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← Art Refuge

2023-12-31-accounts

Charity number 1114353

ART REFUGE

(Formerly Art Refuge UK) (Registered charity no. 1114353) ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

NfP Accountants Ltd

ART REFUGE

(Registered charity no. 1114353)

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 December 2023

CONTENTS

Page
Legal and administrative information 1
Trustees' annual report 2
Independent Examiner's report 15
Statement of financial activities 16
Balance sheet 17
Notes to the financial statements 18

ART REFUGE

Registered charity No. 1114353

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

for the year ended 31 December 2023

Charity name Art Refuge
Previous name Art Refuge UK
Charity reg. no. 1114353
Trustees Dr Chris Wood (Chair from July 2024)
Professor Ravi Kohli
Dr Kathryn Cronin
Ms Polly Bagnall
Ms Claire Zhang (Secretary)
Sue Greatorex
Tim Richards (Treasurer)
Anna Castleton Simmons
Shafiqullah Noori (joined October 2023)
Registered office Unit 30, The Coach House
2 Upper York Street
Bristol
BS2 8QN
Independent examiner Charles Ssempijja, FCA
NFP Accountants Ltd
3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4NE
Bankers HSBC
20 High Street
Saxmundham
Suffolk
IP17 DB

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 31 December 2023

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the charity's governing document, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP 2015 FRS102. Income and expenditure have been analysed by nature rather than by activity, taking advantage of sections 4.6 and 4.22 - 4.26 of this SORP.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Description of charity’s trusts

Art Refuge is a registered charity number 1114353. The governing document of the charity is Declaration of Trust dated 18/05/2006, as amended on 04/06/2006, as amended by Deed dated 02/09/2013, as amended by Deed on 07/12/19.

Trustees recruitment

Trustees can be nominated by any current member of the Board and can only be appointed by consensus decision. In recruiting prospective trustees, the Board’s policy is to seek a broad range of experience relevant to the work of the charity, including lived experience, and to appoint members from a diversity of backgrounds. All trustees must provide independent references and submit to checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Purposes

The purpose of Art Refuge is to support the mental health and wellbeing of people who have been displaced by civil conflict, persecution, climate change, violence, pandemic and poverty. This includes refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, trafficked people and other displaced persons. The areas of benefit are the UK and worldwide.

Activities

Art Refuge carries out its work in groups through socially engaged art, art therapy, training and education, as well as undertaking research and public awareness raising. The activities are delivered by a team of experienced art therapists and visual artists, including artists with lived experience of displacement / refugees. Current theatres of direct work include the UK, northern France, and wider reach internationally through online group activity via Zoom and in-country training, as documented in the body of the report.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 31 December 2023

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that in planning the charity's activities, they have referred to and had regard of the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in line with its objectives:

  1. • To improve the mental health and wellbeing of refugees, asylum seekers, trafficked people and internally displaced persons in the UK and internationally, through socially engaged art, art therapy, training, education and research.

  2. • To advance the education of the public in the UK and internationally, about the issues relating to refugees, trafficked people, those seeking asylum and other displaced persons; through research dissemination and activities such as, but not limited to, exhibitions.

TRUSTEES

Dr Chris Wood combines working as an NHS art therapist, a research fellow at the University of Sheffield and teaching for the Art Therapy Northern Programme at Hallam University. She has a particular interest in adapting art therapy in response to political upheaval and social hardship and offers regular support to our CEO and other team members.

Professor Ravi Kohli , Professor of Child Welfare at University of Bedfordshire, a leading expert in social work with unaccompanied minors in the UK and Chair of Trustees. Ravi offered his expertise and wealth of experience, with particular interest in what becomes of young people who seek asylum in richer countries and how they adapt throughout their migration and resettlement.

Dr Kathryn Cronin , an Immigration, asylum, nationality, children’s and family lawyer at Garden Court Chambers, brought her particular expertise in working with unaccompanied minors.

Polly Bagnall , a practising artist, art therapist and counsellor brought to the charity her extensive experience in self-advocacy and development work for the NHS.

Claire Zhang works in migration health and inclusion health policy and guidance at Public Health England, alongside research in ethnicity and migration health. Claire is Secretary for the board and has brings ongoing energy to our Policies and Risk Management.

Sue Greatorex is an experienced foster carer of young people who have been displaced due to war, conflict and persecution. She has decades of experience supporting individuals and communities in the South West of England.

