Annual Report 2024 - 2025
Transculturalvisions is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity Registration Number 1154089
Address: c/o Medway Voluntary Action, 5a New Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 6BB
Email: admin@transculturalvisions.com Website: www.transculturalvisions.com
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Activities and Public Benefit
- Finance
4. Governance and Staff
5. Targets for 2026
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1. Introduction
Transculturalvisions delivers creative projects inspired by the cultural experiences and heritage of Britain's diverse communities. We present safe creative spaces for the public to explore and articulate visions and aspirations for ‘a better world’ built on a ‘common humanity’ .
Transculturalvisions is a project-based organisation raising funds as individual projects are conceived. All our projects involve a series of workshops combining arts activities, themed discussions and creating new outputs culminating in performance events. Workshop content presents underexplored arts and heritage, and invites participants to think critically about their ‘actual’ experiences as well as ‘possibilities’ for inter- and intra- ethnic relations and a shared sense of belonging.
Some projects are purposefully shaped to engage specific communities to address historical under-representation, and/or provide a safe space for marginalised voices to be articulated. An aspiration for all our projects, which are designed to be multiphase if funding and interest allows, is to widen the ethnic diversity of participants and audience. This is so that unfolding ideas for a ‘common humanity’ and ‘a better world’ are informed by a myriad of voices and experiences which is necessary for a meaningful collective vision to evolve.
“This is a profound musical conversation unhindered by spaces between you. I'm 5000 miles away & feel reassured & connected.” Audience, ‘Infectious Air’ online series, 2020
“What a brilliant experience for our daughter and her friends. We have two more children in the school and we hope they get to experience this too.” Parents of Year 6 Pupil, St. Joseph’s Primary School, 2024
- “I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. Wow! And for me it’s a challenge to our senses. That we don’t just have a voice. We have a voice that can do all sorts of things. And we have breath that does all sorts of things.” Singing Cultures Chorister, 2019
Across all projects our participants and live audiences have totalled 1.5k, and online audiences proactively engaging through social media channels approximately 250k.
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2. Activities and Public Benefit
Transculturalvisions began project activities in 2016 and we have built a track record of delivering high quality interactive projects. Our activities have included:
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three phases of Singing Cultures with an adult choir inspired by the 200+ year legacy of African Classical Music.
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three blocks of Singing Cultures at School for primary school pupils.
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two online series - Infectious Air and Stranger Fruit - exploring the legacies of jazz and blues on contemporary music and culture.
In this reporting year our focus has been on developing new partnerships to grow existing projects, evolving new projects concepts in new locations, and testing new funding streams.
2.1 Singing Cultures
Singing Cultures is a creative arts education project inspired by the 200+ year heritage of African Classical Music.
Over two centuries African composers of classical music have received international acclaim producing compositions celebrated by leading figures and institutions of classical music in Britain such as Sir Charles Groves, Sir Malcolm Sergeant, the BBC, and London conservatoires where many studied. The legacy of African composers is doubly inspiring for the way in which their approach to music-making exposes classical music as being open to intercultural expression to symbolize 'a common humanity'. The Singing Cultures project engages people to explore this legacy and share their experiences and aspirations for strengthening relations between and within communities.
2.2 Singing Cultures Choir
An adult choir is central to the Singing Cultures project and breathing life to the hidden history of African Classical Music. The choir’s repertoire includes songs from African composers, African folksongs and original songs created in workshops.
Over three phases the thematic focus of the choir has shifted from the “possibilities” (dreams and aspirations) to the “challenges” (barriers and obstacles) for building meaningful relations across communities. Choristers’ ideas, aspirations and understanding of obstacles to building ‘a better world’ have been interwoven into new creative outputs. For example, the choir’s original song “Black, Brown, Red, White and Blue” presents a vision of London where ‘anything is possible’. By contrast “Song for Humanity” describes the obstacles to freedom and positive relationships with lyrics like ‘how do we get out of this tangle, humanity is in a tangle, conflict, oppression, ethnic aggression, children are lost in this language division, women’s exploitation, environmental degradation’ . https://youtu.be/wRbp4F_RbjY?si=yeEHHveJL6knEtW0
2.2.1 New Partnership with Imperial War Museum
In May 2025 the Singing Cultures Choir , along with 8 other London choirs, was invited to take part in a ‘Come and Sing’ event at Imperial War Museum to commemorate VE day. Following this event, Project Director Bilkis Malek, was approached to consider the choir’s next phase being hosted at Imperial War Museum with input from their resident choral conductor Andrea Brown.
