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2021-03-31-accounts

Company number 4246467 Charity number 1089222

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Report and Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Breckman & Company Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants 49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Contents

Page
Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 - 10
Independent Examiner's Report 11
Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) 12 - 15
Balance Sheet 16
Notes to the Financial Statements 17 - 24

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Reference and Administrative Details

Constitution

The charitable company is a private company limited by guarantee registered in EW - England and Wales, company number 4246467, incorporated under the Companies Act and its governing document is its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company is a registered charity, number 1089222.

Directors and trustees

The directors of the charitable company (Dash Arts Limited) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees.

The trustees meet quarterly during the year to consider policy, review activities and objectives. Trustees are appointed by the existing trustees and in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees are ongoing and incorporated indirectly into the regular trustees meetings.

The trustees during the year and since the year end, were :

Rachael Dennis resigned 8 December 2020 Joachim Fleury (Chair) Roy Luxford resigned 7 October 2020 Olivia Scanlon appointed 29 September 2020 Jerry Wattenberg appointed 1 June 2020 Katherine Zeserson Magdalena Ziarko

Secretary

Josephine Burton

Chief executive/Artistic director

Josephine Burton

Independent Examiners

Breckman & Company Ltd, Chartered Certified Accountants, 49 South Molton Street, London W1K 5LH.

Bankers

National Westminster Bank Plc, PO Box No.549, 1-2 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1JH.

Registered office and operation address

Unit 22, Toynbee Studios, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6AB.

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Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a Directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The reference and administrative information on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Objectives and Activities:

In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public Benefit: Running a Charity (PB2).

The objects of the Charity are the advancement of education in contemporary culture and of cross-cultural dialogue and understanding by means of the encouragement of the arts, including (but not limited to) the provision of performances and events of multi-ethnic or international theatre, music, dance and art.

The Company has the overall aim of broadening horizons and encouraging a greater understanding of cultural diversity through the arts. The Company aims to:

It articulates is core values as:

Creative: We make great and innovative international work.

Curious : We ask questions, listen to answers and always try to be open to new ideas. We seek to challenge our own and our audiences expectations and assumptions of stereotypes and simple answers. Boundary-Crossing We blur the boundaries between art forms, languages, nations and cultures. engaged: We investigate our place in the world, searching for an understanding of current issues and ideas, and conveying this understanding in artistic ways.

Collaborative: We create and support nurturing communities of artists, thinkers, inter-generational and diverse audiences and our own colleagues.

The main activities undertaken by Dash Arts Ltd in relation to these aims include:

Programming:

The year 2020-2021 has been a year of reflection, and despite hardship and cancelled events, it’s also been a year of restructuring and growth, and new creative opportunities. Most crucially, in order to stay connected to our audiences, and fuel our creative curiosity and drive, we pivoted to turn our Dash Cafés into podcasts. We also focused our efforts to develop three major productions, holding several R&Ds over Zoom or in person, raising substantial funds for all three, and our team working from homes scattered across the UK and abroad.

Over the course of the year, both from brand new material music and interviews as well as previously recorded Cafés, we created 18 episodes for our new strand of work, the Dash Arts Podcast , taking on big issues

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Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

through an artistic lens. Hosted by Josephine Burton, conversations with artists, filmmakers, musicians, theatre makers and more explored the challenges facing society today, delving into movements, legacies and ideas that continue to shape the cultural landscape worldwide. We also organised a Digital Café in collaboration with The Estonian Embassy in London celebrating Arvo Pärt’s 85th birthday and were overwhelmed and delighted to be joined by almost 300 screens from 25 countries.

Production Development:

With the year in and out of restrictions, we were able to work on our new Dash Productions in intense spurts of R&D at times via Zoom, and occasionally with actors and creatives in the room.

Josephine Burton continued to develop Out of Tune, now renamed Dido’s Bar , planned for 2022, The Great Middlemarch Mystery , planned for 2022 in Coventry, and Songs for Babyn Yar , scheduled for November 2021 and our first major production with audiences attending both in person and digitally since Covid closed down live events.

Created by Josephine Burton together with Kurdish Iranian composer Marouf Majidi, writer Hattie Naylor, and a cohort of generous actor-musicians, Dido's Bar will be a new production of musical theatre, a contemporary multi-lingual retelling of Virgil's Aeneid, through the prism of migration to Europe today. Set in the site-specific environment of a make-shift bar on the borders of Europe, pulled together cheaply, full of character, Dido’s Bar will ask challenging questions about contemporary European identity and what defines European identity for artists and migrants born outside Europe. It touches on migration, the future of free movement, cultural understanding and through a commissioned score and script finds a new voice to express some of the answers. Our first RND scheduled for Finland in July 2020 was postponed by a year. However, we ran a week’s research and development for the show at Goethe Institute with the core creative team and 3 actor-musicians in November 2020 which led to a first draft of Act 2 for the production.