Tim Richards is an experienced management accountant and has worked for a number of large financial services companies. Tim supports the Board on all financial matters as its Treasurer, making a substantial contribution to the smooth running of the charitable funds and activity.

Anna Castleton Simmons is the director of an independent PR consultancy, specialising in arts, design and culture communications and guided by an ethical manifesto. She leads on the charity’s Communications Strategy.

Shafiqullah Noori was welcomed to the Board Meeting as a new trustee in October 2023. He lives in Bristol where he works for various charities. Originally from Afghanistan, Shafiqullah has lived experience as an asylum seeker in the UK.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2023

FREELANCE TEAM, TRAINEES AND VOLUNTEERS

Our CEO Bobby Lloyd continued to work on a part-time freelance basis delivering on the charity’s mission, and on direct programme and training delivery as a freelance art therapist across our programmes. The balance of approximately two days of weekly programme direction and development, separate from project delivery, allowed her to continue to be responsive to the growing team and demands of the CEO role, as well as fully engaged with the work itself. Ten further freelance art therapists (Miriam Usiskin, Sarah Robinson, Amy Wilson, Kate France, Naomi Press, Tony Gammidge, Katie Miller, Thomas Etheridge, Jess Linton, Emily Hollingsbee) worked on a sessional basis for Art Refuge, alongside seven artists (Majid Adin, Aida Silvestri, Josie Carter, Sandrine Isaac, Emma Lunt, Toby Melville-Brown and Gabrielė Zukauskaite). Three of the artists have lived experienced of displacement and brought to the charity language skills, cultural attunement and creativity that is essential to our work. Sarah Robinson, in her role as Bristol lead, once again maximised use of time to develop and deliver on new and ongoing projects. Josh Thaker in his role as freelance admin support/technical continued to be invaluable, particularly in relation to technical and website support. A PHD student (Jonathan Craig) and monk/long-term worker in Calais (Johannes Maertens) volunteered in various settings - Folkestone, Calais and Dunkirk - while seven trainee art therapists (Muriel Bucher, Lou Froehlicher, Pascale Marie, Claire Gibert Massoni, Céline Martineau, Pauline Gaubert, Mara Gonzalez Temo) and one dance movement therapy trainee (Melissa Bori) joined our work in Paris.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

2023 was a very difficult year for many millions of people worldwide, while in the UK and northern France, Art Refuge continued to focus on the offer of solidarity, compassion and hope to those displaced from their homes due to conflict, persecution and poverty, and those seeking refuge. This work was alongside a growing number of refugee organisations working for a kinder, fairer, more compassionate approach to people seeking asylum in the UK through the Together with Refugees coalition. Relationships with several new partners that began in 2022 came into fruition in 2023, alongside increased interest in our work and overtures of projects and potential activity, enhanced by our successful exhibition Letters of Refuge, at Kings College London in March. By the end of the year, our core programmes in Calais/Dunkirk, Folkestone, Paris and Bristol had offered mental health and wellbeing support to several thousand adults and unaccompanied young people, with additional collaborations and projects in London, Brighton and Eastbourne, and training for hundreds of frontline workers.

The work of Art Refuge in 2023 took place against the backdrop of the UK government’s ongoing use of hostile language in relation to ‘illegal routes’, the Illegal Migration Ban passed in parliament on July 14th 2023, the ongoing Rwanda scheme threat, the huge backlog of unprocessed asylum claims, inflamed rhetoric around small boats and hotel accommodation. As people stayed longer in limbo in UK asylum settings, with little access to hope and little sense of a plan for the future, there were reports of mental health distress, including suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. The ever-increasing hostility in northern France was exemplified by the use of anti-human architecture in the form of large rocks filling former living sites.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2023

The war in Ukraine continued, and we were invited to offer online training for caregivers from across the country, and subsequently within the country itself for 2024; while the terrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria (2023) impacted on families and communities nearer to home, such as in London. The shocking loss of up to 600 lives in a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea in June 2023 and individual loss of life in Calais continued to bring home the dangers people we work with take to reach safety. A visit to Falmouth Harbour in May coincided with a protest against the Bibby Stockholm ‘prison’ ship docked in Portland Harbour - one of a growing number of large ships and former military camps introduced by the UK government for housing asylum seekers. In October we witnessed the unfolding and overwhelming horrors in Israel and Gaza. We were also aware of the devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan, and closer to home and our work, a large, violent clearance of refugee living sites in Calais.

