(>l(jiii¢"t()Iic Skimstone Arts Annual Report and Accounts 2023- 2024 **Our Mission: To support diverse artists, people and communities at risk of social isolation to create work with, for and about the world that matters to them.** |**About Skimstone Arts**|**04**| |---|---| |**Our Activities and Aims**|**06**| |**Report From Our Chair of Trustees**|**08**| |**Artistic Director’s Report**
**Leadership Team Report**|**10**
**12**| |**Young Artist Collective & Reality Boots**
**Freefow Café**|**14**
**16**| |**West End Refugee Service and St Peter’s Stockton - on - Tees**
**Refugee Week 2023**
**Ouseburn Festival 2023**|**18**
**20**
**22**| |**Impact Case Study: Peace Night Hexham**
**Impact Case Study: Holocaust Memorial Day**
**Impact Case Study: The Upstartz**
**Structure, Governance and Management**|**24**
**26**
**30**
**34**| |**Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities**|**36**| |**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**37**| |**Statement of Financial Activities**|**38**| |**Statement of Financial Position**|**39**| |**Thank You Funders & Partners**|**42**| |**Contact**|**44**| **Skimstone Arts Registered Charity: 1182284** **2** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **3** ## **01** ## **About Skimstone Arts** Skimstone Arts is a welcoming, safe yet risk taking charity, passionate about promoting equality and visibility in the arts and society. Established in 2007 by Artistic Director/artist Claire Webster Saaremets **“ Such a powerful performance that evoked so much emotion. The work exploring the heart and the burdens we share, a powerful reminder to the need of community.”** _**Our mission is to support diverse artists and communities and those at risk of social isolation to create work with, for, and about the world that matters to them.**_ ## **Audience Feedback** We produce and embed social action, equality and visibility in our: ## **PROGRAMME** We produce an annual programme of accessible live, radio and online events, with local, national and international communities for: regional UNITY Festival exploring the (themes of humanity and our environment), National Holocaust Memorial Day, and national Refugee Week. ## **COMMUNITIES** We collaborate with local, national and international artists, co-creators and audiences with skills, talents, ideas and potential and are living with life challenges, needs and societal isolation, to work with us and create authentic artworks for our annual programme. ## **Image: Colin Davison** The process of hearing stories, exploring themes, and working together with such a rich diversity of voices to create this work has been a very powerful journey. We hope that audiences are moved by our songs, performances, images, films, poetry and events, which respond to lived experiences. We support our Young Artists Collective and their band Reality Boots run by our young people’s Leadership Team. The Lead Musician supporting our young people is Peter Saaremets, funded by Youth Music. Our bands create and record original work about what they want to say about the world for our programmed events. We invite people who have a right to be visible to join us in being positive activists, nurturing and recognising humanity and our living world... to bring peace, respect and open hearts. ## **PARTNERSHIPS** We work with regional universities, cultural venues and a range of partners regionally, nationally and internationally to create work that contributes to important research, festival events and invites audiences to think about and respond to arts and social action. **4** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **5** ## **02** ## **Our general aims include:** - Creating a voice for our diverse artists, communities and all those we work with to promote inclusion, collaboration, ownership and respect, for anyone who has a social and political right to make artwork but may face barriers to do so. · Making accessible artistic work including performances, exhibitions, radio broadcasts and gigs, that reflect current stories and themes that engage diverse audiences. · Being actively inclusive and supporting and nurturing opportunities for all those made isolated by society; recognising and celebrating skills and talents, despite the multiple life challenges they may be experiencing. - Presenting free events throughout the year, giving audiences the chance to enjoy: live music, performance, arts, exhibitions, stories and workshops, that celebrate humanity, the environment and positive social action. ## **Our Activities and Aims** ## **How we do this** We bring the artworks created by the different artists and co creator communities into the same public platform e.g. our young people’s band Reality Boots, commissioned artists, photographers, musicians etc and