The Great Middlemarch Mystery , directed by Josephine Burton with Ruth Livesey, Professor of English Thought and Literature at Royal Holloway University, will bring to life the world of George Eliot's Middlemarch as a site specific theatre experience on the streets of Coventry in spring 2022. Middlemarch, one of the greatest novels written in the English language, is the story of a Midlands town on the cusp of massive social change. Taking inspiration from Eliot's title, we will immerse audiences in the experience of life in the middle of things, within a town adjusting to dramatic industrial, health and economic change. In September 2020, we held short research and development, exploring one of the ‘stages’ for our production, Mrs Vincy’s Living Room, which gave Josephine and Ruth a clear direction for the evolution of the script. They continued to write the script through this financial year.

Songs for Babyn Yar , created by Josephine Burton together with three outstanding Ukrainian / Germanybased musicians – Mariana Sadovska, Sveta Kundish and Yuriy Gurzhy, is a new music theatre production that explores the complex history and legacy of the Babyn Yar tragedy. Through song, testimony, poetry and storytelling, this new production will travel back across the century, telling a story of a community, obliterated by the powerful forces that Ukraine was subjected to over the course of the 20th century. Josephine led a zoom research week with three musicians in December 2020 to begin the collaborative process which will culminate in a production in the autumn of 2021.

Artist Development:

Our Creative Associate, Sophie Austin, hosted one of The Dash Arts Podcast episodes, and seeded an early conversation about a creative collaboration between Sophie and French theatre-maker David Furlong at Exchange Theatre.

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Dash Arts Limited

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Trustees’ Report

Strategic Development, Funding and Long-Range Planning:

In the last few days of the last financial year, Dash Arts was awarded a grant from the Oak Foundation to continue this development of our fundraising capacity and realise our ambitions in 2020-2021. The arrival of this grant as the Lockdown began was very gratefully received.

As a result, Dash Arts was able to recruit two freelance fundraisers to support and build on Josephine’s work with individual donors, trusts and foundations, and to bring in external producing support to develop partnerships for one of Dash’s future productions. These three part-time colleagues have had great success through 2020 on limited hours and short-term contracts. They have proven the potential for Dash Arts to increase its income from diverse sources in order to realise its production plans, and through professional contacts and experience to secure some partnerships.

In December 2020, Dash Arts was invited to apply to the Oak Foundation to apply for a multi-year grant to scale up these resources over a three-year period. Dash Arts needs to build a holistic fundraising strategy for the organisation, retain relationships with funders and raise the necessary funds, alongside a holistic producing strategy which balances all the artistic ambitions for the organisation, builds a comprehensive three year calendar for all its work in order to release the Artistic Director to realise Dash Arts’ ambitious artistic vision, and for the organisation to thrive in a post-Covid and post-Brexit landscape.

Over a period of three years, Dash Arts with investment intends to develop a structure that will transform the organisation.

Working closely with Josephine, by the end of a three year process, Dash Arts will have:

1. A Producing team that will:

2. A Development Team that will:

The application was submitted in early March 2021. We heard we were successful with our application in June 2021.

The Dash Arts Board of Directors under Chair Joachim Fleury continues to lead on the strategic governance of the organisation and with Katherine Zeserson was involved in the creation of the Oak strategy.

The Company continues to fundraise for its individual projects as well as securing key producing partners for each project.

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Dash Arts Limited

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Trustees’ Report

Financial Review

The company reports total funds carried forward of £80,103, consisting of £43,027 unrestricted funds and £37,076 restricted funds.

Dash Arts is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), and received £91,656 in core funding during the year as part of the 4 year NPO funding agreement with ACE (2018-2022).

Reserves level and policy

Dash Arts continues to build its Overheads Reserve. It aims to hold approximately three months equivalent of operating costs.

Summary of Dash Arts Activity

April, 2020 – March, 2021

DASH ARTS PODCAST: LIVE: Destination Europe

8[th] April 2020 | Digital | Audience: 95

In February 2019, Dash Arts' Café Destination Europe focused on questions of contemporary European identity, with Brexit as a backdrop. We brought together actors, writers and film directors from across Europe for a conversation. During lockdown, we launched the Dash Arts Podcast, using the recording of this Dash Café to start us off!

