What Art Partner does

Art Partner is a Netherlands-based art consulting firm founded in 2008 that facilitates organizational change by deploying professional artists into corporate, healthcare, education, and government settings. The firm operates as a boutique consultancy with a core team of two partners (Sandra Boer and Jetske Freeve) and a curated network of more than 40 creative professionals spanning theater, visual arts, dance, film, music, philosophy, and anthropology. Its core intellectual property is the Creative Catalyst Cycle, a six-step proprietary methodology that guides clients from problem definition through qualitative artistic research, envisioning, in-motion interventions, outcome harvesting, and reflection. The firm has codified this into a portfolio of service offerings including the 'Into the Light' storytelling training program, 'Kijk in de Spiegel' (Artist in Residence for leadership teams), 'Grensverkenningen' (boundary exploration on harassment), 'Ongehoorde Stemmen' (inclusion and equity), 'Moedige Gesprekken' (courageous conversations), 'Op het Bord van de Bestuurder' (board-level ethics), and 'Van Hoofd naar Hart' (vision implementation).

Name

Art Partner

Legal name

Art Partner

Website

https://art-partner.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Art Partner is a Dutch art consulting firm founded in 2008 that uses professional artists and its proprietary Creative Catalyst Cycle to drive organizational change for enterprise clients in healthcare, education, finance, and government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Haarlem

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Artistic Intervention Engagements: Art Partner generates revenue through commissioned artistic interventions for organizational clients. These are project-based consulting engagements where the company is hired by organizational leaders to address change challenges through artistic methods. Engagements are customized and follow the Creative Catalyst Cycle methodology. The company collaborates with a network of over 40 artists, and project teams are assembled per engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Art Partner is a consulting firm that facilitates organizational change by deploying professional artists from its network of 40+ creative thinkers into enterprise and institutional contexts. The firm delivers commissioned artistic interventions structured around its proprietary six-step Creative Catalyst Cycle methodology, including storytelling training, leadership reflection programs, diversity and inclusion interventions, and experiential education modules. Engagements are custom-designed for each client and combine artistic research, theatrical and visual methods, and facilitation to surface unspoken organizational issues and drive lasting behavioral change.

Product overview

Art Partner is a consultancy firm founded in 2008 that facilitates organizational change through artistic interventions. Rather than a traditional software product, the company offers a portfolio of service offerings and methodologies built around their Creative Catalyst Cycle—a six-step model for driving lasting change. The core products include storytelling training programs (Into the Light), art-based workshops, and themed service offerings addressing leadership, inclusion, difficult conversations, and experiential learning. Programs are developed in collaboration with a network of over 40 artists including theatermakers, visual artists, dancers, filmmakers, musicians, philosophers, and anthropologists, tailored to each client's specific organizational challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Into the Light: Storytelling training program combining theater methodologies, NLP, and story coaching for personal and professional development.

