REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1145384
Report of the Trustees and
Unaudited Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
for
THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Contents of the Financial Statements FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Page | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 6 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 7 | ||
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 | ||
| Balance Sheet | 9 | ||
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 10 | to | 15 |
THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Report of the Trustees FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
The Trustees shall hold the capital and income of the Trust Fund upon trust to apply the income, and all or such parts of the capital, at such time or times and in such a manner to, or for the advancement of the education of the public in particular in relation to both art and philosophy, particularly through the promotion and support of educational and cultural events.
The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Charitable activities
In 2024 the Charity used £150,000 of its Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI) Designated Fund to facilitate grant funding totalling £206,384 to support IAI activities that are aligned with the objectives of the Trust. The IAI Designated Fund ended the year at £450,000 which the Trust intends to use to support future IAI activities at a level of at least £150,000 per year, whilst maintaining financial resilience of the Trust.
In 2024, the grants received by the IAI from the Trust were used to help fund production of two HowTheLightGetsIn Festivals as well as ten livestream debate events held through the year under the ‘IAI Live’ programme. The Trust supported the development of further educational courses for the IAI Academy as well as the development of the IAI Sixth Form curriculum which is a curated version of the fuller festival debate programme aimed at pre-university school students and which takes place on site at the festivals. The Trust were also pleased to help fund the growth of the IAI’s YouTube channel – further widening public access to the educational and cultural content captured during the festivals’ debate programmes.
HowTheLightGetsIn Festivals 2024:
HowTheLightGetsIn is a philosophy and music festival held twice a year in Hay-on-Wye and London respectively. The festivals are cultural events attended by members of the public and align closely with the objectives of the Trust by advancing education in relation to philosophy and art through a series of debates between leading thinkers of the day alongside an evening programme of music and comedy. The Charity has supported HowTheLightGetsIn over many previous years and has seen the in-person audiences grow year on year, as well as steady growth in the volume of educational content on a wide range of philosophical subjects which is made available on iai.tv and YouTube.
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Report of the Trustees FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
In 2024, attendance at both Festivals was strong. The funds donated from the Trust in 2024 supported the development of the main debate programmes across both live festivals in Hay-on-Wye and London. Under the overriding theme of ‘Navigating the Unknown’, speakers across science, art, politics and philosophy tackled the big philosophical questions, shining a spotlight on the decade to come and asking what ‘unknowns’ have we overlooked, and how can and should we respond to them. Speakers from around the world put forward their ideas in events that examined the dangers of AI, the instability of a new global geopolitical order, the illusion of a unified self, and the contradictions in our current scientific account of the universe, along
with an array of other topics. A team of experienced hosts, briefed by the IAI team, led the discussions ensuring that all panellists shared their often opposing views, and also invited questions from the audience.
Eminent speakers in 2024 included Mayor of London, former MP and human rights lawyer Sadiq Khan; neuroscientist, philosopher and author of five New York Times bestsellers Sam Harris; YouTuber, former financial trader and activist Gary Stevenson; celebrity philosopher Slavoj Zizek; former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow; co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and Bristol MP Carla Denyer; former Conservative MP Nadim Zahawi; ground-breaking physicist Sabine Hossenfelder; and mathematician, mathematical physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics – Sir Roger Penrose.
Following their debates, speakers could often be found continuing the debates or discussing new areas with members of the public around the festival site.
IAI Live 2024:
In 2024, the Trust helped to fund ten IAI Live sessions which took place online throughout the year, in all months except those in which a HowTheLightGetsIn Festival was held.
Topics addressed pressing philosophical dilemmas from the world around us, with esteemed social psychologist Jonathan Haidt leading a Live session in July around the topic of play, childhood development and social media with panellists Katherine Birbalsingh, Emily Edlynn, and Christopher Ferguson; and a Live interview with philosophical anarchist Michael Huemer in September on whether we have an obligation, moral or otherwise, to obey the law. The IAI Live sessions in 2024 complemented our in-person festivals by allowing a public audience from across the world to join online sessions and participate in discussions with eminent thinkers thus furthering the goals of the Trust, to advance the education of the public in relation to philosophy.
