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2025-03-31-accounts

Charity registration number 312162

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Charity number 312162
Registered office 77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London
E1 7QX
Auditor Streets Audit LLP
c/o The Old Exchange
64 West Stockwell Street
Colchester
Essex
CO1 1HE
Bankers Lloyds Bank
25 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7HN
Investment Managers Investec Bank
30 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7QP
Insurance Brokers Gallagher Heath
133 Houndsditch
London
EC3A 7AH
Solicitors Bates Wells & Braithwaite
2-6 Cannon Street
London
EC4M 6YH

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1 - 27
Statement of trustees' responsibilities 28
Independent auditor's report 29 - 31
Consolidated statement of financial activities 32 - 33
Consolidated balance sheet 34
Charity balance sheet 35
Consolidated statement of cash flows 36
Notes to the financial statements 37 - 54

TRUSTEES' REPORT

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Board of Trustees

While the individuals responsible for the governance of the charity are commonly referred to as "trustees", they are legally directors of Whitechapel Gallery Trustee Limited and it is this company which is the sole corporate trustee of the Charity. The directors of the company meet quarterly and are:

Jeremy Achkar (from Jun-24) Myfanwy Barrett (from Dec-23) Erin Bell (from Oct-18) Ángela de la Cruz (to Dec-25) Debashis Dey (from Dec-23) David Dibosa, Chair (from Dec-18) Anya Gallaccio (from Dec-23) Jonathan Kanagasooriam (to Dec-25) Nicola Kerr (to Dec-24) Melanie Manchot (to Dec-25) William Mann (from Oct-24) Marie McPartlin (from Jun-24) Frances Morris (from Oct-24) Sarah Miller (to Dec-25) Ebele Okobi (to Jun-24) Ian Pleace (from Oct-21)

Executive Team

Gilane Tawadros (from Oct-22) Director Luke Gregory-Jones (from Nov-23) Director of Operations & Resources Ellie Clowes (to Jan-25) Director of Finance and Company Secretary Jane McGowan (from Jan-25) Director of Finance Sue Bowley (to Jan-25) Interim Head of Finance Dr Richard Martin (from Apr-21) Director of Participation Rummana Naqvi (from Feb-23) Director of Development Pedro da Costa (to Aug-25) Head of Operations & Visitor Services Natasha Plowright (from Jul 23) Director of Audiences and Communications Elena Crippa (to Apr-24) Head of Exhibitions Sophie Clark (to Sep-24) Interim Head of Exhibitions Leila Hasham (from Sep-24) Director of Exhibitions Martin Reyes (to Nov-24) Head of People and Culture Selma Basic Dowling (from Jan-25) Head of People and Culture

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)".

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Structure, Governance and Management

Whitechapel Gallery is a charitable trust governed by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 10 November 1981, as amended by Schemes dated 10 May 1988 and 9 March 2001. The Gallery is registered for charitable purposes with the Charity Commission, Charity Registration No 312162.

The Gallery is governed by a corporate trustee: Whitechapel Gallery Trustee Limited. The Directors meet quarterly and are assisted by various committees, described below. The Whitechapel Gallery Estates Trust Limited was incorporated on 9 May 2011 to maintain the Gallery’s property.

There are four standing sub-committees of the Board which each typically meet between 2 and 4 times per year:

There is also a Nominations Committee which is convened as necessary to consider appointments to the Board and an Investment Sub Committee which meets at least once a year to make recommendations on the Gallery’s investments including endowment and designated investment funds to the Finance and Operations Committee and Board of Trustees.

The day-to-day activities of the Gallery are controlled by the Director. Gilane Tawadros who commenced employment as Director in October 2022. Key management personnel, referred to as the Senior Management Team, run departments and support the Director.

Remuneration for key management personnel is set by the Director and Director of Finance within bands that are determined by sector benchmarks, experience and level of responsibility within the management structure.

Governance Code

The Trustees are aware of the Charity Commission’s Governance Code for Larger Charities (published July 2017). The Code is based on seven principles of good governance: Organisational Purpose; Leadership; Integrity; Decision-making, Risk and Control; Board Effectiveness; Diversity, and Openness and Accountability.

The charity strives to meet the principles and outcomes of the Code by applying the recommended practice. The Trustees have reviewed the Whitechapel Gallery’s Governance Code and are confident that it aligns with the Charity Commission’s recommended practise.

Recruitment, Induction and Training of Trustees

New Trustees are recruited according to the Trustees’ and Director’s on-going assessments of the overall skills required to be represented on the Board of Trustees and what additional skills are needed to complete the required portfolio. Prospective new Trustees are recommended by the Nominations Committee to the Chair who will assess the candidates and decide, in consultation with the Director, whether to propose their appointment. The Trustees take the final decision on the Chair’s proposal.

Newly appointed Trustees receive briefings from the Chair, Director and Director of Finance and are provided with relevant Charity Commission guidance. A Board training session is organised for new Trustees.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Public Benefit

The Board confirms that it has given due consideration to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on the Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011, including the guidance on public benefit and fee charging, when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities. The Charity’s activities clearly relate to its legal objectives of advancing education in the arts and the provision of a gallery for the enhancement of the cultural welfare of the local community and the wider public. The activities undertaken and achievements described enable the reader to assess the contribution made by these activities towards furthering the Charity’s objectives. Details of attendances are included in the report. The Charity’s strategy stresses the importance of ensuring the accessibility of its exhibitions and activities to all members of the public and offers free entry to exhibitions year-round. Specific confirmation is also provided that Trustees received no remuneration or benefits for their contribution to the Charity and that no Trustee was connected to any artist or exhibitor professionally engaged by the Charity.

Objectives and Activities

Charitable Objectives

The objectives for which the Whitechapel Gallery was established are stated in the governing document of 10 November 1981 as:

The provision and maintenance of an art gallery for exhibition to the public of modern and historical fine art; modern and historical design and applied art; and work done by school children and local communities.

Promoting and encouraging the education of the public in the arts both in the Gallery and elsewhere. These objectives are met by the operation of an art gallery on Whitechapel High Street in London, and by related educational and other activities.

Mission, Vision and Values

Vision

The Whitechapel Gallery will occupy a distinctive and radical position in the social and cultural landscape. We will build on our pioneering history as a place for contemporary art and ideas, translating and animating it for our time.

Mission

The Whitechapel Gallery is a ground-breaking art institution that has existed for more than 100 years. We make contemporary art and ideas accessible to local and global audiences in the East End of London, recognising the critical role that art can play in firing up our imaginations, reflecting our lived experiences and opening up new possibilities for thinking, feeling and dreaming.

Values

During 2024-25 the Gallery updated its values through a series of internal workshops with staff (an important process given the high percentage of new joiners in 2024) to ensure they felt fully reflective of and owned by the current workforce.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Public : Radical, responsible, accountable, holding a position, taking a stand, championing our communities and our role as a locally embedded, globally civic and cultural space

We are a public, cultural, social, and civic space that is open and accessible to everyone. We are proud to be a pioneering East End cultural institution that is locally embedded and globally connected. We take our responsibility as a public art institution seriously, believing that we have an accountability and duty of care towards all our stakeholders to interrogate and uphold the importance of public arts provision for everyone. We want our building to be a an inspiring, soulful and intimate destination; a haven* for anyone interested and curious about contemporary culture.

Permeable : Open, reciprocal, porous, non-didactic, a place of exchange and connection

We are a place of reciprocal exchange and connection; an open, permeable institution that spills beyond its gallery walls and learns with and through our many communities. We offer an open-hearted, open-minded space for artists, ideas and audiences to come together. We propose rather than set the agenda, lead rather than prescribe the conversation, embracing feedback and new thinking internally and externally.

Bold: Distinctive and courageous, risk-taking and experimental, inventive and innovative

We are proud to work with artists and ideas that address, and expand thinking around, the key socio-political issues and concerns of our times. We focus on the work of women artists and artists of colour, championing their contribution to contemporary art and society; we take risks in programming under-represented and under-served artists. We are inventive and dynamic in the way we present artists and their works, responsive to their practices and committed to making sometimes challenging artworks and ideas accessible to all our audiences.

Collaborative: Collective, participatory, responsive, connected and inclusive

We believe collaboration and collective endeavour fosters creativity, expands capability and increases productivity. We actively seek partnerships that expand our thinking and networks, creating opportunities for artists, contributors and audiences to inform, shape and influence what we do. Our programme emphasises close collaboration and co-production with artists, local families, schools and communities, who we value as key stakeholders in our organisation.

Caring: Conscious, respectful, safeguarding, supportive, future-thinking, sustainable

We are dedicated to safeguarding the long-term future of Whitechapel Gallery by growing its cultural, social and political capital, and ensuring its sustainability: artistically, environmentally, and economically. We promote and support a culture of care, respect, honesty, trust, kindness and accountability - internally and externally. We are an organisation of diverse people committed to upholding a working environment which recognises and supports different work styles, personalities and ways in which people think, learn and behave.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Achievements & Performance

Overview

The Whitechapel is at the apex of London’s extraordinary contemporary art scene. - The Financial Times

In these polarized times, giving people a space to explore objects, perform and play, alone and with strangers, feels like a radical, exhilarating preposition.

