2024-03-31-accounts

Company number: 01838334 Charity Number: 515571

Castlefield Gallery

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2024

Castlefield Gallery

Reference and administrative information

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Company number 01838334

Charity number 515571

Registered office and operational address

Talbot House 1 High Peak Street Newton Heath Manchester M40 3AT

Trustees

Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Susan Stubbs Chair, resigned June 2023 Alisha Kadri Vice Chair to September 2023, Co-Chair from September 2023 Ceri Hand Co-Chair from September 2023 Adian Slatcher Secretary Mariama Attah Margaret Bourke Paul Flint Appointed November 2023 Kate Jesson Barney Leaf Resigned June 2023 Chara Lewis Sandeep Ranote

Key management Helen Wewiora Director personnel Matthew Pendergast Deputy Director

Bankers HSBC

2-4 St Anns Square, Manchester, M2 7HD

Unity Trust Bank

Unity Trust Bank Plc, Four Brindley place, Birmingham, B1 2JB

Independent Jennifer Daniel FCCA DChA, Slade & Cooper Limited

examiner Beehive Mill, Jersey Street, Manchester, M6 6JG

1

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024. Included within the trustees’ report is the directors’ report as required by company law.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

The object of Castlefield Gallery, as set out in its Articles of Association, is the advancement of education by fostering and promoting for the benefit of the public, the improvement and development of artistic knowledge, taste, understanding and appreciation of the visual arts, and to increase the accessibility to the visual arts, throughout the North West of England.

The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the trustees ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.

The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Statement of Intent

Established by artists in 1984, Castlefield Gallery’s work is focussed on artistic, skills and professional career development for artists, as well as inspiring and deepening audiences’ relationship to contemporary art. The organisation is an integral part of the North of England’s cultural fabric and a vital support to artists across the North West and further afield. Castlefield Gallery delivers a programme of exhibitions, projects and events from its main gallery in central Manchester.

Castlefield Gallery commissions, curates and produces off-site and public art in Greater Manchester, the North West and beyond, and facilitates national and international artist residencies and exchange programmes. The charity exports art and culture developed and produced in the region through exchange, to enable meaningful relationships between artists nationally and internationally to flourish over extended periods. Partnership is at the heart of all of Castlefield Gallery’s activities.

Castlefield Gallery Associates is an artist, curator and writer membership group that accesses artistic, skills and career development support via the organisation’s work and New Art Spaces – temporary work, production, project and presentation spaces located across Greater Manchester and the North West. Castlefield Gallery Associates supported on average between 250 to 300 artists and independent creative members across the 2023/24 financial year.

For four decades Castlefield Gallery has been a proven leader and enabler in the development of visual artists, many Castlefield Gallery alumni going on to experience national and international acclaim,

2

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

including becoming Turner Prize nominees and winners, or exhibiting at major festivals, biennials, triennials and international presentations.

Castlefield Gallery is a registered charity, a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and a Manchester City Council Cultural Partner. Castlefield Gallery’s Artist Patron is Ryan Gander, OBE RA.

Castlefield Gallery’s Business Plan

Business Plan update for 2023/24 (bridging plan to 2026).

Castlefield Gallery:

Mission: to nurture talent, explore cultural trends and deepen audience’s relationship to contemporary art.

Purpose: we believe that art is essential. Our purpose is to support artists, build creative communities and make new art happen.

Vision: our vision is to become the UK’s lead organisation for artists’ development, building a compelling case for supporting artists, their work and their careers, at every level.

Values: our values guide us, inform how we work, and help us make decisions. We are bold and brave, empathetic, knowledgeable and playful, we put artists first.

Business Plan Aims

Aim 1: Invest time, care and resources in artists and creative freelancers - their skills and careers, and across a diversity of artistic practices, to enable them to achieve their full potential and have a voice through creative expression.

Aim 2: Castlefield Gallery’s programme showcases and develops new artistic practice that is current, timely, and relevant, and celebrates experimentation, creative diversity and freedom of expression.

Aim 3: Foster the conditions that enable diverse groups of people - new and existing audiences and participants, to access high-quality artistic experiences and opportunities for lifelong learning through dynamic cultural experiences.

Aim 4: Be a resilient, sustainable, dynamic organisation, this enables our ability to support the resilience and sustainability of others, now and long into the future.

Policies and Planning

Castlefield Gallery’s business plan is aligned to its mission, purpose, vision and values. The business plan sits alongside a suite of documents and policies. Whilst not limited to, these include Annual Budget & Cashflow; Data Protection Policy; Health & Safety Policy; Equality Opportunities Policy; Child & Vulnerable Adults Protection Policies; Environmental & Sustainability Policy and Action Plan. Staff and trustees engaged in Disability Awareness Training in 23/24, as well as undertaking more regularised training in areas of Health & Safety eg. fire marshall and first aid.

3

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Castlefield Gallery’s progress with reducing carbon emissions in 2023/24:

Our total recorded carbon emissions for 2023/24, as calculated by Julie’s Bicycle IG-Tools was 4.36 tonnes CO2e, compared to 5.04 tonnes CO2e, in 2023/23; a decrease of 13%. The majority of the Castlefield Gallery staff team undertook ‘Journey to net zero’ training in 23/24.

The charity’s activities and services include:

– Year-round programme of free exhibitions and commissions, events and sessions, working with artists at all career stages, in particular supporting them to develop new work. Delivered in our main accessible galleries, off-site, in the public realm eg. public art, and online, often through dynamic partnerships. All exhibitions are free to attend.

-Public programme activities and publications, designed to enhance and deepen engagement with exhibitions and commissions activity, delivered in real-time and space, as well as online and through digital distribution channels.

–Person-centred, bespoke skills, career and artistic development support programmes, including national and international exchange. An open-access subsidised Castlefield Gallery Associates scheme for artists and creative freelancers working in the field of contemporary visual arts, designed to support their artistic development and careers by providing information, skills, CPD opportunities, resources, promotion and a context for critical dialogue.

– New Art Spaces - provision of low-cost artist work, production, project and presentation space, working through place partnerships across the Manchester city region and the North West of England. New Art Spaces incubate practice and share the art of our time with the public in an immediate way.

– Volunteering and placements, international intern opportunities, driving talent, skills development and CPD through the structure of the organisation.

– Partnership delivery and CPD services, including with universities, local authorities, specialists and organisations in and outside of the arts and cultural sector.

– Thought leadership and research, advocating for artists as thought leaders themselves, and how together artists and communities can help to shape a better world.

– Art sales, individual collector and collections development, many of whom also make up and take part in our Guardians and Patrons programme, corporate and private commissioning and specialist advice.

Programme Architecture

Castlefield Gallery Programme Architecture is built around three strands:

• Review

• Art & Society

• Head-to-Head

Castlefield Gallery’s main galleries play host to three main exhibitions per year and one Castlefield Gallery Associates exhibition.

A ‘Self-Made’ strand of the programme operates as a cross-cutting theme to influence all we do. SelfMade was established to ensure Castlefield Gallery’s curating continuously challenges more formal and dominant narratives, assumptions and misconceptions of who a contemporary artist is, who can be an

4

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

artist, how someone might become an artist, what contemporary art is, what it looks like, our expectations of it, and how contemporary art is experienced.

In 2023/24, Castlefield Gallery’s Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and Manchester City Council Cultural Partnership funding continued, confirmed for the period 2023/24 - 2025/26. In 2023/24 Arts Council England informed Castlefield Gallery that an extension year for the period 2026/27 is planned for National Portfolio Organisations.

In 2023/24, across all its charitable activities, Castlefield Gallery spent £361,980 cash and expended £338,227 of Donated Services.

The Directors and trustees review the charity's aims, objectives and activities each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The Directors and trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the Directors and trustees ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remain focused on its stated purposes.