community members perform original songs, poetry, exhibit work from creative sessions for our UNITY Festival/Holocaust Memorial Day Events and Refugee Week. This creates equal visibility and invites audiences to be inspired and engage with a broader spectrum of experiences, stories and social action. ## **Why do we do this** We believe in equality of opportunity, of being curious and playful about the world, and expressing ideas and thoughts in different art forms that help us to think more deeply about humanity and the environment. We are passionate about travelling together, listening, responding and learning about the diversity of voices, ideas and artworks. Then we can begin to change individual, community and world perceptions, and recognise how artistic processes and artworks can reinforce equal worth, visibility, and appreciation of a new lens on the world, and positive relationships that make us feel good TOGETHER. **Image: Colin Davison** **6** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **7** ## **Report From Our Chair 03 of Trustees** Welcome to the Skimstone Arts Annual Report for 2023/4! opportunity to thank all my board colleagues for their unstinting commitment and dedication to the work throughout the year. Enjoy our report and linger over the joyous images. As you will see, it’s been another hugely successful year, artistically and culturally for Skimstone, working alongside an ever-widening range of different communities across our region in the face of huge social and environmental challenges nationally and internationally. The Board has also taken the opportunity to review our Theory of Change – the core document that helps the whole team focus on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and how we’re doing it. In the year ahead we expect to refine and focus that thinking further. We can’t wait for you to join us on the next stage of our journey. However, the year has also had challenges for Skimstone itself. The amazing work that Claire and Peter and the team have yet again produced this year, is all the more striking when you remember (and who could forget?!) how much else was going on under the surface. **Simon James** Chair **Simon James** Chair **Talha Ozleblebici** Trustee **Jess Johnson** Secretary **Lya Vollering** Trustee **Angela Mortimer** Trustee Claire’s health issues not only impacted on her and Peter and their wider circle of family and friends but meant that many of the wider team had to step up to new roles and responsibilities – something they did with dedication and no small success. Similarly, from the beginning of the year, the new board had to get to know each other, get to grips with our role and maintain strategic continuity – as well as supporting Claire and Peter. I’d like to take this **8** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **9** ## **Artistic Director’s 04 Report** Our Annual programme continued to create significant opportunities to create artistic work with such a wide diversity of people. Highlights include: having positive coverage from ITV for our audio and poetry work with creative members of West End Refugee Service, in partnership with Newcastle University; listening to quiet thoughtful audience responses at our Fear or Freedom Holocaust Memorial Day Events in January 2024; the creation of our new band The Upstartz at St Anthony’s Day Centre, Walker; devising and directing a new performance group from the Ukrainian community; being asked to speak at the Human Rights Activism Panel and Networking Event the joyful commissioning by Ouseburn Trust to programme their woodland area, giving us a great platform for our diverse artists, and our own band Reality Boots to perform… despite the torrential rain on the first day!! ## **“ An uplifting year, despite great personal challenge.” Claire Webster Saaremets** 2023 to 2024 was a significant year of personal challenge for me. Having been diagnosed with a brain tumour in November 2022, but being able to still work until two weeks before my brain tumour removal operation in August 2023, resulted in a three-month recovery period. I’m so grateful for the kindness, care and support from Chair Simon James, Board of Trustees, Skimstone staff, artists, partners such as St Anthony’s Day Care and our young people to Peter Saaremets (Lead Musician/ my husband) and myself. I remain indebted to the skills of our NHS. I was able to return to work at Skimstone Arts on 1st November. We made a strategic change to put our UNITY Festival into October 2024 allowing us to fund raise and have a longer lead in time and we were thrilled to match our existing funds and secure £65,000 from Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants and further core funding from Garfield Weston alongside existing multi year funding