- ARTnews

Excellently unmuseumlike. - The Guardian

International in its scope and reputation … of all London’s galleries, it remains the one that is truly of the people - The Financial Times

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

Executive Summary

In 2024–25, Whitechapel Gallery welcomed over 235,000 visitors to its East London home and reached many more through a bold, dynamic and wide-reaching programme. With 10 exhibitions, 110 workshops, 56 talks, and 50 Whitechapel Lates, the Gallery fulfilled its mission to make contemporary art and ideas accessible to local and global audiences, recognising the critical role that art can play in firing up our imaginations, reflecting our lived experiences and opening up new possibilities for thinking, feeling and dreaming.

The year’s highlights include a powerful and timely survey of South African artist, Gavin Jantjes , an ambitious new commission from the 9th Max Mara Art Prize for Women recipient, Dominique White , a retrospective of the political photo-montage trailblazer, Peter Kennard, and an evocative pairing of exhibitions from British artist and educator, Sonia Boyce and pioneering Brazilian artist and sculptor, Lygia Clark - both exploring participatory art practices. The Gallery further foregrounded activism, collective endeavor and community voices through a range of accompanying performances, screenings, and an extensive participation programme - the latter of which engaged over 13,000 people in 406 artist-led sessions across the year.

Accessibility, sustainability and equity remained central to the Gallery’s activities and values. We completed a comprehensive access audit, launched a new Access Resource Wall, became a formal Safe Haven, and put into action a rigorous system for recycling key elements from our exhibitions.

Our website drew over 1.1 million visitors, while our expanded storytelling initiatives and use of artist voices to bring audiences closer to the artists and ideas presented resulted in a significant growth in followers and global engagement across our social media platforms.

Philanthropic support remains crucial to our ambitions. With £2.7 million raised in voluntary income, including new partnerships with Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and Fidelity Foundation UK, the Gallery was able to secure both artistic ambition and vital infrastructure improvements—from IT upgrades to sustainable building enhancements.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Behind the scenes, the Gallery invested in people and culture through a refreshed safeguarding framework, new organisational values, and enhanced opportunities for staff development. Our Board of Trustees and strategic planning sessions support a future defined by inclusion, resilience, and innovation.

We are immensely proud of our achievements and ongoing activity in support of Whitechapel Gallery’s sustainability: financially, environmentally and creatively - ensuring that it continues to be a home for diverse artistic experimentation, community relevance, cultural resonance and collective imagination. Gilane Tawadros, Director, Whitechapel Gallery

Exhibition Programme (including Partnerships and Publications)

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

In 2024–25 we showcased ten exhibitions in our galleries, celebrating work by established international artists alongside those at earlier stages of their careers, and spanning mediums from installation, painting, sculpture, film, photography and performance. We began with French Algerian artist Zineb Sedira for her exhibition, Dreams Have No Titles , originally conceived for the French Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. An immersive installation comprising film, sculpture, photography and performance and activated by a pair of tango dancers, the installation interweaved the artist’s biography with activist films produced across France, Algeria and Italy in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, Sedira presented a free feature-length film programme. Alongside Sedira’s exhibition, we commissioned London-based interdisciplinary artist and experimental music producer, Andrew Pierre Hart , to create a new installation which drew on Whitechapel’s longstanding history as a home for migrant and diasporic communities.

In partnership with the Sharjah Art Foundation and in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah, we marked the South African artist and printmaker, Gavin Janjtes’s largest solo presentation in the UK to date, displaying more than five decades of the artist’s diverse and distinctive practice. Structured into chapters spanning 1970 to the present, the exhibition included over 100 prints, drawings, and paintings, as well as archival material, celebrating Jantjes as a significant and critical agent of change while tracing his development as a painter, printmaker, writer, curator and activist.

In July 2024, we presented Dominque White’s new commission, Deadweight , winner of the ninth edition of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women. Deadweight comprised of four large-scale sculptural works which continued the artist’s interest in creating new worlds for ‘Blackness’ and her fascination with the regenerative power of the sea. As part of the process, the sculptures were immersed in the Mediterranean Sea, which was realised during a six-month residency organised by Collezione Maramotti.

Alongside White’s commission, artist and activist Peter Kennard displayed his largest presentation to date, which was specially conceived for Whitechapel Gallery. Taking over three galleries within the former Whitechapel Library and reflecting its former function, Kennard presented an active and evolving exhibition comprising of placards, posters where his work first appeared, books, two installations and a new work commission, all harnessing and invoking the imagery of protest.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

In October 2024, we presented two exhibitions especially conceived to be in dialogue with each other: Lygia Clark : The I and the You and Sonia Boyce : An Awkward Relation which explored the pivotal moments in the artists’ careers, where each began experimenting with participatory practices. The exhibition charted their individual responses to shifting the relationship between artist, artwork and audiences and the exhibition presented sculptures and works for visitor interaction and Clark’s exhibition was accompanied by an interactive performance programme. An accompanying programme of films, interviews and archive footage exploring both the artists' work was presented alongside the exhibition.

Visceral Canker by Donald Rodney opened in February 2025, in partnership with Spike Island, Bristol and Nottingham Contemporary. This was the most extensive exhibition of the late artist’s work, bringing together most of his surviving works from 1982-1997, including his distinctive multi-media works, drawing, painting, installation, photography, animatronics and sketchbooks. The exhibition demonstrated the artist’s experimentation with new materials and technologies to explore life as a Black man living with a chronic illness. A contemporary film programme curated by Richard Birkett exploring key themes within the exhibition featuring artists such as Camera Taylor, Hannah Black and Zinzi Minott accompanied the exhibition.

In addition, our Exhibition programme featured two participatory exhibitions developed in close collaboration with young people. Edge Effects (January-May 2024) was inspired by the principles of permaculture and developed in partnership with students and teachers at Vicarage Primary School and Plashet School in Newham. The project was led by artist Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck and featured work by writer Sonya Patel Ellis and artist Sam Ayre .

Moving Grounds: 15 Years of Duchamp & Sons (February-May 2025) celebrated a generation of artistic experimentation by our youth collective. The exhibition was developed by current members of Duchamp & Sons with artist Holly Graham. It included playful reimaginings of archival materials alongside a new film, audio experiments and participatory activities for visitors. It was accompanied by a celebratory evening curated by the collective, a gathering of sector peers working with young people, and the publication of a research report on the history of Duchamp & Sons highlighting key issues for contemporary youth arts.

We also produced four other publications to accompany our exhibitions: Andrew Pierre Hart, Dominique White, Lygia Clark/Sonia Boyce and the Donald Rodney Reader, featuring specially commissioned texts by artists and writers.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Participation Programme

After a year-long research and consultation process, a new strategy for the team was confirmed in June 2024, which included renaming the department as Participation (formerly Education and Public Programmes). The strategy defines Participation at Whitechapel Gallery as a testing ground for art and ideas, strongly emphasises a commitment to local communities and audiences, and collates ambitions for an intergenerational, artist-led, multidisciplinary programme spanning a wide range of life stages. To support the embedding and evaluation of the strategy, a small group of external ‘critical friends’ meets with the Participation team on a regular basis.

During 2024-25, the Participation programme featured 406 ‘sessions’ (covering all events, workshops and group visits) engaging 13,056 people, and employing 41 artists.

Highlights of the Families programme included a day-long takeover inspired by a new Tarot-based creative resource for audiences of all ages, and workshops exploring sound with artist Jenny Pengilly, which developed ideas for a new participatory exhibition opening in May 2025.

Our Schools and Teachers programme included the participatory exhibition Edge Effects (discussed above), supported by an extensive series of artist-led workshops; a major performance in December 2024 entitled Flax Exchange led by artist Shane Waltener featuring 90 pupils from Park Primary School, Newham; and a series of professional development workshops for teachers in Tower Hamlets and Newham.

Our Youth Programme centred on the 15-year anniversary of Duchamp & Sons, our youth collective for 15 to 24year-olds, culminating in the exhibition Moving Grounds (discussed above). Other highlights included a contemporary art week for East London teenagers led by artist Alaa Alsaraji, a series of Young Creatives Nights offering peer networking and careers guidance, and the culmination of Gabrielle Fullam’s work as Young Writer in Residence.

Highlights of the Public Programme included an expanded WG Lates free programme: in April 2024, a takeover curated by Zineb Sedira included film screenings, talks and tango dancing; in July 2024, Peter Kennard’s exhibition launched with an extraordinary live performance by Kae Tempest alongside talks and screenings attracting over 800 people; and in March 2025, over 700 people enjoyed a programme curated by Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) featuring DJs, performances, workshops and a barbershop.

Contributors to the Public Programme across the year have included the artists Gavin Jantjes, Andrew Pierre Hart, Larissa Sansour, Morgan Quaintance, Dominique White, Sonia Boyce, Ta’wa, and Doris Salcedo, as well as writers, journalists and theorists such as Sarat Maharaj, Juliet Jacques, Claire Bishop, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Legacy Russell, Dan Hancox, Samira Ahmed and Caleb Femi. Our regular series of Access events included BSL and Audio Description tours.

As part of the Gallery’s commitment to long-term relationships with community organisations, we expanded partnerships with Numbi Arts (including a festival dedicated to Somali culture and a weekly kids’ club) and Oitij-jo (with programming featuring artists Laisul Hoque and Puer Deorum). Other major programming partnerships included two weekends devoted to the artists shortlisted for the 2024 Jarman Award (attracting 650 people in total), developed with Film London, and a three-day programme with Channel 4 to launch and discuss the documentary series Defiance: Fighting the Far Right , with over 500 people attending.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The year has seen an especially strong engagement with universities across London (and beyond). A series of eight creative workshops with Kingston University saw BA and MA students making new works inspired by our exhibitions, later showcased in an off-site exhibition. Students from London College of Fashion developed portfolio projects inspired by our youth collective, texts by Donald Rodney inspired art writing students from Exeter University, while arts management students from King’s College London created proposals for new institutional practices emerging from the Gallery’s history. Whitechapel staff also delivered talks, tours and workshops with students from Queen Mary University of London; Birkbeck, University of London; University of East London; University of the Arts; University College London; Goldsmiths, University of London; London Metropolitan University; University of Westminster; and the Royal College of Art. In October 2024, researcher Markas Fortunatas Klisius began work on a three-year collaborative PhD project developed in partnership between Whitechapel Gallery and London South Bank University, exploring the intersections of digital technologies and concepts of hospitality and community in arts institutions.