The Directors and trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Directors and trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Achievements and performance

Beneficiaries of our services

The charity's main activities and who it supports are described below. All its charitable activities focus on learning, development, and public engagement in the field of contemporary visual art and are undertaken to further Castlefield Gallery’s charitable purposes for the benefit of the public. Most of our activities are free at the point of access. Where charging is necessary this is done so at affordable, subsidised rates and alongside the provision of concession and free tickets for those on low incomes.

The organisation’s work is publicised in the widest range of formats within available resources, to reach as many and ranging groups of people as possible. In 2023/24, to ensure reach to existing and development of new audiences/participants, Castlefield Gallery made use of direct mail (i.e. Mailchimp), especially for Associates communications and e-newsletters, social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), the gallery website, digital sharing platforms such as YouTube, media listings and platforms - printed material and online formats, ticket and event platforms such as Eventbrite and began trialling new platforms e.g. Ticket Tailor. 2023/24 saw the charity focus much of its communications and audience development capacity and cash resource on work with Carbon Creative who were contracted to develop the new Castlefield Gallery website. Key priorities for the new site are improving accessibility, sustainability and lowering carbon emission impacts, delivering enhanced Associate membership access, driving SEO and e-commerce, and effective application of the charity’s new branding. The soft launch date for the new site is July 2024.

In the year, Castlefield Gallery continued to deliver enhanced digital programming, distribution and communications activity. Not limited to, examples include enhanced digital resources - activities and downloads; online and blended programmes; artist film interviews distributed on YouTube and enhanced use of Instagram e.g. using Reels; monthly news for online and newsletters on artists, art making and environmental sustainability; street level/window (including high street) programming and public art offers enhanced with the use of QR codes.

5

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

In 2023/24 reciprocal communication arrangements with partners, peers, relevant stakeholders, and media partnerships/sponsors continued. Press activity ensured that activities attracted media coverage.

2023/24 main gallery live audiences were 22,000 , up from 20,000 in 2022/23. Our main galleries have disabled access to all floors and an accessible toilet. Staff and volunteers are briefed to be welcoming, helpful and informative to all visitors. In 2023/24 audience feedback continued to evidence the quality of experience accessed by gallery attendees as did that of those participating.

Audience and participant feedback included comments such as:

“A beautiful and confrontational exhibition. A reminder of our privilege and a reminder to not stop fighting for global climate justice”

“The exhibition was extremely touching. It granted me an extremely personal insight into the struggle of many living in the dry regions of North Africa.”

“A nice calming experience in a hectic city. Thank you for welcoming us with an open heart. You are amazing! Calmness of the water, strength of the water.”

“Amazing talk and workshop, I’ve learned SO MUCH, and feel so inspired. Broadened my horizons and was also great for my well-being.”

Castlefield Gallery’s live audiences off-site and in the public realm are estimated at a minimum of 132,000 . Off-site and public realm reach varies year-to-year depending on the annual programme, especially regarding partnership, public realm and New Art Spaces activities.

Whilst not limited to, enhanced partnership work and delivery, off-site, distributed and/or touring activity, public art commissioning, and driving relevance across the programme, extends reach and engagement for Castlefield Gallery.

Data capture and communications developments further support. As well as reach and engagement in the City of Manchester, activities increasingly reach directly into multiple Greater Manchester City Region areas, North West sub-regions, and at times nationally and internationally.

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery experienced further development in digital reach, engagement and participation, building on growth in previous years. In 2023/24 Twitter followers were c.17k, Facebook 7746. Instagram – a focus for Castlefield Gallery social media activity in the year and increasingly our primary social platform, experienced growth and has 9481 followers. Our reach via digital products was 18,166 engagements.

Castlefield Gallery Associates, artist development programmes and wider public programmes attracted 6160 participations in 2023/24, numbers of associates reaching on average between 250- 300 members . Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in developing digital reach, depth of engagement, and improved accessibility for audiences with health, well-being and access needs.

Through our communications platforms, we continued to publish monthly spotlights to amplify our volunteers, Castlefield Gallery Associates and the artists we work with, in particular those with a commitment to combatting climate change and exploring environmental concerns through their practice.

