**Strike A Light (Gloucester)** **Annual Report 2023–2024** ◢ 20 **Annual Report** 20[23-] 24 ## **1. Reference and Administrative Information 2. Chair’s Review of 2023/24 3. Artistic Director’s Review 4. About the Charity 5. Vision, Mission and Values 6. Co-created Programme 7. Let Artists Be Artists 8. Learning and Development** CO **9. This is How We Do It 10. Audiences 11. Governance, Management and Staffing 12. Financial and Reserves Position** NT S E NT _Public - photo credit Emma Brookes_ ## 1 **Reference and Administrative Information** **Strike A Light** **Annual Review 2023-2024** **The 2023-2024 Trustees: Co-Chairs:** Andrew Zihni Rachel Bell ## **Trustees:** Zara Portlock Eleanor Harris Nadja Gajadharsingh Thomas Bevan Alison Byard F Francis (Secretary) Danny Thompson Jay Tyler Resigned 16/10/2023: I Oakes D Drew J May B Haynes ## **Executive Director:** Lynette Dakin ## **Co-Artistic Directors:** Emma-Jane Benning and Sarah Blowers **Charity Number:** 1178449 ## **Registered Address:** Enterprise Hub, 10 Commercial Road, Gloucester, GL1 2EA **3** **Chair’s Review of 2023-2023** ## 2 Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 It has been another fantastic year at Strike a Light. The team have brought incredible world-class shows to Gloucester, worked on exciting community projects, continued the groundbreaking 'Let Artists Be Artists' project and spent time sharing their practice with others. Whilst the cultural sector continues to face challenges in various forms, the impact of Strike a Light's work has never been needed more. Our work is helping people living in Gloucester access art in new and exciting ways: young people are continuing to take part in weekly theatre and dance sessions, learning about and experiencing performing arts sometimes for the first time, and our community producers are bringing world-renowned artists to Gloucester and encouraging people living in communities to experience their shows. Challenging entrenched beliefs and old-fashioned systemic thinking is key to the way Strike a Light works. Through our NPO uplift, we have begun our 'Let Artists Be Artists' project where we are paying four artists an employment salary to 'just be artists'. Acknowledging the need to give artists freedom to be creative and enabling them to have such creativity is something that we are proud of here at Strike a Light. ## **Rachel Bell** Co-Chair of Strike A Light _Epic Fail, Kid Carpet, Strike A Light in Schools_ 4 **Artistic Director’s’ Review** 3 **2023-2024 has been another busy year, some big changes,** **some real embedding of our thinking and strategy from the previous year and some very exciting art and culture taking place in Gloucester, all of which was co-programmed or cocreated alongside our fantastic Community Producers. A few highlights to give a taste of the year.** ## **New starts** Lynette Dakin joined us in April 2023 as our new Executive Director. Lynette came from Arts Council England and previously worked as a Theatre Producer. She is originally from Gloucester. Lynette immediately got stuck in and it is now hard to imagine life without her as we see and feel the positive effects of her work. She is a calm leader and has provided robust support for the SLT and the wider team, which continues to grow. ## **Gloucester presents…** Working with our four Community Producers this year has been a wonderful experience. Going to see incredible shows with them and then jointly programming those shows here in Gloucester is exactly what we wanted to see happen. Halima Malek went to see Olivier award-winning dancer _Seeta Patel_ and her company's version of Stravinsky’s _Rite of Spring_ at Sadler's Wells Theatre. We brought a digital version of this show and projected it across the walls of Gloucester’s Blackfriars Priory with silent headphones and added Strike A Light touches with fire and food. It was an extraordinary evening; a packed audience from all across the city, nationally significant work and performed in a beautiful heritage space. The Westgate community choir was a new initiative set up by Community Producer Katrina McGonagle and Sarah Blowers. Katrina had booked a choir to come and sing carols for the community and they pulled out, so we started our own choir from the community who beautifully sang four carols including harmonies and a soloist. The choir still meet every week and _Kid Carpet_ , one of our employed artists from our Let Artists Be Artists scheme, has now taken over the running of this choir with Katrina. Katrina has selected work from the RTDI menu and is working to find a venue within the community to host the piece _After All_ by Solène Weinachter. Our Community Producers have also been part of new national work. Zariq Hanif has sat on the national consortium _Stomping Ground_ which has informed our thinking and future work. ## **Participation** The participation department is growing at pace. At the end of March 2024 we began the recruitment for a Participation Producer on a 2-year supported scheme for an emerging global majority practitioner funded by the Paul Hamlyn Trust. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 5 Charlene is running a new training programme over a twelvemonth period to support global majority practitioners in the South West in partnership with _Beyond Face_ who are based in Bristol. This is just a snapshot of our annual highlights, but maybe the overlying theme here is our continued commitment to our communities within the city, diversifying who can work within the arts and committing to making that work as wellsupported and sustainable as is possible. As always we extend our gratitude to the kindness of our funders, whose support has allowed us to grow this model of working, run a co-created programme and improve the arts for the communities we serve. We are excited for the years ahead and what we can continue to achieve and grow in Gloucester. **Emma-Jane Benning and Sarah Blowers** Co-Artistic Directors _Queer Talk - photo credit Cam Adams_ **“It is so clear that Strike A Light has been the crucial player in helping to open hearts and minds in the city and in providing the support that has enabled organisations like GL4 to develop”** ‘ Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England 6 ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 4 ## **About the Charity** Our charitable purpose is: **To advance education in and increase appreciation and understanding of all forms of the arts including but not limited to, theatre and dance. To present, produce, organise and promote high quality arts activity for the public benefit and in particular those of the city of Gloucester.