from Youth Music and Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund. This alongside developing new partnerships with Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne and Kirkleatham Museum, Redcar who will be hosting our UNITY Festival ’24. We’re so excited that UNITY Festival ‘24 will be our biggest and most ambitious yet! **Claire Webster Saaremets** Artistic Director/CEO **10** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **11** ## **Leadership Team 05 Report** This year has been another packed year with recording in a studio, print workshops at Northern Print and creating new songs around the themes of Holocaust Memorial Day and the local environment. **“ I enjoyed seeing some for our young people debut at their first gig at BOP Fest with our partners from Jack Drum Arts. It was great to take part in something you believe – an ecological awareness raising event.”** A lot of achievements within a variety of artforms – music , film and print and very productive despite Claire’s absence. Ouseburn Festival was a new venture for us and a lot to organise, especially putting up tents in the pouring rain. ## **Young Artist Collective Leadership Team** Here are some personal reflections from the Young Artist Collective and members of the Leadership Team: _**“Ouseburn Festival was a particular highlight for me and I put the most into and got the most out of. Major reason – was an event from the ground up, using a space that is land left to the side and not thought about all that much. We created almost a type of village in that space with constant programme of music from bands and individual buskers, art, dance, stuff that people could take away. I really enjoyed the process of organising, being part of the festival staff itself and coordinating the volunteers. Arranging a tent that was vital for the festival to run in the pouring rain, was important for me.”**_ _**“For me the Ouseburn Festival was a milestone – doing the evaluation and organising a project for another company, the Ouseburn Trust,**_ _**was a first. It was a new challenge for me – helping to set things up and taking on a new role... Interacting with the public and asking questions face to face for feedback then editing it to a deadline as it had to be delivered to the Ouseburn Trust. It was a lot of work but worth it, a highlight of Skimstone Arts 2023.“**_ _**I think HMD was quite a challenging event as it’s difficult subject matter but that’s why it was important. At each performance audiences were very engaged and you could see this in the audience discussions afterwards. It was nice for me to write up that feedback and see the impact it had had.”**_ _**“Being in the recording studio was a great chance to be together and have all the different elements come together in Blank Studio. It had a welcoming atmosphere. We started with the theme of Fragility of Freedom and we used everyone’s input into the song. We had to make sure that we were well practiced. We tested it out at a Dwellbeing event at Christmas and it was well received by the audience. They were dancing!”**_ We’re looking forward to writing new material, welcoming some new members, being part of the programme for UNITY Festival 24 and hopefully recording and collaborating with more young people across the region. _**“I was wearing quite a lot of hats for HMD as I did the marketing, performed my own song and spoke on behalf of Reality Boots, to present the song Human Will that we had worked on.**_ **12** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **13** ## **Young Artist Collective 06 & Reality Boots** Our Young Artists Collective (YAC) and their band Reality Boots is made up of a diverse group of young people who work in and beyond the studio to create an individual and collaborative arts practice. **“ It’s a chance to express a lot of things I wouldn’t be able to express in daily life. It can be a calm place. I can be social and interact with other people who aren’t my children. It gives opportunities to do events that I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.”** _**“It helps people come out of their shells, and express our feelings through art and music.”