DASH ARTS PODCAST: LIVE: Art Versus Art-ivism 8[th] April 2020 | Digital | Audience: 124

When art sets out to make a social or environmental impact – are we ticking boxes or are we changing the world? In February 2020, we were joined by theatre director and Dash Associate Artist Sophie Austin, Dr Michele Aaron (Screening Rights Film Festival) and Co-founders of Birmingham-based collective MAIA Group Amahra Spence and Amber Caldwell to delve into the challenges of activism through art, and look at the tension between art for art’s sake and art as a means to an end.

Recordings from this event at Warwick Arts Centre were used to create our second podcast episode.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: LIVE: Europe and the Velvet Revolution – 30 Years On 21[st] April 2020 | Digital | Audience: 113

In a time where talk of change and revolution was on everyone's lips, we revisited our November 2019 Dash Café, which explored the impact of the 1989 revolution that caused the collapse of the Soviet Union, 30 years on. Through the prism of artists, filmmakers and writers from across the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we asked whether that extraordinary spirit of activism still exists today. Speakers included Tereza Nvotová, Zuzana Kepplová, Ondřej Štindl and diplomat Monika MacDonagh-Pajerova, who discussed the impact of this legacy on their work and whether it continues to have an impact today.

This event was created in partnership with the Czech Centre and The Embassy of Slovak Republic, part of events celebrating the 30th anniversary of 1989.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Art in Adversity: Tadeusz Kantor’s Fighting Spirit 5[th] May 2020| Digital | Audience: 239

Our first tailor-made podcast episode Art in adversity: Tadeusz Kantor's fighting spirit delved into the work of Polish artist and theatre maker Tadeusz Kantor, whose work inspired the likes of Joseph Beuys (whom Kantor worked closely with), choreographer Pina Bausch and theatre company Complicité, to name a few.

Kantor made work under extraordinarily challenging times. Under the Nazi occupation of Poland, he founded the Independent Underground Theatre, and later carried on creating work throughout Poland’s communist regime. In our podcast, Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton investigated how he navigated the politics and continued to create, and what we can take from Kantor during our own challenging times.

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Trustees’ Report

DASH ARTS PODCAST: LIVE: Dash Arts’ Podcast Does Eurovision

20[th] May 2020 | Digital | Audience: 164

Eurovision might have been cancelled, but not at Dash Arts! In this LIVE episode we headed back to our Eurovision Dash Café last year for an entertaining rundown of its history.

With contributions from Dr Eurovision (aka Paul Jordan, who did his PhD on the subject) performance artist Richard DeDomenici, our Artistic Director Josephine Burton and our audience, plus BRAND NEW interviews with Tom Taylor of the celebrity-clad Isolation Song Contest and an update from Richard DeDomenici on his new virtual event, the Coronavision Song Contest.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: LIVE: Brussels – Who’s City is it Anyway?

3[rd] June 2020 | Digital | Audience : 155

We delved into Brussels; the complex, cosmopolitan, interconnected city that's home to the EU. We looked at the city's troubling history with colonialism, explored the impact of the European Union HQ on its inhabitants and architecture, and heard from artists living and creating change in the city.

Hosted by our Artistic Director Josephine Burton, this episode featured prominent academic and activist Eric Corijn, poet Elisabeth Severino Fernandes (aka Miss Elli) and writer and journalist Owen Hatherley. This podcast was created with audio from our Dash Café in June of 2019.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Django Reinhardt: Music, Myth and Reality

17[th] June 2020 | Digital | Audience: 320

Our brand new podcast episode Django Reinhardt: Music, Myth and Reality delivered a journey into the life of the genius jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt. With a host of international musicians performing entirely new music for the podcast, we looked at the life of the Roma musician who survived personal tragedy and World War II to become a leading figure in 20th century jazz.

Hosted by our Artistic Director Josephine Burton, this episode featured authors Michael Dregni and Garth Cartwright, Roma activist Mania Malik, theatre director Alessandra Davison and musicians Dave Kelbie, Joe Townsend, Aurore Voilique, Tcha Limberger, Don Vappie and Dario Napoli.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Dora Maar: Out of the Shadow

1[st] July 2020 | Digital | Audience: 165

In this LIVE episode from our 100th Dash Café (January 2020) we delved into the life and legacy of French Surrealist icon Dora Maar. The photographer and artist’s radical work strikingly depicts the anxieties of interwar Europe and the internal horrors of the mind. Yet Maar was often overlooked, her role as Picasso’s lover and ‘weeping woman’ dominating world view, until now.

