## **APAC’s Chair Report, May 2025 By Robyn Greenwood** APAC has continued to work with members and the sector to support performing arts heritage by providing training, knowledge exchanges, and networking opportunities for all members. 2025 marked the second year of our current three-year strategic plan (2024-2026). The focus in 2024/2025 for the board has been increasing member engagement, accessibility and inclusivity, prioritising bringing back members who have dropped off the attendance lists, bettering member communication and targeting an increase in student and academic members. We have been successful in exceeding, meeting, or very close to meeting, targets set for the board in 2024-2025 and I am happy to share the following report, based on progress towards APAC’s strategic objectives, with all APAC members. ## **AIM 1: Expand the make-up of APAC members to ensure the widest possible engagement in** ## **performing arts collections by the public.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Increase student membership by 50% **2024-2025 Result:** We have increased student membership by 69% from 2023 Autumn Student and Academic Event, V&A 2024 **AIM 1: Expand the make-up of APAC members to ensure the widest possible engagement in** ## **performing arts collections by the public.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Increase number of members outside of London to 55% of overall membership **2024-2025 Result:** 53% of overall members are from outside of London **AIM 1: Expand the make-up of APAC members to ensure the widest possible engagement in** **performing arts collections by the public.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Increase membership by 22 members. **2024-2025 Result:** 17 new members since 2023 _2024/2025 Focus :_ - _Student_ - _Academics_ - _Early Career_ - _Theatres_ - _Private_ _Collections_ Todmorden Hippodrome Theatre presentation, Members meeting 2025 ## **AIM 1: Expand the make-up of APAC members to ensure the widest possible engagement in performing arts collections by the public.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Increase participation from 9 existing members **2025-2026 Focus** : Increase participation from members with the following focuses: - _Dance_ - _Music_ - _Libraries_ - _Heritage_ ## **AIM 2: Improve and maintain clear and effective communication with APAC members and potential APAC members to promote, support and bring awareness to preserving UK performing arts material** ## **2024-2025 completed objectives:** Create new branded leaflets Create standardised member onboarding communications Implement style guide across APAC channels ## **AIM 2: Improve and maintain clear and effective communication with APAC members and potential APAC members to promote, support and bring awareness to preserving UK performing arts material** **2023-2026 Objective:** 6 blog posts per year, prioritising new members or members who have not contributed to blog stories in the past 2 years ## **2024-2025 Result:** 6 blog posts Most recent blogs posted on the APAC website, 2025 ## **AIM 2: Improve and maintain clear and effective communication with APAC members and potential APAC members to promote, support and bring awareness to preserving UK performing arts material** ## **2023-2026 Objective:** 12 social media posts per year, prioritising advocacy for member collections (reposting member exhibitions, events and progress) **2024-2025 Result:** 200 social media posts and shares, representing over 50 members X posts on APAC’s account representing over 50 members, 2025 ## **AIM 2: Improve and maintain clear and effective communication with APAC members and potential APAC members to promote, support and bring awareness to preserving UK performing arts material.** **2025-2026 Focus:** Releasing APAC schedule of events and meetings at the end of the first quarter of membership year (end of August) ## **AIM 3: Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of** ## **performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional** **development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 1 Symposium per year that showcases new ideas and projects in the performing arts sector. **2024-2025 Result:** 2 conferences, Curtain Up! The Practice of Archiving Performance and The ‘Green’ Room: Sustainability and Performing Arts Collections attended by over 110 people University of Galway Presentation, BRA conference, 2024 ## **AIM 3: Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of** **performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional** **development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 1 Study day per year that showcases new ideas and projects in the performing arts sector. **2024-2025 Result:** 1 study day planned for May 2025 with Live Arts Development Agency. LADA, Live art collections: activating archives and developing artistic research practice, 2025 **AIM 3: Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional** **development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 3 Digital Preservation Working Group (DPWG) meetings and 1 site visits focusing on best practice and knowledge exchange in Digital Preservation in the performing arts sector. **2024-2025 Result:** 2 Digital Preservation working group meetings with site visit to Kent. Digital Preservation Working Group visit to University of Kent, 2025 ## **Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 3 Equity, Diversity, Justice and Inclusion (EDJI) Working Group meetings and 1 site visits per year focusing on anti-racist best practice and knowledge exchange in EDJI practices in the performing arts sector. **2024-2025 Result:** 3 EDJI working Group meetings **Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 1 student showcase per year that supports student research and opportunities for sharing with the wider sector. **2024-2025 Result:** 1 student showcase planned and delivered. **AIM 3: Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional** **development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** ## **2024-2025 completed objectives:** Ensure all APAC meetings and events adhere to Hybrid model Review and update the 'Volunteer and Placements' opportunities on the APAC website Develop and deliver new travel grant scheme for APAC members Updated Volunteer Opportunities, APAC website, 2025 ## **AIM 3: Be an inclusive and trusted facilitator of performing arts knowledge ensuring APAC members have access to high quality professional development opportunities, knowledge exchange, best practice and new ideas in the performing arts sector.