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Meetings with the ‘Learning and Participation Team’ have resulted in Imperial War Museum generously agreeing to host the Singing Cultures Choir in 2026. The aim of the partnership is to open new conversations and ways of engaging audiences by applying the choir’s exploration of ‘a common humanity’ to the museum’s objective to ‘challenge people to look at war and conflict from different perspectives’. Thus, a central focus for the Singing Cultures workshops will be to shape the ‘themed discussion and creating new performance material’ element around selective museum exhibits.
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Singing Cultures Choristers
@ Imperial War Museum
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The collaboration with Imperial War Museum has been scheduled for workshop rehearsals to start in February 2026 leading to a public concert in May 2026.
2.3 Singing Cultures at School
In 2022 we adapted and piloted Singing Cultures for primary school children at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Deptford, London. This established the possibilities of African Classical Music heritage inspiring younger audiences to engage in conversations, and create content about strengthening relations across communities.
Over 3 blocks of workshops, between 2022 and 2025, children’s creative outputs included visual art, creative writing, fashion show, original drama sketches, concerts and a podcast on Fela Sowande https://youtu.be/GjfFIU9UaT0?si=MbTrFJHq1dIquz7.
Building on the success of the project at St. Joseph’s and staff feedback highlighting the multiple learning and personal development opportunities for children we have identified short and long-term aims for growing ‘ Singing Cultures at School ’.
2.3.1 Short-term Aims
a) to keep momentum and evolve partnership with St. Joseph’s School. The immediate focus is to attract funding to repeat the current Year 6 workshops focussed on another composer.
b) to trial the Singing Cultures at School model with another heritage delivering to another school and location.
2.3.2 Long-term Aims
a) to package workshops and resources from earlier phases for purchase by schools and external organisations.
b) to strengthen involvement of staff at schools linked to short-term aims (ie St. Joseph’s and Luton Primary) to explore the project’s potential for curriculum learning, including a professional development strand for teachers.
c) to establish a steering group to provide direction for the above and importantly to identify an infrastructure and core-funding to deliver long-term aims.
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2.3.3 New Partners – Luton Primary and Spotlites Theatre
We have made notable progress identifying new partners for trialling the ‘ Singing Cultures at School ’ model to profile another heritage and delivering in another school/location.
‘Aina’ – aged 19yrs
A new project proposal has been developed titled ‘Journeying with Aina – aka Sarah Forbes Bonetta’. It profiles the story of ‘Aina’ an African orphan who was adopted by Queen Victoria and spent her formative years in Chatham, Kent. The proposal has been developed with Spotlites Theatre as a new partner for project delivery and Luton Primary as a new participating school. Both Spotlites and Luton Primary are local to Aina’s residence ‘Palm Cottage’ in Chatham.
2.3.4 New Funding Stream
For the Aina project an application to ‘Medway Heritage Place’ was submitted in October 2024. This, for us, was a new funding stream. Whilst it was unsuccessful, the panel’s feedback was positive indicating ‘the application was strong and they were disappointed not to fund it due to prioritising organisations that had not previously received public funding’. The panel additionally advised the project would be a strong contender for future strands for ‘Medway Heritage Place’ funding.
A fresh application is being prepared for the next call for applications in January 2026.
2.4 Medway Street Shanties
Street Shanties spotlights ‘ordinary’ residents recognised for having an ‘extraordinary’ impact in strengthening neighbour relations and promoting community spirit.
The invitation to develop this project proposal came from Ideas Test Medway following an introduction from the Medway local authority’s Heritage Culture Team. The aim of the project is to inspire current residents to have deeper connections with neighbours, houses, streets, and local heritage in their immediate area, thus strengthening their sense of place and belonging. The project will engage current residents of a selected street in Medway in a creative process culminating in a street performance combining ‘sea shanties’ style songs and ‘character performances’ of the featured resident(s).
2.4.1 Pilot Proposal
A proposal to pilot the project was developed centring on the life and legacy of Dorothy ‘Doll’ Baker (1918-2012) who lived for some 70 years at no. 132 Rochester Street, Medway. At a glance Doll’s life is ‘ordinary’, yet her spirit, resilience and impact on Rochester Street becomes ‘ extra- ordinary’.
