Annual Report 2023-24
All trustees are provided with the recommended documentation from the Charity Commission related to their responsibilities as trustees including The Essential Trustee , Public Benefit: The Public Benefit Requirement, Public Benefit Rules for Charities and Being a Trustee guidance.
Mirror Mirror Education is governed by a board of four trustees and managed and run by a freelance employed Director.
We are not connected to any wider networks.
Potential risks to the charity include
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Having enough time, financial and operational resources to attract interest in our activities
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Having the right skills and knowledge to ensure quality of our activities
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Knowing how to manage the business to a consistent level
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Maintaining the relevancy of the activities we deliver (both pedagogically and culturally)
We are managing the risks via
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Appropriate planning, investing more of the Director’s time and using a pool of freelance facilitators to deliver work
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Discussing work with peers, going to see a lot of other similar work
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Discussion of work with peers and partners, seeing similar work, keeping abreast of the latest changes in state education. Three trustees are parents, one is a teacher and two also work in public engagement in the arts and one is a school governor.
Mirror Mirror Education is an arts education charity which explores the history of art, cinema and technology.
Our work is interdisciplinary - in delivery and subject – often immersive and ephemeral; much like early magic lantern performances and optical illusions that inspired us to set up the charity.
In practice we deliver workshops, performances and festival appearances; and we are now moving towards new funding streams that will allow us to work on longer term projects. Our areas of activity can be catergorised under four main headings: immersive experiences, magic lanterns and optical illusions, cinema days and commissions.
In terms of staffing we have a bank of freelancers who are passionate about early cinema, optical technology and storytelling and experienced in working with children and developing / delivering activities. We also have a significant number of specialist resources – lanterns, overhead projectors and other obsolete technology that we are making come alive again
through children’s creativity.
Mirror Mirror Education’s objects are:
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Advance the education of public in the subject of pre-cinema ephemera, non-mainstream cinema and artists’ film and video
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Advance education of the public in the development of technology and the arts mostly (though not exclusively) from 18[th] to 20[th] century
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Benefit the public by increasing awareness of the history of popular culture and impact on contemporary society
From April 2023- to April 2024 this has been achieved in the following ways.
Advance the education of public in the subject of pre-cinema ephemera, non-mainstream cinema and artists’ film and video
In this period we were commissioned by Nottingham Contemporary and Plymouth University to deliver 2 magic lantern workshops and shows in February and March. In Nottingham we ran 3 performances with a total attendance of 80, and in Plymouth we had 2 performances for 15 attendees each. These were family performances with 2 - 14 year olds and their parents / relatives.
Later in the year - outside of this reporting period - we also ran a 3 sets of workshop / performances for the City of London Libraries across 3 sites - with approx 150 attendees overall. We are also planning to approach a Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish / Irish arts space for the Autumn/ Winter period of 25, along with research into a tour of Finland ongoing.
Additionally, Claire Cooke - Founder and Director of Mirror Mirror - is planning to start a PhD in September 2025 which will look at the use of optical illusions in public, open spaces (playgrounds) and their power for connectivity, community as well as their intersection with concepts / pedagogy of play. All of which is likely to lead to more public activity for Mirror Mirror!
Advance education of the public in the development of technology and the arts mostly (though not exclusively) from 18[th] to 20[th] century.
As above
Benefit the public by increasing awareness of the history of popular culture and impact on
contemporary society As above
1157366 Mirror Mirror Education Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Period start date Period end date i For the period from To 4th April 2023 5th April 2024 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted Endowment Restricted funds Total funds Last year funds funds to the nearest to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ £ A1 Receipts Delivery of charitable services - 929- - - - - - - 92947929- - - - - - 92947- Sub total(Gross income for AR) ~~ee~~ fe ~~| ||~~ A2 Asset and investment sales Not applicable - -- - -- - -- - - - - -- - -- - -- - - - - -- Sub total [-] -- - -- - -- - - - - -- Total receipts [-] 929--92947- S ~~S SS S—~~ A3 Payments Staffing costs - - - - - - - - - - - Project costs £497.77 - - - - - - 498- - Printing and postage - - - - - - - - - - - Travel - - - - - - - - - - - Research - - - - - - - - - - - Subscriptions - - - - - - - - - - - Website and email provision £61.81 - - - - - - 62- - Materials £209.33 209- Sub total £768.91 £0.00 ~~=—===~~ £0.00 £ £0.00 £ £559.58 £ £0.00 A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) Not applicable ---- - - -- - -- - -- - - - Sub total ---- - - -- S Total payments ~~S~~ 769- ~~SS—5~~ ----- Net of receipts/(payments) 160- - - - - - - - - - - A5 Transfers between funds - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - Not applicable A6 Cash funds last year end - - - - - - - - - - - - Cash funds this year end ~~5~~ 160- ~~EE~~ - - - - - - ~~=~~ - - - - - Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment funds funds Categories Details B1 Cash funds Account balance 208- - - - - Total cash funds 208- - - - - (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) OK OK Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment funds funds Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ B2 Other monetary assets Not applicable - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SSS SS = Fund to which Cost (optional) Current value Details asset belongs (optional) B3 Investment assets Not applicable - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - —====
- - - - - Fund to which Current value Details asset belongs Cost (optional) (optional) B4 Assets retained for the Magic lanterns and specialist equipment Unrestricted - - charity’s own use Audio visual equipment Unrestricted - - Other props Unrestricted - - - - - - - - ** None of these assets where purchased in 2019-20 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - =—=>= Fund to which Amount due (optional) When due liability relates (optional) Details B5 Liabilities Not applicable - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ——=== Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name Date of approval Catherine Whitehouse 31st Jan 2025 =