In 2023/24 the activities of the Castlefield Gallery CDA candidate with Manchester School of Art, including the design and delivery of their ‘Archives at Play 2’ exhibition series and public engagement programme

6

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

generated action research on how Castlefield Gallery and its work is perceived and experienced. Findings from these activities are informing how we imagine, and plan, for the gallery’s future as it marked 40 years in March 2024. The ‘Archives at Play’ series has directly involved and engaged artists but also those with artists with multi-faceted relationships to the gallery - independent creatives, associate members, audiences, participants, supporters, staff, placements volunteers, trustees and more.

The gallery is applying learning from such activities to decision-making and planning - to ensure a relevant, inclusive, equitable and fair Castlefield Gallery. This is especially concerning the charity’s stated priority and ‘adopted’ protected characteristics of age, disability, race & ethnicity, guided by a female-led status and commitment to social justice. Our adopted priorities are those of socio-economic status & neurodiversity.

In 2023/24 our live audience activities reached and engaged as below:

Age: 0-19yrs - 8%; 20-34yrs – 53%; 35-49yrs - 16%; 50-64yrs - 19%; 65+yrs – 4%

Gender: Male – 41%; Female – 53%; Non-Binary: 6%

Disability: identifying as having a disability –11%; identifying as not having a disability – 82% and prefer not to say - 7%

Ethnicity: Ethnicity: White / White British – 59%; Any other White Background – 12%; Black / Black British – 5%; Asian / Asian British – 9%; Mixed Background - 3%; Any other ethnic group – 8%; Prefer not to say – 7%

In 2023/24 our participant activities engaged as below:

Age: 0-19yrs - 25%; 20+ yrs – 75%.

Artists and Creative Freelancers

In 2023/24, the charity expended £52,355 on artist fees compared to £81,977 in 2022/23, and engaged 80 artists and independent creatives in 2023/24 compared with 95 in 2022/23. In 2023/24 the gallery continued to drive robust paid opportunities and support for artists and the creative freelancers it works with.

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery worked with 80 freelance creatives , predominantly resident in the Manchester City Region and North West of England.

Age: 0-19yrs - 0%; 20-34yrs – 46%; 35-49yrs – 30%; 50-64yrs – 20%; 65+yrs – 4%.

Gender: female – 51%; male – 30%; non-binary – 10%; prefer not to say – 9%.

Disability: identifying as not having a disability - 55%; identifying as having a disability and/or longterm health condition – 30%; prefer not to say – 15%.

Ethnicity: White / White British – 36%; Any other White Background – 16%; Black / Black British – 4%; Asian / Asian British – 15%; Mixed Background - 13%; Any other ethnic group – 16%.

7

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Volunteers and Placements

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery engaged 93 volunteers and placements, a group that delivered 2976 hours of voluntary activity in the financial year. All volunteers and placements are supported to engage, by the charity covering their travel and subsistence expenses.

Age: 0-19yrs - 0%; 20-34yrs – 20%; 35-49yrs – 6%; 50-64yrs – 8%; 65+yrs – 6%; prefer not to say – 60%.

Gender: female – 19%; male – 9%; prefer not to say – 72%.

Disability: identifying as not having a disability - 30%; identifying as having a disability – 17%; prefer not to say – 53%.

Ethnicity: White / White British – 12%; Any other White Background – 5%; Black / Black British – 4%; Asian / Asian British – 9%; Mixed Background - 3%; Any other ethnic group – 1%; prefer not to say – 66%.

Headlines and highlights from 2023/24 programme activity

Whilst not exhaustive, delivery in 2023/24 included:

Exhibitions & Commissions

Main Galleries

The year opened with the second in the exhibition series ‘Archives at Play’, which bridged two financial years 22/23 and 23/24. The exhibition series is led by Castlefield Gallery and MSoA (MMU) Collaborative Doctorate Award candidate and curator Thomas Dukes.

