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2024-03-31-accounts

Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Trustees' Report

For the period from: 1st April 2023 To: 31st March 2024

Charity Name: Invisible Palace

Charity registration no.: 1165888

Registered address: 23 Dulwich Wood Avenue London, SE19 1HB

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Trustees

Trustees
Michael George Sylvester Doiley resigned & reappointed 24thFebruary 2020
Rosalind (Rosie) Hunter resigned & reappointed 2ndJanuary 2019
Julianne (Jules) Hussey resigned & reappointed 26thAugust 2020
Gail Rowe appointed 26thAugust 2020
Abigail Lilly appointed 1stNovember 2022
Ayesha Begum appointed 1stNovember 2022
Eyo E Oku appointed 1stNovember 2022
Sarah Paterson appointed 1stNovember 2022
Isabelle Mae Skelly appointed 1stNovember 2022

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their Report for the charity’s eighth full year of operation.

Introduction

Context

The suburb of Crystal Palace straddles boundaries of five London Boroughs causing fragmented services, conflicting priorities, and underinvestment. There is a loss of value for both people and place; cultural offers and services are centralised within each borough leaving boundaries lacking provision. Invisible Palace works with multiple communities to minimise barriers to participation in arts, heritage, and nature.

What we do

Invisible Palace create accessible and welcoming activities where a broad range of people can come together through shared interests for collective activity.

We believe in a place where arts, heritage, and green activities are available, affordable, and accessible to everyone.

Invisible Palace is a charity based in South East London that works across the five boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, in the neighbourhoods that surround Crystal Palace Park.

We create activities with an emphasis on experiential learning that is rooted in the story of the local area and people’s place within it.

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

The work of Invisible Palace takes a participant led approach, with the small team developing and running activities championing the needs of those taking part and creating programmes which respond to this need on a local and individual level. People are brought together in a community of interest rather than having their demographic background or life stage be the main factor in defining them.

There are currently three strands of work heritage, gardening, and circus - these offer volunteering, creative sessions, trips and visits, and walks and talks.

This year Invisible Palace offered over 185 hours of activity to local communities with over 500 people getting involved

Heritage

47 hours of heritage activity across 22 events with over 250 people taking part Including artist led sessions, a performance event and 3 visits to the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Gardening

86 hours of gardening activity across 41 events, including 3 visits & 2 plant sales 19 people got involved with volunteering and a further 8 people joining in with trips Up to 160 additional people attend each of the plant sales

Circus

30 hours of after school Circus Club

8 hours of Summer Intensive

6 hours of aerial circus taster sessions for youth groups Further classes were offered at My Aerial Home for children at a subsidised rate 107 children got involved

4 hour Mental Health Awareness Training for 8 staff

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

The year April 2023 to March 2024

Sculptures of Crystal Palace Park - National Lottery Heritage Fund and Mayor of London

Text in this section is drawn from a report written for the National Lottery Heritage Fund by Chloë Bird, written in March 2024.

The Sculptures of Crystal Palace Park project had the ambition to reveal the hidden histories of the sculptures in Crystal Palace Park through a co-creative process involving local people and targeted participants who may have become isolated during the pandemic and may have lost confidence in social or cultural settings. The project built on a successful social media series developed for lockdown that began raising the profile of overlooked sculptures in Crystal Palace Park.

The project began in August 2021 but from spring 2023 a series of events began that were led by creative practitioners. This Phase of the project also included additional work funded by Untold Stories through the Mayor of London.

Within this reporting period 19 events were run as part of the Sculptures project and over 240 people got involved

The recruitment of a team of Creative Facilitators at the outset of phase two of the project created new capacity for interpreting the sculptures through engagement activities, but equally importantly, also provided the opportunity for creative practitioners to develop new skills and capabilities in heritage engagement and interpretation through targeted training and support.