Stories of Doll’s life still linger amongst residents who knew her. How Doll would recall
‘Doll’ (left) with her dad ‘Nabo’, mum ‘Alice jnr’, and grandma ‘Alice snr’
failing at school yet held down three jobs - shop assistant, cleaner, and door to door flower seller – and taught herself to play the piano at the former St. John’s Church
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Hall. She became a pilar of the community, always welcoming to new neighbours, feeding hungry children organising street parties, and many individual stories such as Doll rescuing a pregnant Asian lady, breaking into her employer’s house to remove the turkey giblets, and notably how Doll effortlessly connected with people of different generations and cultures.
Creative workshops would invite current residents to explore key topics and local heritage evoked by Doll’s life. They would be supported to use visual art, singing, creative writing and drama to capture i) Doll’s legacy, and ii) the themes that resonate with them personally culminating in a street performance.
The aspiration is for the project to be an ‘annual initiative’ profiling different streets and residents of Medway.
2.4.2 New partners - St. John’s Church and Spotlites Theatre
Two new partnerships have been established for Medway Street Shanties. Spotlites Theatre will contribute drama workshops supporting current residents to develop character performances. St. John’s Church where Doll was a cleaner, played the piano, and where generations of her family got married and christened, wil host a concluding performance and exhibition.
2.4.3 New Funding Stream
An application was submitted to Medway UKSPF2 – Pride in Place in September 2025. It was not successful but the process has resulted in a new project proposal and visualise a new context (ie street performance) for applying our organisation’s purpose.
2.5 Other Projects
In previous reporting years, three other project concepts have been noted at different stages of readiness for funding applications. Our limited resources, combined with being a project based organisation, means projects are prioritised as funding becomes available. This can delay fresh applications for other projects as we await personnel time and resources to free up.
2.5.1 Grief Music and Rituals (initial concept by Deborah Aloba)
To support people of different faiths to share music, customs and rituals for communal grief alongside private expressions of grief.
The project’s overall aim is to present a safe creative space bringing together communities and agencies to establish proactive ways for processing grief and loss across all stages of life.
We are currently exploring faith groups and networks in Woodford, London to pilot the project.
2.5.2 Sound Vibrations (initial concept by Bilkis Malek)
To explore the proactive role ‘white British’ populations can and must play in the process of decolonisation .
The central stimulus for the project is Maya Angelou’s documentary on the Scottish poet Robert Burns .
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A proposal has been developed with Edinburgh choir ‘Loud and Proud’ and artists Ronnie McGrath (multidisciplinary), Lillian Allen (dub poet), Charlotte Keefe (trumpet), and Lara de Belder (vocalist). An application to Creative Scotland was unsuccessful. Collaborating partners and artists are invested in bringing the project to fruition, so currently awaiting window to make fresh funding application.
2.5.3 Celebrating Caribbean Composers (initial concept by Rowland Sutherland)
To promote the underexplored heritage of Caribbean Composers of Classical Music.
The provisional proposal is to invite professional musicians to explore the music and legacy of Caribbean Composers concluding in performance concerts and recordings. The project would also aim to provide opportunities for secondary age school children to perform with professional musicians with a view to laying foundations for a long-term project legacy.
We are in the process of identifying partners and evolving initial ideas into a firm proposal.
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3. Finance
Annual accounts for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
Statement of financial activities
| Incoming resources Grants Other Income Resources expended Singing Cultures Fees Marketing & Publicity Room hire Equipment & Resources Personnel costs Transculturalvisions Travel Refreshments Communications Bank charges Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted funds Restricted income funds Total this year Total last year £ £ £ £ - 10,000 10,000 - 54 -54 - |
|---|---|
| 54 10,000 10,054 - - 8,420 8,420 - - 136 136 379 - 245 245 - - 973 973 - - 225 225 - 412 - 412 235 483 - 483 55 544 - 544 496 2 -2- |
|
| 1,441 10,000 11,441 1,165 |
|
| - 1,387 - - 1,387 - 1,165 |
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Balance Sheet
Fixed assets Tangible assets Investments Current assets Stock and work in progress Debtors (Short term) investments Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets/(liabilities) Total assets less current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after one year Net assets Funds of the Charity Unrestricted funds Designated funds Restricted income funds Endowment funds Total funds |
Total this year Total last year £ £ - - - - |
|---|---|
| - - - - - - - - 1,173 778 |
|
| 1,173 778 - - |
|
| 1,173 778 1,173 778 |
|
| - - |
|
| 1,173 778 | |
| 1,173 778 - - - - - - |
|
| 1,173 778 |
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4. Governance and Staff
4.1 Trustees
We welcomed new trustee Tobias ‘Rob’ Evans, Franciscan Friar and an active supporter of One Body One Faith, campaigning for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Church of England.