During 2024-25, the Whitechapel Gallery Archive joined the Participation team, as a rich resource for artists, researchers and educational groups, and as a catalyst for programming and publications. In March 2025, a refreshed remit for the Archive, with a greater focus on community engagement, was created following staff consultation and workshops with external artists, Archivists and researchers.

Finally, the Gallery’s commitment to exploring new models for public art institutions was exemplified by a threeday convening in October 2024 in Giverny, France, which brought together 11 international artists, writers and curators. The gathering, supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art, analysed the current situation faced by cultural organisations at a time of multiple crises and began shaping new possibilities for the future. Further convenings are now confirmed for autumn 2025 and 2026, alongside a new public programme series called Art Futures providing a platform to collectively imagine alternative visions.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Our Audiences

Demographics:

In 2024-2025 we welcomed 235,582 physical visitors to the Gallery representing a wide range of ages, backgrounds and geographies.

Core audiences (as surveyed) align with Arts Council England (ACE) sector mapping, with the majority of our visitors (c.40%) defined as culturally engaged, arts-interested urban professionals. Whitechapel is distinctive in having a high percentage (c.50%) of younger audiences, under 40 years of age looking for experiences with cultural and social capital. We also have a loyal community of artists and art students and families or groups looking for free creative and communal opportunities.

In line with our founding principle to be a place of and for the people of East London, a priority for audience engagement are residents and workers from our local area.

The Gallery is located directly on Whitechapel High Street, in the East End of London - one of the capitals, most creative and diverse quarters. Our location provides us with a very specific and important social, cultural and geographical context. Tower Hamlets is the fastest growing, youngest, most densely populated and culturally diverse areas in the UK but also one of the most economically deprived making our commitment to outreach and accessibility doubly important.

We offer dedicated free-entry opportunities for local residents to ensure that the Gallery is accessible and inclusive. We also work in collaboration with local artists and groups ensuring that their voices and perspectives are central to our programme, outlook and ambitions. Surveyed audiences show that around 15% of visitors per season come from local postcodes. Additional data drawn from bespoke surveys at participation events specifically tailored towards local audiences reflect a majority take up from our community especially from local schools and cultural groups.

Our weekly Whitechapel Lates initiative every Thursday evening, offers free entry to all our exhibitions as well as providing bespoke events and collaborations with local partners to ensure relevance and resonance. General attendance for Whitechapel Lates is in excess of 350 people weekly, and around 1,000 people attending specially programmed ‘Lates’, with a minimum of 50% of participants coming from our local area.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Engagement

Inclusivity, relevance and exchange are integral to our approach to engaging audiences, with a focus on reflecting local as well as global issues and bringing visitors as close as possible to the artists and ideas we present. We do this through a variety of initiatives including offering interpretation materials that foreground the artist’s (rather than the institution’s) voice; creating a range of free content that illuminates the processes and ideas behind the works on view; working with creatives from other disciplines to provide a range of unique perspectives to expand thinking and open up new channels for understanding and engaging with contemporary art and ideas. We also have a free or low-cost public talks and other events that offer dynamic, majority artist-led opportunities for audiences of all ages to engage with our programme.

Visitor feedback throughout the year demonstrated the resonance our programme had with audiences, both locally and further afield. 92% of audiences surveyed described our programme as “bold and radical” and 85% rated their experience here as “Excellent”.

VISITOR RESPONSES

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Accessibility

Our Access Advisory Group (AAG) involves representation from all departments to champion a 360-degree view of accessibility project work. This collaborative approach ensures balanced input into the design and implementation of initiatives to enhance accessibility. A key initiative for 2024-2025 has been the introduction of a dedicated Access Resource Wall in the foyer. This valuable resource provides visitors with a wealth of access materials, such as large print guides, Bengali translations of exhibition texts, easy-read guides, colour overlays, and visual stories. Moving forward, our project work in this vital area will be significantly strengthened by the Accessibility Audit. Following successful fundraising and delivery, this comprehensive audit will inform both the AAG's practical direction and our long-term capital planning, ensuring continuous improvements to accessibility for all.

WAVE and Safe Haven

We are proud to have achieved formal recognition as a ‘Safe Haven’ within the "Our Safer City" initiative. We now serve as an accessible temporary refuge, offering vital support such as reassurance, phone charging, and emergency assistance to those in need. Our commitment to public safety led us to participate in Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training. Delivered in association with the Safer Business Network, this accredited course has equipped our customer-facing and operational teams with crucial skills to identify vulnerability, understand harm reduction interventions, and recognise live issues, ensuring a safer environment for our audiences.

Communications

Throughout 2024–25, we delivered high-impact, wide-reaching, national and international communications campaigns to promote our exhibitions and events, attract diverse audiences and consolidate our reputation as a leading cultural platform and hub for contemporary art and ideas.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Media Coverage

PR activity garnered spectacular coverage across the year achieving a combined media outlets circulation figure of 2.2 billion , reaching national and international audiences and bringing critical attention to all areas our programme.

Our Summer Season ( Gavin Jantjes: To be Free!, Dominique White: Deadweight and Peter Kennard: An Archive of Dissent ) secured coverage in The Guardian, Time Out, Art Monthly, Wallpaper*, Frieze Magazine and Artforum among many others.

Autumn season 2024 also achieved high quality coverage for exhibiting artists, Lygia Clark and Sonia Boyce with the latter securing a cover story in Harper’s Bazaar , for a special issue celebrating women in culture across the globe. Spring 2025 saw the opening of Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker , which achieved stellar coverage in key and influential media outlets as well as inclusion in The British Medical Journal , drawing attention to Rodney’s work which harnessing his sickle cell anaemia to confront the prejudices and injustices surrounding racial identity, to healthcare professionals, policymakers and educators.

Our annual Art Icon award for 2025 celebrated the Colombian artist, Doris Salcedo , who was interviewed by The Observer as well as on the BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, ensuring significant coverage for both the ‘icon’ and the Gallery

Marketing

Marketing campaigns during 2024-2025 worked in tandem with our PR activity continuing the creative focus and narrative hooks established and geared towards reaching new audiences and those in our local area.

In June 2025 to support the exhibition Archive of Dissent from artist and activist Peter Kennard, we secured a pro bono marketing partnership with creative street advertising specialists, BUILDHOLLYWOOD, which offered free advertisement placements at high footfall billboard sites across the capital at no cost. We were also fortunate to secure two key billboards sites to display a reproduction of Gavin Jantjes’, lost 1985 mural, including a prime site in Brixton, the original location of the mural – which was especially meaningful for the artist.

Marketing highlights during the year also included a social media campaign promoting Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker (February 2025) to audiences aged between 18–35-years-old, who engage with culture online but are less likely to be regular gallery visitors. This campaign utilised a range of spokespeople reflecting on the significance of Rodney’s work and its ongoing relevance for audiences today. Spokespeople included artist Claudette Johnson, Rodney collaborator Keith Piper and writer Caleb Azumah Nelson. The campaign brought 31,000 people to our exhibition web page and delivered over 780,000 impressions.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Digital

Our digital channels allow us to reach audiences beyond our gallery walls and allow us to enhance our ambitions to bring audiences closer to the artists and ideas on display. Content creation sought to prioritise artist voices and deepen audience engagement through a range of engaging and bespoke initiatives. These focus on using direct quotes from artists and their peers, sharing behind the scenes footage, and inviting audience engagement. In March 2025, The Art Icon Auction social media campaign spotlighted emerging artists and offered behind-the-scenes insights into the artists' studios and their working process, generating over 400,000 views. Our regular posts from our archive shine a light on Whitechapel’s long history of pioneering exhibitions and garnered significant engagement from online audiences.

In 2024-2025 we reached 1.1 million web visitors; grew our Instagram channel by 10% to reach close to 300,000 followers and reached c.500,000 people via Facebook.

Development

In 2024-25 a total of £2,687,588 of voluntary income was raised in the year.

The Whitechapel Gallery is a registered charity that relies on the philanthropic support of individuals, companies, charitable trusts and foundations, and statutory funders. As a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) the Gallery’s main funder is Arts Council England (ACE) and constitutes around 38% of our total income. In addition, our programmes are supported through our annual Art Icon Gala with an Auction of works generously donated by artists, which this year was held in March 2025 honouring Doris Salcedo with Baroness Helena Kennedy, a reading by Elif Shafak and a performance by Stephanie Santiago.

A key new funding partnership with Cockayne - Grants for the Arts was secured to support the Director’s Inaugural Programme for five upcoming major solo exhibitions featuring influential artists Gavin Jantjes; Lygia Clark and Sonia Boyce; Hamad Butt and Joy Gregory. This grant signalled a move to securing multi year funding partnerships that enable the organisation to plan with confidence.

