Annual Report 2019-2020
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER – 1175507
Kirkby Stephen Community Arts (KSCA) was founded in September 2016 to bring high quality activities and events to the rurally isolated community of Kirkby Stephen.
KSCA became a Registered Charity on 1[st] November 2018 and this is the Annual Report to the Charity Commission on activities, objectives and finances for the period September 2019 to September 2020.
KSCA is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered charity number 1175507, and the objects of the CIO are:
“To provide or assist in the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure-time occupation for the inhabitants of Kirby Stephen and the Upper Eden Valley in the interests of social welfare for the said inhabitants with the object of improving their conditions of life.”
During the period of this report the trustees were:
Kate Lynch (Chair of trustees) Linda Walker. (Treasurer)
Vicki Bertram
Deborah Coleman
John Ockenden
The trustees manage the CIO according to the constitution dated 1 July 2017.
The address of KSCA for correspondence is
Dalton House, Winton,
Kirkby Stephen, CA17 4HL
Financial Report for the period September 2019 – 2020
Kirkby Stephen Community Arts
Current Account Summary September 2019- September 2020
| Income | Expenses | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinema | £1,241.50 | £976.10 | ||
| Theatre shows/talks | £1,149.00 | £1,726.00 | ||
| Open Mic | ||||
| Donations/Grants | £5,843.50 | |||
| Refreshment Sales | £130.00 | |||
| Vocal Workshop | ||||
| Storytime | £122.00 | £40.03 | ||
| Songbirds | £167.00 | |||
| Theatre Project | £2,000.00 | £6,318.79 | ||
| Insurance | £252.00 | |||
| Premises costs | £320.00 | |||
| Equipment | £767.40 | |||
| Marketing | £872.20 | |||
| Activity Packs | £425.00 | £879.86 | ||
| Fun Palace | £230.00 | |||
| Training/ Expenses | ||||
| Stomping Ground | ||||
| DVD Sale | ||||
| Freegle | ||||
| Raffle | £74.00 | |||
| Lady Anne Play | £979.50 | £358.61 | ||
| Spoke | £4,296.69 | £4,709.17 | ||
| Total | £16,428.19 | £17,450.16 | ||
| KSCA Account Summary | September 2019-September | |||
| 2020 | ||||
| Income | £16,428.19 | Opening Balance Current A/c | £808.35 | |
| Dep/Ac Interest | £23.08 | Opening Balance Deposit A/c | £17,261.68 | |
| Total | £18,070.03 | |||
| Total | £16,451.27 | Closing Balance Current A/c | £786.38 | |
| Closing Balance Deposit A/c | £16,284.75 | |||
| Less Outgoings | £17,450.16 | Total | £17,071.13 | |
| Income/Expenditure | -£998.89 |
Notes
Income and expenditure are both at a lower level this year due to the curtailment in almost all activities since March due to the Covid-19 restrictions. We have used some of our reserves to cover the costs that have not been recouped.
Ring-fenced Grants from the Westmorland Community Foundation have ensured that we have been able to cover the on-going costs of the Theatre Project with local schools. £5000 is ring fenced in the Deposit Account for these activities when we are able to resume them.
The costs of the ‘Lady Anne Play’ were subsidised by a grant from the Westmorland Dales National Park.
The generous, non-specific, John Strutt Foundation Grant enables us to keep ticket prices low to ensure that events are accessible to all and to subsidise many activities for the local community.
Grants from Eden District Council and Kirkby Stephen United Churches Charity, along with John Strutt Foundation funding, enabled us to provide Activity Packs for children and adults during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
The major equipment purchase this year was a hearing loop system to improve the quality of the Cinema and Theatre experience for those with hearing difficulties. This has yet to be tested because of the closure of performances due to Covid-19.
These accounts were prepared by the treasurer. They have been independently audited and found to be accurate.
Report on Performance and achievements through the year
Kirkby Stephen Community Arts continues to work hard to programme and present engaging events and activities in Kirkby Stephen for local people. We were delighted to receive a 4th grant from the John Strutt Foundation and have used that towards furthering our engagement with local people.