In January 2020 a major exhibition of her work travelled from the Centre Pompidou to the Tate Modern, introducing many to her work for the first time. In this episode Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton talked to the exhibition's curators Damarice Amao and Karolina Lewandowska, along with discussion and performances from poet Victoria Adukwei Bulley and Finnish musician Marouf Majidi. Created with audio from our Dash Café in January of 2020.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Borsch and Other Stories

16[th] July 2020 | Digital | Audience: 346

This episode threaded together Ukrainian culture and history with memory, politics and the female perspective. We looked at what we can learn about a country through the eyes of women; through their stories, songs and food.

Audiences were invited to cook borsch alongside Artistic Director Josephine Burton and chef Olia Hercules, whose beautiful new book of recipes Summer Kitchen had just been published by Bloomsbury, discover Ukrainian history and politics with prolific writer Oksana Zabuzhko, who had just released a book of fabulous short stories Your Ad Could Go Here, get from the outgoing director of the Ukrainian Institute in London, journalist Marina Pesenti, and listen to the music and stories of musician Mariana Sadovska.

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Trustees’ Report

DASH ARTS PODCAST: On the Border

29[th] July 2020 | Digital | Audience: 143

In this episode of the podcast we revisited our Dash Café ON THE BORDER, which explored the experience of living on the border through the prism of art, film, music, literature and economics. We reflected on the actual borders that existed for our speakers growing up on the edges of the Iron Curtain and today’s visible and invisible borders with Berlin-based author, composer and editor-in-chief of Flaneur Magazine Fabian Saul, visual artist Mariana Gordan (originally from Romania), Norwegian-born economist and Financial Times columnist Martin Sandbu and live music from Slovakian vocalist Lori Secanska and Greek-Cypriot guitarist Iakovos Loukas. Created with audio from our Dash Café in March 2019.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Songs of the Migrant Worker

9[th] September 2020 | Digital | Audience: 143

Our first episode back after the summer! In this episode we looked at the treatment of invited guest workers (Germany’s ‘Gastarbeiter’), economic migrants and relocating members of the British Empire. Through music and poetry, we examined the similarities and differences between the UK’s Windrush scandal and Germany’s treatment of Turkish ‘gastarbeiter’ and the huge cultural legacy by these migrant workers. Created with audio from our Dash Café in January 2019.

Middlemarch R&D

15[th] – 17[th] September 2020 | WAC Arts, London

Our first time back in a rehearsal room since the start of the pandemic! Together with actors Alice Langrigh, Bally Gill, and Jessica Rowe, and researcher Ruth Livesey whom we are developing this piece with, we explored adapting the novel for an immersive setting, working with text and improvisation. This was crucial in giving us a good sense of the audience experience and the direction we want to take with the script

DASH ARTS PODCAST: What Would Ingrid Bergman Do?

23[rd ] September 2020 | Digital | Audience: 230

We discovered the fascinating life and work of Hollywood icon and beloved Swede Ingrid Bergman, in an episode hosted this time by Dash Arts Creative Associate and director Sophie Austin. Taking a journey through Bergman’s life, we looked at how her strength, determination and Swedishness made her into one of the world’s most famous movie stars. In the face of sexism, scandals and tragedy, Bergman’s strident independence and ambition saw her carve out a career led by passion and creativity.

Sophie spoke to Swedish actor Anna Lindgren, writers and academics Dr Ellen Wright and Dr Hannah Yelin and Stig Björkman, director of the brilliant documentary Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015), which features Ingrid's own home footage, appearances from Isabella Rossellini and a voiceover by Alicia Vikander.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Felix de Rooy: Art in the Face of Empire 14[th] October 2020 | Digital | Audience: 176

In this episode of the Dash Arts Podcast, we delved into the life and work of the Curaçaoan-born Dutch artist, filmmaker and director Felix de Rooy. Originally planned as a live Dash Café back in April (cancelled due to the pandemic), we had hoped to explore Felix’s work in a discussion with visual artist Charl Landvreugd and a panel of playwrights from the BOOM! Project, a Dutch-British theatre initiative examining and challenging colonial history and narratives.

In many ways, we’ve done one better with this podcast. Not only did we get all of these fantastic guests, but we also got Felix himself, theatre director Ernestine Comvalius and artist Neske Beks alongside Charl and playwrights Jude Christian, Gable Roelofson and Enver Husicic, making for a jam-packed episode.

DIGITAL CAFÉ: Europeans: Arvo Part

28[th] October 2020 | Digital and Arvo Part Centre, Estonia | Audience: 278

In October 2020 we hosted our first ever Digital Dash Café EUROPEANS: ARVO PÄRT to celebrate Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s 85th birthday and were overwhelmed and delighted to be joined by almost 300 screens from 25 countries. Featuring a beautiful, specially-recorded piano and violin concerto by virtuosos Sophia Rahman, and Andres Kalijuste, and a conversation which also included the composer’s son, and chairman of the board of the Arvo Pärt Centre, Michael Pärt. With support from the Estonian Embassy in London.

