REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
The Trustees/Non-executive Directors of Edgelands Arts present their report with the financial statements of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation for the year ended 31 March 2021.
Edgelands Arts formed as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 11 July 2017 with the objects of advancing the arts and education by:-
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promoting, sustaining and increasing individual and collective knowledge and understanding of the arts
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assisting in the provision of creative activities in the interests of social welfare for individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or disability, geographic location, social circumstances or, with the object of improving their conditions of life
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promoting social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society. For the purpose of this clause ‘socially excluded’ means being excluded from society, or part of society, as a result of being a member of a socially and/or economically deprived community.
Trustees of the Charity as at 31 March 2021: Erin Braithwaite Julie Connolly (Chair) Stephen Foster Robin Owen Morley (Treasurer)
Edgelands Arts is based at The Art House in central Wakefield and is Co-Directed on a day to day basis by freelance artists - Tony Wade, Charlie Wells and Bev Adams - who lead on all projects in order to meet the organisation’s charitable aims.
In the financial year 2020/21, Edgelands Arts, along with many other organisations in the Creative Industries, felt the impact of Covid-19, with all projects planned for April 2021 onwards cancelled due to national lockdowns. Immediate financial assistance came via Arts Council England Emergency Funds to keep our business open and freelance artists working from home, followed by Digital Resilience Vouchers to improve our IT capabilities for home working and digital creative projects, a small business grant from The Art House and a discretionary rate relief grant from Wakefield Council which enabled us to continue to pay our studio rents.
Thanks to this financial support, the company found creative ways of working with communities, completing projects remotely, setting up new projects and, as Covid restrictions eased, working in socially distanced ways with people in community settings.
Edgelands Arts projects and clients included:
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WESTGATE HERITAGE ACTION ZONE (HAZ) - WAKEFIELD
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Cultural engagement project involving local people in the heritage refurbishment of the Wakefield Westgate Townscape through remote memory collecting, silk painting activities and concluding with an online exhibition.
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IT HAPPENED WHEN - WAKEFIELD
Leeds Community Foundation provided a grant through their Youth Social Action fund to enable us to work with young people to build on our peer led theatre in education project. During the year, we filmed the young people’s performances and helped them to deliver workshops with five other classes, two remotely via zoom to Outwood Minsthorpe Academy and three live workshops in Outwood Hemsworth Academy
- WESTGATE HERITAGE ACTION ZONE 2 (HAZ2 ) - WAKEFIELD
We were commissioned by Wakefield Council to consult artists and stakeholders to build a cultural programme in advance of Wakefield Council submitting a successful bid to Historic England’s High Street fund. BLOW DOWN - CASTLEFORD
Local playwright, Garry Lyons, commissioned us to seek out people from the community for him to include in his new play about the life of the recently closed Ferrybridge Power Station
LOOK UP WESTGATE - WAKEFIELD
Communities from across the Westgate area worked with Edgelands Arts to create images of buildings along the street. These were turned into a series of coasters and vinyl window stickers, showing interesting architectural or historic features on the buildings along with an online booklet.
During this financial and lockdown year, we worked with 558 participants (approximately 50% less than the previous year) and had an audience of 618 to our online gallery (substantially less than the 3308 audience in 2020)
Edgelands Arts turned over £69,638 in the financial year, a third less than the previous year due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. Despite project income being severely curtailed to £24,949 when compared to £92,826 in 2020/21, Covid related grants in 2020/21 of £38,794 kept the company and its freelance workforce afloat. This buoyancy in our finances is due to our very low overheads, no salaries and our model of working on a freelance project by project bases. The company goes into 2021/2022 with a healthy balance of £47,916 which it will use to build back its audiences, client and community base.
Please see notes to the accounts for information about the shift from a cash basis to accruals to take into account projects stretching beyond each financial year.
EDGELANDS ARTS IS GOING CONCERN
When preparing these financial statements, the Board of Trustees has made an assessment of the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Charity is a going concern unless management either intends to liquidate it or to cease trading, or has no realistic alternative but to do so. In assessing whether the going concern assumption is appropriate, management takes into account all available information about the future, which is at least, but is not limited to, twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2021/2022
Continuing disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020/21 curtailed our ability to work as usual. However, as the year progressed, we began to pick up new projects and have access to further sources of Covid related funding which will enable us to survive and being 2021/2022 with resilience and confidence.