**_ ## _**- Young Artist Collective member**_ In 2023 – 24 Our Young Artists Collective continued their journey with weekly sessions that provided opportunities for anyone 16 to 25 years of age with an interest mainly in music, sound and other art forms to create work with a diverse group of people in a supportive, nurturing environment. Our young artists create work responding to national themes such as national Holocaust Memorial Day and Refugee Week events and our own UNITY Festival. ## **Young Artist Collective member** Reality Boots performed at Ouseburn Festival with their original songs as a band and members also had the opportunity to be part of the busking programme, performing some of their solo material. ## _**“The Young Artists Collective expands peoples’ social and artistic circles.” - Young Artist Collective member**_ Reality Boots took part in Skimstone Arts’ Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 events A Night of Fear and Freedom, at Newcastle City Library and NewBridge project. They wrote a song called Human Will that they then recorded at Blank Studios. The recording was also played on Skimstone Radio broadcast A Night of Fear and Freedom. The Young Artist Collective then worked with Northern Print based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle to use the lyrics of their song to create different compositions with a variety of printing techniques. Young people are given the opportunities to apply for specific roles and join the staff team e.g. marketing, recruitment and evaluation. ## **Opportunities for young people have included:** - Paid artistic and leadership skills development. - Gaining experience in understanding professional recording studio experience. - Paid marketing and website management, evaluation and event management, and volunteer coordination. - Key leadership within the band and providing 1:1 support for members with additional needs. **14** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **15** ## **Freeflow Creativity 07 Café** **“ The Freeflow Creativity Café was a delightful experience. Working with other creatives and people from different backgrounds, we shared our experiences and stories. As a collective, we collaborated and deliberated on ideas to bring forth something that has become a testament to the power of creative diversity. As a poet, I was able to view other perspectives and feel like I was part of a community.”** Freeflow Creativity Café explored the theme of ‘Our Home’ over 6 x free sessions, writing lyrics, poetry and monologues, inspired by real stories and our own ideas, with Skimstone Arts’ Claire Webster Saaremets (Artistic Director) and poet/ performer Clare Matthews (Associate artist). Skimstone Arts’ Freeflow Creativity Cafés brought together a wonderful diversity of people, including residents in Newcastle and those with lived refugee experience. Together we collaborated and co created a range of poetry about the theme of HOME, which will be recorded at Blank Studios, Newcastle upon Tyne. Audio and printed poems will be featured in the XL Gallery at Newcastle University as part of Skimstone Arts’ Refugee Week events 2024. One collective poem from Freeflow was made into a stand alone artwork using Letterpress with Northern Print based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne. - **Lanre Sonde, Project Member** **16** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **17** ## **West End Refugee Service and St Peter’s 08 Stockton-on-Tees** At Skimstone Arts we actively support members of the refugee communities to co-create and experience: **“ Thank you …support you have given to such a good cause…helping us make such a difference.” - Peter Noble Chief Executive West End Refugee Service** - artistic opportunities to perform and exhibit work of a high standard that expresses hope, integration, cultural value and moving stories we can all learn from. ## **West End Refugee Service** - ways of engaging positively with new audiences through talks and discussions about their work and lives, skills and talents that helps understand importance of integration and social cohesion. - event management opportunities that platform the skills and talents of refugee communities ie being part of Skimstone Arts’ administrative, production, stewarding team. All our experiences have been so positive in learning how communities commit to being involved and helping to co design our projects with us. WERS _**“We’ve made music together, from all these different places in the world. Today I felt togetherness.” - WERS member, St Peter’s Church – Newcastle upon Tyne**_ We have formed a very new band called Shirley & the gang inspired by the lead singer – Shirley – and her amazing voice. The band will work together to make songs to perform at Refugee Week 2024. _**“Today we made a song about Hope. It gave me hope.” - from Shirley & The Gang, St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees**_ **18** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **19** ## **09** **“ My grandparents were holocaust survivors. As I came into the room with this identity I was unsure what to expect. I have been blown away by how beautifully “Where Do You Sit” links Holocaust Memorial Day to our current world and highlights its relevance for people who are marginalised in so many ways. It does an excellent job of showing how we are all connected wherever/whoever we are. Thank