The Community Table Collective continued to meet fortnightly and to provide a valuable space for peer support, reflection, debate and ideas. Research on the central nervous system, and ideas concerning both ‘triggers’ and ‘glimmers’, deepened our understanding of the small interactions that take place at The Community Tables as moments when connection and safety become possible. Our Away Day took place on September 20th with the kind support of Yorkton Workshops in Hackney. A National Rail Strike meant several of the freelance team and trustees joined online, with 12 joining in person. While we physically engaged in artmaking at The Community Table, followed by a light Syrian lunch from Syrian Sunflower Kitchen, Miriam Usiskin presented her invaluable doctoral research findings on The Community Table model.

At the last Trustee meeting of 2023, one area for discussion was whether and how we respond on social media to major world events, The board of trustees and CEO discussed in depth how to maintain an active listening stance without causing further distress to our broad community. Adhering to our Communications Policy and the charity’s aims for social media content, the following statement was written by the trustee group and shared on our social media: “In these difficult times, Art Refuge offers solidarity, compassion and hope to those who are displaced from their homes by conflict and persecution, and those seeking refuge. In our work, we meet people of different ages from countries around the world. Each person brings their own cultural and personal identities, ideologies, faiths, and political beliefs. Our art therapy-based work supports the mental health and well-being of all people who are displaced by making room for safety, community, creativity and resilience in the face of pain and hardship. We do this by providing group art spaces like The Community Table model. We offer opportunities for human-to-human connection through our similarities and our differences. In the most challenging times, our work shows that art can offer space for reflection, imagination, hoping, coping and meaning-making. We stand #TogetherWithRefugees and displaced people, wherever they are, to build a world where we can find compassion through our shared humanity.

As a charity, we have felt both privileged and aware of the responsibility that bearing witness to people’s stories carry. Capturing the human aspect of the story, as well as the value our work has for those who take part, began in a more formal way with our Kind2Mind campaign fund including an impact-assessment film, with our first two Big Give campaigns raising almost £20,000. We secured both restricted and unrestricted funds from new sources, and express our deepest gratitude for the invaluable and ongoing support of people across our networks.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2023

OPERATIONS

NORTHERN FRANCE

PARIS

Art Refuge continued its regular presence at the Secours Catholique day centre, the CEDRE. Our trainee programme with Muriel Bucher and Lou Froehlicher enabled The Community Table to be offered on a weekly basis, with regular supervision funded by the CEDRE. This offered a particular sense of assurance and steadiness to both the team and those using the service over a challenging time in Paris where, by the end of August, the situation for refugees and asylum seekers was becoming increasingly hostile as preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games were underway. Many squats and encampments were evicted, with citizen and small association-run distributions of food and clothing shut down by the local authorities, disrupting basic services; leading to an increased, visible sense of deprivation and abandonment present in the day centre.

In September we began to offer fortnightly placements to two new trainees Pascale Marie and Claire Gibert Massoni, whilst Muriel Bucher continued as a freelance team member. We were also twice joined by Melissa Bori, dance movement therapy trainee who had been on placement with Art Refuge in London in 2022. By the start of Winter, the new Asylum and Immigration Law added to the stress and sense of hostility, the CEDRE was then full to capacity and The Community Table was very busy. Playful and experimental work with lights, projections, camera obscura, a shadow puppet theatre and animated installations brought moments of magic and wonder, and initiated brief, moving exchanges, opportunities for distraction and absorption, and more in-depth conversations.

Outside the CEDRE, our monthly off-site pop-up at Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, consisted of a series of workshops funded by French Art therapy initiative ArtExist for a crossover population of CEDRE users and local residents in a calm green space in the garden La Semeuse. The Art Refuge team with new trainee Céline Martineau, facilitated a space where refugees / asylum seekers from our familiar Café Papote at the CEDRE could access other cultural spaces in the city and build community with local residents and members of the garden collective. These afternoons were convivial and gentle in atmosphere, creating spaces for experimentation (cyanotypes, Afghan box cameras led by visiting photographer Sandrine Isaac for Refugee Week) and nurturing the garden and the exchanges it holds. Some of the CEDRE users started to participate in the garden collective on days when we were not present. This happened as links developed and people felt included as part of a wider community.