Similarly, a new major donor, Fidelity Foundation UK, pledged to support IT infrastructure improvements at the Gallery, enabling the Gallery to invest in IT equipment and staff resource. This support ensures the Gallery’s IT system is brought into the 21st Century and will have a significant impact on efficiency and capacity at the Gallery, as well as staff wellbeing.

The Whitechapel Gallery has a professional fundraising department led by Rummana Naqvi, and the team works within the guidelines set out by the Fundraising Regulator and Code of Fundraising Practice.

The Gallery has an Ethics Committee which conducts due diligence processes at the Gallery. The Committee is chaired by Sarah Miller, Trustee Whitechapel Gallery and includes external peers and internal staff members.

The Whitechapel Gallery does not engage in fundraising activities that would place vulnerable people at risk. No fundraising-related complaints were received in the period.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Gallery Supporters 2024-25 and Partners

Whitechapel Gallery would like to thank its supporters whose generosity enables the Gallery to realize its pioneering programmes, including those who wish to remain anonymous:

Major Donors and Supporters
Arts Council England Catalyst
Endowment Fund
Sir Frank Bowling
Bloomberg Philanthropies
D. Daskalopoulos Collection
Ford Foundation
Foyle Foundation
Freelands Foundation
Collezione Maramotti
Max Mara
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British
Art
The Rose Foundation
Terra Foundation for American Art
Michael & Nina Zilkha
and those that wish to remain
anonymous
Exhibition Supporters
Toluwani Adejuyigbe
Ayo Adeyinka
A/POLITICAL
Aldgate Connect BID
Erin Bell
Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor
advised fund held at The London
Community Foundation
Collezione Maramotti
Fluxus Art Projects
Selma Feriani Gallery
Goodman Gallery
Hauser & Wirth
Henry Moore Foundation
Hiscox
Institut français of Paris
Max Mara
Mennour, Paris
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British
Art
Bimpe Nkontchou
Oba Nsugbe
Richard Saltoun Gallery
Maria and Malek Sukkar
TrAIN Research Centre at University of
the Arts London
Michael Zilkha
The Whitechapel Gallery Commissioning
Council
The Whitechapel Gallery Patrons
and those who wish to remain
anonymous		 Education & Public Programmes
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
Aldgate Connect BID
Capital Group
Kurt Forrest Foundation
Phillips
Tower Hamlets Arts & Music Education
Service (THAMES)
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Stanley Picker Trust
The Whitechapel Gallery Education
Council Founding Members: Julie and
Debashis Dey and Alex Sainsbury
Whitechapel Gallery Corporate Patrons
and Members
Alma
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Frasers Property UK
Gazelli Art House
Lisson Gallery
Phillips
Whitechapel Gallery Corporate
Supporters
Aldgate Connect BID
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Champagne Pommery
Crozier Fine Arts
Fredrigoni
Hiscox (Artworks Insurance Partner)
Max Mara
Collezione Maramotti
Omni Colour (Signage Partner)
Phillips
Whitechapel Gallery Commissioning
Council
Dorota Audemars
Erin Bell
Émilie De Pauw
Irene Panagopoulos
Nicole Saikalis Bay
Whitechapel Gallery Global Circle
Yan Du
Faisal Tamer and Sara Alireza
and those who wish to remain
anonymous		 Whitechapel Gallery Director’s Circle
Erin Bell & Michael Cohen
Pilar Corrias
Julie & Debashis Dey
Rami Kim
Bimpe Nkontchou
Anthea Peers
Thatcher & Jill Thompson
and those who wish to remain
anonymous
Whitechapel Gallery Curator’s Circle
Annette Anthony
Adrian & Jennifer O’Carroll
Oba Nsugbe
Audrey Wallrock
and those who wish to remain
anonymous
Whitechapel Gallery Patrons
Malgosia Alterman
Cedric Bardawil
Sadie Coles HQ
Francesca Consigli
Sarah Elson
Joanna & Alan Gemes
Mark Harris
Pippy Houldsworth
Marie Krauss
Frank Krikhaar
Kate MacGarry
Mary E McNicholas
Heike Moras
Maureen Paley
Dominic Palfreyman
Darryl de Prez & Victoria Thomas
Maria-Cruz Rashidian
Marina Roncarolo
Marina Ruiz-Colomer
Alex Sainsbury & Elinor Jansz
Cherrill & Ian Scheer
Veronica Schwabach
Elisabeth von Schwarzkopf
Amar Singh
Karen & Mark Smith
Bina & Philippe von Stauffenberg
Christoph & Marion Trestler
and those who wish to remain
anonymous
We remain grateful for the ongoing
support of Whitechapel Gallery
Members.
The Whitechapel Gallery is proud to be a
National Portfolio Organisation of Arts
Council England.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Commercial Activities

Editions

Key editions successes for the current year included a number of high-income generating international art fairs; utilising funds from the Transform fund provided by Arts Council England, we were able to expand our international presence and connect with new collectors and existing buyers overseas. In particular, Feria Material in Mexico City (February 2025) generated a net income of £34,954 against a £20,000 target. We sold to a combination of our regular US based collectors, US based Latin American collectors alongside new buyers from Mexico and wider Latin America. Our Lygia Clark editions, in particular Sonia Gomes, Fernanda Gomes and Alexandre da Cunha, were well received. In additional to this, we made a net income of £34,696 at The Armory Show in New York (September 2024) against a target of £25,000. Here we showed recent editions alongside some rare archive works; notable sales included the last available Beatriz Milhazes edition for £8,000, and the last William Kentridge Directors Reserve for £4,300.

We commissioned a strong portfolio of editions to accompany Lygia Clark 'The I and The You' featuring editions from Adriano Costa, Alexandre da Cunha, Fernanda Gomes, Sonia Gomes, Patricia Leite, Luísa Matsushita, and Ana Prata. Were able to capitalise on collaborative Instagram posts with the artists' galleries to further extend our global reach and audience. Notable collaborations included with Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo, Brussels, NY, Paris), Emalin (London), Thomas Dane (London, Naples), Luisa Strina (São Paulo) and Alison Jacques (London).

Venue hire

Income from hires in 2024-25 was £72,521, less than the previous year due to a tough event market and some restrictions on the hire of Gallery 2. During the year the Gallery invested in marketing materials to support future growth of this income stream.

Bookshop & Cafe

The Gallery re-tendered its café contract during 2024-25 selecting Alba café. The new agreement aims to provide guaranteed income for the Gallery, whilst supporting Alba to grow and incentivising the Gallery and Alba to bring in events for mutual benefit.

The successful partnership with Koenig Bookshop continued throughout 2024-25.

People and Culture

Performance and Development

We launched a new performance management framework to ensure clarity, consistency, and purposeful dialogue. All staff engage in annual appraisals, mid-year reviews, and regular one-to-one meetings to reflect on progress, celebrate achievements, address concerns, and set aligned goals. New colleagues benefit from a structured probation review process during their first six months.

Safeguarding

Our Safeguarding Policy underwent a thorough review to ensure it remains compliant and aligned with best practice. The framework clarifies how safeguarding concerns are identified and addressed, supported by designated Safeguarding Leads, including a Board member, and a dedicated Safeguarding Officer. All new staff complete safeguarding induction. Safeguarding is embedded throughout our operations—from public engagement to internal practice.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Culture Consultations

We conducted a major culture consultation involving open staff dialogue about working life at the Gallery. This highlighted strengths and areas for improvement around communication, inclusion, trust, and pay transparency. A key outcome was the co-creation of new organisational values, reflecting how we aspire to work together. These findings are guiding both immediate enhancements and longer-term cultural change.

Guardians Programme

Our Guardians Group provides confidential support for staff concerns related to behaviour, wellbeing, or culture. Guardians listen, advise, and help address issues early, collaborating closely with People and Culture, Mental Health Champions, and the Employee Assistance Programme. Insights from their work inform leadership and the Board to reinforce a culture of trust and respect.

Learning and Development

We expanded our learning offer with in-person training, online resources, and accredited qualifications. Key topics include Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, safeguarding, and preventing sexual harassment. Our learning management system allows staff flexible access to development opportunities.

Policy Development

Key policy updates include: an updated Hybrid Working Policy; new Carer’s Leave, Sexual Harassment, Neonatal Leave, and Complaints policies. These reflect evolving statutory requirements and our commitment to a modern, inclusive workplace with clear, compassionate support pathways.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The Spektrix CRM Upgrade

Thanks to the generous support of the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator Programme, we have successfully completed our CRM upgrade, moving to the Spektrix platform. This pivotal project has revolutionized how we manage audience and customer data, effectively dismantling the system silos that hindered our previous operations. We now have a single, unified system that consolidates all datasets, significantly improving our box office functionality and providing a holistic view of our supporters. This enhanced data management enables us to engage more effectively with our community, streamline operations, and ultimately, amplify our organisational impact.

Enhancing our Infrastructure

This year, our ongoing commitment to maintaining and enhancing our facilities saw the successful deployment of our Capital Renewal Fund across a range of crucial building projects. A significant £150,000 investment, generously supported by a £100k grant from the Foyle Foundation, enabled us to refurbish our Air Handling Units and install localized Building Management Systems (BMS). This significant investment enables the gallery to manage climate conditions more comprehensively, for visitor and staff wellbeing and also ensure exhibition conditions for the safe presentation of artworks.

Further critical works included the essential repair of our lift, ensuring accessibility for all our visitors. We also successfully collaborated with Tower Hamlets and Transport for London to resolve a disruptive sinkhole on the High Street, minimizing public inconvenience. Our comprehensive maintenance programme extended to remedial works on our boilers and chillers, and addressing issues with the flooring in Gallery 1 and our building's gutters.

