## **Annual Report for the year ending 23 February 2022** 

This report covers the one year period from registration with the Charity Commission on 24 February 2021 of the new CIO, The Bakelite Design Trust (The BDT). The priority for the charity in its first year was something of a safeguarding mission for two significant collections, for which a background explanatory note is essential to preface this first report. 

_The journey to registration_ 

Bakelite was branded as the ‘material of a thousand uses’; the two historic collections at the heart of The BDT exemplify its diversity. The smaller collection comprises the contents of a workshop – one of the three earliest in the UK to mould Bakelite: presses, moulds, tools and artefacts. Saved intact from its location in north east England where it had been for more than a century, its innovation and commercial fortunes were closely associated with the coal mining industry, for Bakelite has impressive electrical insulating properties. The second, much larger collection of over 20,000 often instantly familiar household iconic everyday objects, as well as other more unusual items, is an Aladdin’s cave of consumer goods found in almost every home in Britain – a collection that is both comprehensive and eclectic. Therefore, this is also about the converging commitments of two collectors: Cultura Trust, the charity which acquired the workshop building and its workshop contents, and a private individual, Patrick Cook, whose lifetime passion for the artistic and technological properties of all plastics led to him creating the largest collection of its type in the UK, and one of the most representative in Europe. 

Patrick Cook had for many years made his collection accessible to the public, first in London, then in The Bakelite Museum in Somerset. When Cultura commenced its project to restore the factory/workshop at the Eagle Building in Sunderland, knowing of the significance of the collection and of the compatibility with The Bakelite Museum, its workshop collection was loaned to The Bakelite Museum to complement Patrick Cook’s. 

However, the premises in which both collections were displayed had to be vacated, and so everything had to be urgently relocated into temporary storage, pending a way forward. The outbreak of the pandemic added uncertainty, both for the collections and the whole GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector. During 2020 Cultura and Patrick Cook explored options which pointed to the need to formalise the arrangement for both collections, ideally by setting up a completely new museum. A review of national provision established the uniqueness of these two collections and their story, and the pointer towards that uniqueness befitting a bespoke, dedicated home. 

The direction of thinking evidenced a need for a new legal entity. The scope of the proposal was arguably beyond the terms of reference for Cultura, which, whilst a charity of more than fifty years’ standing, is not a keeper of designated accredited collections, nor a registered museum, though it does have several collections and does exhibit them to the public. Patrick Cook is a private individual. Advice was clear: to access the necessary funding and support for the welfare of the collections would require charitable status. Therefore, the journey led to recruitment of suitable trustees and setting up a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation. 



## _The first year_ 

Launching any new initiative, project or organisation in the midst of a pandemic of such pervasive adverse impact as has been experienced across the UK was exceptionally challenging. Establishing The BDT in February 2021 was not a speculative venture but a response to existential need; timing was not negotiable. 

The priorities for the first year were twofold: the protocols and responsibilities of the new charity, and exploring options for the collections; both were accompanied by raising awareness of the collections and determining the availability of resources – support in kind and financial. 

The BDT was fortunate in being able to rely on support from the long-established and experienced charity, Cultura Trust. This was further strengthened by Cultura’s director agreeing in a personal capacity to become a trustee and first chair of the new CIO, though this relationship also made sense as part of Cultura’s due diligence for its collection. To counter the strains of the pandemic, Cultura successfully secured Culture Recovery Fund grants, including to support the early set-up costs of The BDT by funding relocation of the collections from storage into a single accessible unit, plus initial occupancy and equipment costs. Hence, the balance sheet shows expenditure that has been channelled as support from Cultura through The BDT to pay costs; other costs were paid directly by Cultura. 

The tangible outcome of this supportive relationship and the significant voluntary resources being put into The BDT means that the objectives of the first year were fulfilled: the trustees met regularly, established management procedures and acquired use of suitable premises to take stock. It was a ‘soft’ launch, benefitting from the support of another charity with capacity and experience, especially in the context of the pandemic, thereby mitigating early risks and freeing up volunteer time to concentrate on charitable purposes. In addition, a website was created and a presence on social media enhanced. 2021 was still a time of considerable disruption and health fears, so most management and outreach activity was limited to online or small groups. 

As the collections had previously been stored in several locations, having them under one roof enabled a review of the condition of the collections, which now were accessible, and begin conservation of any objects requiring it. In addition, a review of the card index inventory for digitalisation began, to make a more searchable database for conservation and public/specialist research. Lockdown has caused many GLAM organisations to intensify their use of digital media to enable public access and benefit to continue virtually whilst venues were closed. The BDT began to do likewise, testing the ability and merit of creating ‘digital twin’ virtual replicas of sample objects as a historical record and learning resource. Understandably, it has had to be a time of development more than deployment. 

Alongside this intensity of collection-focussed responsibility, The BDT began exploring the potential for funding and for new museum premises; sometimes the two are connected. A systematic search and evaluation considered high street premises, becoming vacant because of the pandemic’s impact on retail, as well as industrial premises with good flexible open floorspace. The search was an opportunity to raise awareness of the collections and what they represent, augmented by public talks as well as exploratory meetings with museum development agencies, local authorities, other museums and possible partnership opportunities. 

Despite the cloud of the pandemic continuing to linger, the year concluded with the collections safeguarded in more suitable, accessible premises, the new trustees growing into their roles, public awareness raised, a collections conservation plan updated, sector collaboration developing, and a sense of what kind of premises would be most attainable and sustainable. 

Graham Bell Chair of Trustees