CALAIS AND DUNKIRK

Our work in Calais and also in Dunkirk continued throughout 2023, led by Bobby Lloyd and Miriam Usiskin. As Winter progressed, organisations on the ground spoke of even worse conditions than previously, with increased violence, regular clearances and immense cold. In December we offered trainings in both Dunkirk and Calais. The new French Illegal Migration Act paralleled the UK’s, with the heightened government rhetoric from both continuing to add to tensions and anxiety. The high profile of the Rwanda Bill developments did nothing to allay these fears. In both of these harsh settings the services offered by our partners and colleagues allowed for people to experience some dignity, the work leaving us reflecting on the different approaches to care in this border context, and the immense value of these small pockets of structure.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2023

We continued to travel to Calais monthly throughout 2023, with the context remaining very challenging, police and state hostility towards the refugee population unrelenting. The Secours Catholique day centre was always impressive, and our work continued to be needed. We were asked to informally advise both Médecins sans Frontières and the French Red Cross on psychosocial activity, with the latter interested in the small bricks as potential tools for family tracing orientation, and the former interested in us delivering a regular session at their new clinic in Calais, though this stalled due to the financial implications of an extra day. By early summer, numbers of refugees had risen, and boat crossings picked up again to match the previous summer’s numbers. The ongoing threats around the new Illegal Migration Ban and the heightened UK and France government rhetoric continued to add to tensions and anxiety. In Autumn, a massive clearance in Calais during heavy rain saw the use of teargas while there weren’t enough buses to take people to accommodation centres. In October, the Secours Catholique day centre was closed on Thursdays which led to our need to adapt, such as delivering a session at one of the Eritrean living sites. The presence of Johannes Maertens on some of our trips was helpful, as was that of Jonathan Craig, PhD student from The University of Manchester mainly based in Dover, studying different forms of asylum seeker 'reception activity'. At the end of 2023 we attended ‘On the Frontier’, a Psychology meeting at Le Mer which discussed barriers to mental health care/psychological support for refugees in the Calais area, the idea that the culture of individual support is taboo for many refugees, the need for elders’ meetings from representative communities, and The Community Table model which was of interest to other organisations working in this context.

From May, we joined Médecins du Monde (MdM) with their new mobile psychosocial clinic in Dunkirk for one day per month as part of a new initiative. We were struck by how desolate and difficult this setting is, the living site sitting in a scarred landscape in-between a busy road and railway line while we observed the acute need for services for the women, children and men temporarily living there. From October, the medical vans were parked in a quieter location and the MdM service was much needed, with the psychosocial activities van occupied across the 3 hours and properly made use of. While waiting to see the doctors, men threaded necklaces in their national colours and moulded tiny objects in plasticine, while women stood or sat quietly observing their children playing. We wrote a snagging list to help make the interior of the van more ergonomic, and ready and safe for Winter use. The medical team and interpreters worked sensitively and efficiently, attending to scabies, colds and wounds caused by the brutal reality of living outside.

ENGLAND

FOLKESTONE

Miriam Usiskin and Bobby Lloyd, alongside artists Aida Silvestri and Josie Carter, continued to offer The Community Table on Wednesdays at Napier Barracks (former military camp turned asylum centre), except once per month when we were in northern France. The shared delivery space suited The Community Table model well, with English classes run by Napier Friends and hairdressing and sewing machine activity taking place in the same space each week. We also delivered seven sessions in early summer in an undersupported Home Office contingency hotel on the seafront in Folkestone. The two star seaside hotel directly overlooks the English Channel, opened as an asylum hotel in November 2022 and came to our attention in April. It was home to around 60 men, many of them in their late teens/early 20s, some rescued from a boat and their first accommodation setting since arriving in the UK, and felt more of a crisis context. We later shifted our focus and pattern in Folkestone in our ongoing effort to work with the complexities of the local refugee context, taking The Community Table to Napier Drop-in so as to bring residents from both Napier Barracks and the nearby hotel into the same social space.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2023

Art Refuge was also a partner on the ‘Living Seams’ project “On Exile and Displacement in East Kent 20002021” with Atelier Armonico and their Heritage Lottery funding. It included various workshops across the year: Woodpecker Court, Napier Barracks, Napier Drop-In (The Community Table / dance workshops); Morley College and Kent Mining Museum (exhibitions); JW3, Finchley Road (talk). Following the dance workshops led by the 2 choreographers and 5 dancers, the project ended in mid-December with a performance at Quarterhouse of Zaubernacht, Kurt Weill’s ballet/opera set in a refugee camp and at sea, a moving event attended by men from Napier, volunteers and local organisations, incorporating dance steps offered by the men from their own cultural dances. One of the men from Afghanistan explained that dance performances were banned under the Taliban, and this was his first opportunity to see live dance, while the dancers/choreographers spoke about how profound they had found the workshops, and discussions about additional dance workshops in 2024.