Towards the end of the 2020/2021 financial year, we picked up a number of projects for 2021/2022 including:
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GREENWICH GUILDHALL TIME BALL – HULL - Collecting stories from local people to create a filmed shadow play about the time ball mariners’ clock on the Guildhall in Hullfilmed shadow play about the time ball mariners’ clock on the Guildhall
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THE FIRST BOOK IN THE LIBRARY – HUDDERSFIELD – writing poetry and imagery to create the first book in a new library for Birkby and Fartown
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CULTURAL RECOVERY FUNDS – successful application for funding from Arts Council England to find new ways of working with communities during and post Covid.
EDGELANDS ARTS
| Annual Accounts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Ended 31 Mar | Year Ended 31 Mar 2020 | Variance | |||||
| 2021 | |||||||
| Notes | All Funds Unrestricted | All Funds Unrestricted | |||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2020 | |||||
| INCOME | |||||||
| Project Income | 2 | £23,979 | £92,826 | -£68,847 | |||
| add: Prior Year Provision for Income not expended | £6,200 | £11,000 | -£4,800 | ||||
| less: Current Year Provision for Income in year not yet | £0 | -£6,200 | £6,200 | ||||
| expended | |||||||
| COVID Grant Income | £38,794 | £68,973 | 0 | £97,626 | £38,794 | -£28,653 | |
| Miscellaneous Income | 3 | £665 | £1,840 | -1174.51 | |||
| £69,638 | £99,465 | -£29,827 | |||||
| EXPENDITURE | |||||||
| Project Expenses | |||||||
| Lead Consultants | £32,250 | £62,507 | -£30,257 | ||||
| Other Project Management | £0 | £0 | £0 | ||||
| Freelance Artists | £100 | £14,678 | -£14,578 | ||||
| Other Project Expenses | 4 | £2,653 | £10,256 | -£7,603 | |||
| Total Project Expenses | £35,003 | £87,441 | -£52,438 | ||||
| add: Prior Year Provision for Expenses not funded | £0 | £1,500 | -£1,500 | ||||
| less: Current Year Provision for Expenses not yet funded | -£2,250 | £32,753 | £0 | £88,941 | -£2,250 | -£56,188 | |
| Overheads | 5 | £14,435 | £4,653 | £9,782 | |||
| £47,188 | £93,594 | -£46,406 | |||||
| Surplus for Period | £22,450 | £5,871 | £16,579 | ||||
| Surplus for Period | £22,450 | £5,871 | |||||
| Surplus brought forward | £25,466 | £19,595 | |||||
| Surplus carried forward | £47,916 | £25,466 |
REPRESENTED BY
Assets
| Assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Balance at Bank | £45,666 | £31,666 |
| Provision for Expenses not yet funded | £2,250 | £0 |
| £47,916 | £31,666 | |
| Liabilities | ||
| Provision for Income not yet expended | £0 | £6,200 |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | £47,916 | £25,466 |
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
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The accounts were previously prepared on an Income and Expenditure basis. Given the carry over of projects from one year to the next, the Board deemed a more accurate reflection of Edgelands Arts performance would be generated if project income not expended and expenditure not yet funded were accounted for at each year-end. Accordingly, the accounts for the current year have been prepared on this basis and those for the year ended 31 March 2019 have been restated. Year end accounts prior to these remain unchanged.
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Project Income represents fees for the delivery of projects. No fees were restricted in the year.
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Miscellaneous income includes donations and contributions from the principals to the rent.
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Other Project Expenses include creations costs, costs of materials and travel.
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Overheads are as follows:-
| 5. Overheads are as follows:- | |
|---|---|
| Capital | £6,091 |
| Premises | £6,255 |
| Stationery & Sundry (incl Copier maint) | £1,754 |
| Public Liability & Professional Liability Insurance | £25 |
| Trustees Indemnity | £0 |
| Audit Costs | £250 |
| Miscellaneous | £60 |
| £14,435 |
- No capital expenditure occurred in the period.
Signed on Behalf of the Charity Trustees:-
Name: Robin Owen-Morley
Date: 23rd November 2021
Charity Trustee
Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Edgelands Arts
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Edgelands Arts for the year ended 31st March 2021.
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 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the 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:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
Signed:
Name: Catherine Lambert Date: 23rd November 2021
Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies (if any): Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants