Company lets its employees get a handle on modern art
Nick Ahad
Arts reporter

IT'S a cold Tuesday mid-afternoon and the heating is turned up full in the office. You need an energy boost and some inspiration, so you take a trip to the vending machine where you can buy coffee, a chocolate bar... or a work of art.
Staff at PR company Brahm are leading the way in desktop decor with the chance to buy themselves a piece of contemporary art at the office.
The fIrm, based in is the first, commercial venue in the UK to install an art vending machine. For £2 staff get a piece of art, which could be a photo-story flip-book, textiles, or a sketch, dispensed in a small cardboard container.
Recently acquired pieces which have become Brahm favorites are a paint-dipped toy car and a bag designed to hold your last breath.
The vending machine is part of a project by arts group Hayvend, selling a range of artists' work through a network of vending machines across the UK.
Other host sites include the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, and the Centre for Contemporary Art at the Baltic in Newcastle.
John Hayward, founder of Hayvend said: "It's great to see a forward-thinking company like Brahm seeing the benefits of this new opportunity, and leading the way in encouraging interaction with art in the workplace."
Brahm is a supporter of the arts in Leeds, with its reception area a gallery space where local artists can exhibit their work.
Julie Hanson, joint managing director at Brahm said, "It's fantastic that everyone can have instant access to art and creative inspiration. At Brahm we like to encourage as many creative influences from as many sources as possible to feed our imaginations."