you.” Audience Member** ## **Refugee Week 2023** 2023 marked the 25th anniversary of Refugee Week. Taking place from 19 to 25 June, the theme for this year is **what compassion looks like in action** . It aimed to encourage people to explore what we can do together to create a shared understanding of compassion which is extended widely to all. This year, we were delighted to return to Newcastle University to share two exhibitions, Where Do You Sit? and Underneath, Within, Beyond, along with a new sound installation, Sanctuary of Sound, created by refugee and asylum seekers we’re working with who live in Newcastle, Sunderland and Stockton. **Sanctuary of Sound** took place in the atmospheric Arches at Newcastle University, where audiences could experience the collaborative sound installation created by The Resonators - a collective of people with lived refugee experience. The sound piece, which explored urban and natural soundscapes of Newcastle, was created with the West End Refugee Service, artist Martin Heslop and our Artistic Director Claire Webster Saaremets. Participants explored areas of Newcastle to listen, capture field recordings and write collective poetic compositions which were woven together in this immersive piece. _**“I am proud of my voice. I sounded like a journalist. Maybe I could do something like this in the futures. That day I believed in myself.” - Member of The Resonators**_ ITV recorded and broadcast the experiences and impact of taking part from The Resonators and Claire Webster Saaremets. _**“Here in the park, beside the ducks and geese, we began to make our poetry. I would like to go again.” - Member of The Resonators**_ You can watch The Resonators on ITV as they listen to their sound piece: _**“We all sat under the fallen tree. There was a difference in recording sound, what we were listening to, and making our own sound.” - Member of The Resonators**_ **20** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **21** ## **10** **“ Following the success of UNITY Festival 2023, we were thrilled to be commissioned by Ouseburn Trust to programme the Woodland spaces and this year’s Ouseburn Festival. We aimed to create a programme that reflected diversity of artists and all that lives in the woodland, from original songs and sounds to dance and observing mushrooms in a microscope. We celebrated all that Ouseburn Valley had to offer as a home for humans and wildlife.”** ## **Claire Webster Saaremets, Artistic Director at Skimstone Arts** ## **Ouseburn Festival 2023** Ouseburn Festival was a free, community-led family-friendly festival that celebrated the Ouseburn Valley, its people and its businesses. This year visitors to the Festival enjoyed over 50 different activities and events. This included live music and performances, craft and food markets, boat trips on the river and much more. Skimstone Arts was commissioned by Ouseburn Trust to programme the Ouseburn Woodland and present a diverse line-up of performers and creative workshops in beautiful spaces across the Ouseburn, including: - **The Bandstand** - in the heart of the woodland under the railway viaduct - **The Orchard** - behind the gate by Crawford’s Bridget, the cobbled bridge heading into the woodland - **The Stone Circle** - by the Cumberland Arms ## **Ouseburn Festival - Woodland Takeover** Audiences were invited to build beautiful bird feeders with artist Anne Curtis, discover the hidden beauty of mushrooms with illustrator Fran Thomas, and experience a Kenyan musical journey with Rapasa Nyatrapasa Otieno, join a joyful exploration into African dance with Nii Kwartey Owoo and the electrifying Afrocentric sounds of Asasaa, make a clay pot with Will Benson and listen to live music from buskers. Skimstone Arts also presented songs co written by St Anthony’s Day Centre members The Upstartz with the Orchard Song Book Band, original songs by our young people’s band Reality Boots. _**“I think it’s really good and multicultural, I think it’s good for my daughter to see people from different cultures… and it’s just happy isn’t it?” - Audience Feedback**_ At the stone circle festival-goers created beautiful water marbling pictures with artists Tuguy and Melike Yalcin. There was something for everyone. _**“Fantastic live music, great lyrics, real energy, really enjoyed it, well done.” - Audience Feedback**_ Hear what festival-goers thought of our Woodland Takeover by watching one of Skimstone Arts young artists Phillip Melody’s evaluation video: **22** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **23** ## **Impact Case Study: 11 Peace Night Hexham** ## **“ Claire Webster Saaremets...