BRIGHTON

Funded by a grant from Public Health Brighton and Hove, Art Refuge offered four in-person psychosocial training sessions in late Autumn for practitioners in local statutory and charity services working with people seeking asylum and refugees. Led by Tony Gammidge and Jess Linton, it was supported by other members of the team; and two local organisations for the final training on 'working across language and cultures': Bridging Change and refugee-led The Launchpad Collective. There was excellent take-up for the training with a core group of 20 people who fed back that the training was unique, holding and supportive. Burnout was a pervading issue alongside the need for self-care. It was our hope that the trainings would lead to direct work with the local asylum-seeking community in 2024.

EASTBOURNE

Funded by Public Health East Sussex, Tony Gammidge, Jess Linton and others in the team, including artist Majid Adin, ran 8 sessions at Sanctuary in Eastbourne, setting up The Community Table every Friday morning from September to December for 5-10 participants each week, including animation, installations and even a small building which housed a community cinema. We were also commissioned to run 3 artsbased psychosocial training sessions for Sanctuary’s volunteers - a mix of local residents, asylum seekers and refugees staying in Eastbourne. The sessions covered Trauma informed practice, Psychological First Aid and Working across languages and cultures. Towards the final sessions, Sanctuary lost several volunteers due to the closure of Home Office hotels and the move of residents to other parts of the country: with more closures pending. Public Health Eastbourne secured £2,000 for Art Refuge to deliver further trainings in early 2024.

LONDON

Our contingency accommodation work in London was on pause in early 2023 though we delivered a training for one of our partner organisations Humans for Rights in April, and were in discussion about how the London work might continue. We were pleased to be approached to deliver workshops by Young Roots to partner with them on a funded project in a new drop-in at Copenhagen Youth project on Tuesday afternoons, starting September 2023. This drop-in receives young people (18-25) from Home Office hotels in the Kings Cross area. From the first session co-led by Katie Miller and Thomas Etheridge, The Community Table was met with openness and curiosity from both the young people and the youth workers, the various media providing different ways into art making and allowing for important conversations to emerge with the young people, particularly around their experiences of living in hotel accommodation. A core group of 9 young people emerged, the Winter months proving the hardest, with a growing sense of community care and friendships developing, The Community Table acting as an anchor for new arrivals and enabling the youth workers to respond separately to individual concerns.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2023

BRISTOL

Art Refuge received numerous enquiries from people wanting to work with us in Bristol and the surrounding area, often due to our registered address being in Bristol, from art students to art therapists to researchers. With remaining Bristol Council funds in support of families from Ukraine, Sarah Robinson and Amy Wilson delivered two sessions of training in support of psychosocial art activities being delivered to the Bristol Church Hubs. They also led our core delivery of The Community Table continued in the Filton hotel most Thursdays, with practical support and allyship from hotel staff. It was attended by 5-21 people (residents, staff, people touching base and family members joining via FaceTime from countries in the Middle East and further afield) with some wonderful, rich activity and engagement. Eight sessions of outdoor activities were delivered in the summer weeks, funded by a small Positive Activities Grant to work with a greater connection to nature through kite flying and cyanotypes. During this process we have actively welcomed Emma Lunt - an intergenerational artist, and Gabrielė Zukauskaite - an anthropologist and digital artist, into the small local pool of freelancers to bring additional skills to the core art therapy informed approach. During our August break absence, the men hadn't gathered in the communal spaces, while the flow of people through the hotel increased with many long-standing residents having left, and several new arrivals each week. The Community Table has continued to welcome its consistent attendees across the Autumn and Winter months, with a greater emphasis on the use of light. A linguist from Iran said in direct reference to the typewriters at The Community Table 'It's so important to travel back in time: this is history, and this is art, there are memories here'.