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Trustees’ Report

DASH ARTS PODCAST: George Eliot’s Radicals

11[th] November 2020 | Digital | Audience: 150

In this episode, we returned to our February Dash Café on George Eliot, hosted at Warwick Arts Centre in February 2019 by Artistic Director Josephine Burton with collaborator Professor Ruth Livesey and guests Martina Hall, producer of 2019 BBC Arena documentary Everything Is Connected – George Eliot’s Life, artist Redell Olsen, and writer Anna Lawrence, with an update from Josephine and Ruth on how our production was born and how it’s progressed since this event.

Dido’s Bar R&D

9[th] – 13[th] November 2020 | Goethe Institut

With composer Marouf Majidi, and writer Hattie Naylor, and actor-musicians Carlos Mendoza, Laura Hanna, and Krystian Godlewski, we came back to the rehearsal room to continue exploring the world of Dido’s Bar and create new music. Over the course of the week we developed Act 1 of the play including songs which we recorded professionally as a demo to further develop further partnerships and interest in the production.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Second Hand Memory 25[th] November 2020 | Digital | Audience: 210

Can trauma be healed through art? Does it pass from generation to generation and how can we break the cycle? In this episode of the podcast, we looked at memory, family history and inherited trauma through the eyes of artists and thinkers from around the world, who have investigated the impact of these issues in their work.

Hosted by Artistic Director Josephine Burton, with award-winning filmmaker Mark Rosenblatt, twice Bookernominated Nigerian writer Chigozie Obiama, theatre director Maja Milatović-Ovadia (originally from former Yugoslavia, now based in the UK), Russian actress and filmstar Oksana Mysina, Berlin-based Argentinian artist Silvina Der Meguerditchian, poet Stephen Watts, clinical psychologist Dr Sarah Lack and William Peterfield Trent Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University Marianne Hirsch.

Songs for Babyn Yar R&D

8[th ] – 11[th] December 2020 | Digital

Back to working over zoom, Josephine worked with artists Mariana Sadovska, Svetlana Kundish, Yuriy Gurzhy, Marina Pesenti and Marianna Kijanovska. In a virtual rehearsal room, they were able to continue creating music and exploring how they would like to tell this story, as well as make a plan for the production timeline in 2021. This enabled us to secure substantial funding from partners, trusts and foundations, and donors and plan for the production to open in London in November 2021, with further dates in Berlin and Kyiv.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Art on the Brink of Brexit 16[th] December 2020 | Digital | Audience: 138

We're revisited our live event Art on the Brink of Brexit, recorded in 2018, which hosted a panel of first and second generation migrant artists working in the UK, to discuss what Brexit would mean for them, and what it would mean for the future of the arts in Britain.

We were joined by Bojana Janković from theatre collective There There, a performance company which is 50% Romanian and 50% Serbian, Victor Pãtrãşcan, a comedian originally from Romania, and theatre maker Miriam Sherwood, whose cabaret Rendezvous in Bratislava is inspired by her Slovak grandfather.

We discussed the impact of the EU referendum on their work, how art can cross cultural divides and help heal the fractures caused by Brexit, with some very lively audience discussion on the differences between an expat and an immigrant and whether or not offensive comedy is worth the laughter.

This was our final podcast episode of 2020 (what a year!).

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Arvo Part: Time, Text and Tintinnabuli 27[th] January 2021 | Digital | Audience: 166

Due to popular demand, we turned our first digital café (see above) into a podcast, with some new, bonus content for our listeners. We were joined by son of the composer and Chairman of the Arvo Pärt Centre, Michael

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Trustees’ Report

Pärt, violinist Andres Kaljuste and pianist Sophia Rahman to listen to Pärt’s music and discuss his life and work. Hosted by Josephine Burton, audiences heard snippets of Spiegel im Spiegel, Fratres, Für Alina and Estonian Lullaby played at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia, with brand new questions posed to our guests.

DASH ARTS PODCAST: Dust and Shadow

24[th] February 2021 | Digital | Audience: 156

We delved into the remarkable history of 59 Brick Lane in London’s East End. With the Dash Arts base in East London’s Toynbee Studios and events regularly hosted at Rich Mix London, this ever-evolving building has long been our neighbour. A spiritual and communal home to thousands over the centuries; 59 Brick Lane was born as a Huguenot church, later becoming a Methodist church, then a synagogue, and is now home to the Brick Lane Mosque.