** **You directed and created a wonderful composed event, which followed the peace journey perfectly and that the audience understood the message of the evening. Well done and thank you. Well done and thank you, to you Peter and all your team and for introducing us to wonderful poets as in Clare, Verity for her gorgeous voice and song and Rapasa too for his words and music too. Fabulous.”** **Member of Hexham Together Feedback** ## **Peace Night Hexham Together for Ukraine in collaboration with Skimstone Arts** Performances and stories from our Holocaust Memorial Day event A Night of Fear and Freedom were invited to be part of Peace Night, an event made in collaboration with Hexham Together for Ukraine. Together at Hexham Abbey, we hosted a two-part Peace Journey, inviting the local community to reflect on the devastating impact of war, urging us all to join our voices for the cause of peace, as we marked the second anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine on 24 February. Powerful music, movement, and performances from Ukrainian community with our diverse artists/musicians. We also exhibited Fear or Freedom Exhibition again alongside Ukrainian Tapestry entitled Trees of Manifestation. Peace Night Hexham video on Facebook: **24** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **25** ## **Impact Case Study: 12 Holocaust Memorial Day** **“ Hearing real stories from people was a very impactful experience... experiencing the emotional power of music and the thoughts it provoked when discussing important sensitive topics. It felt a very friendly accessible event.”** ## **Audience Feedback** Skimstone Arts presented A Night of Fear & Freedom 18 to 24 January 2024 as part of the National Holocaust Memorial Day Programme and Newcastle City Council’s Holocaust Memorial Day Events 2024. In January 2024, communities across the North East were invited to join our A Night of Fear & Freedom - a series of free events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, part of Newcastle City Council’s programme. The national theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 is Fragility of Freedom. A Night of Fear & Freedom included a powerful new photographic and text exhibition, the chance to hear live and recorded performances of true stories, original songs, music, spoken word and poetry in a compelling, thoughtful and uplifting event, and the opportunity to listen to highlights from the project during a special broadcast on Skimstone Radio. As Skimstone Arts’ Artistic Director, Claire Webster Saaremets, explains: _**“When we look at what is happening across the world with war and conflict and how it is irrevocably affecting the lives of those caught up in the onslaught, we need to, as artists and activists, create work together with diverse artists and communities that explore how freedom is an intrinsic part of all our lives, and how we can consider ways to contribute to the strengthening freedoms of those we live alongside and those much further away.”**_ **Image: Colin Davison** **26** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **27** _**“A Night of Fear & Freedom is a chance for people to come together to pledge not to take our freedoms for granted and consider what we can do to strengthen freedoms around the world.”**_ ## **Live events** On Wednesday 24 January, at Newcastle City Library’s Bewick Hall and on Thursday 25 January at The NewBridge Street Project’s Cinema Space, visitors were invited to join Skimstone Arts’ Artistic Director Claire Webster Saaremets, Associate Artist Ako Ismail, musicians and story sharers to sit around a ‘gathering light’ and listen to live and recorded performances of true stories, new and original songs, music, spoken word and poetry. This powerful, thoughtful and uplifting experience highlights stories from diverse contributors about how freedoms have been stolen, lost and found. _**“The variety of voices and stories shared. It’s great to hear the work from such a divers range of artists and individuals. The volunteers and staff members were also very welcoming and warm.” - Audience Feedback**_ ## **Fear or Freedom? Exhibition** Thursday 18 to Wednesday 24 January 2024, 10am to 4pm Exhibition space outside Bewick Hall, Level 2, Newcastle City Library Skimstone Arts presented this powerful exhibition consisting of fragments of real stories, poems, songs, photographs, drawings and lyrics that have been contributed by artists, photographers, musicians and young people in the North East of England. Contributors and collaborators included those with lived experience of war and oppression, from Bosnia, Ukraine, Kurdistan Iraq, Guatemala, Poland, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iran, with additional research from Holocaust survivors. Skimstone Arts worked with the above diversity of people in a series of story sharing, song writing, recording, creative and reflective sessions, including our regular Freeflow Creativity Cafe and Youth Music project alongside individual interviews and recorded conversations. They explore the national Holocaust Memorial Day Events 2024 theme - Fragility of Freedom. _**“Thank you for bringing individual voices and our shared humanness and hope amongst people’s trauma and pain.”