Products and services

• Creative Catalyst Cycle A six-step proprietary methodology guiding organizational change engagements through phases of need assessment, qualitative artistic research (Uncover), envisioning, intervention (In Motion), outcome harvesting, and reflection. Used as the central framework for all Art Partner client engagements.
• Into the Light: The Science & Art of Storytelling A six-week storytelling training combining theatrical methodologies, NLP techniques, and narrative conventions for personal and professional development. Delivered as four masterclasses plus individual story coaching in a theater setting, targeting professionals who need to develop persuasive storytelling and presentation capability.
• Art Based Workshops A portfolio of workshop offerings including Storytelling, Beeldboost, Change the World in One Hour, Pitch Factory, Visual Thinking Strategies, and Grensverkenningen, using artistic methodologies adapted for organizational contexts.
• Op het Bord van de Bestuurder Service offering that addresses complex organizational questions around ethics and transformation using the Creative Catalyst Cycle methodology, facilitating change through artistic research and creative processes for executives.
• Grensverkenningen Designed sessions using theatrical elements to explore sexual harassment and boundary-crossing behavior in organizations, helping colleagues discuss safety culture through experiential dialogue.
• Kijk in de Spiegel An Artist in Residence-style program pairing artists with leadership teams to observe, question, and artistically reflect on team dynamics and actions, fostering new insights and awareness for executive groups.
• Ongehoorde Stemmen Programs addressing inclusion, inequality, discrimination, racism, and sexual harassment by giving voice to underrepresented groups through artistic interventions.
• Van Hoofd naar Hart Custom programs developed with artists to bring organizational vision to life, moving beyond presentations to engage employees and create lasting embrace of strategic direction.
• Moedige Gesprekken Facilitation of courageous conversations between colleagues and across organizations using artistic methods to enable authentic dialogue on sensitive topics.
• Vanuit Ervaring Leren Custom educational programs and in-company training based on discovery, experience, and reflection rather than traditional lecture-based learning, targeting the heart rather than the head.
• sTATTOO-studio An installation concept where students and staff sit in a tattoo chair to have confidential conversations with artists about social safety, with personal artworks created during the dialogue.
• Kruisbestuivers (Bouwen voor Biodiversiteit) A guide developed with artists to help construction industry stakeholders envision nature-inclusive building, using creative methods to spark imagination and lasting change in biodiversity-focused construction projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• 700+ employees trained in Storytelling at KPMG over 10+ years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• De Haagse Hogeschool (The Hague University of Applied Sciences)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-researcher in the SUSTAIN research program 'making space for art in transitions that matter.' The research studied the role of 'Spacemakers' (including Art Partner) and produced 5 publications. Also involved Jacco van Uden as Lector Change Management at the institution.
• Avans HogeschoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-researcher in the SUSTAIN research program alongside De Haagse Hogeschool, studying the role of Spacemakers in transitions and producing 5 publications on Hulp, Gift, Belofte, Roeping, and Spanning.
• Waag Future Lab / Akademie van Kunsten / KNAW / Federatie Creatieve Industrie / Kunsten '92minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-contributors to the August 2023 position paper 'Zet creativiteit in voor de toekomst van Nederland' (Use creativity for the future of the Netherlands), advocating for the role of creativity in Dutch societal challenges.
• Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Art Partner contributed to an NDPC policy brief on 'Arts & Design-Based Collaboration and Cross-Innovation' by Johanna Kouzmine-Karavaïeff, published September 2023.
• ECIO (Expertisecentrum voor Inclusief Onderwijs)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnered with Inholland and Art Partner on the 'De normaalste zaak van de wereld' (The Most Normal Thing in the World) initiative on inclusive education. ECIO supported the development of a policy scan for students with support needs.
• Creamer & SundtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as part of Art Partner's international network. Based in England. Nature of partnership not specified beyond network membership.
• Conexiones ImprobablesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as part of Art Partner's international network. Based in Spain. Nature of partnership not specified beyond network membership.
• EngageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as part of Art Partner's international network. Based in Kenya. Nature of partnership not specified beyond network membership.
• Ifa LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as part of Art Partner's international network. Based in Belgium. Nature of partnership not specified beyond network membership.
• The Artist PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as part of Art Partner's international network. Based in Italy. Nature of partnership not specified beyond network membership.
• VolkerWessels / KWS Infra / PrimumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction partners in the 'Kruisbestuivers' (Cross-pollinators) biodiversity in construction project, working with Art Partner to bring imagination to nature-inclusive building in South Holland province.
• Naturalis Biodiversity CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Kruisbestuivers' biodiversity project, contributing ecological expertise to the collaboration between construction professionals, artists, and ecologists.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Huge: Huge is a global design and technology agency focused on digital products, services, and experiences. It overlaps with Art Partner's experience-design orientation, but its scale and technology-led delivery differ materially.
• Designit: Designit is a global design consultancy working across brand, customer experience, and innovation. It is relevant to Art Partner's creative-strategy and experiential-learning positioning, though its delivery is more conventional and less arts-based.
• BTS: BTS is a global consulting firm focused on strategy implementation, leadership, and organizational change. It shares Art Partner's enterprise change and leadership focus, while its methodology and scale are broader and more conventional.
• Development Dimensions International (DDI): DDI is a global leadership development consultancy offering behavior-based training, assessment, and coaching to organizations. It is comparable on leadership and employee development and serves similar enterprise buyers, but it does not deploy professional artists for organizational change.
• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation consultancy that applies human-centered creative methods to organizational and product challenges. It is comparable in using creative problem-solving to help large organizations change, although its scale and design/technology orientation are broader than Art Partner's artist-led interventions.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting and leadership advisory firm. It is a broad incumbent reference for Art Partner's work with executives, leadership teams, and culture change, although it does not specialize in artistic interventions.
• Frog: Frog is a global design and innovation consultancy known for experience, product, and service design. Its use of creative methods for organizational innovation overlaps with Art Partner's change work, but Frog is not an artist network or a small bespoke intervention practice.

Others

• MADE THOUGHT: MADE THOUGHT is a creative strategy and design consultancy that translates brand and organizational narratives into experiences. It is relevant to Art Partner's creative strategy and storytelling, while its work is more design- and commerce-oriented.
• KesselsKramer: KesselsKramer is an independent creative agency using culture, storytelling, and unconventional creative work for organizations. It is comparable to Art Partner's creative-strategy and storytelling capabilities, but it serves commercial communications and brand needs more directly.
• Culture Amp: Culture Amp is an employee-experience and culture software platform with change and engagement capabilities. It is an adjacent comparator for Art Partner's organizational-culture and employee-development use cases, but it is a productized software platform rather than bespoke artist-led consulting.

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/artpartner

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Art Partner