Audio-visual and Workshop spaces

We have significantly upgraded our audio--visual and workshop areas, creating comprehensive equipment inventories and removing aged or unused equipment. All equipment is now consolidated and meticulously maintained. Crucially, we have introduced enhanced, compliant safety measures, including vital upgrades to the workshop's electrical systems, creating a safer workshop space.

Developing our Security Infrastructure

We have significantly upgraded our CCTV system across the organisation, enhancing its interface and coverage.. This comprehensive improvement bolsters our security capabilities. Additionally, we have contracted a new Security provider, ensuring a safer and more welcoming environment.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Strengthening Health and Safety

This year, we undertook a comprehensive review of our external health and safety provisions, commissioning expert assessments across five critical areas: asbestos, RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete), fire safety, access and general health and safety. All reports have been successfully received, and we have delivered robust action plans to implement recommendations.. This includes significant enhancements in our health and safety policy and staff training protocols. Collectively, the insights from these assessments will be instrumental in refining our policies across all these vital areas, ensuring a safer environment for everyone who interacts with our organisation.

Sustainability

Over the past year, Whitechapel Gallery has made significant strides in embedding sustainability and circular economy principles across all areas of our work. From April 2024 to March 2025, we eliminated the purchase of raw materials for at least twelve of our exhibitions and projects, instead prioritising reuse and recycling. Exhibition materials were donated to RESOLVE Collective, and equipment was loaned from partner institutions including the Hellenic Centre and Camden Arts Centre, reducing waste and unnecessary purchases. Materials have been repurposed across several exhibitions

Sustainable design was also central to our Participation spaces and exhibitions for which structures, plinths, and technical elements were all constructed or sourced from recycled materials.. These ongoing efforts to reduce, reuse and repurpose materials have contributed to us achieving a silver recycling standard with our waste management provider.

Operationally, we have completed infrastructure upgrades to our AHUs and BMS systems, which has enabled lower energy use and carbon emissions. Together, these actions reflect a broader, long-term commitment to sustainability at every level of the organisation.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Financial Review

Financial Result for the year

The result for the 2024-25 financial year was a deficit of £880,458 compared to a deficit of £207,377 in 2023-24. Total income generated was £3,492,524 (2023-24 £4,435,302) and total expenditure was £4,464,192 (2023-24 £4,958,036). The increased deficit was driven by a combination of factors including:

During 24-25 the Gallery received the necessary approvals from Arts Council England and the Charity Commission to draw down £790k from the ACE Transform Future Endowment Fund to mitigate the cashflow effect of the deficit.

The Gallery is committed to achieving long term financial sustainability and is implementing changes to its strategy and business model in order to achieve this.

Subsidiary and Related Companies

Whitechapel Gallery Ventures Limited was incorporated on 1 April 2005 as a private limited company, wholly owned by Whitechapel Gallery Trustee Limited on behalf of Whitechapel Gallery.

Whitechapel Gallery Ventures Limited was established to manage the commercial trading activities of Whitechapel Gallery including sales of limited editions, Gallery hires, catalogues, publications merchandise and catering services. The main aims of the trading subsidiary are to engender the development of entrepreneurial practice at the Whitechapel Gallery and generate profits that contribute to the Gallery’s charitable objectives.

Whitechapel Gallery Estates Trust Limited is a company limited by guarantee and charity registered in England and Wales. Its principal function is owning the freehold to the Whitechapel Gallery building and leasing it too Whitechapel Gallery for the provision and maintenance of an art gallery for exhibition to the public of:

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Reserves Policy Unrestricted Funds

The General Fund represents the free reserves of the charity and is an unrestricted reserve to enable the Gallery to carry on its charitable activities. The Trustees aim to hold an unrestricted fund balance equivalent to at least one quarter of annual expenditure which would be approximately £1,117,000 for 2024-25. There were free reserves at the year end of £298,642 (2023-24 £168,517). The gallery therefore holds unrestricted funds of approximately £908,358 less than the balance deemed necessary to operate sustainably at a reasonable level of risk. The Trustees are committed to achieving the target level of General Funds within the next ten years.

Endowment Funds

The Gallery has two permanent endowment funds, held in investment portfolios which were transferred during the year from JP Morgan to Investec (now Rathbones). The returns generated form unrestricted income for the Gallery.

The Transform Future Fund is a permanent endowment fund of £2.6m granted by Arts Council England in 2011 and operated on a total return basis. In 2024-25 the Gallery obtained permission from Arts Council England and Charity Commission to draw down £790,000 of the capital to address losses in 2024-25. The capital is to be repaid in twelve equal instalments over the next twelve years. At 31st March 2025, the Fund had a value of £2,033,035 and made an unrealised gain of £64,084 (2023-24 £275,824).

The Catalyst Future Fund is a separate fund consisting of monies raised by Whitechapel Gallery and matched by Arts Council England. This is a permanent endowment expiring in November 2037, following which the endowment becomes expendable. This fund had a value of £663,134 as at 31st March 2025 (2023-24 £650,970) and returned a £12,164 gain (2023-24 £468) for the Gallery in the year. In July 2020 the Gallery obtained permission from Arts Council England and Charity Commission to de-restrict and draw down the 50% of the fund that they had initially raised, a total of £805,617, in order to address historic debts and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A long-term repayment plan has been agreed with Arts Council England.

Restricted Funds

The Capital Fund comprises funds received for the Whitechapel Project for refurbishment work undertaken on the Gallery’s buildings. The fund value was £5,676,330 at 31st March 2025 (2023-24 £5,915,497).

The Capital Renewal Fund is restricted to the maintenance of the Gallery’s current buildings and infrastructure in an agreed draw down schedule to 2031. As at 31st March 2025 the fund had a value of £430,321 comprising investments of £285,884 held with Investec and fixed assets of £144,437 (2023-24 £416,523). In the year it funded £8,006 in capital depreciation.

The Restricted Fund AHU & BMS upgrade holds income received in the year from the Foyle Foundation £100,000 and the Rose Foundation £5,000 towards an upgrade of the Gallery’s air handing unit, chillers and BMS system.

The restricted Bloomberg Fund held income received from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of their digital Accelerator Program. The fund was spent in the year.

The ACE Transform Fund was awarded to provide support from August 2023 to March 2026 so that the Gallery can develop and implement innovative changes that restructures its business model and delivers long term financial sustainability.

The restricted Programme Fund includes support for upcoming exhibitions.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Designated Funds

The Building Fund represents money invested in building works not covered by the restricted Capital Fund. The fund value was £5,092,042 at 31st March 2025 (2023-24 £5,185,051). The balance is all invested in fixed assets.

The Capital Works Fund holds amounts designated towards urgent capital works that aren’t covered by the restricted Capital Renewal Fund, to a value of £293,315 at 31st March 2025.

The Roof Repair Fund holds funds received to offset the cost of urgent roof repairs, to value of £24,750.

The Asset Fund holds funds designated to cover the cost of various asset purchases, to the value of £74,532.

The Designated Catalyst Fund represents the sum de-restricted for a fixed period from the Catalyst Future Fund with the permission of the funder, Arts Council England, to a value of £805,617.

The Iwona Blazwick Artistic Fund holds income which will be used to fund projects that embody Iwona Blazwick’s unwavering belief in creativity, and require extra resource to realise, to a value of £16,072.

Investment Policy & Returns

The Investment Sub-Committee is responsible for all Gallery investments including endowment and designated investment funds and makes recommendations to the Finance and Operations Committee and Board of Trustees. The Trustees policy is to balance the need for income and equity growth of the invested funds. An order from the Charity Commission giving the charity the power to use a total return approach to investment of the Transform Future Fund was obtained in April 2012.

In October 2023 the Gallery retendered for investment management services and during 2024-25 investments were transferred from JP Morgan to Investec Wealth & Investment (UK), now Rathbones.

The Transform Future Fund and Catalyst Future Fund endowments and the Capital Renewal Fund are held in managed funds with Investec. The Trustees review annually the level of risk most appropriate for the Gallery given the prevailing state of the economic and political environment, which informs the mix of portfolio investments. The Investment Committee maintains an ongoing overview of investment performance and, with investment advisors, makes adjustments to investment asset allocation as needed.

In line with the total return approach applied to the investment of the Transform Future Fund endowment, the Trustees annually decide on the portion of the funds returns to draw for general revenue expenditure by the Gallery. Maintaining the core capital endowment and ensuring its long-term growth is a key factor considered in the draw down decision.

Draw down from the Capital Renewal Fund is restricted to the maintenance of the Gallery’s current buildings and infrastructure and used according to an agreed schedule of works.

Over the course of the year the Trustees continually reviewed the overall investment performance against both the Gallery’s investment objectives and the wider sector benchmarks. The conclusion was that the performance of investments in 2024-25 was reflective of overall market factors.

Any available unrestricted reserves are held in cash which is deposited to secure the best possible returns in shortterm investments.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Going Concern

In assessing the Charity’s financial position, the Trustees have considered its plans for a period of at least 12 months from the date of signing of these financial statements, the risks to which it is exposed, and detailed cash projections. In line with many charities, the forecast voluntary income is dependent upon continuing support from individuals, businesses, trusts and foundations and public bodies. Funding from Arts Council England is confirmed until March 2028 and the Charity is in constructive dialogue with other funders regarding ongoing support.

