OBLIQUE ARTS Charity Number 1142653 Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024
Contents
Receipts and Payments accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024
Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31st March 2024
OBLIQUE ARTS (Charity Number 1142653)
Receipts and Payments accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Income (restricted) | ||
| Grant Income | 24820 | 3,137 |
| Commissions/Earned Income | 413 | 17,440 |
| Donations | 300 | 2,185 |
| Total income (restricted) | 25,533 | 22,762 |
| Income (unrestricted) | ||
| Grant Income | 51960 | 11,634 |
| Donations | 225.92 | 5 |
| Commissions/Earned income | 1906.38 | 15,735 |
| Total income (unrestricted) | 54,092 | 27,374 |
| OVERALL TOTAL INCOME | 79,625 | 50,136 |
| Expenditure (restricted) | ||
| Wages (Co-ordinator & Media Officer) | 15370 | 13,540 |
| Administrative materials & expenses | 2541.95 | - |
| Project artist/filmmaker fees | 21006 | 9,861 |
| Artist materials | 3914.83 | 2,510 |
| Artist expenses | 5719.84 | 1,928 |
| Total expenditure (restricted) | 48,553 | 27,839 |
OBLIQUE ARTS (Charity Number 1142653)
Receipts and Payments accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Expenditure (unrestricted) | ||
| Wages (Co-ordinator & other) | 11635 | 8,260 |
| Administrative materials & expenses | ||
| Stationery, printing & travel | ||
| Insurance, accountancy, storage etc | ||
| Total admin | 2692.19 | 557 |
| Project artist/fimmaker fees | 3400 | 16,143 |
| Artist materials | 63.97 | 5,263 |
| Artist expenses | 2167.06 | 3,656 |
| Total expenditure (unrestricted) | 19,958 | 33,879 |
| OVERALL TOTAL EXPENDITURE | 68,511 | 61,719 |
| RETAINED SURPLUS | ||
| 2024 | 2023 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Restricted funds | ||
| (deficit)/surplus for the period | (23,020) | (5,077) |
| Surplus brought forward | 21,086 | 26,163 |
| Transfer to unrestricted funds | ||
| Restricted surplus carried forward | (1,934) | 21,086 |
OBLIQUE ARTS (Charity Number 1142653)
Receipts and Payments accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024
| Unrestricted funds | ||
|---|---|---|
| (deficit)/surplus for the period | 34,134 | (6,505) |
| Surplus brought forward | 1,670 | 8,175 |
| Transfer to restricted funds | ||
| Unrestricted surplus carried forward | 35,804 | 1,670 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | ||
| (deficit)/surplus for the period | 11,114 | (11,583) |
| Surplus brought forward | 22,755 | 34,338 |
| Total surplus carried forward | 33,870 | 22,755 |
The organisation has no recognised gains and losses other than those represented in the surplus above and therefore no separate statement of total gains and losses has been presented.
All activities are continuing, there have been no acquisitions or disposals during the year.
OBLIQUE ARTS (Charity Number 1142653)
Receipts and Payments accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024 STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31ST MARCH 2024
| STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 | STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 | STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Unrestricte | Restricted | Unrestricted | Restricted | |
| d funds | funds | funds | funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Cash at bank | 35,804 | (41) | 1,670 | 21,086 |
| Chequest paid out but not cleared at | ||||
| year end | - | (1,893) | - | - |
| Total | 35,804 | (1,934) | 1,670 | 21,086 |
Statement on Reserves Policy:
The large portion of our income is ‘Restricted’ and is therefore applied only to set-aside projects. As a rule, 10% of this restricted income is used to pay unrestricted running costs (as listed in the accounts expenditure above) so that the charity can function.
Some of the income we receive is as a commission or unrestricted grant to carry out a particular project(s), and on occasions we are able to complete the project(s) with money in hand. This enables us to build up a modest unrestricted reserve which can help with running costs and also any potential over-spend on projects in the future or other unanticipated costs or opportunities ie where we have to provide unrestricted contributions in order to access grant monies.
Independently examined.
The financial statements were signed by trustee:
OBLIQUE ARTS
AGM Date: 19[th] July 2023, 27[th] Sept 2024
OBLIQUE ARTS Trustees’ Annual Report for the period From 1st April 202 3 to 31st March 2024 Charity name: Oblique Arts Charity registration number: 1142653
This year the charity has income of £76,625. Funds were carried forward from previous year. Expenditure £68,511. Accounts have been externally audited.
Objectives and Activities
Oblique Arts works with communities to deliver innovative arts-based outcomes. We provide unique creative workshops with communities and individuals (often young people) to inspire and educate. We use the arts to explore important questions around sustainable futures and encourage critical thinking and creative action.
We work with hard-to-reach communities (including GRT), which would not usually have access to arts engagement. We consider the arts in the broadest sense, including creative thinking and new methodologies to address problems. The projects allow for empowerment of the communities we work with, giving them a “voice” where once they ha d none. We support up to 12 freelance artists, a coordinator and have 8 to 12 volunteers. We work on partnership projects, both nationally and internationally. We offer training for our artist/tutors.