Thanks to all our trustees for their time, support and input. Trustees meet quarterly. They give their time voluntarily and receive no renumeration or benefits.
Tobias ‘Rob’ Evans
Trustees
Deborah Aloba (Chair) Margaret Ling (Secretary) Richard Liston Rowland Sutherland Valerie Brown Ronnie McGrath Tobias ‘Rob’ Evans
Associate Trustees
Kolarele Sonaike Annette Figueiredo
4.2 Trustee Appointment and Induction
New trustees are appointed at trustee meetings for a period of 3 years. Trustees are considered for re-appointment at the AGM closest to the end of the 3 year term.
Trustees receive an induction with the Director – this includes an overview of Transculturalvisions, our objects and purpose, and how our projects and activities fulfil the charity's commitment to ensure public benefit.
New trustees are provided with a summary of their roles and responsibilities along with copies of relevant Charity Commission publications – including 'The Essential Trustee – What You Need to Know' (CC3); and Public Benefit Guides (PB1, PB2 & PB3). Trustees are also given a copy of the constitution along with the policies and procedures adopted by the charity.
5.3 Staff and Volunteers
Bilkis Malek is the founding Director of Transculturalvisions. She has overall responsibility for conception, fundraising, marketing and delivery of projects. She also provides administrative support for trustee meetings and ensures the organisation's legal obligations including accounts and reporting to the charity commission are fulfilled. Currently, Bilkis undertakes her role as Director in an unpaid capacity.
We have a bank of 5 volunteers for our school workshops and 6 volunteers for our live events.
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6. Targets for 2025/26
6.1 Governance and Staff
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recruit 1 new trustee with priority areas being fundraising and marketing.
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appoint artistic team for Singing Cultures Phase 4 at Imperial War Museum.
6.2 Fundraising
For the immediate future our focus will remain on project fundraising to ensure the effective financing and delivery of project activities. Currently, our primary sources of funding are grant-making trusts, public funding bodies and local authorities.
In previous years our strategy was to develop and prioritise projects we wanted to seek funding for. Recent experience has highlighted the need to be more fluid in responding to funding opportunities and shaping ideas to fit funders’ priorities. In sum this has meant using our purpose and aims to develop projects celebrating heritage specific to a local area, and / or to engage a specified audience. Our most recent project concepts – ‘ Journeying with Aina’ , ‘ Medway Street Shanties’ - have evolved in response to funders’ priorities.
Our current organisational capacity allows us to consider two projects at any one time. A number of projects are ready for funding application stage and funders’ priorities and opportunities will influence the order in which applications are submitted and projects receive funding.
6.3 Projects
Deliver Phase 4 of Singing Cultures with adult choir at Imperial War Museum.
Singing Cultures at School , ‘Journeying with Aina’ – submit second application to ‘Medway Heritage Place’.
Projects ready for funding application stage (see section 2 for outlines) include:
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Singing Cultures at School, African Composers
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Medway Street Shanties
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Sound Vibrations
Two projects in development:
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Grief Music
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Caribbean Composers of Classical Music
6.4 Organisation Review
To conclude Stage 1 tasks:
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complete review of organisational policies.
