Association of Performing Arts Collections – Chair’s Report 2022
Summary
The past year has, again, brought many challenges to our sector but also a lot of hope and optimism with services reopening and audiences returning to performing arts venues and archives alike. I am proud to say that APAC has worked well to support our members through this period by providing training, knowledge exchanges, and networking opportunities.
We kept our meetings and events online in the face of uncertainty around travel and social distancing. This has allowed us to build up a really broad geographical base in our audiences and the Board will be considering how we maintain that connection while also embracing inperson events and meetings again.
At the 2021 AGM, we introduced a Student Rep role to the Board. Bethany Johnstone took up this role and has worked brilliantly this year engaging our student membership, exploring what is useful to them and establishing the Student Showcase at our December member meeting. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to introduce the APAC membership to their research and encouraged a real bonding of collection specialists with those who use them. I am looking forward to how this role will continue to strengthen APAC’s offer for students.
We are already making steady progress towards achieving our strategic objectives and you will read about these throughout the documents for the AGM. We surveyed members to ask about specialist areas of knowledge and these have all been added to the APAC website under each member so that either APAC members or the general public can be directed to people who may be able to answer a query or offer advice on certain areas. We are continuing to work with the Subject Specialist Networks Consortium and are part of their lobbying efforts with the Arts Council England for funding of these networks in general. We have begun conversations with sector bodies about how we can work more closely with them and we look forward to more collaborative working.
The Digital Preservation working group has begun drafting best practice guidance for the sector, which has been used and spread far beyond the performing arts field, which is exciting and a testament to the knowledge and expertise that APAC members have to offer.
The most recent membership round has been the first that we have automated and a big thank you to Robyn Greenwood for overseeing that so seamlessly. We now have a much more robust method for renewal and for welcoming new members, with opportunities for
members to update their information and manage their payments. This, alongside our bookkeeper, ensure that APAC is run in the most professional manner possible, meeting the requirements of the Charity Commission.
We want to make sure that all members feel connected to APAC and the work it does. We always welcome input from our members about how we can improve so please do contact us with ideas. Liz Harper is continuing to work wonders on APAC’s Twitter account and providing much needed contact with all our members. Liz also looks after our monthly stories, which are published to the website and provide members with an opportunity to advocate for their collections and projects.
Events
We have held two events this year, both online, which have had impressive attendances. The first, In June 2021, was focused on the challenges and opportunities around the Covid-19 pandemic and featured speakers from a wide variety of APAC members. This provided an opportunity to reflect, review and respond to the pandemic and included overviews of funded projects, working with students in a new way and how to strategise around reopening our services.
The second, in April and May 2022, was based on copyright and licensing. This has been a familiar topic of discussion at APAC events and we are thrilled that we were able to bring two afternoon symposia to our members featuring a sector-leading rights speaker and a performing arts photographer to speak about their work as well as hear from APAC members about their day to day challenges around rights management.
Meetings
Thank you to everyone who has embraced virtual meetings, which we held on:
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14 September 2021 – we had three presentations focusing on dance
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1 December 2021 – we rounded off the year with a Student Showcase, featuring four of our student members
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9 February 2022 – we were joined by the RSC to discuss their NHLF funded project Threads
Thanks to the Ex Com
Finally, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the Board who have worked so hard this year and gone above and beyond what is expected of them. APAC is fortunate to have such dedicated individuals working to implement the aims of the network. Thank you to: Steph Rolt as Secretary; Patricia Underwood as Treasurer; Robyn Greenwood as Membership Secretary; Clare Wood as Website Officer; Bethany Johnstone as Student Rep; and Phil Boot, Karen Brayshaw, Liz Harper, Biddy Hayward, and Victoria Lane as Officers Without Portfolio. I am excited for the next chapter of APAC with Robyn as CoChair and three new members joining the Board.
I want to thank Karen Brayshaw and Victoria Lane for their support and dedication to the Board over the past few years. And I want to say a special thank you to Steph for her work as Secretary for the past five years. Steph has brought such professionalism, dedication, good humour and creativity to the role and I for one will really miss working with her.
Everyone on the Board gives their time voluntarily and their breadth of knowledge and expertise is key to implementing the huge range of work that we have over the past year. Their enthusiasm makes serving on the Board a joy and I am confident that APAC and its members will come out of these trying times as a stronger network.
Erin Lee
Chair
19/04/2022
Treasurer’s Report 2022 AGM
1. Summary
Another year of Covid has created another unusual year for APAC finances. With no in person events again this year, most of our outgoings were to facilitate our continued online meetings. However, another year of strong membership take up has resulted in a good healthy recovery for our finances following the spending on the new website last year. We started the year with £6241.68 across both accounts and closed the year with £7564.54.
2. Bookkeeper report
The report for 2021/2022 is as follows:
3. HSBC Bank account
In November 2021 HSBC started charging all Community Accounts £5 a month. This combined with other issues we have had with HSBC in the past mean that I am currently looking at swapping APAC to a new bank. Hopefully I will be able to share our new account details in the coming months.
4. SIBMAS Payments
This report shows the payment for 2021’s membership. The payment for 2022’s membership is currently being processed and so will be accounted for in next year’s report.
Patricia Underwood, APAC Treasurer, 26 April 2022