The year closed with the launch of our 40 year anniversary programme with the preview of the exhibition ‘40 Years of the Future: Painting’. The year 2024 marks four decades of Castlefield Gallery and the charity’s work in nurturing and championing the talent, skills and careers of visual artists, culture, and creative independents in the Manchester city region, the North West of England, and beyond.

Slow Saturday Previews continued across the year (ticketed time slots with limited capacity for each slot and alcohol-free) that ensure those who require a quieter slower pace for attending gallery project launches can do so.

Archives at Play 2

26 March 2023 – 4 June 2023

Artists: George Gibson & Grace Collins, Gherdai Hassell, Anna FC Smith, Alistair Woods.

New works by Alistair Woods and Gherdai Hassell explored cultural and historical narratives, prompting questions and encouraging us to look at the past anew. Installations by Anna FC Smith and George Gibson & Grace Collins responded directly to the gallery’s archive, Gibson & Collins inviting visitors to dialogue with the gallery, reflecting on how the past might inform its future and speculating about the next 40 years of Castlefield Gallery.

As well as working with the artists through his research process ‘Archives at Play’ curator Thomas Dukes drew many voices into ‘Archives at Play 2’, including Castlefield Gallery’s volunteers, placements,

8

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

students/learners, peers, partners and supporters, and many of the gallery’s creative communities, including those from Back on Track, Venture Arts and Castlefield Forum.

Like Dukes, the artists taking part in the ‘Archives at Play’ series approached the gallery archive as a living entity – as something not fixed, existing beyond objects, documents, and ephemera – as something existing in the very fabric of the places and spaces the gallery occupies, and within its people (staff, trustees, audiences, participants and more) – through our experiences and held in memory.

Peripheral Vision

28 April 2023 - 13 May 2023

Peripheral Vision was an exhibition of objects and records from Castlefield Gallery’s archive, curated, researched and produced by 1st year undergraduate Art History & Curating students from the Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. The students used the idea of ‘the periphery’ as a lens through which to explore the archive, seeing Castlefield Gallery as a space where artists can explore and experiment at the margins of art and society. Presented in the upper gallery space, this project took place within the ‘Archives at Play 2’ exhibition.

‘Archives at Play 2’ Public Programme

OpenTable with Corridor8

30 May 2023

Artists: Grace Collins, Enya Koster

For the second is a series of Castlefield Gallery collaborations with Corridor8, the journal for contemporary art and writing in the North, Grace Collins and Castlefield Gallery Associate Enya Koster responded to Archives at Play 2, in the form of new writing. The artists’ responses were shared with Castlefield Gallery Associates and wider attendees at an OpenTable event at the gallery. After the OpenTable, both responses were published in Corridor8, contributing to a series of texts that explore and reflect upon the gallery’s exhibition programme. A further Castlefield Gallery Associates event took a focus on the ‘Archives at Play’ process in the year.

Archiving Artist Led Activity

13 May 2023

Artists: Alistair Woods, Kwong Lee

The artists Alistair Woods and Kwong Lee share a passion for the strength and possibilities of archives – including archives generated by the sometimes-fleeting outputs of artist-led activity. In a talk chaired by curator Thomas Dukes, ideas and connections to be discovered when exploring the histories and archives of artist-led spaces, and artist-facing organisations were discussed. The event was also accompanied by a Q&A.

The Poetics of Water

25 June 2023 – 24 September 2023

Artists: Jessica El Mal and Parham Ghalamdar

9

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

The ‘Poetics of Water’ featured co-commissioned work by Jessica El Mal and Parham Ghalamdar, the development of which was motivated and informed by the effects of capitalism, corruption and colonialism on the natural environment. A shared point of reference for El Mal and her fellow exhibiting artist Ghalamdar, was contrasting attitudes towards rainfall; particularly between Manchester where regular rainfall is a common source of complaint and Morocco and Iran where droughts and water shortages are on the increase, posing environmental challenges and threat to life. Together their works invited visitors to look across landscapes, borders and centuries and to think deeply about the fundamental elements of earth (soil) and water.