Activities were offered specifically to target groups and through open calls to the wider public as a part of collaborations with initiatives including Summer of Play and London Festival of Architecture. Invisible Palace was able to secure additional funding from the GLA’s Untold Stories Grants to enrich the public programme through three additional sculpture walks focusing on community histories previously less told. In the second phase of the

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

project the emphasis was placed on playful approaches to interpreting and recasting the stories of the sculptures through creative activities.

Participants to Invisible Palace’s programmes in phase two of the project came from local South London boroughs primarily, with some London wide visitors attending public events. Those who engaged ranged in age from pre-school to late 80’s, underlining the broad and inclusive appeal and reach of the Sculptures of Crystal Palace offer.

Snapshot surveys were used to gather participant responses in relation to their experience by asking them to rate a series of statements. Responses from 137 participants are outlined below.

98% of participants agreed with the statement ‘I enjoyed myself’

1. 96% of participants agreed with the statement ‘ 2. I have learnt something new’ 3.

1. 90% of participants agreed with the statement 2. ‘I have a greater understanding of the heritage of the local area’

1. 85% of participants agreed with the statement 2. ‘I feel inspired’

1. 88% of participants agreed with the statement 2. ‘Taking part has made me feel uplifted’

Participant feedback highlights how the methodology used in engagement activities successfully blended the acquiring of new knowledge in parallel with leaving room for participants’ own self-expression. The quality of content, welcome and research were also recurring themes in feedback. Many participants reflected how the activities they had been involved in had made them think differently or inspired them to act differently as a result of trying new things in a non-judgemental and inclusive setting.

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Other comments and themes

Looking across the other comments participants made both within the snapshot survey responses and during interviews with the project team, a number of common aspects emerge and build on the themes from phase one of the project:

The Sculptures of Crystal Palace project has effectively engaged communities throughout its delivery, with participants universally citing how much they valued a less well-known aspect of their local heritage being explored in a way which is inclusive, creative and has reached across the community connecting people together. There has been an extraordinary level of sustained impact in relation to the relatively small investment. The core Invisible Palace team’s deep commitment to revealing the sculptures of Crystal Palace Park in all of their dimensions through a unique and inclusive engagement practice model has been central to the project’s success. Resources created and programmes run since September 2021 have created a profile for a group of overlooked heritage assets. Key strengths of the project have been:

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

The project has consistently built inclusive engagement both in terms of who it has reached and the histories it has drawn attention to. A strength of the project has been the balance of academic rigour with accessible and ethical approaches at its heart: a practice rooted in community engagement with participation as its driving purpose across all activity. It is important that the knowledge held by the Invisible Palace core team is recognised and valued as an asset for the local area and used in the future.

With the wider regeneration of the park currently in development there is an opportunity for Invisible Palace to deploy their expertise to delivering impactful community engagement as a central part of this cultural, community and educational ecosystem, but with multiple agencies and trusts present in Crystal Palace Park there is a disconnect at times with organisations not being as joined up as they could be. This limits the scope of cohesive provision for local people. The team would benefit from some additional expert capacity in terms of business planning and fundraising to explore a route to sustaining programmes in the longer term to build on the work that has already raised the profile of heritage locally and captured the imaginations of so many local people.

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Photos by Sue Giovanni and Liz Clayton Vail

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Gardening

The gardening project based at the Vicar’s Oak offers a drop in volunteering opportunity on a Friday morning. People of all ages, from a range of backgrounds, come together in the heart of Crystal Palace, through a common interest in gardening. Volunteers build connections, learn skills, and improve the local area both for people and wildlife. The project is supported by a professional gardener who leads the volunteering sessions. Sessions during this financial year were funded by Building strong Communities – Mayor of London.

Invisible Palace continued with the same model of delivery since 2021:

Between April 2023 and March 2024 Invisible Palace ran 41 different gardening-related sessions, 28 people got involved in one or more session, with a core group of 8 gardeners. This year for the first time we were joined by corporate volunteers using their individual volunteering days.