** Strike A Light (SAL) began in Gloucester in 2013 as part of the Collaborative Touring Network (CTN), initially funded by Arts Council England (ACE) Strategic Touring Fund and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation amongst others, spearheaded by Battersea Arts Centre. CTN was a new touring programme bringing national touring work to ‘cultural cold spots’. In 2018 SAL became a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funded by ACE and received an uplift in 2023-2026 to continue our groundbreaking work with artists and Community Producers. SAL is a registered charity with a board of active trustees with a diverse range of knowledge and expertise. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 7 **Vision, Mission and Values** 5 **Our vision World-changing culture and creativity for all.** ## **Our mission** **Creating social change through extraordinary performance events, creative projects with communities and participation opportunities for young people.** ⬤ ◢ ## **What we do** → We co-create and collaborate whenever possible; we ‘work with’ not ‘do to’ → We let our community lead the way with programming → We create a city where extra-ordinary things happen in unexpected places - → We bring people together to share eye-opening experiences that they talk about for ages afterwards - → The people we bring together are from diverse backgrounds and many of them wouldn’t normally attend an ‘arts’ event - → People feel welcomed and represented and that their voices are heard - → Our staff, our board, audiences, participants and creative leaders reflect the diversity of Gloucester - → We create brilliant opportunities for young people which encourage them to dream big - → We support artists and producers to create amazing work and to get paid for it - → We share unheard stories and we champion underrepresented voices - → We produce shows that can change our world - → We work with national partners and local grassroots organisations to make things happen - → We embrace the idea of necessary radical social change and the role that arts can play in that Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 8 ## **Our values** ## **Generosity** ## **Diversity** → Stories shape how we see the world → When you work in partnership with and therefore which stories get heard people things get better is important → We get stronger by sharing resource, → Everyone, regardless of background handing over power and multiplying and circumstance, should have leadership - opportunities to watch, create, lead and participate in culture - → Relevance is as important as ## **Change** - → It is important to challenge ways of working, including our own, and to think about who created those structures and who they serve - → Arts can change the world and make people’s lives better - → The climate crisis should be at the forefront of our decision-making excellence - → Communities are better with culture and culture is better when all communities can create and access it **Strike A Light work under 4 strands of work. They are:** **1. Co-created Programme** **2. Participation** **3. Let Artists Be Artists** **4. This is How We Do It Through these strands, we aim to make Gloucester a better place to live.** Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 9 6 ## **Co-created Programme** _Residents take part in VR Dance on Matson Roundabout - Photo credit Fluxx Films_ We’re changing the way the arts work, to address systemic inequality. We share power and decision-making, collaborating with communities who are least represented in the arts. We give artists paid time to build meaningful relationships here and work with key partners in the city (Gloucester Council, Cathedral, Culture Trust) to deliver against the city’s cultural strategy. We know that unlike 'traditional' programmes, this approach reaches people who never normally engage in arts activity. This work is all underpinned and driven forward by our Community Producers; representatives from the community who work with SAL to create events, see national touring work and programme shows/events with and for communities. This is a measured shift away from the traditional Artistic-Director lead programming to devolve decision making and ensure that communities have their say in programming. This shift takes time and care. Our AD's will continue to offer programming support and direction to the Community Producers to consider the needs of the community, present a broad balance of artists, consider unusual spaces and locations to present the work and introduce and mentor them through producing until a time Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 10 when they can be independent. Looking at the independent success of GL4 we're keen to investigate what could be the development for the Community Producers and what long term support SAL needs to offer. Our approach is deliberately non-venue based. We work with our Community Producers to programme work across Gloucester into unconventional spaces from car parks to church halls. It is important for all of the work that we deliver to reflect the rich diversity of the Gloucester community. We build long-term and sustainable relationships with our local communities that are least represented across the national arts landscape and that deal with significant social and socio-economic deprivation. _Public - photo credit Mark Dawson_ **Our vision is of a world-changing culture and creativity for all. We achieve this through:** → a co-created programme of extraordinary theatre and dance performance championing underrepresented voices → supporting diverse artists to build careers and create work of national significance - → creative opportunities for young people encouraging them to dream big ## **Each year, we:** - → programme and create world class cultural events that reach thousands of audience members; - → run weekly classes and large scale participation projects where deprived young people get the chance to work with arts professionals - → support the development of diverse artists in new ways across all our work, including fully funding 4 artists’ careers through our nationally recognised Let Artists Be Artists programme Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 11 **What we did** **In 2023/24 we staged 16 shows in unexpected locations with an estimated audience of 2,959 people across the shows.