ARTICLES, TRAINING, WORKSHOPS, EXHIBITIONS, TALKS

The following pieces of work were carried out by members of the team, some commissioned by external agencies (restricted funds):

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 31 December 2023

MARCH

APRIL

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 31 December 2023

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 31 December 2023

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

for the year ended 31 December 2023

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

FUNDRAISING

In order to deliver our regular project-based work, we depend on donations, fundraising events, legacies and grants from small Trusts, including an unrestricted donation of £15,000 from the Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust and the Hilden Charitable Family Trust (£14k of unrestricted funds confirmed over 2 years!). The majority of our income continued to be from such unrestricted funds. Small regular and new online donations were received via Just Giving, such as the generous legacy from the Melville-Brown family, while several individuals and organisations raised small funds on our behalf such as through running a marathon. We also embarked on a renewed fundraising drive, such as the successful application of approximately £28,000 to the King Baudouin fund.

Art Refuge was commissioned with a small grant of £3,000 by the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA), alongside commissions from Public Health in both Brighton and Hove, and Eastbourne, and a successful Lottery Awards for All application for our Bristol work of £9,800.

Our Mental Health Kind2Mind Campaign with the Big Give took place from May 15-22 with a £5k matched fund supported by an energetic campaign strategy, social media posts and Mailchimp emails, helped by Josh Thaker, trustees’ support, and a £2,000 donation from our long-time supporter the Lapid Trust. We also took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge and surpassed our target of £7,600, with pledges reaching £1,900 matched by our Champion in the form of the Human Rights Fund.

POLICIES

We continued to greatly benefit from input from our trustee Claire Zhang who has led on our ‘Art Refuge Policy, Procedure and Guidelines Portfolio’, ‘Art Refuge Risk and Incident Register’ and Risk Management Policy. Reviewed policies were again placed on the new Policies section of the website.

MANAGING RISK

For the year 2023, Art Refuge had zero incidents to report.

GDPR AND PRIVACY

In line with GDPR procedures we continued to register with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) as a legal requirement for data protection, alongside our Data Protection Policy to reflect our commitment to privacy and rigorous data management processes.

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity number 1114353)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 31 December 2023

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Position

The charity’s total funds at the year end amounted to £30,845 (2022 - £19,802), £11,260 of which was restricted funds (2022 - £7,000). Total income for the year increased to £108,167 (2022 - total income was £70,680). Total expenditure increased to £97,124 (2022 - total expenditure was £87,976).

Reserves Policy

The Trustees monitor the level of reserves at regular Board meetings to ensure an adequate level of reserves for the charity to continue to operate. The reserve policy is designed to cover 3 months' running costs. Looking at the commitments as at the year-end, the charity requires approx £10,600 in reserves. The balance of reserves of £19,585 at the balance sheet date is higher than the level required in the reserves policy. The Board are satisfied that this level of reserves is not excessive in light of the current uncertainties in the funding environment.

Going Concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charitable trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, with the continuing support of its funders. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies.

Approval

This report was approved by the Trustees on 5 October 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Dr Chris Wood

Chair

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ART REFUGE (Charity number 1114353)

I report on the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 set out on pages 16 to 22.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

2. 3 the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Disclosure: Departure from the 2008 Regulations

Your attention is to drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared the financial statements in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice, published on 16 July 2014 in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has since been withdrawn.

We understand that this has been done in order for the accounts to provide a true and fair view in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.

Charles Seempijja FCA

NfP Accountants Ltd Chartered Accountants 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street EC2A 4NE Date:

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ART REFUGE (Registered charity no. 1114353)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES for the year ended 31 December 2023

Unrestricted
Funds
Notes
£
INCOME FROM
Gifts, grants and donations
2
64,151
Investment income: bank interest
158
Programme income: training
1,350
TOTAL INCOME
65,659
EXPENDITURE ON
Staff fees and expenses
53,407
Other direct project costs
-
Advertising
-
Room rental
486
Printing, postage, and stationery
-
Hosting Fees and IT Consumables
603
Professional Fees
-
Just Giving and Virgin Money Deductions
1,029
Training Costs
-
Insurance
751
Admin and IT Support Fees
1,213
Independent Examiner's fee
1,397
Other expenses
(10)
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
58,876
6,783
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
6,783
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
TOTAL FUNDS AT 1 JANUARY 2023
12,802
TOTAL FUNDS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
19,585
Net income/(expenditure) before transfers		 Restricted
Funds
£
42,508
-
-
42,508
38,248
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
38,248
4,260
4,260
7,000
11,260		 Total Funds
2023
£
106,659
158
1,350
108,167
91,655
-
-
486
-
603
-
1,029
-
751
1,213
1,397
(10)
97,124
11,043
11,043
19,802
30,845		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
47,473
16
-
47,489
60,004
-
127
275
10
476
1,758
893
-
714
1,570
600
789
67,216
(19,727)
(19,727)
32,529
12,802		 Restricted
Funds
£
23,191
-
-
23,191
20,760
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
20,760
2,431
2,431
4,569
7,000		 Total Funds
2022
£
70,664
16
-
70,680
80,764
-
127
275
10
476
1,758
893
-
714
1,570
600
789
87,976
(17,296)
(17,296)
37,098
19,802

All incoming resources and outgoing resources derive from continuing activities.