** ## **2025-2026 focus:** Create and post 2 new guidance/resources on the APAC website Review the accessibility of APAC's website and format of member meetings and implement changes where necessary. Develop and deliver 1 opportunity to curate APAC galleries on the website. ## **AIM 4: Develop social opportunities for APAC member collaboration, partnership and networking, ensuring all members have access to the performing arts expertise within APAC** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 1 Coffee Roulette opportunity per year **2024-2025 Result:** 2 Coffee Roulettes programmed and delivered ## **AIM 4: Develop social opportunities for APAC member collaboration, partnership and** ## **networking, ensuring all members have access to the performing arts expertise within APAC** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 2 student socials, one in the north and one in the south **2024-2025 Result:** 1 student social delivered in the south ## **AIM 4: Develop social opportunities for APAC member collaboration, partnership and networking, ensuring all members have access to the performing arts expertise within APAC** **2023-2026 Objective:** Programme and deliver 3 APAC member updates, presentations and workshops after member meetings **2024-2025 Result:** 3 APAC meetings programmed and delivered ## **AIM 4: Develop social opportunities for APAC member collaboration, partnership and networking, ensuring all members have access to the performing arts expertise within APAC** **2025- 2026 focus:** Potentially programme and deliver 1 culture swap opportunity **AIM 5: Advocate the importance of the performing arts sector and APAC to the public and network with relevant sectors and communities** ## **2024 – 2025 completed objectives:** Continue to work with The National Archives to identify members of the performing arts community who are not members of APAC and who are interested in developing their own collections Build Relationship with British Records Association Champion and support the importance of performing arts collections by representing members and the sector when required APAC Trustees supporting Keep Dancing Event in Showtown Blackpool, 2024 **AIM 5: Advocate the importance of the performing arts sector and APAC to the public and network with relevant sectors and communities** **2025- 2026 focus:** Build relationships with Museum Association, CLIP, Archives and Records Association ## **AIM 6: To be a robust organisation with transparent and transformational leadership in order to deliver on APAC's charitable objectives.** ## **2024- 2025 completed objectives:** Report on progress of strategic objectives at general member meetings. Report on financial status of APAC at member meetings Create open call opportunities for members to present at symposia, study days and/or member meetings. Establish a 50/50 split of representation of large/small organisations on the board Ensure compliance with Charity Commission, GDPR, etc. Continue to reply to member enquiries through the APAC inbox, facilitating connections and advise where applicable ## **Thank you to all Trustees and members who have** ## **presented and engaged with APAC in the past year** **including:** ## Treasurer Report 2024/2025 ## Summary We started the year with £9,456.53 and ended the year with £10,484.13. ## Bookkeeper report The report for 2024/25 is as follows: ## Travel Grants We awarded two travel grants over the last year, amounting to £569.60. Once again we encourage all members to take advantage of travel grants to attend our in person meetings. ## SIBMAS Payments This report shows the payment for 2024’s membership. The payment for 2025’s membership is currently being processed and so will be accounted for in next year’s report. ## Membership Report 2024/2025 ## Summary This year we started taking membership online, allowing new members to sign up by themselves. We saw a large increase in membership. ## Current membership At the end of the financial year we had 104 paid members. This was an increase of 8 on last year. We had 18 new members join this year. This included six new institutions and 12 new individuals and students/academics. ## Membership by type We have several different levels of membership currently available, the main difference being those who just subscribe to APAC and those who subscribe to both APAC and SIBMAS. Within those we have Institutional and Individual members. We also have Student members, who only subscribe to APAC. The split between the different options for current members are as follows: ||**APAC**|**APAC and SIBMAS**| |---|---|---| |**Overall**|70|34| |**Institutional**|33|30| |**Individual**|19|4| |**Student**|18|N/A| ## Membership by region Our split between members from Greater London and those from the rest of the UK and Ireland has remained the same. 47% of our members are from Greater London and 53% is from the rest of the UK and Ireland. With an increase in membership overall, it is encouraging to see growth is consistent across our whole membership. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Members by region
London South East Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber Scotland South West
North East North West Ireland
International Wales