** **75 Years Our Stories:** A celebration to reimagine and celebrate the 75 years of the South Asian Community through music and art. Halima Malek (CP) worked with the South Asian communities of Gloucester over a year to gather stories, culminating in a celebration at the Friendship Cafe. **The Grip:** A live audience in Gloucester Guildhall for a oneoff, one-hour radio production discussing families, separation and the Windrush. Drawing on real interviews and films from filmmaker Daniel Folley and curator Donville Williams made over a year. Hosted by BBC’s Kevin Philemon with guests including Bristol’s first Poet Laureate Miles Chambers and Gloucester psychotherapist Audrey James. Produced and directed by Philippa Smith (CP). **Queer Talk:** Led by our Community Producer, Zariq Hanif, a group of LGBTQ+ community members created a verbatim piece of theatre. The project was a Verbatim Headphone project with Kristine Landon-Smith over an 8-week period, culminating in a performance at The Music Works. **Westgate Stories:** Artists in residence Imogen Harvey Lewis and Jonny Fluffy Punk worked with the Westgate Community over a year; culminating in the Emergency Exit Arts city-wide event 'Led by Katrina McGonagle'. _75 Years_ **“The artworks are so beautiful, the layers of meaning, colour, language, identity and testament to the communities who made them. Thank you!”** ‘ Audience member, 75 Years ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 12 **“It opened a whole new world for me. It brought focus, motivation and inspiration to a lot of the vulnerable and isolated people in the community - we’ve done joint activities, shared goals, work, sense of belonging and** ‘ **service to the wider community.”** Katrina, Resident of Westgate **“I just wanted to say thank you so much for putting on things like this. I’ve been experiencing a really low point in my life, and this project was my one bit of love and belonging that kept me smiling. The love and memories are staying with me** ‘ **forever”** Participant in Queer Talk by community producer Zariq Hanif _Rite of Spring, Seeta Patel_ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 13 ## **Our 4 Community Producers consulted with their communities to bring the following:** **Rite of Spring (programmed by Halima Malek):** Seeta Patel's _The Rite of Spring_ is a reimagining of Igor Stravinsky’s iconic ballet in the Bharatanatyam dance style, performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. It was programmed into Gloucester’s Blackfriars Priory as a dance projection. **Bonded by Alleyne Dance as part of Jamaican Independence Day and (programmed by Philippa Smith):** _Bonded_ is an outdoor production that explores the construct of human dependency, especially that of siblings – and how time and external conditions can affect the synergetic connection. It was performed in Gloucester Park as part of Jamaican Independence Day. **Mone Rekho by Soumik Datta (commissioned by Strike A Light and the Guildhall):** _Mone Rekho_ is a relaxed-concert style performance led by Soumik Datta, who shared reflections on identity and memory to a soundtrack of incredible Sarod music. It was performed in Gloucester Guildhall. **"I really enjoyed coming to something different"** Audience member, Rite of Spring ‘ ’ **"I saw this and said we have to have that in Gloucester. It took my breath away. The music, the performance, it's absolutely beautiful"** ‘Halima Malek, after attending Rites of Spring at Sadler’s Wells ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 14 ## **Case Study Bonded** The process of seeing a piece of work and putting it on in Gloucester takes time and Go See trips help us identify work to programme. Philippa saw Bonded in September 2022 at Newbury and wanted to bring it to Gloucester. Bonded, a performance by Alleyne Dance, took place in Gloucester in August 2023. Two showings were held at Gloucester Park as part of Gloucester’s Jamaica Independent Day Celebrations. Originally it was programmed elsewhere, but Philippa pushed for her to be part of this day so it could effectively reach her community. A unique outdoor production featuring the exceptional talents of twin sisters Kristina and Sade, exploring the bond between siblings. Alleyne Dance has established itself as one of the UK’s foremost innovative dance companies in the world. The performance was part of a broader project produced by Strike A Light Community Producer, Philippa Smith, The Gripcreated by and for the families separated by migration and immigration and how this affected the various family members; particularly those left behind in their country of origin and what they experienced when they eventually joined the others in Gloucester. _Bonded, Alleyne Dance - Photo credit Daniel Folley_ 15 Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 As a result, we reached a crowd traditionally underrepresented in Arts Programming: **56% were Black/Black British or Mixed background - Black Caribbean & White** **78.5% were from areas in the top 20% of deprivation nationally** **64% attend arts and culture experiences once or less a year** _Bonded, Alleyne Dance - Photo credit Daniel Folley_ **Audience response: “Amazing performance! Please can we have more shows in Gloucester” “More things like this should happen in Gloucester”**[’] ‘ **“Loved the event so much!”**[‘] **“The best dance I have ever seen in my life... More shows like this** ’ **need to happen in Gloucester”** ‘ ‘ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024’ 16 ’ **Audience response:** ## **Partnership Programming** **In 2023-2024 we continued to focus on programming and commissioning events people could never have imagined coming to their city. Spectacle in Public Spaces creates the space for things people didn’t know they needed until they saw it.