The exhibition formed part of a wider programme Hybrid Futures, a pilot project that we and our partners believe has the potential to influence change in the way that museums and galleries might operate in the future.

The Hybrid Futures partners are Grundy Art Gallery (Blackpool), Touchstones (Rochdale), University of Salford Art Collection (Salford), Shezad Dawood Studios (London). Together the Hybrid Futures partners are exploring collective and more sustainable ways of working by pooling their expertise to influence how the partnership commissions, exhibits and collects new work by visual artists. The pilot has been developed as a framework to be shared with other public galleries and collections in the UK. A series of exhibitions across the North West of England are being realised for Hybrid Futures, each featuring new work and co-commissions by artists Shezad Dawood, Jessica El Mal, Parham Ghalamdar and RA Walden, and that address the urgent thematic focus of climate change and climate justice.

In 2023/24, as well as Hybrid Futures’ ‘The Poetics of Water’ exhibition launching, neon works by RA Walden (newly commissioned for the programme) and Shezad Dawood (existing and being collected as part of the programme), went on display in Blackpool as part of the town’s Lightpool Festival, Shezad’s Dawood’s new commissioned film went on display in Rochdale, accompanied by a wider solo exhibition of the artist’s work, and Hybrid Futures’ group presentation (all commissioned and exhibiting artists) launched at the end of the financial year, in Salford at Salford Museum & Art Gallery.

Hybrid Futures to date has been bolstered by a wider public programme of events, and vitally by ‘Collective Futures’ - a group of people from their local communities with a shared concern about the climate crisis and climate justice. The group have worked together across 23/24, with the Hybrid Futures partners and artists, to explore how creative production can help to shine a light on these issues and create solutions to the problems caused by the changing global environment.

Hybrid Futures will continue to deliver in 2024/25, with the programme due to close and evaluated from October – December 2024. Key to evaluation will be the work of the Hybrid Futures evaluator and the work of scientist and climate specialist Danny Chivers who has worked closely with the partners and artists throughout the pilot programme.

Poetics of Water events:

Mapping Water: A Cyanotype Workshop with Kimiā Collective

16 July 2023

Artists: Jessica El Mal with Kimiā Collective (Morocco)

This workshop invited participants to experiment with cyanotype printing to map the movements of water and engage with its ephemeral and ever-changing nature. The session started with a walk along the canals local to Castlefield Gallery, observing the movements of water and taking note of the shapes it created. Then, working outdoors, participants played with different ways of registering the movement of water on sheets of paper pre-coated with cyanotype emulsion.

10

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Winnowing Phase: Augmented reality walks with Gregory Herbert

19 August 2023

Artist: Gregory Herbert

Led by artist Gregory Herbert, participants explored what lichen in the surrounding area of Castlefield Gallery told us about the air quality of Manchester. As a map was built of what species of lichen was in the surrounding area, it became possible to explore correlating augmented reality experiences.

Taghounja Listening Party and Conversations on Sound

17 September 2023

Artists: Taghounja Listening Party and Conversations on Sound, chaired by radio producer Alexa Kruger, musician and composer SAAD ELBARAKA, musician and actor Mokhtar Hsina, and artist Jessica El Mal.

‘Taghounja’ draws out the musicality of the rain and its links between culture, spirituality and song. El Mal worked with musician Saad Elbaraka and Oud player Mokhtar Hsina to develop a sound performance and discussion event for Castlefield Gallery audiences.

Omid Asadi

15 October 2023 – 21 January 2024

Artist: Omid Asadi

The first major UK solo exhibition by Omid Asadi, the exhibition featured new large-scale sculptural work by Asadi exploring loss, memory and belonging. Resonance and Remnants (2023) was built in situ in the gallery space using reclaimed bricks from demolished houses, found objects and dandelion seeds. These broken but resilient found materials wo were set in contrast with the delicate seeds and their connotations of childhood hopes and dreams. The work is informed by Asadi’s experiences of revisiting the locations of destroyed family homes, lost to either war or so-called development.