During 2019-2020 we were pleased to continue a range of popular events at Kirkby Stephen Sports and Social Club, saving money on rental and storage that we can then invest into our programme.
Our regular events, monthly cinema and weekly preschool Storytime sessions, continued to be popular and our theatre events have received appreciative audiences.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all live events were paused in March according to government guidelines. We have continued to work imaginatively with our user groups, offering alternatives to our usual programme.
Spoke
In September 2019, we project managed and supported Kirkby Stephen Town Council as they celebrated the Tour of Britain coming through the area. This included a family day on Church Green, with a range of free activities including arts and crafts, poetry, movement, food and drink, a session with Stomping Ground, cycling advice from Coast to Coast Cycles and a bike-powered smoothie maker; free theatre and film events at Pennine View Campsite, and a day of activity and celebration when the tour came through. Approximately 2000 people engaged with these activities, including 700 pupils from local schools.
Remote Cinema
Remote Cinema had a successful early season with 8 screenings of mainly blockbuster films attracting an average audience of 35 (ranging from 13 to 60). The age range of the audience is predominantly the over-50s who are less inclined to want to travel to Kendal or Penrith, but occasionally our films attract younger audiences. We experimented with two matinees which had smaller audiences, but will continue as we believe that there is a potential audience for such screenings.
We experienced problems in November as the scheduled film was not available until the following month. A replacement film by the same director did not attract as good an audience as usual. The family film at Christmas was also less successful due to the busy time of year it was screened and the lower admission prices for under-18s.
Our February film was also cancelled due to the absence of the usual projection team, and the inability of the deputy to screen the film because of a family bereavement. Following a successful matinee on a Sunday in March, all our activities were stopped due to the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
We have invested in simple hearing loop equipment which we have not yet been able to try. We are now preparing for a slow start to the 2020-2021 season in a Covid-19 secure manner.
‘A film that had completely passed me by, brought to life by rural cinema. Thank you, it was wonderful.’ Regular audience member
Theatre
All five of the following performances were supported by Highlights Rural Touring Scheme.
Tetradecathlon
Our first drama of the Autumn 2019 season was Tetradecathlon by one woman performer Lauren Hendry, chronicling her training for the Tetradecathlon world championships, a 14event track and field competition.
Slime
An immersive piece of theatre for 2-5 year olds and their families, Slime turned Kirkby Stephen Sports and Social Club into an undergrowth world for Slug and Caterpillar. The hilarious and surreal show was told with a handful of words and lots of slime, and included a 20 minute play session at the end. The performance was attended by Kirkby Stephen Primary School nursery children plus additional parents and children, who laughed, danced and squealed with delight throughout.
‘We loved this – what a fantastic opportunity for the children!’ Teacher at Kirkby Stephen Primary School
Same, Same … but Different
A family show from Sonia Sabri Dance Company, mixing Kathak and contemporary dance, live music and physical storytelling to create a colourful world, exploring our curiosities and fears, the times we feel different and when we belong. We augmented this performance with two workshops – one at Kirkby Stephen Primary School and one at Brough Community
Primary School, which was a huge help to audience development as many children who had done the workshops came along to the performance with their family members, and were first time attenders to KSCA events.
‘This afternoon children in years three, four and five enjoyed a dance performance and workshop from Rural Highlights Scheme entitled ‘same same different’. We were introduced to kathak as well as hip hop and contemporary dance. We really enjoyed having a go at all three as well as dancing collaboratively to emphasise the important message that it’s ok to be sometimes different to others and sometimes the same!’ Teacher at Brough Community Primary School
Shoo Shoo Baby’s Christmas Cabaret
A high-octane and hilarious end to 2019 came in the form of Shoo Shoo Baby and their wonderful Christmas cabaret. Audience sat cabaret style, enjoying drinks and nibbles as they laughed and sang along.