IAI Academy 2024:
In 2024, funds from the Trust also contributed to the creation of 5 new IAI Academy courses which were added to the online Academy programme which is available via iai.tv. The IAI Academy is an important part of the IAI’s educational offering, allowing members of the public to delve deeper into core philosophical subjects led by leading thinkers, with the option of completing an assessment and gaining certification.
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Report of the Trustees FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The new courses added in 2024 further added to the breadth of philosophy education made available by the IAI, covering issues of biology, identity, AI, and astrophysics. The courses were ‘The history and philosophy of human nature’ created in collaboration with Subrena Smith, philosopher of biology from the University of New Hampshire; ‘Heaven in Disorder’ in collaboration with globally renowned philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek; ‘The Sociology of identity’ in collaboration with Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent; ‘Brains, computers, and the AI revolution’ in collaboration with Rosalyn Moran, leading professor of computational neuroscience and deputy director of the AI Institute at King's College London and ‘The Mysteries of Black Holes’ in collaboration with Priyamvada Natarajan, professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of Yale and the first woman in Astrophysics to be elected as a Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge.
The IAI Sixth Form 2024:
As part of its charitable donation in 2024, the Trust contributed funds towards the IAI Sixth Form programme with live sessions running in Hay-on-Wye and London in conjunction with the wider HowTheLightGetsIn Festival programme. Funding from the Trust provided the means for the creation of curricula for both sessions, and liaison with our worldleading panel of speakers to create a stimulating programmes of talks, discussions, and interactive workshops. The IAI Sixth Form is aimed at students who want to grow their skills of critical thinking, analysis and verbal reasoning as well as strengthen their university applications. The Trust is keen to contribute to the IAI Sixth Form which gives young people exposure to interdisciplinary thinking and covers specialised areas of philosophy and science, contemporary politics and critical theory.
In 2024, the numbers of students attending the IAI Sixth Form increased by 28% across both festivals. We were pleased to see students join from a wider range of schools, with two independent and two state schools sending students to Hay, and one independent and one state school sending students to London. The added diversity made the programme more accessible which is one of the key goals of the Trust.
Students had the opportunity to hear from and interact with figures such as the leading politician Thangam Debbonaire, AI philosophy professor Shannon Vallor, British labour economist Guy Standing, acclaimed historical author Philippa Gregory, renowned activist and public intellectual Tariq Ali, Swedish futurist Anders Sandberg, mechanical engineer and media broadcaster Shini Somara and CUNY philosopher and logician Graham Priest.
Feedback was extremely positive with 100% of students agreeing that they felt more confident applying the skills and tools used in philosophy to other subjects, and engaging in new philosophical ideas; 96% of students saying they felt more able to critically appraise their own work and that of their peers, feeling more able to build meaningful links between different subjects and feeling able to critically engage with and analyse new arguments and ideas.
“THANK YOU so much for all the hard work you put into the schools programme at the festival, our students absolutely loved their experience and some even described it as “the best trip they’d ever been on.” Teacher, Wallington School
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Report of the Trustees FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
“I found the whole event wonderful and I really think that the sixth form events were an excellent way to encourage the students to go out into the rest of the festival and seek out speakers for themselves. The first day, our first year students were a little intimidated and nervous but after hearing the speakers on that first day, and the Q&A sessions, it gave them the confidence to think about what they wanted to hear. On the second day, they were buzzing in the car home and that meant that on the third day they were really keen to cram as many speakers in as they could.” Teacher, Hereford Sixth Form
IAI YouTube Channel 2024:
In 2024, donations from the Trust helped fund an expanded Media Production team which had success in growing IAI’s YouTube audience. An enlarged team allowed for a higher volume of content to be produced and edited for the YouTube platform, and for the team to make use of the new ‘shorts’ feature. As a result, views of IAI content on YouTube increased rapidly over the year from an average of 850,000 views per month in 2023, to an average of 3.9m views per month in 2024.