To get to grips with this building’s huge legacy, host and Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton was joined by the Vice Chair of the Brick Lane Mosque Harmuz Ali, author Rachel Lichtenstein, who researched the building as part of her book On Brick Lane, architect and co-curator of the UK’s architectural pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale Shahed Saleem, architect Dan Leon (who worked with Shahed on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday multi-faith architectural project), director of the Swadhinata Trust Ansar Ahmed Ullah, academic and curator Rosalind Parker, who has written about faith in the public space, and Rebekah Coffman, an American academic at NYU whose research focuses on architectural reuse.

Statement of Public Benefit

Dash Arts is committed to making and promoting work that enriches the lives of audiences and artists alike. All our work breaks down barriers and assertively pursues an agenda of open creative communication and exchange. For audiences, the vast majority of our activities (as detailed above) have been offered free of charge. For artists, we are committed to providing support for the artistic development of emerging artists - particularly UK-based artists who are migrants and refugees - many of whom participated in our Dash Café, Dash Residence and Dash Asylum programmes during this year. We develop programmes to provide training and support to help these artists negotiate the barriers thrown up by working in a new and sometimes challenging environment. During the covid pandemic, we have pivoted towards digital work to ensure that we continue to reach and support our audiences. For the sector, we continue to provide leadership on modelling ways to promote and develop international work in thrilling, respectful and authentic ways.

Structure, governance and management

Governing document

Dash Arts Limited is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association which were updated in March, 2018.

How the charity is constituted

Dash Arts Limited ("the Company") is a company limited by guarantee number 4246467 and a registered charity (number 1089222) established in July 2001.

Methods used to recruit and appoint trustees

Trustees are selected for their area of expertise or knowledge of specific disciplines and are invited to join the Board by the other trustees. The current number of serving trustees is five.

Trustees serve a three-year term before the opportunity for re-election. A programme of regular board rotation has been detailed within Dash Arts' governing document.

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Trustees’ Report

Small company exemptions

This report is prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 26 November 2021 and signed on its behalf by

Joachim Fleury (Nov 26, 2021 08:25 EST)

Joachim Fleury Chair of Trustees

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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Dash Arts Limited

I report on the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are set out on pages 12 to 24.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to an audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:

  2. ꞏ to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and

  3. ꞏ to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities

have not been met; or

  1. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Richard Nelson FCCA Breckman & Company Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants

49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH

26 November 2021

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Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2021

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
Notes
£
£
Income and endowments from:
2
Donations and legacies - page 13
183,337
-
Charitable activities:
Theatre/festival - page 13
1,314
32,925
Total
184,651
32,925
Expenditure on:
Raising funds:
Fundraising
43,462
-
Charitable activities:
Theatre/festival - page 14
111,876
3,849
Total
155,338
3,849
Net movement in funds:
Net income
3
29,313
29,076
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
13,714
8,000
Total funds carried forward
12, 13
43,027
37,076		 2021
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
£
£
£
183,337
106,989
2,803
34,239
25,729
17,466
217,576
132,718
20,269
43,462
7,465
-
115,725
120,129
18,586
159,187
127,594
18,586
58,389
5,124
1,683
21,714
8,590
6,317
80,103
13,714
8,000		 2020
Total
£
109,792
43,195
152,987
7,465
138,715
146,180
6,807
14,907
21,714

The notes on pages 17 to 24 form an integral part of these financial statements.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.

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Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Year ended 31 March 2021

Income from donations and legacies
Grants
COVID-19 emergency funding
ACE Emergency Response Fund
ACE - National Portfolio
ACE - Catalyst Small Grants
Oak Foundation
Donations
Sundry donations
Income from charitable activities
Theatre/festival
Earned income
Fees/box office/reimbursed expenses
Promoter fees
Other income
Project specific funding
Grants/donations
DWP Kickstart Scheme
Project donations
Other project grants
Other trusts & foundations		 2021
£
29,794
91,656
-
38,500
23,387
1,000
-
314
2,110
7,137
12,778
10,900		 £
29,794
130,156
23,387
183,337
1,314
32,925
34,239		 2020
£
-
90,000
2,803
-
16,989
19,709
6,020
-
-
4,000
6,466
7,000		 £
-
92,803
16,989
109,792
25,729
17,466
43,195

13

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Year ended 31 March 2021

Expenditure on charitable activities
Theatre/festival
Production/project costs
Fees
Marketing
Production costs
Travel/transport/accommodation/visas/subsistence
Support costs - page 15
Governance costs - page 15		 2021
£
15,642
155
1,451
1,315
18,563
87,741
9,421
115,725		 2020
£
15,478
793
6,190
8,652
31,113
99,092
8,510
138,715