The annexed notes form part of these financial statements

16

ART REFUGE (Registered charity no. 1114353)

BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 December 2023

Notes
CURRENT ASSETS
Trade debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
CREDITORS: amounts falling
due within one year
5
NET CURRENT ASSETS
NET ASSETS
FUNDS
General fund (unrestricted)
6
Restricted funds
6
TOTAL FUNDS		 2023
£
£
3,346
29,151
(1,652)
30,845
30,845
£
19,585
11,260
30,845
**£ **		 2023
£
£
3,346
29,151
(1,652)
30,845
30,845
£
19,585
11,260
30,845
**£ **		 £
3,850
17,237
(1,285)		 2022
£
19,802
30,845
**£ **		 19,802
_£ _
19,585
11,260		 12,802
7,000
30,845
**£ **		 19,802
_£ _

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities 2019 (FRS102), and the Charities Act 2011. They were approved, and authorised for issue, by the directors on 05 October 2024 and signed on their behalf by:-

Dr Chris Wood Chair

The annexed notes form part of these financial statements

17

ART REFUGE (Registered company no. , registered charity no. 1114353)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 December 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities 2015 (FRS102) (effective January 2015), and the Charities Act 2011. Income and expenditure have been analysed by nature rather than by activity, taking advantage of sections 4.6 and 4.22 - 4.23 of this SORP.

The effect of events relating to the year ended 31 December 2023 which occurred before the date of approval of the financial statements by the Trustees has been included in the financial statements to the extent required to show a true and fair view of the state of affairs at 31 December 2023 and the results for the year ended on that date.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a 'true and fair' view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a 'true and fair view'. This departure has involved following SORP 2015 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 (SORP 2005) which has since been withdrawn.

Public benefit entity

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Key judgements that the charity has made which have a significant effect on the accounts include estimating income and expenditure for the next 12 months.

Statement of Cash Flows

The charity has taken advantage of the exemption in Section 7.1B of FRS102 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

Income

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Grants which have a restriction as to timing are recognised over the period for which they are given.

The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in the accounts.

18

ART REFUGE (Registered company no. , registered charity no. 1114353)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 December 2023

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Statutory grants which are given as contributions towards the Charity's core services are treated as unrestricted.

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is considered all to relate to All the expenditure of the charity is in the furtherance of its charitable activities and includes the costs of delivering services undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

Tangible fixed assets

All assets costing more than £2,000 are capitalised.

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases:

Office equipment

Debtors

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

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash 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.

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.

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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

19

ART REFUGE (Registered company no. , registered charity no. 1114353)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 December 2023

2. GRANTS AND DONATIONS

Regular Donations
Just Giving
Anonymous donations
King's College London
Lapid Trust
Medecins Du Monde France
Projekt Europa
Afghanistan & Central Asian Association
Bristol City Council
Studio Canal
Wesport
Sandra Lousada
BAAT
Secours Catholique
Counterpoint Arts
David and Ruth Lewis Fund
Big Give
Hilden Charitable Trust
KRAN
Eventbrite
National Lottery
Atelier Armonico
University of Bedfordshire
Public Health Eastbourne
Samphire
Tampere University Foundation sr
Art and Psychotherapy Center (APC)
Young Roots
Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)
Union Chapel
Public Health Brighton
South London and Maudsley NHS
Foundation Trust		 Unrestricted
Funds
2023
£
10,651
17,371
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
15,000
14,129
7,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
64,151
**£ **		 Restricted
Funds
2023
£
-
-
3,629
-
-
-
1,720
-
-
-
-
-
-
535
-
950
-
-
-
-
1,048
9,800
5,650
376
4,950
5,500
250
-
-
7,500
-
600
42,508
**£ **		 Total
Funds
2023
£
10,651
17,371
3,629
-
-
-
1,720
-
-
-
-
-
-
535
-
950
15,000
14,129
7,000
-
1,048
9,800
5,650
376
4,950
5,500
250
-
-
7,500
-
600
106,659
**£ **		 Total
Funds
2022
£
8,844
19,620
1,274
1,990
5,000
1,000
1,719
450
3,000
6,000
2,000
4,000
-
735
2,498
750
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,784
-
-
10,000
-
70,664
_£ _