Feedback gathered at May plant sale

"We love the garden - walk past it every morning and is such a nice way to start the day. Hella bees and insects! Warms the soul - thanks!"

"Great little group - a real asset to the community. Friendly, helpful and concerned for less able people around them."

"The flower beds are terrific. Well done."

"The most beautiful entrance to Crystal Palace Park with alliums, California poppies, understated, low maintenance. Just gorgeous."

"I LOVE the flowerbeds! They bring joy to my day.."

"We love the flowers! The beds are always so nicely taken care of, and it really lifts your spirits to see them every day - such a great way to take care of the area and it's a treat for the eyes!"

"Love the flower beds outside the park - I look at them every morning :-) 🌸 "

"Amazing and beautiful garden, lovely plants, such a lovely spot to cheer you up on your walk."

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Feedback from a visit to the Garden Museum

"Thank you very much for organising our excellent day out on Friday to the Garden Museum."

"Matt Collin’s guided tour and historical context was fascinating."

"It was great to meet friends with you over coffee in their lovely cafe, and then to be able to explore all their beautiful exhibitions free of charge."

"Thanks for the visit to the Garden Museum today. Not been since they did it up."

"Last months inspired visit to GardenMuseumLDN was a perfect antidote for January 🙏💕 "

Photos by Jules Hussey and Sue Giovanni

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Defy Gravity Social Circus in partnership with My Aerial Home

Text in this section is drawn from a report written for the National Lottery Community Fund by Niki Lavithis and Sue Giovanni.

The Defy Gravity Social Circus programme began in Summer 2019 with a pilot project in partnership with My Aerial Home though a small grant from Mayor of London Culture Seeds. The project was inspired by the circus heritage of Crystal Palace and had the aim to offer accessible high-quality arts to under-served young people while activating under-used spaces in Crystal Palace Park. Since then, the programme has developed and responded to feedback from those taking part.

The pilot programme was picked up by Crystal Palace Community Trust (CPCT) for their three-year youth provision scheme The Power of One (2020-23) funded by Mayor of London through Young Londoners. CPCT Youth Club joined as a partner at this time and St John’s CE Primary School the following year.

The current Defy Gravity Social Circus programme draws on learning across previous 4 years of delivery and is currently funded by Reaching Communities, National Lottery Community Fund.

Year 1 March 2023 to March 2024 has seen:

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

The project aims to offer accessible high-quality arts – in this case circus - to under-served young people, and within this, four key areas of impact were identified for reporting:

Four teaching staff and one senior staff member at St John’s CE Primary School reported that children were more willing to take part in physical activit y following the Summer Intensive in 2023.

“There is a child who is very shy and tries to withdraw from physical activity when possible. She has shown massive improvement and especially enjoyed the aerials.”

“Lots of boys who think they are “too cool” for activities like this. All loved it and got involved. All were sad when it ended!”

- St John’s CE Primary School staff

Circus teachers use a scoring system is used to measure gains in strength, flexibility, and balance at after school Circus Club. Each term most participants would improve by 20% or more in each area.

“I’ve seen physical changes in all of the participants, whether big or small increases, they are all so much stronger than when they started and can do moves they found difficult and couldn’t do when they first came.”

- Circus Facilitator, Defy Gravity Social Circus

Four teaching staff and one senior staff member at St John’s CE Primary School were asked to comment on changes in confidence, resilience, tolerance of others following the Summer Intensive in 2023.

In all 3 areas most staff surveyed felt that children showed improvement with the greatest change seen in resilience and tolerance of others . A teacher commented that even the quiet children were able to push themselves further than they thought they could. A parent described how attending Circus Club “was scary for him at the beginning, but coming gave him confidence” a sentiment echoed by other families.

Increased social inclusion can be seen for children who take up places directly at My Aerial Home. In this setting children mix with new people of different ages from a range of backgrounds.