Objects:
T o deliver arts projects for the benefit of communities, particularly those who are disadvantaged and lack access to the arts. To curate exhibitions, shows and events.
To manage community projects with a view to sustainability and environmental awareness.
To raise funding for the charity.
To raise awareness about the practice & innovation of art and related activities in the community.
To access training and development for the benefit of artists and volunteers. To work in partnership with related interest organisations to benefit communities and artists. To promote accessibility and inclusivity in events, activities, exhibitions and workshops.
Reporting Public Benefit
The trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.
Our annual report details activities that further the charity’s purposes for the public benefit. In particular, the annual report also addresses the two key principles by which we will assess public benefit:
1) There must be an identifiable benefit or benefits which have been evaluated.
- 2) Benefit must be to the public, or a section of the public, particularly the disadvantaged communities that we work with.
Achievements and Performance
This year we have benefited from becoming an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation. This has given us stability and support. We once again delivered projects to: teenagers facing economic and other hardships, older participants facing isolation and our Neuro-diverse community. Peer support groups have continued successfully. This work was also supported by the Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. Our ‘Creative Curiosity Walks’ in the countryside around Cambridge have continued to be popular. This year we also began working on our ‘Music for Wellbeing’ group, who have produced many original songs and a CD (following recording at the Blue Barn Studios in Fenland). Exhibitions included Wired at Cambridge Artworks, which was well attended. We also completed our ‘Windrush Generation’ project in Cambridge and produced a publication that was launched in November 2023.
Festivals included the Folk by the Oak in Hatfield. We took our large kaleidoscope and delivered workshops for families. The NOW Art event/happening took place at the Museum of Technology in Cambridge in June. There was multimedia art, live music and the commissioning of 10 artists. An enthusiastic crowd, on this summer evening, enjoyed a playful glimpse into the artworld.
Our Advocacy Project with the GRT community has continued supporting Travellers facing a range of issues from evictions to schooling and discrimination. We continued work with the GRT research group at Essex University. We have developed a ‘Community of Practice’ around Traveller health. In May Beverley Carpenter attended the World Roma Congress in Berlin to work with our peers there. Friends, Families & Travellers, Gypsy Council, Compas and the Showman’s Guild continue to work with us.
We planted 400 trees again this year, with the support of volunteers, Fen End Community Farm and the Woodland Trust. We continue our commitment to environmental responsibility.
Financial Review
Income for this period: £76,625. Grant funding of £24,820 and Commissions/Donations of £713.
The Accounts
The accounts include a Statement of Financial Activities, a Balance Sheet and notes to the accounts. The Statement of Financial Activities distinguishes between the unrestricted and restricted funds
Statement on Reserves Policy:
The large portion of our income is ‘Restricted’ and is therefore applied only to set-aside projects. As a general rule, 10% of this restricted income is used to pay unrestricted running costs (as listed in the accounts expenditure above) so that the charity can function.
Some of the income we receive is as a commission or unrestricted grant to carry out a particular project(s), and on occasions we are able to complete the project(s) with money in hand. This enables us to build up a modest unrestricted reserve which can help with running costs and also any potential overspend on projects in the future or other unanticipated costs or opportunities eg where we have to provide unrestricted contributions in order to access grant monies.
We aim to keep at least £10,000 in unrestricted funds therefore.
Structure, Governance and Management
Description:
Oblique Arts is a charity registered with the Charity Commission in 2011. Registration number 1142653. It is governed by a deed of trust.
Organisational structure
The charity trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the charity. The trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits.
The trustees are responsible for all decisions taken in relation to running of Oblique Arts and the activities provided by the charity. The management committee, comprising Chair, Secretary and Treasurer manage the smooth running of the charity. The Co-ordinator is responsible for administration, fundraising and project organisation. A bookkeeper oversees day-to-day finance. A media manager oversees publicity and marketing for the charity and for projects.
Recruitment and appointment of trustees:
The existing trustees are responsible for the recruitment of new trustees in consultation with management and other members of the charity. In selecting new trustees, we seek to identify people who regularly attend events and take an active interest in the work organised by the charity and have skills to share. They demonstrate that they are willing to volunteer to help in our broader work with communities. Potential trustees are invited to attend events and activities. They are appointed at the AGM.
Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities
The charity trustees are responsible for preparing an annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees for the purposes of charity law who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out here.
Reference and Administrative details
Charity’s principal address: 14 Cockburn Street, Cambridge. CB1 3NB
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
Peter Torak appointed 10th June 2020. Amanda Gawthrope and Julian Pickles appointed June 2022.
Management committee 2022/3
Chair: Karen Kellet Secretary : Penny Sobr Treasurer: Simon Buchan Name of Coordinator: Beverley Carpenter
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees Signature (s)
Full Name Julian Pickles
Position Date Trustee 15.04.24