The ROI of Corporate Art

When organizations talk about investment in the workplace, art is often overlooked. It isn’t always the first line item that comes to mind, with one question always coming up: how do we measure the return on investment?

Art may not deliver the ROI the same way a new software platform or marketing campaign does but its impact is just as real. You see it in the way clients respond, the way spaces are used and the way employees feel. Increasingly, companies are realizing that the art on their walls is more than just decorative.

Here are three ways to look at the return on investing in curated art, with examples from our recent projects.

Yeo Siak Goon’s ‘Garden City of Glory’ at DBS Private Bank reception area

Speaking to clients without saying a word

First impressions matter; and art can play a powerful role in shaping them. A concept called art infusion shows that the presence of art can make people perceive a brand as more creative, credible and inclusive. That thinking guided our work with DBS Private Bank, Singapore. In its reception area, Fiidaa Art was asked to curate a collection that would reflect the diversity of its international clientele. The result was a collection spanning Singapore, Indonesia, India and China. This was a strategic move that communicated the brand’s global and contemporary outlook and its rootedness in Asian heritage. 

Malaysian-born Singapore artist Yeo Siak Goon brought history and nature together in Garden City of Glory, a canvas that layers colonial landmarks with personal memories of Singapore’s evolving identity. This piece sat across a collection of three Asian artworks.

Indonesian textile artist John Martono contributed a silk work, The Journey of Happiness (left image, above), hand-stitched with flowing patterns that capture freedom of imagination and emotional depth. Indian artist Tarini Ahuja drew on the traditions of block printing in her piece Chhipa (centre image, above), embracing imperfection and meditative rhythm as a metaphor for reflection. Finally award-winning Chinese-born, Singapore-based artist Fan Shao Hua offered Rising (right image, above), a modern abstraction of bamboo symbolizing prosperity and resilience.

Together, these works spoke to DBS’s values: innovation, inclusivity and a distinctly Asian perspective with global resonance.

Vintage illustrations featuring Vietnamese men and women line the Grand Staircase at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel

Why corridors deserve curation too

At The Capitol Kempinski Hotel in Singapore and Sofitel Legend Metropole in Vietnam, part of our curation focused on transitional spaces - staircases, lift lobbies, corridors and alcoves. These are not the showpiece areas of a property, but they are the ones most frequently walked through by guests.

Rather than leaving them bare, we placed works that gave guests a reason to look up, slow down and engage. A corridor that once felt like a passage now became an experience. Research supports this approach: art in shared environments is linked to reduced stress (78%), increased creativity (64%) and greater engagement (77%). For hospitality brands, that translates directly into ROI as guests who feel more connected, linger longer and carry away a stronger memory of their stay.

Another example is this display of ceramics by Jessie Lim and framed linen works by Eric Chan seen above in the Capitol Kempinski Hotel in Singapore.

Lim’s sculptural ceramic pieces, with their varied forms and textures, animate the alcove along a lounge corridor. Nearby, Chan’s Ethereal Pairing balances linen dye with gold leaf, a symbolic interplay of air, water, earth and metal. They create a point of focus within a transitional zone, deepening the hotel’s atmosphere of refinement.

When art makes room for pause

All research point to measurable outcomes that affect retention, culture and performance. Which is why companies are now viewing art not as an expense, but as assets.

Artwork at a lounge in a corporate office in Singapore.

Conceived as a space for pause and connection, this lounge space, aptly named, The Emerald Room needed an anchor that would soften the dark leather chairs, wood panelling and jewel-toned palette. Fiidaa Art commissioned this textured work by Marta Valenzuala. Her piece, placed on the central wall, introduced a layered warmth that subtly shifted the energy of the room.

Art as a measurable investment

The ROI of art rarely shows up as a neat line item. It’s felt in the way employees choose to gather in a lounge, in the impression a client carries after a meeting and in the moments a visitor pauses to notice a detail in a corridor. These are markers of culture, reputation and experience.

At Fiidaa Art, we believe every artwork is an investment in culture, reputation and experience - and we help organizations curate collections that deliver lasting returns.