, the book presents a detailed description of the artistic interventions organised by the Foundation in companies, the managerial implications for effective planning of the same and the results that have been obtained, using a language addressed both to the world of art and to the corporate world.
The beautiful introduction sets the meaning and the tone of the entire book and it reads: “Working with art (…) is a structured process, which implies a dialogue between the artist and the company, capable of bringing into the company a different way of seeing, feeling and operating, one that is perhaps a little destabilising, yet one which all employees are able to reconstruct the sense of”.
Innovare l’impresa con l’arte. Il metodo della Fondazione Ermanno Casoli (Innovating business with art. The Fondazione Ermanno Casoli method)
Chiara Paolino , Marcello Smarrelli , Deborah Carè
EGEA, 2018


A book that has recently been published narrates how the artistic process resembles the production process and how their combination can lead to innovation
Artistic process and production process are similar paths. Although they appear very distant from one another. They are both the expression of a particular culture. They both have a method through which they take shape and develop. When the first process – i.e. the artistic process –, actually becomes one with the second – the production process –, this can result in highly innovative forms of business that go beyond the canons of innovation tied solely to new technologies. This is the case of Elica – a company in Fabriano which specialises in the production of hoods – and of the Fondazione Ermanno Casoli, a foundation named after its founder and which has incorporated the use of contemporary art as an instrument capable of generating innovation in production organisations.Their stories are told in “Innovare l’impresa con l’arte. Il metodo della Fondazione Ermanno Casoli” (Innovating business with art. The Fondazione Ermanno Casoli method) written by Chiara Paolino, Marcello Smarrelli and Deborah Carè.
The book tries to provide an answer to a single question: how can contemporary art generate innovation in business? The answer is given through the tale of the activities of the Fondazione Ermanno Casoli (FEC) with artists, trainers and companies. This is an activity which over the years has developed a work method that combines artists and workers, art professionals and business professionals.
The book then investigates in-depth topics such as the process of learning through art, product and process innovation, and also the situations of interaction between art and management, the creation of opportunities for sharing experiences and information through interventions of art and the relationships between the presence of art in a company and the latter’s competitive edge.
The themes that emerge from the book are therefore the relationship between art and opportunities for renewal of both individual identity and professional identity within organisations, the change in learning processes aimed at innovation, and also the contribution of art in defining a new perspective of company performance.
In other words, Paolino, Smarrelli and Carè look at contemporary art as a key through which it is possible to focus business activities more on the person, on the way they work and rethink their actions and related results. For each topic, the book presents a detailed description of the artistic interventions organised by the Foundation in companies, the managerial implications for effective planning of the same and the results that have been obtained, using a language addressed both to the world of art and to the corporate world.
The beautiful introduction sets the meaning and the tone of the entire book and it reads: “Working with art (…) is a structured process, which implies a dialogue between the artist and the company, capable of bringing into the company a different way of seeing, feeling and operating, one that is perhaps a little destabilising, yet one which all employees are able to reconstruct the sense of”.
Innovare l’impresa con l’arte. Il metodo della Fondazione Ermanno Casoli (Innovating business with art. The Fondazione Ermanno Casoli method)
Chiara Paolino , Marcello Smarrelli , Deborah Carè
EGEA, 2018