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The numbers break down in more detail as follows: |**Region**|**Number of members**| |---|---| |London|50| |South East|17| |Midlands|9| |Yorkshire and the Humber|6| |Scotland|4| |South West|5| |North East|5| |North West|5| |Ireland|2| |International|1| |Wales|2| More information about our members can be found our website at https://performingartscollections.org.uk/our-members/?see-all . Patricia Underwood, APAC Treasurer and Membership Secretary, April 2025 ## **Website Officer’s report for 2024/25** This year we introduced online sign-up options to our ‘become a member’ page. This has made it easier for members to sign-up and pay for their memberships online. We also improved the layout of the page to try and make the details of the different membership options clearer. Several new members have also had their details added to our members pages to keep these up to date. The Volunteers and Placements page has been edited so that all the correct details are on there. Many thanks to Georgina for her help reviewing the page and compiling all the updated information. We are planning to do a call out to members soon to see if anyone has any placements they would like featured on the page. Recently we have encountered some issues with the website’s functionality. Blog posts continue to be available on the stories section of the homepage, but these are not loading on the dedicated ‘stories’ page. We have agreed to keep adding blog posts to the homepage as normal whilst we investiate the issue with the stories page. There is also an issue with the embedded map on the members page, and we are aware that the website needs some maintenance in general. We are currently researching potenetial website developers who can do a review of the website and propose maintenance options. Sarah Harrison APAC website officer 24/04/2025 ## **Member Communication Report: AGM 2024** ## **APAC Blog** 2024-2025 Blogs Published: - _An Invitation to ‘Play’: Interpreting Performing Arts History in the Museum_ by Elizabeth Gray - _SIBMAS – Hong Kong – 23-27 June 2024_ by Mandie Garrigan and Judith Dray - _Montgomery to Wolfit: Theatre Royal Nottingham_ by Amy Bromilow - _Theatre Postcards: Volunteering at the Theatre Royal Nottingham_ by Karen Turnbull - _Re-collecting cabaret_ by Al Meggs - _Impressions of an APAC Study Day: A Personal Perspective_ by Sally Lewis ## 2025-2026 Blogs Planned: - Blogs submitted by members with stories, collections, research, projects to share. ## Membership Communications Working Group: - We have seen an increase in non-members attending APAC events in 2025. We now have APAC flyers and posters available at events to encourage membership. Members able to request copies of - 2025-2026 will see APAC encouraging non-member organisations to join APAC through targeted engagement. ## **Coffee Roulette** APAC facilitated two very successful coffee roulette sessions for our members. The Autumn 2024 round had sixteen sign-ups, whilst the Spring 2025 round received fourteen sign-ups. After reviewing the 2024 APAC Coffee Roulette sessions, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback and will continue to hold them going forwards with the next due in Summer/Autumn 2025. ## **Twitter** https://twitter.com/apac_ssn ● Our followers are composed of our paid-up members, academics and academic institutions, theatres and performing arts businesses, specialist researchers, students, theatre directors, writers and designers, authors, other performing arts collection groups, and interested members of the public from all over the world. ## **Bluesky** - https://bsky.app/profle/apac ssn.bsky.social - The Board took the decision to create a BlueSky account for APAC at the end of 2024. - Our followers are compiled into a Bluesky ‘Starter Pack’, listing our members pages and individuals representing our members. Philip Boot (APAC Trustee without portfolio) 22/04/2025 ## **1.** ## 2. ## 3. **Association of Performing Arts Collections – Student Representative Report 2025** ## 4. 5. In 2024/25, APAC’s Student and Academic Representative has continued to support our academic community throughout the year. We strengthened our student and academic network through the continuation of social events and the return of the Annual Student and Academic Showcase. 6. In October 2024, APAC student and academic members attended a special visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Enthoven Unboxed exhibition. The evening commenced with an insightful introductory talk delivered by a panel of curators from the V&A’s Theatre and Performance collection. Attendees were then treated to exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition, accompanied by a guided tour led by Curator of Dance, Jane Pritchard, followed by a lively Q&A session. 7. The event concluded with a social gathering at the Hoop & Toy, providing a valuable opportunity for students and academics to connect, exchange ideas, and build networks. We would like to extend a huge thank you to the Theatre & Performance team at the V&A for hosting us. It was a sold-out event, which also led to further growth in our student and academic membership. Encouraged by its success, we aim to integrate more social events into the APAC calendar. To help shape future activities, a survey has been circulated to our student and academic members to gather feedback and suggestions for the 2025/26 programme. 8. 9. In December 2024, APAC’s Annual Student and Academic Showcase returned for another successful edition. We were delighted to host four outstanding presentations from both new and returning student and academic members. The talks explored key themes such as engagement, access, and the retelling of stories within dance and theatre archives. We welcomed presenters from the University of Brighton, the Royal Academy of Dance, the University of Leicester, and De Montfort University. 10. The event was a resounding success, offering valuable insights for researchers while also highlighting the vital role they play in enriching the wider APAC community. Looking ahead, we are excited to develop the 2025 Showcase into an in-person event, building on the strong foundations and momentum of previous years. 11. 12. Moving forward, our goal for the year ahead is to continue strengthening our student and academic membership and to create more opportunities for members to contribute actively to the APAC community. Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to Robyn and the rest of the APAC Executive Committee, who have supported the organisation of events and helped champion our student members throughout the year. 13. 14. Dr Bethany Johnstone 15. APAC Student and Academic Representative. 16.