Zoom Café – digital offer
In August KSCA hosted their first live digital event, Zoom Café with performer Jake Oldershaw (who has been to Kirkby Stephen in two previous performances, The Boy Who Bit Picasso and Library Lion). A small, capacity audience of 12 joined us for two short performances, plus some time to socialise during the interval and a post-performance Q&A.
‘We thoroughly enjoyed this performance – especially sharing it with friends we hadn’t seen during lockdown’
KSCA Steps Up
In November 20219, we scheduled two full day workshops with Tangled Feet at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, opened up to yr5+ from local primary schools, and Kirkby Stephen and Appleby Grammar Schools. Approximately 40 students joined us for these free participatory days, working with professional arts practitioners. These days were a starting point for our planned bigger project for summer 2020 (subsequently cancelled due to covid19).
‘Lily (yr 5) loved it today, thank you.’
Telling Tales
The Storytime sessions held once a week during termtime continue to be popular with Carers and their preschool children. The morning is structured around a storytelling session followed by a craft activity linked to the story. The children then enjoy a snack whilst the
parents and carers have a chance to socialise over tea or coffee. Numbers attending each week vary between 12 and 24 children. We continue to charge only £1 per family, notwithstanding the number of children attending, so that the sessions are affordable to all. Sadly, these sessions had to cease in March when the lockdown began. We are looking at starting sessions again with a change of format from the autumn if Covid-19 regulations allow.
A big thank you must go to all the volunteers who help provide refreshments and craft activities for these sessions.
Kirkby Stephen Little Songbirds
The Storytime sessions held once a week during term-time continue to be popular with Carers and their pre-school children. Numbers at events pre-March 2020 were regularly at 35-45 under 5s per session. Due to safeguarding concerns about volunteers, we stopped these sessions in early March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the first national lockdown, little songbirds were encouraged to ‘sing and send’, with their songs and nursery rhymes being posted on the facebook page.
A big thank you must go to Jan Donaldson and her volunteers for their hard work.
Fun Palace
In October 2019 we took part in the national ‘Fun Palace’ initiative. We worked with other local organisations to provide a day of fun for over 100 participants of all ages.
The local Cumbria Wildlife Trust provided the materials for two sessions and helped children to make bird boxes for installation at Smardale Nature Reserve, which was followed up in the October half term later with an outdoor session at Smardale showing the children where they could find their boxes.
There were science activities for any age to try with local Chemist Mike Walker, an interactive quiz with Kirby Stephen Silver Band, calligraphy with Upper Eden History Society, willow lantern making with Stomping Ground, disability sport activities, with WI member Anne Craddock, lego, colouring and biscuit decorating. Activities went on throughout the day with refreshments provided and all for free!
Street
In February 2020, we ran a session at Kirkby Stephen Local Links with The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal and theatre company Imitating the Dog, inviting local people to come along and tell us their stories of Kirkby Stephen and the surrounding area. These collected stories will help towards a theatrical installation, to be held at the Brewery Kendal and in village halls across Cumbria (now moved online due to Covid-19).
KSCA Creates Activity Packs
During the May half term, KSCA distributed activity packs to over 300 local people from age 2 – 100. We created three different packs, working with local artists and designers to create bespoke colouring sheets, wildflower seeds, postcards, craft activities and quizzes.
These were hand delivered across the area by volunteers, and part funded by Eden District Council as part of their Creative Eden programme.
‘Thank you so much for the pack I received today. It will help me move on after losing my husband to the virus. I have been so supported by the community.’
‘Thank you for our packs. We are off to pop our wildflower seeds in our allotment this afternoon’
The projects above illustrate the Kirkby Stephen Community Arts programme.
If you would like any more information on our full programme please visit www.kirkbystephencommunityarts.co.uk
Many thanks to the Trustees and the Volunteers who have worked so hard to help us achieve our aims.
Access to the arts enhances communities and creates social bonds and a sense of communal identity across generations, incomes and abilities. This is what KSCA aims to do in Kirkby Stephen.