Despite this personal inspiration behind the work, it was hoped the work would resonate with the diverse range of memories, histories and knowledge that visitors brought to the exhibition. Contrast ran through both the materials and the thinking in Asadi’s work. Throughout this exhibition, gentle and harsh materials were brought together; like fragments of the past that linger in our minds, solid, stable and enduring objects mixed with ephemeral matter, resembling the fragile nature of recollection. Asadi hoped the exhibition would be a testament to the power of human resilience, creativity, and the everlasting longing to reclaim a sense of belonging even when physical spaces have disappeared’ Asadi (2023).

Omid Asadi Solo events:

Natural Dyes and Embroidery with Jazz Prisciandaro-Wood

21 October 2023

Artist: Jazz Prisciandaro-Wood

The workshop explored how to use organic materials to create natural dyes. Participants made small fabric collages using flowers and foliage to print and dye them, and then embroider into them words we associate with the notion of home, identity and memories, themes present in both Prisciandaro-Wood’s work and Omid Asadi’s solo exhibition at the gallery. Jazz Prisciandaro-Wood is an Italian-English artist

11

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

based in Manchester, UK. Their practice uses textiles and printing to explore ideas about identity, narrative, and the therapeutic potential of creativity.

Manchester Memories

23 November 2023

Artists: Horace Lindezey, Eamonn Canniffe

A process, new work and event focused on the stories and reflection of a childhood in Manchester, and the way the city has changed and developed for the people that live here. Horace Lindezey of Venture Arts debuted a new sound work, made in collaboration with Castlefield Gallery’s Creative Producer. Through the process and work he shared his memories of growing up in Manchester and the music that has soundtracked his life. From Ancoats, The Crescent in Hulme, to his residence of almost five decades in Moss Side, the work is a homage to Horace’s parents, siblings and the people in his local community. The new sound piece has been shared online, travelled with the artist to Venice for presentation there, and was initially launched at Castlefield Gallery alongside a talk by architect and lecturer Eamonn Canniffe on Manchester’s rapid development over the past 50 years, which Horace Lindezey and Castlefield Gallery’s Creative Producer participated in.

Open Table: Omid Asadi & Katy Shahandeh in conversation

16 January 2024

For the third event forming part of a series delivered in collaboration with Corridor8, a journal for contemporary art and writing in the North, we invited academic and researcher Katy Shahandeh to produce a text responding to Castlefield Gallery’s exhibition of Omid Asadi’s work. Katy discussed her text in conversation with Omid at Castlefield Gallery. The talk drew from her new writing and wider research interests, to open up a discussion with Asadi and attendees, around the thinking behind the work in the artist’s solo exhibition.

Logical Song (Castlefield Gallery Associate’s member exhibition)

04 February 2024 – 03 March 2024

Artist: Rowland Hill

The Gallery presented ‘Logical Song’, Rowland Hill’s first major solo exhibition. Exploring the aesthetics of 1990s Eurodance music, club culture and local fairgrounds, Hill transformed the gallery into an immersive installation which was conceived as something part attraction and part exhibition. Visitors were invited to enter spaces that moved them from the private and domestic to the theatrical and communal, taking audiences on a destabilising journey through a fantasised past imbued with nostalgia to a darker, speculative future.

‘Logical Song’ also housed an adaptation of Hill’s Fluchtpunkt, an audio landscape of extreme weather sounds — a recurring metaphor for conflict and resolution in 90s dance music — which, today, takes on a stark significance. Underpinned by an ominously thudding beat, the exhibition prompted the visitors to question the dreamworld of Eurodance and its disquieting rhetoric of utopia and emergency. This exhibition was selected from proposals submitted by Castlefield Gallery Associates by guest selector curator, writer and researcher Stella Sideli and Castlefield Gallery.

Logical Song – Closing Party

01 March 2024

Artist: Rowland Hill, Kate Paul

12

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

As the exhibition launched with a party, it closed with one. The closing party, as with Logical Song’s opening, allowed for the full experience intended for audiences of ‘Logical Song’, including the addition of smoke machines and other interventions that enabled Logical Song’s full sensorial experience. Artists Rowland Hill and Kate Paul delivered a reading at the event, one of a collaboratively developed text developed for the exhibition.