**_ _**- Audience Feedback**_ Supported by Fine Art Department at Newcastle University, Fear or Freedom? exhibition was collaboratively created by connecting together how war, oppression, genocide and conflict erodes our freedoms, and how humanity is forever affected, whatever country or era of time. Torn fragments represent how our identities, loved ones, being human, respect and closure for those who have died and we have lost, and our natural world can all be taken away. How do we find forgiveness and new freedoms ? Fear or Freedom? considers our own fragility of freedom and asks us to consider: How does ‘what’s happening over there’ in war torn parts of our planet affect how we treat each other and our world? How can we support others to find a new freedom of hope, healing and peace? _**“Very moving exhibition. Words can’t express how sad this is. What is wrong with this world we live in.”**_ _**- Audience Feedback**_ **Bottom Image: Colin Davison** **28** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **29** ## **Impact Case Study: 13 The Upstartz** **“ I think it went well. After last week (public performance) I just felt, go for it, you can do it! That dragon on my shoulder’s gone now.”** ## **Upstartz Member** Skimstone Arts have been commissioned by St Anthonys’ Day Services on a three-year project. Inspired by the garden project at St Anthony’s, sessions initially focused on creating songs about the importance of our living planet and how we need to care for our trees, flowers and the natural world. This sense of social activism helped to create a series of songs, with original lyrics, that we were all proud of. We crafted lyrics that: expressed what we wanted to say about the world; promoted individual and collective voices within the group; provided a focus for each session; introduced skills in vocal training, lyric writing, percussion, song structure and production, performance. A public performance of this collective of 5 x songs was performed at Conaty Awards to an audience of 120 people in December 2023. We now have a band called The Upstartz that recorded their songs at Blank Studios in May 2024. Together with the support of all the staff we’ve observed: - Regular attendance at every session - from 14 - 18 people every week with new people attending and being welcomed into the band. - Willingness to actively participate e.g. in the physical and vocal warm ups at the start of each session, lyric writing, percussion and **30** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **31** singing elements and the end of session feedback and the public performance. - Warms ups – physical and vocal e.g. being familiar with a routine that keeps us fit and enables us to care for our bodies, brain and voice. - Increase in self confidence, self esteem and resilience e.g. L used to sit at the back but now sits at the front and is a lead singer. J attends even when feeling down or depressed. ## _**“I am me!” Catherine. “ Beforehand, I wouldn’t have done anything like this.”**_ - Working together as a whole band. This identity means that there is a collective ownership of the songs created and where people feel we can craft, edit, change and adapt the songs to make them ‘the very best’. ## _**“I think it’s original.”**_ ## _**“I think they’ve got incredible team work.”**_ - _**Staff Comment**_ ## _**“I was quite impressed with the way we were improving.”**_ - Extending musical abilities e.g. recognising Tango, Ska, Reggae as musical forms and singing in two part harmony. ## _**“ I like the idea of bringing in different styles of music.”**_ ## _**“It’s just a proper mixture, different things each week. Each weeks different and not the same as the week before. It makes it more enjoyable.”**_ ## _**“I like the rock and roll and the waltz!”**_ - Lyric writing e.g. exploring language to convey ideas, form, rhythm etc. ## _**“It’s really good to see how it (songwriting) all comes together.” - Jan**_ - Staff support – band feel at one with the room, working to a practice schedule for the public performance and the recording at Blank Studios. - Events – Conaty Awards – visibility and collective pride. This event was a very strong platform for the group to show their work to the community and for their skills, creativity and talents to be recognised. Linda introduced each song when performing at the Conaty Awards. ## _**“Everyone was fantastic because they all joined in!”**_ ## _**“People thought our songs were very good.”