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finalise and launch new organisation website
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develop separate Singing Cultures website
Signed by Margaret Ling on behalf of trustees
15[th] February 2026 L mq Signature Date of approval
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Charity No. 1154089
Transculturalvisions
Annual accounts for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
Statement of financial activities
| Incoming resources Grants Other Income Resources expended Singing Cultures Fees Marketing & Publicity Room hire Equipment & Resources Personnel costs Transculturalvisions Travel Refreshments Communications Bank charges Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted funds Restricted income funds Endowment funds Total this year Total last year £ £ £ £ £ - 10,000 - 10,000 - 54 - - 54 - |
|---|---|
| 54 10,000 - 10,054 - - 8,420 - 8,420 - - 136 - 136 379 - 245 - 245 - - 973 - 973 - - 225 - 225 - 412 - - 412 235 483 - - 483 55 544 - - 544 496 2 - - 2 - |
|
| 1,441 10,000 - 11,441 1,165 |
|
| 1,387 - - - 1,387 - 1,165 - |
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Charity No. 1154089
Transculturalvisions
Annual accounts for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
| Balance Sheet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total this | Total last | |
| year | year | |
| £ | £ | |
| Fixed assets | ||
| Tangible assets | - | - |
| Investments | - | - |
| - | - | |
| Current assets | ||
| Stock and work in progress | - | - |
| Debtors | - | - |
| (Short term) investments | - | - |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 1,173 | 778 |
| 1,173 | 778 | |
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | - | - |
| Net current assets/(liabilities) | 1,173 | 778 |
| Total assets less current liabilities | 1,173 | 778 |
| Creditors: amounts falling due after one year | - | - |
| Net assets | 1,173 | 778 |
| Funds of the Charity | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 1,173 | 778 |
| Designated funds | - | - |
| Restricted income funds | - | - |
| Endowment funds | - | - |
| Total funds | 1,173 | 778 |
Signed on behalf of all the trustees.
Signature Date of approval 15-Jan-26
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Charity No. 1154089
Transculturalvisions
Annual accounts for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
Notes to the accounts
Basis of preparation
Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historic cost (except that investments are shown at market value) in accordance with:
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Accounting and Reporting by Charities – Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2005);
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and with Accounting Standards;
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and with the Charities Act.
Accounting policies
This standard list of accounting policies has been applied by the charity except for those deleted. Where a different or additional policy has been adopted then this is detailed at the end.
Incoming resources
| Incoming resources | |
|---|---|
| Recognition of incoming resources | These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) |
| when: | |
| • the charity becomes entitled to the resources; | |
| • the trustees are virtually certain they will receive the resources; and | |
| • the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability. | |
| Incoming resources with related expenditure | Where incoming resources have related expenditure (as with fundraising |
| or contract income) the incoming resources and related expenditure are | |
| reported gross in the SoFA. | |
| Grants and donations | Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the charity |
| has unconditional entitlement to the resources. | |
| Tax reclaims on donations and gifts | Incoming resources from tax reclaims are included in the SoFA at the |
| same time as the gift to which they relate. | |
| Contractual income and performance related | This is only included in the SoFA once the related goods or services |
| grants | have been delivered. |
| Gifts in kind | Gifts in kind are accounted for at a reasonable estimate of their value to |
| the charity or the amount actually realised. | |
| Gifts in kind for sale or distribution are included in the accounts as | |
| gifts only when sold or distributed by the charity. | |
| Gifts in kind for use by the charity are included in the SoFA as | |
| incoming resources when receivable. | |
| Donated services and facilities | These are only included in incoming resources (with an equivalent |
| amount in resources expended) where the benefit to the charity is | |
| reasonably quantifiable, measurable and material. The value placed on | |
| these resources is the estimated value to the charity of the service or | |
| facility received. | |
| Volunteer help | The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the |
| accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report. | |
| Investment income | This is included in the accounts when receivable. |
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Charity No. 1154089
Transculturalvisions
Annual accounts for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
Investment gains and losses This includes any gain or loss on the sale of investments and any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year.
Expenditure and Liabilities
Liability recognition Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources. Grants with performance conditions Where the charity gives a grant with conditions for its payment being a specific level of service or output to be provided, such grants are only recognised in the SoFA once the recipient of the grant has provided the specified service or output.
Grants payable without performance These are only recognised in the accounts when a commitment has been conditions made and there are no conditions to be met relating to the grant which remain in the control of the charity. Assets Tangible fixed assets for use by charity These are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and cost at least £500. They are valued at cost or a reasonable value on receipt. Investments Investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange are valued at market value at the year end. Other investment assets are included at trustees' best estimate of market value. Stocks and work in progress These are valued at the lower of cost or market value.
Trustees expenses
There have been no payments of trustees expenses in this year.
Paid employees
There have been no payments to employed staff in this year.
Tangible fixed assets
There are no Tangible fixed assets in this year.
Investment assets
There are no Investment assets in this year.
Debtors and prepayments
There are no Debtors and prepayments in this year.
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Charity No. 1154089
Transculturalvisions
Annual accounts for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
Creditors and accruals
There are no Creditors and accruals in this year.
Endowment and restricted income funds
There are no Endowment funds in this year.
Additional Disclosures
There are no Additional Disclosures in this year.
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