20

ART REFUGE (Registered company no. , registered charity no. 1114353)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 December 2023

3. STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS

The charity did not employ any salaried staff during the year (2022 - the same). However, the charity had 1 part-time administrative self-employed staff (2022 - 1); 11 freelance art therapists (2022 - 6), 6 freelance artists (2022 - 6) of whom 3 with refugee backgrounds, 2 artist volunteers (2022 - 3), 5 trainee arts therapists (2022 - 3) and a freelance bookkeeper (2022 – the same).

No staff received payments in excess of £60,000 (2022 - the same).

4. TRUSTEES

During the year, no trustees received payments for services provided to the charity (2022 - the same).

No trustees were reimbursed for expenses incurred on the charity's behalf (2022 - the same).

5.
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Accruals		 2023
£
1,052
600
1,652
**£ **		 2022
£
685
600
1,285
_£ _

21

ART REFUGE (Registered company no. , registered charity no. 1114353)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 December 2023

6.
STATEMENT OF FUNDS
Brought
Forward
£
Restricted project funds:
Afghanistan & Central
Asian Association
3,000
Wesport
4,000
King's College London
-
Medecins du Monde
France
-
BAAT
-
Counterpoint Arts
-
Young Roots
-
Union Chapel
-
Public Health Brighton
-
Samphire
-
Public Health
Eastbourne
-
University of
Bedfordshire
-
Atelier Armonico
-
National Lottery
-
Eventbrite
-
Total restricted funds
7,000
Unrestricted fund
12,802
Total funds
19,802
**£ **		 Incoming
Resources
£
-
-
3,629
1,720
535
950
7,500
600
5,500
250
4,950
376
5,650
9,800
1,048
42,508
65,659
108,167
**£ **		 Resources
Transfers &
Expended Gains / Losses
£
£
(3,000)
-
(4,000)
-
(3,629)
-
(1,720)
-
(535)
-
(950)
-
(7,500)
-
(600)
-
(4,416)
-
(250)
-
(4,950)
-
-
-
(5,650)
-
-
-
(1,048)
-
(38,248)
-
(58,876)
-
(97,124)
£
Nil
£		 Carried
Forward
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,084
-
-
376
-
9,800
-
11,260
19,585
30,845
**£ **

22

ART REFUGE

(Registered company no. , registered charity no. 1114353)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 December 2023

STATEMENT OF FUNDS - CONTINUED
2022
Brought
Incoming
Forward
Resources
£
£
Restricted funds
Secours Catholique
-
2,498
Medecins du Monde
-
-
King's College London
-
1,990
South London and
Maudsley NHS
Foundation Trust
-
1,000
Afghanistan & Central
Asian Association
-
3,000
Medecins Du Monde
France
-
1,719
Bristol City Council
-
6,000
Wesport
-
4,000
North Somerset
Council
2,085
-
Projekt Europa
-
450
Counterpoint Arts
-
750
Tampere University
Foundation
-
1,784
Art and Psychotherapy
Center
1,484
-
The Richard and
Siobhán Coward
1,000
-
4,569
23,191
Unrestricted fund
32,529
47,489
Total funds
37,098
£
70,680
_£ _		 Resources
Transfers &
Expended Gains / Losses
£
£
(2,498)
-
-
-
(1,990)
-
(1,000)
-
-
-
(1,719)
-
(6,000)
-
-
-
(2,085)
-
(450)
-
(750)
-
(1,784)
-
(1,484)
-
(1,000)
-
(20,760)
-
(67,216)
-
(87,976)
£
Nil
£		 Carried
Forward
£
-
-
-
-
3,000
-
-
4,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
7,000
12,802
19,802
_£ _

7. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Current assets
Creditors due within one year		 General
Funds
2023
£
21,237
(1,652)
19,585
**£ **		 Restricted
Funds
2023
£
11,260
-
11,260
**£ **		 Total
Funds
2023
£
32,497
(1,652)
30,845
**£ **		 Total
Funds
2022
£
21,087
(1,285)
19,802
_£ _

23