**_ ## _**“Great... exciting.” (to perform our songs tonight)**_ Their songs were also presented by Skimstone musicians at Ouseburn Festival and Memory Studies Conference. - Community and Shared Humour – people often comment on everyone being together. Shared humour demonstrates friendships and how we are all a social group with new connections and networks e.g. Sean wanting to have the royalties for the songs and our performances!! _**“When you’re singing with quite a lot of others and you’re guitar playing, your voice can get in amongst them and hide.”**_ ## _**“Everyone’s been brought together.”**_ ## _**“Friendship and companionship.”**_ ## _**“Everybody has been lovely.”**_ ## _**“Great….It’s always great – every day.”**_ _**“It was the way you coordinated and helped them to produce what they did. To achieve that level of performance you held them together but you didn’t take away from what they did, that it was their production.”**_ - _**Audience Feedback**_ **32** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **33** ## **Structure, Governance 14 and Management** ## **Legal and Administrative** Registered office address: Skimstone Arts, The Newbridge Project, Clarence Walk, Shieldfield Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1AL ## **Directors** Simon James (Chair) Jessica Johnson Angela Mortimer Alida Vollering Tahla Ozleblebici ## **Bankers** Co-operative Bank **Image: Colin Davison** skimstone.org.uk **35** **34** Skimstone Arts ## **15** ## **Statement of Trustees’ 16 Responsibilities** ## **Independent Examiner’s Report** **36** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **37** **Statement of Financial Position** ## **17** ## **Statement of Financial Activities 18** **38** Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk **39** Statement of Financial Position Skirn5toThe Arts- COM￿￿¥ No. 06221728 charily No. 1182284 - Year ENI 31" Marth 2D24 l. AmTruntlnt ptslities Aceouniln%Convenllty Th• finincial s￿at¢Mi,nlS hJwe been prep3.ed tr¢ hist￿￿￿1 cost ￿n￿ent￿m and in 3ccordx•wiih ihe Special pr¢vlsl(*iis ￿. Pail 15 ol the cnnI￿70￿$A¢¢ 2006 irnj Il* Finar.al l*poiling S￿Hda￿l rorsmaltt Enliles leiietth'e Aprll ?￿81 5Iimst4ne fv•ts- CcTh￿yry No. ￿221?).8 Charlty Nn. IIB228d . Yearend 3111 Ma￿h 20?4 2. Dornatbons and LeKacles 2033 21114 T6t•i Iw￿3 Toi¥ Suftds DO￿ti￿lS Aift5 liknDmE from Ipcs is r￿lS¢d In the jrvvKLxI r35 jr iel•tEs K¥ fuwit whlch ch%p li is dt*rred and tye4i¢cis ?.14 Grihttlinrurne roceiv3ble are (Ted ted iu ImcD￿1nr, T￿LrCeS on parkr d3te olvtheTr t￿.￿¥￿* receNed ui whm they ale rec2wabl¢. unl¢%$ ihtyrelate SpecifK￿I¥ L*] a r￿Upe XCOUsltin$ pefkn)d. In V•7Kh e•s•. th.•y Tct 340 340 2,140 3. Charrta￿t Actr4rt*s 2W2Q)4 Furrfs lÈstthdFunds rqlal Where 3 grafflt k le¢ci￿d ielaiint Iv.) ¥uture ￿[D￿nIng p￿￿the Jrofit and kns x£auntsP.gws gf055 arnDunt l￿￿.rhAv wilh th4 £har8es i• affltiupt tD Jccountin¥ FwlttdE. DÈfjorted ennt 41 Uhylear-eid Is ir.Lki(knt in crethtN NCIF YDLlth Music Arts COU￿11 Npwc3Stle Fund GBrfield Wpslnn 'LII NL￿'Ca$fjO Gat¢shoad sh Sherilf aiiHkpr LpBary Cornry￿￿1ry Folmdolion RIn￿on% Ousebiirn Iru%t Ve11￿￿￿.Y 25,0 42,327 .327 fi.nrrfJ 25,orA 42.327 dJ.3Z7 ,coo 47,?37 64.651 i.soo XJ Elp¢r￿li￿rE DeThdture 1£ biDLB%t ￿ tD f narnclal ststemEnt5 Il'r a¢*wal£ b4$1 zoA¥x) 211A zo.coo J.n8n IA T4m£ibl* as5•15 Ind depre(141iOII Fixad NssEI$ 41e ￿llIallY rocoided * cg11 reclalicn is ￿ culattd soas ID wrtÈ tsyihv 91154 11&154 4. 1)th¢r Tradi 12.950 13,950 4.442 40 Skimstone Arts skimstone.org.uk 41 19 Thankyou Funders & Partners ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND YOUTH MUSIC Garfield Weston FOUNDATION - Community Foundation Newcastle University City Council st.anthonys Newcastrle Libraries here for you ST. PETERS CHURCH STOCKTON-ON-TEES FIINGTONS OUSEBURN TRUST WERS A FAMILY BUSINESS SINCE 1907 ccm I befv£ 42 Skimstone Arts **Image: Claire Webster Saaremets** ## **Skimstone Arts** The NewBridge Project Art Centre Clarence Walk Shieldfield Centre 4-8 off Stoddart Street Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1AL ## **Online** www.skimstone.org.uk @SkimstoneArtsEnsemble @Skimstone_Arts @skimstonearts ## **Registered Charity: 1182284** ## **Contact** Artistic Director/CEO Claire Webster Saaremets claire@skimstone.org.uk 07803670654 Lead Musician/Operations (Re: Reality Boots band, Young Artist Collective, young people) Peter Saaremets peter@skimstone.org.uk 07855674012 ## **Freelance Staff** Creative Producer Cristina Armstrong cristina@skimstone.org.uk Comms Manager Claire Cockroft clairecockroft@skimstone.org.uk Finance Administrator Julie Maxwell julie@skimstone.org.uk Technical Manager Nii Kwarty Owoo Assistant Project Managers Verity Alderman verity@skimstone.org.uk Rafael Bagott rafael@skimstone.org.uk All photo credits Skimstone Arts unless otherwise specified. **44** Skimstone Arts