This huge growth of worldwide traffic to the IAI YouTube channel aligned closely with the aims of the Trust, in advancing the education of the public in relation to art and philosophy and also drove increased traffic to iai.tv from which further debate content and educational features such as the IAI Academy were accessible.
Conclusion:
After a very successful 2024 involving two HowTheLightGetsIn Festivals and a huge increase in the IAI’s online audience around the world, the Arts and Ideas Trust is looking forward to continuing to support the IAI’s educational and cultural activities. The IAI anticipate further growth in their online audience and to manage this, and create a better user experience for the international audience, there are plans to move IAI content to a content delivery network. This will require additional resource in both the web development and project management teams. The Charity is delighted to see that its donations to the IAI over 2024 led to a significant increase in the global audience who have access to its educational content, and is looking forward to providing ongoing support.
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Report of the Trustees FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial position
The principal funding source of the Trust in 2024 is from donations of £17,240 (2023 - £9,458) and dividends on the preference shares of £27,000 (2023 - £46,875). A grant of £150,000 (2023 - £150,000) was payable to the Institute of Art and Ideas. At the year end there was a funds balance of £518,526 (2023 - £680,670).
Reserves policy
As is appropriate for grant funding charities, the Trust does not have a reserves policy as grants payable are reactive to the level of funding received.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust dated 17 October 2011, and constitutes an unincorporated charity.
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
Trustees are appointed for a term of 3 years in writing by Hilary Lawson during his lifetime and thereafter by resolution of the trustees. A retiring trustee who is competent to act may be re-appointed at the end of the term of office.
Related parties
Related parties are the trustees, Hilary Lawson by virtue of his ability to appoint trustees and Television and Film Productions Plc, a company controlled by Mr Lawson.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number
1145384
Principal address 375 City Road London EC1V 1NB
Trustees
Anatole Kaletsky Joanna Kavenna David Lebor
Independent Examiner
Gravita Chartered Accountants Bath House 6 - 8 Bath Street Bristol BS1 6HL
Bankers
National Westminster Bank plc 1 Princes Street London EC2R 8BP
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Report of the Trustees FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
Approved by order of the board of trustees on 23 October 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
David Lebor - Trustee
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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The Art and Ideas Trust
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Art and Ideas Trust
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Art and Ideas Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
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 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all 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:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by Section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
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.
Matthew Bracher BSc FCA
Gravita Chartered Accountants Bath House 6 - 8 Bath Street Bristol BS1 6HL
Date: 23 October 2025
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Statement of Financial Activities FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Institute of Art and Ideas Unrestricted Designated fund Funding Notes £ £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 17,240 - Charitable activities Grant funding - - Investment income 2 27,000 - Total 44,240 - EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Grant funding 56,384 150,000 NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) (12,144) (150,000) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 80,670 600,000 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 68,526 450,000 |
2024 Total funds £ 17,240 - 27,000 44,240 206,384 (162,144) 680,670 518,526 |
2023 Total funds £ 9,458 21,006 46,875 77,339 186,144 (108,805) 789,475 680,670 |
|---|---|---|
The notes form part of these financial statements
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Balance Sheet 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Notes FIXED ASSETS Investments 8 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 9 Cash at bank CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 10 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET ASSETS FUNDS 11 Unrestricted funds TOTAL FUNDS |
Unrestricted fund £ - 44,240 35,324 79,564 (11,038) 68,526 68,526 68,526 |
Institute of Art and Ideas Designated Funding £ 450,000 - - - - - 450,000 450,000 |
2024 Total funds £ 450,000 44,240 35,324 79,564 (11,038) 68,526 518,526 518,526 518,526 518,526 |
2023 Total funds £ 600,000 206,250 35,157 241,407 (160,737) 80,670 680,670 680,670 680,670 680,670 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 23 October 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:
David Lebor - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Notes to the Financial Statements FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Offerings and donations are recognised on receipt.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
Short term liquid investments and cash
Cash at bank is held to meet short-term cash commitments as they fall due rather than for investment purposes and includes all cash equivalents held in the form of short-term highly liquid investments. Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and that are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.