The Charity is forecasting a much-reduced deficit in 2025-26 year compared to 2024-25 due to income generated by the October 2025 launch of the Errantry Fund for underrepresented artists and by the March 2026 auction for the 125 year anniversary which includes significant works donated by artists who have shown at Whitechapel Gallery. Artists are also supporting with 125 anniversary Editions which will run across both 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years. In 2026-27 a new fundraising campaign will launch which is expected to generate funds for capital investment and to bolster the Charity’s reserves.

In addition to income generation, the Charity continues to refine processes and review costs to ensure we can deliver the same high standard of programme within our resource constraints. The Charity is working on a new strategic plan for 2026-2029 to achieve long term financial sustainability with an operating surplus expected from 2026-27.

Risk Management

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those relating to the specific operational areas of the charity, its investments and its finances.

The principal risks and uncertainties and the mitigating activities undertaken are shown below:

Risk Mitigating Action
Income/expenditure projections are not met; cash
flow – lack of sufficient funds to meet liabilities.
Effective
budgeting
and
forecasting.
Monthly
management accounts
and quarterly
financial
reporting to Board. Regular cashflow projection and
reporting. Reduce costs and manage expenditure
tightly. Improve financial processes and systems.
Build up reserves to 3-6 month operating costs.
Recession and economic climate affect revenue
generating activities. Loss of corporate funding and
sponsorship, decrease in revenue from catering,
retail, venue hire, membership and ticket sales


New Commercial Ventures strategy. Strengthen
membership of Ventures Advisory Board. Develop
new
Membership
offer.
New
Audience
Development
strategy.
Robust
contractual
agreements and regular management/monitoring
franchisees. Align strategic objectives with tenders/
requirements for franchisees.
Material reduction in fundraised income; increased
competition for funding; ethical fundraising policy
restricts fundraising capacity; loss of funder/
stakeholder confidence

Accurate forecasting of fundraising income; new
Development strategy; longer lead-in times for
fundraising; oversight of fundraising activity by
Ethics Committee and Finance & Operations
Committee. Develop new fundraising strategies e.g.
Errantry Fund.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

IT and digital infrastructure is not fit for purpose
resulting in poor staff morale and productivity and
failure to deliver to key stakeholders.

Develop WG IT and digital strategy. Increased
investment in new IT and digital infrastructure and
software. Recruitment of specialist IT and digital
staff. Staff training and induction.
IT and data security is compromised. Enhance
cyber-security
and
employ
industry
standard IT defence systems, firewall and third-
party email protections. Embed IT and data
protection
protocols
across
the
organisation.
Migration
from
internal
to
external
servers.
Increased staff awareness of cyber-security and
fraud risks. GDPR training.
Loss of key staff, high staff turnover or long-term
sickness absence resulting in loss of expertise and
institutional knowledge.

Reduce: Well-documented handbooks/manuals to
ensure
preservation
of
knowledge
and
responsibilities in these areas. Ensure knowledge
and
responsibilities are handed over when required.
Have an effective HR strategy in place that ensures
WG is an attractive place to work and is able to
recruit and retain talented staff. Effective staff
management and appraisal process.
Mitigate: Explore and implement ways to be as
attractive an employer as possible, with adopting a
flexible hybrid working policy and exploring staff
benefits beyond pay increases to retain staff and
attract new talent.
Building infrastructure/core services fail due to age
and historic underinvestment resulting in our
inability to deliver our core mission and purpose.

Close monitoring of physical infrastructure and
reporting of key data. Prioritised short to medium
term building repair and maintenance plan, utilising
Capital renewal Fund. Develop long-term capital
development plan and fundraising strategy.
Recession and economic climate affect suppliers;
Key suppliers cannot fulfil their obligations to
Whitechapel through insolvency or other causes

Effective monitoring and management of debts.
Timely invoicing of debts and effective payment
monitoring. Due diligence checks for new suppliers
on Companies House or through references

Trustees believe that they have established effective systems to mitigate these specific risks by regular examination of financial performance and other key indicators to identify any necessary corrective action, and by ensuring that robust controls exist over key financial and other systems. The strategic risk register is reviewed quarterly by the Senior Management Team, the Finance and Operations Committee and the Board of Trustees.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Future Plans

2026 marks Whitechapel Gallery’s 125th anniversary and provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the Gallery’s significant and influential position in the cultural landscape while setting out a distinctive and dynamic direction for the future. During 2025-2026, Whitechapel Gallery will outline a new strategic plan, underpinned by a rigorous theory of change, driven by its values and focused on ensuring a financially and environmentally sustainable future. Core to achieving our aims, is a renewed commitment – and responsibility - to our local community; a focus on championing and platforming under-represented voices and a focus on showcasing bold, opinionated art and ideas that engage with key concerns and issues of the world today.

2025-2026 programme includes a dedicated exhibition from our youth collective, Duchamp & Sons , major institutional shows from artists including Hamad Butt and Joy Gregory, the launch of a new talks programme interrogating the role of a public arts organisation at a time of multiple global crises as well as continued engagement with our local community – including school groups and families through specific learning and outreach programmes.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

D Dibosa Chair

30 January 2026

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Whitechapel Gallery (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charity and group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Charities Act 2011, together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charity’s and the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charity and the group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health and safety legislation and Employment legislation

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing of recognition of income and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, and the Finance Sub Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Other matters

Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (as amended) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.

This has been done in order for the financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with current Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Streets Audit LLP 30 January 2026
Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditor c/o The Old Exchange
64 West Stockwell Street
Colchester
Essex
CO1 1HE

Streets Audit LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Current financial year
Unrestricted
funds
2025
Notes
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
4
2,201,479
Charitable activities
Exhibitions
3
469,246
Education
3
34,279
Other trading activities
5
296,401
Investments
6
4,102
Other income
7
908
Total income
3,006,415
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
895,343
Charitable activities
Exhibitions
9
2,413,909
Education
9
481,566
Total charitable expenditure
2,895,475
Total expenditure
3,790,818
Net gains/(losses) on
investments
14
-
Net income/(expenditure)
(784,403)
Transfers between funds
750,121
Net movement in funds
11
(34,282)
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances at 1 April 2024
6,722,330
Fund balances at 31 March 2025
6,688,048		 Restricted
Endowment
funds
funds
2025
2025
£
£
486,109
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
486,109
-
-
-
617,489
-
55,885
-
673,374
-
673,374
-
14,242
76,968
(173,023)
76,968
(77,100)
(673,021)
(250,123)
(596,053)
6,603,115
3,292,222
6,352,992
2,696,169		 Total
2025
£
2,687,588
469,246
34,279
296,401
4,102
908
3,492,524
895,343
3,031,398
537,451
3,568,849
4,464,192
91,210
(880,458)
-
(880,458)
16,617,667
15,737,209		 Total
2024
£
3,279,541
-
447,029
49,979
652,031
6,722
-
4,435,302
1,058,948
3,307,708
591,380
3,899,088
4,958,036
315,357
(207,377)
-
(207,377)
16,825,044
16,617,667

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Prior financial year
Unrestricted
funds
2024
Notes
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
4
2,561,283
Charitable activities
Exhibitions
3
447,029
Education
3
49,979
Other trading activities
5
652,031
Investments
6
6,722
Total income
3,717,044
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
1,058,948
Exhibitions
9
2,530,107
Education
9
541,401
Total expenditure
4,130,456
Net gains/(losses) on investments
14
-
Net income/(expenditure)
(413,412)
Transfers between funds
407,528
Net movement in funds
11
(5,884)
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances at 1 April 2023
6,728,214
Fund balances at 31 March 2024
6,722,330		 Restricted
Endowment
funds
funds
2024
2024
£
£
718,258
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
718,258
-
-
-
777,601
-
49,979
-
827,580
-
39,065
276,292
(70,257)
276,292
(274,212)
(133,316)
(344,469)
142,976
6,947,584
3,149,246
6,603,115
3,292,222		 Total
2024
£
3,279,541
-
447,029
49,979
652,031
6,722
4,435,302
1,058,948
3,307,708
591,380
4,958,036
315,357
(207,377)
-
(207,377)
16,825,044
16,617,667

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
16
Investments
17
Current assets
Stocks
19
Debtors
20
Investments
21
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
22
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
The funds of the charity
Endowment funds
24
Restricted income funds
25
Unrestricted funds
26		 2025
£
295,639
1,336,657
97,417
151,021
1,880,734
(298,928)		 £
11,173,352
2,982,051
14,155,403
1,581,806
15,737,209
2,696,169
6,352,992
6,688,048
15,737,209		 2024
£
267,661
1,303,288
115,934
585,129
2,272,012
(882,787)		 £
11,410,725
3,817,717
15,228,442
1,389,225
16,617,667
3,292,222
6,603,115
6,722,330
16,617,667

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 30 January 2026

D Dibosa

Chair

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CHARITY BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
16
Investments
17
Current assets
Stocks
19
Debtors
20
Investments
21
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
22
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
The funds of the charity
Endowment funds
24
Restricted income funds
25
Unrestricted funds
26		 2025
£
48,820
1,492,842
97,417
146,095
1,785,174
(247,312)		 £
11,173,351
2,982,052
14,155,403
1,537,862
15,693,265
2,696,169
6,352,992
6,644,104
15,693,265		 2024
£
48,169
1,340,661
115,934
549,914
2,054,678
(704,791)		 £
11,410,724
3,817,718
15,228,442
1,349,887
16,578,329
3,292,222
6,603,115
6,682,992
16,578,329

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 30 January 2026

D Dibosa

Chair

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash absorbed by operations
31
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Proceeds from disposal of investments
Investment income received
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing
activities
Net cash generated from financing activities
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 2025
£
£
(1,226,660)
(156,942)
945,392
4,102
792,552
-
(434,108)
585,129
151,021		 2024
£
(53,830)
-
6,760		 £
(481,559)
(47,070)
-
(528,629)
1,113,758
585,129

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Whitechapel Gallery is a charitable trust (Charity Registration number 312162). The address of the registered office is 77-82 Whitechapel High Street.