14

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Year ended 31 March 2021

Support and governance costs
Support costs
Office overheads
Office rent
Website fees
Telephone/internet
Insurance
Computers/IT/software
Marketing (core)
Research
Depreciation of fixtures/fittings/equipment
Administration costs
Salaries
Fees
Employer pension costs
Travel/subsistence
Meeting costs
Printing/postage/stationery
Sundries/research/visas
Professional/financial
Legal/professional
Bank charges
Write offs/bad debts
Governance costs
Accountancy
Bookkeeping		 2021
£
3,626
228
1,105
920
512
551
93
313
41,426
37,109
848
-
152
58
121
13
666
-
2,500
6,921		 £
7,348
79,714
679
87,741
9,421
97,162		 2020
£
3,626
424
859
2,026
2,232
282
166
312
24,585
57,865
476
230
602
221
525
2,983
600
1,078
2,500
6,010		 £
9,927
84,504
4,661
99,092
8,510
107,602

15

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Balance Sheet 31 March 2021

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
8
Current assets
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year
10
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
The funds of the charity:
Unrestricted funds
12
General funds
Designated funds
Restricted income funds
13
Total charity funds		 2021
£
5,093
86,377
91,470
)
(11,680		 £
313
79,790
80,103
12,527
30,500
43,027
37,076
80,103		 2020
£
339
28,948
29,287
)
(8,199		 £
626
21,088
21,714
7,381
6,333
13,714
8,000
21,714

For the year ending 31 March 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 26 November 2021 and signed on its behalf by

Joachim Fleury (Nov 26, 2021 08:25 EST) Katherine Zeserson (Nov 26, 2021 17:36 GMT)
Katherine Zeserson
Joachim Fleury Katherine Zeserson
Chair of Trustees Trustee

The notes on pages 17 to 24 form an integral part of these financial statements.

16

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies

1.1. Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (issued October 2019) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), and the Companies Act 2006.

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

1.2. Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when:

- Donations and legacies

Grants/donations are recognised in incoming resources in the year in which they are receivable, except as follows:

- Charitable activities

Theatre/festival income - income from box office, performance fees and sundry other theatrical income is included in incoming resources in the period in which the relevant show takes place.

Project specific funding - when donors specify that donations and grants are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds when receivable.

- Investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

17

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

1.3. Expenditure

All expenditure is included on an accruals basis inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered and is recognised when:

- Costs of raising funds

Costs incurred in attracting donations, and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

- Charitable activities

Theatre/festival production costs - costs incurred in production and running of productions toured in the year.

- Support costs

The administrative and overhead costs associated with running the office from which the company operates as well as governance costs. Support costs are wholly attributable to theatre production costs.

- Governance costs

Costs associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity.

1.4. Fund accounting

Funds held by the charity are either:

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

1.5. Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at cost.

Depreciation is provided at annual rates calculated to write off the cost less residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Fixtures/fittings/equipment

18

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

1.6. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid after taking account of any trade discounts due.

1.7. Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1.8. Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

1.9. Pensions

The company operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. Contributions payable are recognised as expenditure when due.

1.10. Financial Instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value, and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

1.11. Significant Accounting Estimates and Judgements

In determining the carrying amounts of certain assets and liabilities, the charity makes assumptions of the effects of uncertain future events on those assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date. The charity's estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience and expectation of future events and are reviewed annually.

2. Incoming resources

The total theatrical income for the year has been derived from the principal activity. The proportion of theatrical income derived from outside the UK amounted to 18% ( 2020 - 4% ).

3. Net income for the year is 2021 2020
stated after charging: £ £
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 313 312
Independent Examiner's Remuneration:
- independent examination 2,500 2,500

19

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

4. Trustees' emoluments and reimbursed expenses

The trustees received no remuneration during the year (2020 - £nil).

The aggregated amount reimbursed to trustees during the year was £nil (2020 - £nil).

5.

Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs
Salaries and wages
Pension costs		 2021
£
41,426
848
42,274		 2020
£
24,585
476
25,061

No employee earned £60,000 or more during the year (2020 - nil).

The total benefits of the key management personnel of the charity including fees paid were £45,752 (2020 - £43,688).

Staff numbers

The average numbers of employees (including casual and part time staff) during the year was made up as follows:

up as follows:
2021 2020
Number Number
Support 2 1

6. Pension costs

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme in respect of its employees. The scheme and its assets are held by independent managers. The pension charge represents contributions due from the company and amounted to £848 (2020 - £476).