** **We wanted these events to enable residents to:** - → see the city in a new light **Anyday by Max Calaf:** A trampoline show, touring to Gloucester as part of Circus Around and About II, and staged in Gloucester Academy for pupils. **Kid Carpet & The Noisy Garden Centre:** A family show for children 4+. A theatre show with music, catchy songs, puppetry and audience participation! Performed at Gloucester Guildhall to families. As part of our partnership work, we also brought _Public_ by Ockhams Razor to King’s Square in Gloucester: **Public: Spectacle in King’s Square Case study, Saturday 17th June 2023** - → be uplifted - → feel more positive about where they live - → bring about a shift in perceptions and different ways of thinking ## **This year this included:** **Little Murmur by Aakash Odedra Company:** A dance piece for 7+ centred around dyslexia. Performed at Gloucester’s Guildhall to Robinswood School and to an open audience. **Donuts by Extended Play:** A contemporary dance show staged at Gloucester’s Guildhall as part of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative. _Public_ is a new outdoor performance by a groundbreaking circus company Ockham’s Razor about the ownership of public space. In _Public_ , a graduate company of 10 young performers create an image of a reality where they are able to be utterly without guard in a public arena. Incorporating acrobatics, parkour and dance they move through the architecture of the streets, lifting each other over and around walls, stairs, obstacles - dancing with the fabric of the world. Okhams Razor worked across 8 weeks with different schools and groups to create a bespoke piece performed by local Gloucester people within the professional piece. A total of 201 people worked with the company, with 90 of them performing in the final piece in King’s Square. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 17 Participants came from: Churchdown High School, Tredworth Junior School, SAL Youth Juniors, Your Next Move, Ambitions Dance, Inclusion Gloucester, GL1 Gymnastics and Gloucester College. You can see the _Public_ video here **Audience response:** **“Brilliant, just what Gloucester needs more of” “Really great to see the square used and so full and lively. Events like this are great for the community - Gloucester needs it”** ‘ **“This was completely** ’ **unexpected in town. They all looked like they were having lots of fun and it was amazing to see”** ‘ ’ **“Would like to see more events like this in Gloucester. Give people a reason to come and love the city again”** _Public - photo credit Mark Dawson_ ‘ ’ _Public - photo credit Mark Dawson_ **Artistic Director, Ockham's Razor:** **“We have performed the show across England and never have we had such a successful performance as the one in Gloucester. With the support of Strike A Light, we were able to create a far deeper level of engagement with the participants and to reach an incredible number of people. This was for us the most successful collaboration we have experienced and we have nothing but praise for the vision, integrity and professionalism of all the team at Strike A Light”** Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 18 ## **Commissioning** **At SAL we want to invest in new, exciting work on a national level. In 2023-2024 we continued to do this by commissioning the following:** **Soumik Datta Mone Rekho:** Leading on from the success of Hope Notes programmed at Gloucester Guildhall by Community Producer Halima Malek. SAL supported the development of the show and, in turn, supported 2 new NPOs to build on that success and further embed in the city and with audiences. **Stomping Ground:** SAL sits as a partner in the national project offering the largest outdoor dance commission in England. Community Producer, Zariq Hanif, joins the group and has an equal and valued voice around the table. This year we commissioned Richard Chappell’s _Land Empathy_ , a piece with environmental themes that will premiere at the Greenwich and Dockland International Festival (GDIF) in September 2024. _Mone Rekho_ **Stacked Wonky:** We first discovered Stacked Wonky at GDIF 2023 with Community Producers Zariq Hanif & Halima Malek. They were shortlisted through Stomping Ground. We have joined a co-commissioning partnership with GDIF, Fabric, Landmark Theatres and Sadler’s Wells to support _Are You Here for the Meeting?_ We expect to present this in Gloucester in 2025. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 19 7 **Artist Development and Let Artists Be Artists** **SAL offers opportunities for diverse and emerging artists and producers to progress their careers. Through residencies, employment training and artist support, we develop local and national talent and advocate for new ways of supporting careers in the industry.** This strand ensures that Gloucester and South West creatives can start and sustain careers, particularly those underrepresented in the sector. ## **What have we done?** ## **Artist Development - Residency Programme** We awarded money, time and resources to our residency programme. We supported 77 artists through our residency programme with the University of Gloucester and Hawkwood. We held residencies at the University of Gloucestershire in Easter 2023 - 7 groups took part with 18 artists in total. This included: Can’t Sit Still, Corrine Walker, Luca Macchi and Lizzie Grashion Hewitt. We held residencies at the University of Gloucestershire in Summer 2023 - 11 groups took part with 47 artists in total. This included: Zariq Rosita Hanif, Shivaangee Agrawal, Anjali Dance Co, Jamaal O’Driscoll, Jamaal Burkmar and Your Next Move. In December 2023 we held residencies at Hawkwood for global majority led companies/artists - 3 groups took part with 12 artists in total. This included: Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, Radhika Aggarwal and Sonny Nwachukwu. **Responses from those who took** **part in the residencies:** **“It gave me the space that I needed! And I can’t thank you enough for the opportunity!”** ‘ ’ **“As an organiser, Strike-A-Light is amazing and the venue, University of Gloucestershire, is equally fantastic too. Thank you so much.”** ‘ ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 20 **“The overall experience of the residency was amazing!”** ‘ ’ **“The residency was hugely beneficial! Our dancers are from all across the UK and due to their learning disabilities, residency options are often the only way** ‘ **we can do longer, deeper artistic work as their access needs mean regular long travel to/from venues or changing of environments can unsettle them.”** ’ **“ A lot of emerging artists or fresh immigrant artists like me should be given the similar opportunity like this.”** ‘ ’ **“We can't thank you enough for the space, time and support for our artistic work but also the opportunity for our dancers to gain invaluable life experience. Some of the dancers were quite emotional as they thought they would never get** ‘ **to experience what it was like to be a university student (due to their disabilities) and they were excited to FaceTime their siblings who had been to university, as they felt they could relate to them in a way they never thought possible. We noticed a huge difference in them over the week!”** ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 21 ## **Let Artists Be Artists** **“Huge credit and thanks to you all for smashing barriers and breaking moulds!” - LABA 2023 applicant feedback** In 2021-22 we ran a radical employment experiment to test out a different way for arts organisations to work with artists: Let Artists Be Artists (LABA), employing 3 artists in full or part-time roles for a year to be an artist without preconceived outcomes. This was challenging the norms. Artists are exhausted & restricted by the project treadmill. People talked about “fighting for scraps”, putting their own work on hold all the time & feeling “broken” by the usual commissioning & project funding processes. 400 artists applied in the first pilot and we knew this way of working had to happen. In 2023 we launched the scheme fully. We employed 4 more artists on 0.5 FTE contracts; all from different art forms and with a range of barriers to maintaining their freelance careers in the arts, all from global majority and/or working-class backgrounds. The artists work to no predetermined outcomes but some of their practice has to be based in Gloucester. This allows for collaborations to arise, stimulate new companies/partnerships between organisations, artists and producers and continues to offer the cultural infrastructure to grow in our city. ## **The artists are:** **Ed Patrick (Kid Carpet):** Kid Carpet is a musician, video and theatre maker who produces simple, catchy songs and disruptively charming shows, creating superheroes out of everyday people and ordinary things **Jamaal O’Driscoll:** Jamaal is a professional dancer working across a variety of dance styles, especially breaking. **Munotida Chinyanga:** Tida is an ‘anti-disciplinary practitioner’, creating work primarily through direction and sound design **Viv Gordon:** Viv is a theatre maker, survivor activist & arts and mental health campaigner All of the artists above have faced multiple barriers to working in the arts. LABA has allowed them to take risks, pursue new work and take time. Nationally, this has drawn attention, with Lyn Gardner writing about the scheme in The Stage. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 22 **Future producers** **Future Producers comments:** Gloucester Future Producers is a chance to develop skills and learn more about being a producer in the city. For this year’s cohort, they worked on Queer Talk, the verbatim project led by Zariq Rosita Hanif, over 8 weeks. The cohort was the same as 2022 as we felt they needed further time and development. Future Producers is open for applications for anyone over the age of 18, who lives in Gloucestershire and wants to get involved in the Gloucester arts and events scene. We found that through the programme we have been able to engage those who are underrepresented in the arts. The Future Producers from 2022 (who were mostly involved in this project) were: **33% gender identity is different from the sex they were assumed to be at birth** **33% identify as deaf or disabled person or have a long term health condition** **44% identify as neurodivergent** **44% identify as queer** **33% identify as global majority** **"Without this course I would not have even thought about applying for Arts Council funding for my latest project, it has opened so many doors. The support from Strike A Light has been unbelievable with one-to-one** ‘ **sessions and support even after the course has finished. I am thinking bigger, I feel empowered and resourced to make my dreams happen"- Future Producers course member "Overall, I feel like being part of Future Producers has been a turning point for me in my career, and so many opportunities have opened up for me. I really am so** ’ ‘ **glad I applied!”- Future Producers course member “I felt so safe and understood - I’ve never felt a sense of community and family(?) in the same way** ’ **before. I just felt like I belonged with everyone and that was a** ‘ **new experience for me.” - Future Producers course member** Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 23 **Learning and development** 8 **Provides year-round opportunities for Gloucester residents from all backgrounds to actively participate in regular creative activity. Our participation work develops new skills, improves wellbeing & nurtures our next generation of creatives.** ## **What did we do?** In 2023/24 we continued to deliver weekly classes for children and young people in Gloucester including; - → Youth Theatre for 7+ in Tredworth (new after school provision) → Youth Theatre for 12-18 in Matson and City Works - → Youth Dance Juniors at Gloucester Guildhall - → Youth Dance Company at the University of Gloucestershire We continued to deliver the weekly classes for children and young people (CYP) in Gloucester in accessible community spaces with low access to culture. This year, 53 CYP attended our classes and over 80% of those attending qualified for free spaces based on need. 2024 saw the launch of a new Youth theatre in the Tredworth and Barton area of the City. The youth theatre is aimed at 7-11 years old who can then progress into the 11-18 group, providing clear pathways for development. **“One person turned up crying because she had been kicked out of her home. One person turned up telling us their brother and uncle had been killed, another person’s mum was starting her next course of chemo. Them being at Strike A Light sessions definitely helped them.”** – Youth worker Group Leader’s journal **Case study:** Youth Theatre show “Brainstorm” was performed by our senior Youth Theatre group at Gloucester Guildhall on Tuesday 7th May 2024. The show, which they spent a term working towards, was a devised piece and the small group of 12-18 years have an insight into their lives as teenagers. Here was the feedback from the young people’s friends & family: _It was great. // My sister started crying. // It was so enjoyable. // My Stepdad absolutely loved the ‘Dad Dancing’ section. // They really enjoyed it, so cool to watch. // My sister cried the whole way through – she was so proud. // They loved seeing me on stage! // My Mum was laughing all the way through. // My Mum said it should be taken on tour around schools in the UK. // They thought it was brilliant. // Bessie is such a cutie. // Everyone was great. // My Dad loved playing the never have I ever game. // Lorelei has come out of her shell – amazing to see this._ _‘If you’ve had like a bad day or a bad week you go and you immediately feel better’_ – Youth theatre participant Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 24 ## **Strike A Light in Schools** Our Strike A Light in Schools programme placed three national organisations, Coney