Four teaching staff and one senior staff member at St John’s CE Primary School were asked to comment on changes in sociability, four of the team saw improvements.

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Summer Intensive 2024 photos by St John’s CE Primary

Youth Group Taster photos by Sue Giovanni

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report April 2023 to March 2024

Summary

At the time of completing this work members of Invisible Palace would have felt quite optimistic about the future with continued upskilling of the team particularly through the Heritage Compass programme which built on previous training from Getting On Board.

From the point of writing now in January 2025 the climate for small arts and heritage charities only gets harder. Developments in the park also mean that there will be significant overlap in delivery of heritage activity from a much larger and more sustainable organisation than Invisible Palace.

Financial Review

The charity's Financial Statements form pages 16 and 17 of this report.

The Receipts and Payments accounts show total receipts of £48,839 during the financial year reported on; total payments of £65,011 and a year-end position of £31,133 held in assets (cash at bank).

The charity received ongoing project funding of £35,326 The National Lottery Community Fund. £6,370 came from Greater London Authority and £2500 in anonymous donations.

The total restricted funds received by the charity for the year were £46,200 . £64,267 of restricted funds payments were made during the period. At the end of this period £24,978 of restricted funds are held which includes the opening balance of £24,266.

The total unrestricted funds received by the charity were £2,639 . Of this £744 of unrestricted fund payments were made this financial year. At the end of this period £6,154 of unrestricted funds are held which includes the opening balance of £4,259 . The unrestricted funds at end of period are reduced from last year.

The finances this year were again independently examined by Stefan Bort a Chartered secretary for Bort Corporate Solutions Ltd.

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' Report above and the Financial report on pages 16 and 17.

Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees:

Signature(s) Full name(s) Ayesha Begum Sarah Patterson Position (e.g. Chair) Trustee Trustee Date 29/01/2025 26/01/2025

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Invisible Palace Registered Charity no. 1165888 Registered Charity no. 1165888 Registered Charity no. 1165888
Receipts & Payments Account
for theperiod 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024
The charity holds no endowment funds atpresent
There were no sales orpurchases of assets or investments.
Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds Total
Receipts £ £ £
Donations 1 238 125 1 363
Crystal Palace Park Trust - CPPT 1 203 500 1 703
CAF Donate 2 000 500 2 500
EasyFundraising 0 334 334
Local Giving 63 41 104
Marsh Charitable Trust 0 500 500
Gift Aid 0 33 33
Greater London Authority- GLA 6 370 0 6 370
National LotteryCommunityFund - NLCF 35 326 0 35 326
Tickets 0 539 539
Interest Received 0 68 68
Total net receipts for theperiod 46 200 2 639 48 839
Payments £ £ £
Artists' and Project Management Fees 50 111 50 111
Equipment and Materials 6 068 6 068
Training 1 466 1 466
Volunteers' Expenses 736 736
Staff Expenses 389 389
Publicity& Promotion 3 595 3 595
Event Costs 576 576
Administration / Overhead 1328 428 428
Bank Charges 60
FundraisingCosts 256 256
Total netpayments for theperiod 64 267 744 65 011
Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds Total
£ £ £
OpeningBalance 43 046 4 259 47 305
Cash Funds at end ofperiod 24 978 6 154 31 133

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Invisible Palace Registered Charity no. 1165888
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
for theperiod 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024
Assets Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds Total
£ £ £
Funds held 24 978 6 154 31 133
Other monetaryassets 0 0 0
Investment assets 0 0 0
Assets retained for the charity's own use 0 0 0
Liabilities
Anyinvoices outstandingat 31 March 2024 0 0 0
Total Assets at end ofperiod 24 978 6 154 31 133
ACCOUNTS PREPARED BY
Marcella Caramba-Coker
MACC Services
APPROVED BY THE TRUSTEES ON
Signed
Date
Signed
Date
Sarah Patterson
Ayesha Begum
29/01/2025
26/01/2025

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