7. Corporation taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

20

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

8.
Fixed assets - tangible assets
Cost
1 April 2020 /
31 March 2021
Depreciation
1 April 2020
Charge for year
31 March 2021
Net book values
31 March 2021
31 March 2020
9.
Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments/accrued income
10.
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
Trade creditors
Other taxation/social security
Other creditors
Accruals		 Fixtures/
fittings/
equipment
£
1,822
1,196
313
1,509
313
626
2021
2020
£
£
-
339
33
-
5,060
-
5,093
339
2021
2020
£
£
6,968
5,318
-
435
92
41
4,620
2,405
11,680
8,199		 Fixtures/
fittings/
equipment
£
1,822
1,196
313
1,509
313
626
2021
2020
£
£
-
339
33
-
5,060
-
5,093
339
2021
2020
£
£
6,968
5,318
-
435
92
41
4,620
2,405
11,680
8,199
1,196
313
1,509
313
626
2020
£
339
-
-
339
2020
£
5,318
435
41
2,405
8,199

21

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

11. Limited by guarantee

The private company is limited by guarantee, registered in EW - England and Wales, and does not have a share capital. Each member gives a guarantee to contribute a sum, not exceeding £1, to the company should it be wound up. At 31 March 2021 there were 5 members.

12.

Unrestricted funds Brought Incoming Outgoing Transfers Carried
forward resources resources forward
£ £ £ £ £
General fund 7,381 184,651 )
(155,338		 )
(24,167		 12,527
Designated funds:
Fundraising 5,833 - - )
(5,833		 -
Overheads reserve fund - - - 10,000 10,000
Out of Tune 500 - - )
(500		 -
Development Fund - - - 20,500 20,500
13,714 184,651 )
(155,338		 - 43,027

Fundraising

These funds contributed towards ongoing fundraising in 2020/21, primarily Covid recovery applications.

Overheads reserve fund

Dash Arts has implemented a Reserve Fund Policy, with a target of £50,000 to be reached over the next 3 years, which will cover 3-6 months core operating costs.

Out of Tune

R & D continued where possible in 2020/21, and this project has been renamed Dido's Bar.

Development Fund

These funds have been designated for ongoing core and project fundraising and development that was budgeted for 2020/21 but rescheduled to 2021/22.

22

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

13. Restricted funds Brought Incoming Outgoing Carried
forward resources resources forward
£ £ £ £
Songs from Babyn Yar 2,000 2,000 )
(839		 3,161
Kickstart - 2,110 )
(2,110		 -
Podcasts - 900 )
(900		 -
Dido's Bar 3,000 6,000 - 9,000
Middlemarch 3,000 21,915 - 24,915
8,000 32,925 )
(3,849		 37,076

Songs from Babyn Yar

We received £2,000 during the year from Shoresh Charitable Trust for Songs from Babyn Yar, which is scheduled for November-December 2021. This project brings together an outstanding creative team and three musicians who carry Ukrainian and Jewish identities, to explore the complex history of the Babyn Yar tragedy, through song, poetry, testimony, storytelling and projection in a stunning multi-disciplinary production.

Kickstart

We secured Kickstart (Job Placement) funding to employ an Administrative and Production Assistant for 25 hours per week for 26 weeks. They started March 2021.

Podcasts

The Foundation for Future London awarded £900 towards Dash's investment into online digital activity - Podcasts and Dash Cafe online.

Dido's Bar

Scheduled for autumn 2022 as the finale of the EUTOPIA season, Dido's Bar is a new work of theatre, a site-specific, contemporary retelling of Virgil's Aeneid, through the prism of migration to Europe today. Inspired by an encounter with Kurdish-Iranian musician Marouf Majidi in Helsinki, Dido's Bar will explore migration, European identity, the future of free movement, and cultural understanding through theatre. We received a commission of £6,000 from Oxford Contemporary Music this year towards the production.

Middlemarch

£21,915 was raised during the year through Trusts and Foundations, grant funding and donations, including £5,000 Garrick Charitable Trust, £3,000 The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, £1,000 The Reed Foundation, £6,778 Royal Holloway, and £2,824 through The Big Give. The production brings to life the world of one of the greatest novels written in the English language, George Eliot's Middlemarch, as a site specific theatre experience on the streets of Coventry in March - April 2022 as part of Coventry City of Culture, and working with local talent and participants.

23

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021

14. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
General
Designated
Restricted
funds
funds
funds
£
£
£
Fund balances at 31 March 2021
are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets
313
-
-
Net current assets
12,214
30,500
37,076
12,527
30,500
37,076		 Total
£
313
79,790
80,103

15. Related party transactions

Four trustees made donations to the charity in the year totalling £5,955.

24