Theatre, Multistory Orchestra and ACE Dance and Music in Robinswood Primary Academy. Each genre had a callout for a local practitioner at the start of their career to work with one of the organisations to be able to develop their skill set and provide on the job training. For an academic year we provided a continuation of co-creating work with 60 young people, developing audiences and providing training opportunities for 3 local practitioners (two of which have since been able to access paid work with SAL) and built the performances into a programme of work. In 23/24 we delivered three Strike A Light in Schools, partnering exceptional artists and companies with schools. They each did a residency at school and then performed a piece of work. These were: **ACE Dance and Music:** Robinswood Primary Academy. Performance as part of Next Generation Dance. **Akasha Odedra:** Tredworth Junior School. Performance of Little Murmur. **Kid Carpet:** Tredworth Junior School. Performance of Epic Fail. The opportunity allows the CYP to have access to 2 hours a week of high-quality cultural provision free of charge. All of the work over the term culminated in a performance piece which other CYP and families could watch. ## **Aims of Strike A Light in Schools:** **Feedback from the teachers involved:** **1.** To improve health and wellbeing of CYP through theatre, dance and music **2.** To build confidence and resilience in the CYP we work with **3.** Provide a primary school with long-term support to provide a high quality cultural offer and ensure arts and culture is not lost in schools due to budget constraints **4.** To improve the spaces and places that matter to people - bringing families together to share in performances and build pride of place **5.** Provide paid traineeships to local artists to work alongside a national arts company, improving employability and skills **“The opportunity to work collaboratively with live professional musicians - an opportunity that they would not usually have access to; being able to present their work to** ‘ **their peers and parents, and be proud of what they had achieved”** Teacher, Tredworth School ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 25 **“Thank you so much for inviting us!! Wow! The children (& adults) had such an amazing time - it takes something to captivate 50 7 & 8 year olds for a whole 35 mins. They loved it and are** ‘ **buzzing now on the bus… Thanks again”** Robinswood teacher after watching Little Murmur ’ _Little Murmur_ 26 Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 ## **Case Study: New Gen Dance** In June 2023 we decided to create a performance platform called Next Gen to showcase work from local dance groups as well as providing a platform for our Strike A Light in Schools participants. The combination of local talent supported by exciting and professional dance companies like ACE Dance and Music, elevated the platform in an amalgamation of opportunity and aspiration. One of the participants who started dancing with us after a call out for local dancers to participate in the launch of King’s Square in 2022, Kyani, has gone on to perform in multiple dance opportunities with us and has created an after school dance group in her secondary school. Having been exposed to different professionals and opportunities, Kyani has been inspired to share her passion for dance and engage other young people to join in. This is a clear demonstration of our aims in action to provide brilliant opportunities for young people which encourage them to dream big and to give everyone, regardless of background and circumstance, opportunities to watch, create, lead and participate in culture. With over 100 young people participating alongside a DJ, host and professional companies, Next Gen has the potential to continue to be a new annual showcase in Gloucester City. ## **Workshops for CYP and family performances** Alongside our programmed work we offered workshops and engagement activity to the partner schools we work with. This year this included: -Any Day: Max Calaf performed in a hall in Gloucester Academy for 100+ CYP at no cost -Epic Fail (as part of Strike A Light in Schools) in both the Guildhall and the school, to allow the largest amount of CYP and families to enjoy it _The Grip - photo credit Daniel Folley_ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 27 ## **Practitioner Training** We delivered two sets of practitioner training in the last year, one of those being specifically for practitioners from the Global Majority. In June 2023 we delivered, in partnership with Cheltenham Everyman, a full day of training which was delivered by Twocan Theatre and Beyond Face Theatre, both South West organisations. With a strong focus on inclusivity, particularly around working with people with physical and learning disabilities, the practitioners were led by an expert from Twocan on how to adapt their practice for better engagement. Beyond Face placed emphasis on working with young people from diverse backgrounds and reflecting culture in delivery. In January 2024 we held our first practitioner training session for practitioners from the Global Majority. There is a clear disparity of black and brown practitioners being trained and paid in sustained roles as practitioners and we want to see a shift in the sector. The training was led by playwright and actress Yolanda Mercy who created a safe environment for the practitioners to discuss current work environments and sector challenges as well as giving them creative tools to hone in on their practice. Through this session we discovered new practitioners in the Southwest who felt there hadn't been adequate support or didn't know how to get support for their careers. As a result of this we have seen a need to continue to offer this training every year. ## **Internships** This year we have partnered with the University of Birmingham to deliver 2 part-time internships for 10 weeks with University of Birmingham students with a living wage and travel to the office covered. ## **The following is a blog post by our intern Tanishka:** I’ve been interning at Strike A Light (SAL) for the last 10 weeks, and the team there has truly been my biggest cheerleader throughout, constantly encouraging and supporting me. Working in the charity sector has taken me through purposedriven marketing, where SAL actually focuses on bringing artful entertainment and extraordinary experiences to people. Just pure entertainment for the people of Gloucester! I’ve spent my weeks in the marketing team, learning about different