1.1 Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 10 November 1981, as amended by Schemes dated 10 May 1988 and 9 March 2001, the Charities Act 2011, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

In assessing the charity's financial position, the Trustees have considered its plans for the foreseeable future, the risks to which it is exposed, and detailed cash projections. In line with many charities, the forecast voluntary income is dependent on continuing support from individuals, businesses, trusts and foundations, and public bodies. Funding from Arts Council England is confirmed at £1,461,106 for 2025-26 and £1,534,161 for 2026-27 and 2027-28.

Whitechapel Gallery and its leadership are working to reduce its annual deficit from 2025-26 financial year onwards and to achieve financial sustainability and has made significant changes to its strategy and business model in order to achieve this.

The charity's governance structure including the Finance and Operations Committee and wider Board provides external expertise, guidance and oversight to allow for timely identification and mitigation of risks.

Following these steps, the Trustees continue to be satisfied that they will have sufficient funds to meet operational needs for at least 12 months from the date of signing these financial statements and accordingly it continues to remain appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are where no restrictions have been placed on the use of the monies received as long as they are spent within the charitable objectives of the organisation. This includes designated funds where Trustees have set aside the funds for a particular purpose.

Restricted funds are those funds subject to donor-imposed restrictions as to their use.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Permanent endowment funds are where funds have been donated and restrictions are placed on the conversion of the original capital sum into income.

1.4 Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Voluntary income comprising grants and donations is allocated to each category of income streams in the year that the receipt is probable and the amount is quantifiable.

Gifts in kind are recognised on receipt at the full value to the organisation.

Government grants are recognised on the performance model, when the Charity has complied with any conditions attaching to the grant and the grant will be received.

Trading income comprises catalogues, publications, editions, posters, rental and gallery hire.

Investment income is included within the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which it is receivable.

Income relating to exhibitions which span the year end are accounted for in the year in which the ticket sales occur. Touring exhibitions organised by the Gallery which tour to other venues are accounted for in the year in which the exhibition occurs.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is included within the financial statements on an accruals basis. Expenditure incurred on exhibitions for future years is included on the balance sheet as deferred expenditure.

Cost of activities in the furtherance of the Charity’s objectives includes the direct cost of the activities. Where such costs relate to more than one functional cost category, they have been allocated on either an estimate of time or on floor space basis, as appropriate.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of charitable activities.

Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the Charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets in excess of £1,000 are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

(Continued)

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Freehold land and buildings 50 years Unrestricted Funds Equipment, Furniture & 4 years Fittings Restricted Funds Equipment, Furniture & 3, 4 and 11 years Fittings Restricted Funds Website & Other Fittings 3 years

Freehold land and assets in the course of construction are not depreciated.

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

1.7 Fixed asset investments

All fixed asset investments are stated at market value.

Realised and unrealised gains and losses on fixed asset investments, based on year-end market values, are credited or charged through the SOFA.

Current asset investments are stated after impairment calculations that take into account moving annual total sales

1.8 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

1.9 Stocks

Stock is stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Net realisable value is the price at which stock can be sold in the normal course of business after allowing for marketing, selling and distribution costs. Provisions are made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving and defective stock.

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.

1.10 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.11 Financial instruments

Whitechapel Gallery has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with trade and other debtors. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise trade and other creditors, and accruals.

Investments, including bonds held as part of an investment portfolio are held at fair value at the Balance Sheet date, with gains and losses being recognised within income and expenditure. Investments in subsidiary undertakings are held at cost less impairment.

1.12 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

1.13 Total return investment policy

The Trustees have adopted a total return approach to investment of the Transform Future Fund and spending as permitted under a direction received from the Charity Commission. A base date of 31 March 2012 has been adopted for the applying the total return.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Key sources of estimation uncertainty

Current asset investments

Current asset investments are initially valued at their expected market value, which is subject to an annual adjustment and impairment based on sales in the year.

Depreciation

Fixed assets are depreciated over the course of their useful economic life. In order to calculate the depreciation charge, judgements are required on the length of the likely useful life and the likely proceeds (if any) of the asset if sold at the end of its life.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

3 Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Exhibitions
Sale of goods 469,246 447,029
Education
Sale of goods 34,279 49,979
503,525 497,008

4 Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2025
2025
£
£
Donations and gifts
688,524
486,109
Grants
1,512,955
-
2,201,479
486,109
Donations and gifts
Exhibition funding
-
96,445
Education funding
-
195,787
Benefits events and
general donations
487,244
18,877
Whitechapel patrons and
corporate donation
140,750
-
Whitechapel members/
group and List
-
-
Giftaid donations
60,530
-
Legacy income
-
-
Arts Council England
-
70,000
Foyle Foundation and
Rose Foundation
-
105,000
688,524
486,109		 Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2025
2024
2024
£
£
£
1,174,633
1,123,328
718,258
1,512,955
1,437,955
-
2,687,588
2,561,283
718,258
96,445
-
516,779
195,787
-
49,979
506,121
177,438
65,000
140,750
437,294
-
-
18,465
-
60,530
-
-
-
133,058
-
70,000
-
86,500
105,000
357,073
-
1,174,633
1,123,328
718,258		 Total
2024
£
1,841,586
1,437,955
3,279,541
516,779
49,979
242,438
437,294
18,465
-
133,058
86,500
357,073
1,841,586

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

5 Income from other trading activities
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Other income 296,401 652,031
6 Income from investments
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Interest receivable 4,102 6,722
7 Other income
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Other income 908 -
8 Expenditure on raising funds
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Fundraising and publicity
Support costs 733,549 712,400
Trading costs
Other trading activities 156,726 311,139
Investment management 5,068 35,409
Total costs 895,343 1,058,948

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

9 Expenditure on charitable activities

Exhibitions
Education
2025
2025
£
£
Direct costs
Staff costs
599,240
185,167
Depreciation and
impairment
394,316
-
Direct costs
785,437
76,782
1,778,993
261,949
Share of support and governance costs (see note 10)
Support
1,212,604
268,868
Governance
39,801
6,634
3,031,398
537,451
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds
2,413,909
481,566
Restricted funds
617,489
55,885
3,031,398
537,451		 Total
Exhibitions
Education
2025
2024
2024
£
£
£
784,407
559,917
213,183
394,316
387,630
-
862,219
1,088,735
92,447
2,040,942
2,036,282
305,630
1,481,472
1,220,430
277,276
46,435
50,996
8,474
3,568,849
3,307,708
591,380
2,895,475
2,530,107
541,401
673,374
777,601
49,979
3,568,849
3,307,708
591,380		 Total
2024
£
773,100
387,630
1,181,182
2,341,912
1,497,706
59,470
3,899,088
3,071,508
827,580
3,899,088

10 Support and governance costs allocated to activities

Support and governance costs allocated to activities
Staff costs
Property costs
Telecommunications and postage
Photocopying and stationery
Development costs
Governance costs
Analysed between:
Fundraising
Exhibitions
Education		 2025
£
1,459,424
609,318
8,421
12,790
105,168
66,336
2,261,457
733,550
1,252,405
275,502
2,261,457		 2024
£
1,437,832
626,114
8,610
13,043
99,071
84,906
2,269,576
712,400
1,271,426
285,750
2,269,576

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

11 Net movement in funds 2025 2024
£ £
The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):
Fees payable for the audit of the charity's financial statements 28,115 19,930
Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets 394,316 387,630

12 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.

13 Employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

Exhibition
Education
Development
Building and communication
Whitechapel Gallery Ventures Ltd
Administration
Casual staff
Archive
Total
Employment costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2025
Number
6
5
7
10
1
12
41
-
82
2025
£
2,013,134
161,625
69,072
2,243,831		 2024
Number
6
6
6
11
4
8
35
1
77
2024
£
2,202,485
189,961
74,964
2,467,410

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

13 Employees (Continued)
The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000
is as follows:
2025 2024
Number Number
£60,001 - £70,000 2 -
£70,001 - £80,000 1 2
£110,001 - £120,000 - 1
£120,001 - £130,000 1 -
Remuneration of key management personnel
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
2025 2024
£ £
Aggregate compensation 590,632 592,971
Gains and losses on investments
**Restricted ** Endowment Total **Restricted ** Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
Gains/(losses) arising on: £ £ £ £ £ £
Revaluation of
investments 14,242 76,968 91,210 39,065 276,292 315,357