Financial Instruments
The charity only has financial assets and 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.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.
continued...
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued
Fund accounting
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
There are no restricted funds at 31 December 2024.
Fixed asset investments
Fixed asset investments in quoted shares, traded bonds and similar investments are valued at initially at cost and subsequently at fair value (their market value) at the year end. The same treatment is applied to unlisted investments unless fair value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment.
2. INVESTMENT INCOME
| 2024 £ Dividends and interest from listed investments 27,000 3. GRANTS PAYABLE 2024 £ Grant funding 205,000 The total grants paid to institutions during the year was as follows: 2024 £ Institute of Art and Ideas 205,000 4. SUPPORT COSTS Governance Finance costs £ £ Grant funding 4 1,380 |
2023 £ 46,875 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2023 £ 185,000 |
||
| 2023 £ 185,000 |
||
| Totals £ 1,384 |
5. EXAMINER'S REMUNERATION
Amounts payable to the Independent Examiner comprise £736 (2023 - £600) for the independent examination and £643 (2023 - £535) for the production of the accounts.
continued...
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
6. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2024 nor for the year ended 31 December 2023.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 December 2024 nor for the year ended 31 December 2023.
7. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Institute of Art and Ideas Unrestricted Designated fund Funding £ £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 9,458 - Charitable activities Grant funding 21,006 - Investment income 46,875 - Total 77,339 - EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Grant funding 36,144 150,000 NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 41,195 (150,000) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 39,475 750,000 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 80,670 600,000 |
Total funds £ 9,458 21,006 46,875 77,339 186,144 (108,805) 789,475 680,670 |
|---|---|
continued...
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
8. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
| FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS | |
|---|---|
| Unlisted | |
| investments | |
| £ | |
| MARKET VALUE | |
| At 1 January 2024 | 600,000 |
| Disposals | (150,000) |
| At 31 December 2024 | 450,000 |
| NET BOOK VALUE | |
| At 31 December 2024 | 450,000 |
| At 31 December 2023 | 600,000 |
There were no investment assets outside the UK.
The gift of preference shares has been valued by the trustees at the nominal value of the shares. The trustees consider this to be the market value at 31 December 2024.
9. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
| Prepayments and accrued income 10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Other creditors 11. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS At 1.1.24 £ Unrestricted funds General fund 80,670 Institute of Art and Ideas Designated Funding 600,000 680,670 TOTAL FUNDS 680,670 |
2024 £ 44,240 2024 £ 11,038 Net movement in funds £ (12,144) (150,000) (162,144) (162,144) |
2023 £ 206,250 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 £ 160,737 |
||
| At 31.12.24 £ 68,526 450,000 |
||
| 518,526 | ||
| 518,526 |
continued...
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
11. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Incoming resources £ Unrestricted funds General fund 44,240 Institute of Art and Ideas Designated Funding - 44,240 TOTAL FUNDS 44,240 Comparatives for movement in funds At 1.1.23 £ Unrestricted funds General fund 39,475 Institute of Art and Ideas Designated Funding 750,000 789,475 TOTAL FUNDS 789,475 Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: Incoming resources £ Unrestricted funds General fund 77,339 Institute of Art and Ideas Designated Funding - 77,339 TOTAL FUNDS 77,339 |
Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (56,384) (12,144) (150,000) (150,000) (206,384) (162,144) (206,384) (162,144) Net movement At in funds 31.12.23 £ £ 41,195 80,670 (150,000) 600,000 (108,805) 680,670 (108,805) 680,670 Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (36,144) 41,195 (150,000) (150,000) (186,144) (108,805) (186,144) (108,805) |
|---|---|
continued...
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THE ART AND IDEAS TRUST
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
12. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
Dividend income of £27,000 (2023 - £46,875) has arisen in respect of the preference shares held in Television and Film Productions plc which is a company controlled by Mr Lawson who also has the power to appoint trustees. The dividends were received after the year end.
The company also made donations to the Trust of £17,240 (2023 - £9,375).
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