facets of marketing – ranging from writing copies for email marketing to designing creatives for socials. This internship has given me the opportunity to work on HubSpot CRM, Mailer Lite, Adobe Photoshop and honed my inbound marketing skills. I’ve learnt how marketing is not about taking it up like a checklist, task by task, it’s actually a about finding the right balance between what your audience expects from you, and how can you as a brand meet those expectations with keeping the brand core and values intact. It involves thinking backwards, and finding your audience on the right channels, and talking to them in a language they speak, about things they want to hear. The thing I loved the most was that I had the chance to work Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 28 things that were completely new to me, with full support from my manager! I learnt basics to code a website, work on the back-end of it and then taking it live. While interning I also got my hands into the event side of things, on bringing an event to life, from paper to the stage, with a massive audience. And I truly enjoyed every bit of it, it’s such a team effort! The whole experience has left me super motivated to work in a team, achieve big things and then celebrate wins together. And, like I said in the beginning, people at SAL will be your biggest cheerleader whenever it comes to trying something new, or even making a mistake. It’s such a happy, sunny environment in the office! The team has really taken care of me, being an international student at UoB, away from home. My experience at SAL provided me opportunities to explore Gloucester and its rich culture, and I’ll cherish the memories I made here. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 29 9 **This is How We Do It** **An expanding part of our work is ensuring we share our practice, develop discussions and learn from each other. We don’t think we have all the answers but we believe conversations and collaboration is the way we can create a more positive and hopeful future for the arts, particularly in such a challenging time for our industry. In 2023-2024 we reached 3,875 engagements digitally through our blog posts as part of This is How We Do It.** including Gloucester Guildhall and GL4, to provide advice and coordinate our programmes of work. **“You created a genuine and safe space for all staff to share and listen, and there has been a real buzz of interest and engagement around our approach to co-creation since”** ‘ Trinity Centre on Strike A Light’s Training session ’ ## **We delivered:** - → 6 digital sessions for up to 30 people per session with invited partners on a particular topic we’ve been requested to consult on (previously place-making, Let Artists be Artists, the development of GL4). We invited other organisations, artists and community members to join us in discussions. - → 6 blog posts from a range of voices we work with; sharing our work and practice and opening up the conversation on how these things could be better. - → We spoke at 6 conferences to learn and grow as an organisation and share our ways of working. - → We offered continual, free support to local organisations, Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 30 **Audiences** 10 **Our work continues to reach a range of communities over Gloucester.** **In 2023-24 we reached over 3,000 audience members in our events. We engaged 12,103 community members, young people and families in world class arts and engagement activity.** We saw once again our audience representing the communities we serve. Our audience in 2023-2024: **24% of audiences identify as Deaf, disabled or have a longterm health condition** ## **57% were global majority** ## **57% live in the top 20% of deprived areas nationally.** **"Amazing - feel very fortunate to have this in Gloucester"** Audience Member, Rites of Spring ‘ ’ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 31 **"It was an amazing experience and exciting to see other cultures..."** Audience Member, Rites of Spring ‘ ’ We work with 4 Community Producers who work in areas traditionally underrepresented in arts provision and in cultural investment. This is reflected in the audiences that come to their work. The below shows the audience statistics for each co-created piece of work: ## **Queer Talk by Zariq Hanif:** 78% LGBTQ+ 57% trans 21% global majority 64% living in the top 20% deprived areas nationally **The Grip by Philippa Smith:** 90% global majority 68% living in the top 20% deprived areas nationally 57% non-regular arts attenders 14% first-time arts attenders _Public - photo credit Emma Brookes_ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 32 ## **75 Years by Halima Malek:** 50% Asian/ Asian British Indian 15% Asian/ Asian British Pakistani 30% White British 5% Any other White Background 34% non-regular arts attenders 50% Barton & Tredworth residents **Westgate Stories as part of High Street Heritage Action Zone project by Katrina McGonagle:** 60% first-time attenders to a SAL event 33% non-arts attenders _Queer Talk - photo credit Cam Adams_ _The Grip creative team - photo credit Daniel Folley_ Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 33 ## **Governance, management and staffing** 11 We are a registered charity (we reviewed our structure and governing document for suitability, re-registering as a CIO in 2018) and have a well-established independent, voluntary board. Our diverse, active trustees ensure we deliver against our arts and education objects, with a particular focus on Gloucester communities. Communication is based on real conversation and relationships of trust between board, staff, artists and freelancers. This is underpinned by a rigorous structure of accountability and reporting, ensuring compliance, that we deliver against our funding agreements and that decision making is data informed. Board and staff work closely together, and establish working groups for key funding agreements or big decisions. Our business plan is created collaboratively in away days with the board and wider staff team, with trustees overseeing, feeding into and signing off an annual plan, fundraising strategy and budget. Our board terms of reference reflect this. **"Wow! Fun! Want more things to take the kids to like this in Gloucester"** Audience member, Donuts ‘ ’ This includes: - → Monthly financial reporting - → Quarterly board reports on programme, accounts, funding and partnerships - → Quarterly updated risk register - → Regularly reviewed policies which include a robust conflict of interest policy - → A paid secretary to the board to ensure compliance and accurate record keeping Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 34 ## **Board Recruitment and Staff Development** The team has grown considerably in the last year. We now have 14 staff PAYE, all part time. The demands of an expanding organisation means leadership and governance must be robust. This year, we did a significant round of trustee recruitment as the Chair and several members were at the end of their terms. We worked hard on recruitment; making personal approaches and finding where people felt aligned with our values. We recruited a board of 9 Trustees and two Co-chairs, to mirror our co-leadership model. The board now better represents the work we do and the community we serve. We have: - → One youth member (under 21) who had worked with us previously as a climate activist We have a fundraising sub-committee set up and a board representative who will complete Level 3 safeguarding training. We also have integrated artists and Community Producers within the organisation; with LABA artists and Community Producers on PAYE contracts and attending team meetings regularly. Our process and procedures have improved. We have implemented new budget procedures with our accountant; to ensure stronger accountability and a formalised approval process. We have worked with a freelance HR consultant to develop our policies, such as Absence and Leave and recently a Menopause Policy, to ensure we are being robust, vigilant and adaptable. - → A young board, with the majority under 35. This makes it more representative of who we serve and changes the very structure and perception on who can be on a board - → 44% identify as global majority; reflecting better the communities we serve - → 2 Trustees attended our partner school, Widden Primary School - → 50% identify as LGBTQ+ We have employed a new board secretary, on salary, to support the board and set a board expenses line for the first time. We have set up formal appraisals between the Executive Team and 2 Co-Chairs to ensure management and accountability across the organisation. We are ensuring accountability and identifying together where there may be gaps within knowledge to work on, for example, a recent focus on reading financial documents. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 35 ## **Staff and Board Structure** The team are supported by a wider team of freelancers. In 2324 we contracted 38 freelancers and worked with 16 different artists/companies on live events. Out of the 16 productions, over 50% were presented by Global Majority companies/artists. Below are our responses from the Arts Council England (ACE) annual survey 23-24 of staff and freelancers. Please note that this is on the basis of 26 responses. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Disability Gender Identity
I identify as a deaf or
disabled person or have a
long term health condition
22%
Prefer not to say Man
14% 14% 29%
Unkown
Woman
50% 71%
I do not identify as a deaf or
disabled person or have a
long term health condition
**----- End of picture text -----**
Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 36 ## **Ethnicity** **Socio-economic Background (Occupation of main/highest income earner in household at age 14)** ## **Sexual Orientation** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Bisexual Prefer not
earner in household at age 14)
to say
7.1%
7.1% 7%
7.1%
14.3%
7%
7.1%
29%
14.3%
7.1%
14%
86%
7%
22%
50%
7%
7%
Heterosexual / Straight
White British Modern Professional Occupations Neurodivergent
White & Black Caribbean Clerical & Intermediate Occupations I identify as
neurodivergent
Any other Mixed Background Senior Managers & Administrators
35%
Indian Routine Manual & Service Occupations
Any other White Background Traditional Professional Occupations
Any other Ethnic group Long Term Unemployed 65%
Don't Know
Other
I do not identify
Annual Review 2023-2024 37 as neurodivergent
**----- End of picture text -----**
Strike A Light **----- Start of picture text -----**
The Board: Gender Identity Disability
Man I identify as a deaf or
Ethnicity
disabled person or have a
long term health condition
33.3%
22%
33.3%
11%
66.7%
11%
11%
56%
66.7%
Woman
Prefer not I do not identify as
White British
to say a deaf or disabled
White & Black Caribbean person or have a
Sexual Orientation long term health
Chinese condition
White & Asian
22%
11%
Heterosexual / Straight
11%
Gay Man
11% Queer
45%
Bisexual
Prefer not to say
**----- End of picture text -----**
**Financial and Reserves Position** 12 **The final annual accounts presented show our current position.** SAL has reviewed its reserves policy and it has been increased to £95,000 (3 months running costs). We have increased reserves to this level this year. We have a surplus this year of £53,332. This is due to a later start of activity on our Let Artists Be Artists scheme and underspend on our staff costs (due to later recruitment). £10,000 of the surplus has gone towards our reserves to reach the current target. The rest of the surplus has been put towards the fundraising target for this year. Strike A Light Annual Review 2023-2024 39 eÉiSttred Number... 117W9 1 CE014141 Report ol iheTnt51ees and lknaudited FSnantkil 51atements lor the YeaiEnded 31 M•r(h 1014 Sirlke è ￿h1 ¢G1w￿$ter) Finanfial Statements for the Vear Ended 31 Marth 2024 CMienis•lFlnantialSiaiem¢nt5 P• Independent EX￿1￿￿15 R*pryi Report of theTrusiees atement ol FiNrKW AciMtie5 alarKeSh Notes io th¢ FinarKial Statement 6107 Drtailed Staiemen¢0lFkn•￿Ial•Ltml1e1 Strike A Light IGIouie5terl RÈ8islered Number.'_ 1178449 1 CE014141 Indepèn*Jent e¥amlnev's report to Ihe irustees of 5tii*¢ A Li£ht IGl¢uceMerl Iorthe Year Ended 3k Marth 1024 I report on ihe¥covnts ol IhETru%t for theyearenw 31 March IC114.T*thKh are sw our on pa8e$2 108 Resperiitye vespon>bllS11Ès of tiust**5and txaffjlner The charitV'5 trustee5 are responsible lof thtr preparation of ihe a¢¢ount5. The n. and in accoidance wiith the FinarKial Repoiiin8 Standaid applicable In the VK and Republic of IreLind. the Chafities A 2011 and ihe re•uirem•)1s of ￿￿lemeNt ol RetanHr*nd*d Practice, k(ountin8 and Reportin& harities. I￿oMIn1 r•iources AJI incoming resowces ale included on the Siatement ol FiTrancial kliviti*swheN thechlriiy 15 lelal eniilled to the inc¢Jne a¢k11he anKwnr can be 4Uantified reasonablexcviacv. Ae50tsr¢e5 experbded EAp¢￿J11urt1Sac¢0urtledror0n a cash baw5and haVetyeenC￿55I1￿ underiheheadin85thaiaweyie all ihe cost relaiiw to Ihe exPèThdl1 4136.917 4171.738 Nei IncofflelloMp¢ndiiurel 53.331 P88e 8