14 Gains and losses on investments

15 Taxation

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

16
Tangible fixed assets
Group
Freehold land
and buildings
Unrestricted
Funds
Equipment,
Furniture &
Fittings
Restricted
Funds
Equipment,
Furniture &
Fittings
Restricted
Funds
Website &
Other
Fittings
£
£
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2024
16,608,788
878,339
360,032
295,634
Additions
-
-
156,942
-
At 31 March 2025
16,608,788
878,339
516,974
295,634
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 April 2024
5,427,963
878,339
328,140
97,625
Depreciation charged in the year
332,176
-
23,664
38,476
At 31 March 2025
5,760,139
878,339
351,804
136,101
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2025
10,848,649
-
165,170
159,533
At 31 March 2024
11,180,824
-
31,892
198,009
Charity
Freehold land
and buildings
Unrestricted
Funds
Equipment,
Furniture &
Fittings
Restricted
Funds
Equipment,
Furniture &
Fittings
Restricted
Funds
Website &
Other
Fittings
£
£
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2024
16,608,787
878,339
360,032
295,634
Additions
-
-
156,942
-
At 31 March 2025
16,608,787
878,339
516,974
295,634
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 April 2024
5,427,963
878,339
328,140
97,625
Depreciation charged in the year
332,176
-
23,664
38,476
At 31 March 2025
5,760,139
878,339
351,804
136,101
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2025
10,848,648
-
165,170
159,533
At 31 March 2024
11,180,824
-
31,892
198,009		 Total
£
18,142,793
156,942
18,299,735
6,732,067
394,316
7,126,383
11,173,352
11,410,726
Total
£
18,142,792
156,942
18,299,734
6,732,067
394,316
7,126,383
11,173,351
11,410,725

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

17
Fixed asset investments
EF Catalyst EF Transform
RF Capital
£
£
£
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2024
650,970
2,758,231
408,516
Valuation changes
12,163
64,804
14,242
Disposals
-
(790,000)
(136,875)
At 31 March 2025
663,133
2,033,035
285,883
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2025
663,133
2,033,035
285,883
At 31 March 2024
650,970
2,758,231
408,516
18
Financial instruments
2025
£
Carrying amount of financial assets
Instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss
760,550
19
Stocks
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
£
£
£
Finished goods and goods for resale
295,639
267,661
48,820
20
Debtors
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
Amounts falling due within one year:
£
£
£
Trade debtors
161,483
373,605
83,144
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings
-
-
898,937
Other debtors
254,153
65,429
178,470
Prepayments and accrued income
921,021
864,254
347,290
1,336,657
1,303,288
1,507,841		 Total
£
3,817,717
91,209
(926,875)
2,982,051
2,982,051
3,817,717
2024
£
766,904
2024
£
48,169
2024
£
323,410
692,207
61,590
263,454
1,340,661

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

21
Current asset investments
Unlisted investments
22
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income
Trade creditors
Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings
Other creditors
Accruals
23
Deferred income
Other deferred income
Deferred income is included in the financial statements
Deferred income is included within:
Current liabilities
Movements in the year:
Deferred income at 1 April 2024
Released from previous periods
Resources deferred in the year
Deferred income at 31 March 2025		 Group
2025
£
97,417
Group
2025
£
42,755
8,963
77,251
-
11,048
158,911
298,928		 2024
£
115,934
2024
£
44,660
96,683
334,171
-
72,027
335,245
882,786		 Charity
2025
£
97,417
Charity
2025
£
42,755
8,963
74,103
13,422
10,470
97,599
247,312
2025
£
8,963		 2024
£
115,934
2024
£
44,660
96,683
188,195
9,122
69,764
296,367
704,791
2024
£
96,683
2024
£
96,683
52,551
(52,551)
96,683
96,683
as follows:
2025
£
8,963
96,683
(96,683)
8,963
8,963

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

24 Endowment funds

Endowment funds represent assets which must be held permanently by the charity. Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charity and is included as unrestricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the assets form part of the fund.

At 1 April 2024
Transfers
Gains and
losses
At
£
£
£
Permanent endowments
Transform Future Fund
2,641,252
(673,021)
64,804
Catalyst Future Fund
650,970
-
12,164
3,292,222
(673,021)
76,968
Previous year:
At 1 April 2023
Transfers
Gains and
losses
At
£
£
£
Permanent endowments
Transform Future Fund
2,498,744
(133,316)
275,824
Catalyst Future Fund
650,502
-
468
3,149,246
(133,316)
276,292		 31 March
2025
£
2,033,035
663,134
2,696,169
31 March
2024
£
2,641,252
650,970
3,292,222

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

25 Restricted funds

The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.

At 1 April 2024
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
Gains and
losses
At
£
£
£
£
£
Capital Renewal
Fund
416,523
-
(8,006)
7,562
14,242
Capital Fund
5,915,497
-
(239,167)
-
-
Bloomberg
Fund
90,047
-
(90,047)
-
-
ACE Transform
Fund
9,122
70,000
(39,917)
-
-
Cockayne
20,000
20,000
(30,000)
-
-
Paul Mellon
40,000
-
(23,610)
-
-
Freelands
15,000
28,000
-
-
-
Future
publications
14,750
-
-
-
-
Programme
Fund
82,176
248,109
(238,623)
(84,662)
-
AHU/BMS
Upgrade
-
105,000
(4,004)
-
-
Ampersand
-
15,000
-
-
-
6,603,115
486,109
(673,374)
(77,100)
14,242		 31 March
2025
£
430,321
5,676,330
-
39,205
10,000
16,390
43,000
14,750
7,000
100,996
15,000
6,352,992

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

25 Restricted funds Restricted funds (Continued) (Continued)
Previous year: At 1 April 2023 Incoming Resources Transfers Gains and At 31 March
resources expended losses 2024
£ £ £ £ £ £
Capital Renewal
Fund 520,002 - (21,655) (120,889) 39,065 416,523
Capital Fund 6,154,664 - (239,167) - - 5,915,497
Bloomberg
Fund 119,595 25,000 (54,548) - - 90,047
ACE Transform
Fund - 86,500 (77,378) - - 9,122
Cockayne - 20,000 - - - 20,000
Paul Mellon - 40,000 - - - 40,000
Freelands - 15,000 - - - 15,000
Future
publications - 14,750 - - - 14,750
Programme
Fund 153,323 517,008 (434,832) (153,323) - 82,176
6,947,584 718,258 (827,580) (274,212) 39,065 6,603,115

– Capital Renewal Fund a combination of an Arts Council managed fund awarded in 2011 restricted to the maintenance of the Gallery's current buildings and infrastructure, drawn down over the next 20 years, a £75,000 fund awarded by the Headley Trust and £3,803 awarded by London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2018-19. In the year they collectively funded £31,369 in capital depreciation costs to the Gallery.

Restricted Programme Fund - this holds income restricted to Programme activities.

The restricted Bloomberg Fund holds income received from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of their Digital Accelerator Program.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

26 Unrestricted funds

The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.

At 1 April 2024
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
At
£
£
£
£
Building
5,185,051
-
(93,009)
-
Capital Works Fund
293,315
-
-
-
Capital Works Asset
92,867
-
(9,789)
-
Roof Repair Fund
24,750
-
-
-
CRM Fund
15,000
-
(15,000)
-
Assets Fund
105,141
-
(30,609)
-
Iwona Blazwick Artistic Fund
32,072
-
(16,000)
-
Catalyst Fund
805,617
-
-
-
General funds
168,517
3,006,415
(3,626,411)
750,121
6,722,330
3,006,415
(3,790,818)
750,121
Previous year:
At 1 April 2023
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
At
£
£
£
£
Building
5,278,060
-
(93,009)
-
Capital Works Fund
293,315
-
-
-
Capital Works Asset
102,656
-
(9,789)
-
Roof Repair Fund
24,750
-
-
-
CRM Fund
15,000
-
-
-
Assets Fund
80,120
-
(24,009)
49,030
Iwona Blazwick Artistic Fund
35,972
9,059
(12,959)
-
Catalyst Fund
805,617
-
-
-
General funds
92,724
3,707,985
(3,990,690)
358,498
6,728,214
3,717,044
(4,130,456)
407,528		 31 March
2025
£
5,092,042
293,315
83,078
24,750
-
74,532
16,072
805,617
298,642
6,688,048
31 March
2024
£
5,185,051
293,315
92,867
24,750
15,000
105,141
32,072
805,617
168,517
6,722,330

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

27 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
funds
2025
£
At 31 March 2025:
Tangible assets
5,239,923
Investments
-
Current assets/(liabilities)
1,448,125
6,688,048
Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
At 31 March 2024:
Tangible assets
5,036,080
Investments
133,316
Current assets/(liabilities)
1,552,934
6,722,330		 Restricted
Endowment
funds
funds
2025
2025
£
£
5,933,429
-
285,882
2,696,169
133,681
-
6,352,992
2,696,169
Restricted
Endowment
funds
funds
2024
2024
£
£
6,374,645
-
408,517
3,275,884
(180,047)
16,338
6,603,115
3,292,222		 Total
2025
£
11,173,352
2,982,051
1,581,806
15,737,209
Total
2024
£
11,410,725
3,817,717
1,389,225
16,617,667

28 Operating lease commitments

Lessee

At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Between two and five years
In over five years		 2025
£
4,600
18,400
4,511,164
4,534,164		 2024
£
4,600
18,400
4,515,764
4,538,764

29 Related party transactions

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).

30 Analysis of changes in net funds

The charity had no material debt during the year.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

31
Cash absorbed by operations
2025
£
Deficit for the year
(880,458)
Adjustments for:
Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities
(4,102)
Fair value gains and losses on investments
(91,210)
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets
394,316
Movements in working capital:
(Increase)/decrease in stocks
(27,978)
(Increase) in debtors
(33,369)
(Decrease) in creditors
(496,139)
(Decrease) in deferred income
(87,720)
Cash absorbed by operations
(1,226,660)		 2024
£
(207,377)
(6,722)
(315,357)
387,630
27,893
(331,444)
(11,261)
(24,921)
(481,559)