40 Years of the Future: Painting

24 March 2024 – 23 June 2024

Artists: Sarah Feinmann, Tricia Gillman, John Hoyland, Jamie Kirk, Robin Megannity, Azraa Motala, Katie Tomlinson and Gary Wragg

The Gallery launched its 40 year anniversary programme with ‘40 Years of the Future: Painting’ in March 2024. The show welcomed to the gallery large abstract paintings that were either shown or were representative of work exhibited in the gallery’s first year of programming in 1984. The returning artists were Sarah Feinmann, Tricia Gillman, John Hoyland (represented by the John Hoyland Estate), and Gary Wragg. Each presented their past work alongside more recent paintings, joined by four artists based in the North West who the gallery is tipping as ‘ones to watch’: Jamie Kirk, Robin Megannity, Azraa Motala and Katie Tomlinson.

Over the last 40 years, the continued relevance of painting and the superiority of figurative to abstract work has been heavily debated. This exhibition brought together powerful examples of abstract and figurative paintings, displaying different approaches to painting. ‘40 Years of the Future: Painting’ presented works which focus on the relationship between the canvas and the body, made with freehand marks exploring movement, energy and space. Other pieces in the show drew from and incorporated elements of nature photography, diaristic fragments, computer-manipulated imagery and shapes made with laser-cut vinyl. Some of the works on display referenced the histories and traditions of painting, reframing singular ideas around representation, identity and symbolism. Wider public programme for the exhibition was programmed for delivery across the rest of the exhibition period in 24/25.

Online, off-site in the public realm

Hybrid Futures took place in 23/24 on-site at Castlefield Gallery's main premises and at partner venues in Rochdale, Blackpool and Salford.

Castlefield Gallery public and online art offers continued with Hilary Jack’s Unsettled Ground displayed on Castlefield Gallery’s main building in the Knott Mill area of Manchester City centre, Maddi Nicholson’s ‘a placed lived’ at Spinningfields, Manchester city centre, Tasha Whittle’s mural for Cornbrook underpass on the Trafford / Salford / city of Manchester border, and Sally Gilford and the University of Salford’s Art Assembly Commission Bobbins! installed on the exterior of Manchester city centre’s Piccadilly 111. Art Assembly was a finalist at Manchester Culture Awards in November 2023. Online commissions continued to be available for audiences, including those developed as part of Art Assembly and Hardeep Pandhal’s Sardonic Harmony .

New Art Spaces

Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces (NAS) is Castlefield Gallery’s estate of low-cost artist work, production, project and presentation spaces that operate through place partnerships across the Manchester City region and the Nort h-West. New Art Spaces incubate practice and share the art of our time with the public in an immediate way, including on the high street. Since the programme launched, NAS has reached into and operated from sites in the city of Manchester, and towns of Bolton, Wigan, Leigh, Rochdale,

13

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Oldham, Trafford, and Salford, as well as Warrington and Chester, supporting 1700+ artists, artist groups, artist development agencies or curatorial projects, attracting thousands of audiences.

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery operated New Art Spaces in Warrington, Wigan and Chester, however, Wigan delivery was severely impacted by works at the space following damage from flooding there. Activity at the space in the year has therefore been focused on window displays, mostly with Wigan Council, and preparational work with artists for them to once again operate from the space. In Warrington, the focus in 2023/24 has been on the development of the community of artists operating there, and window displays, including the success of ‘This will give you something to dream about’ leading to the exhibition that was due to close at the end of 22/23 being extended into 23/24, as well as with partner Culture Warrington who was successful with their ACE Place Partnership Fund application, for which Castlefield Gallery and Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces are a partner. Castlefield Gallery through its Director & Artistic Director’s role as a Director of the Contemporary Visual Arts Network in the region, also collaborated with Culture Warrington on a North West place shaping event delivered in Warrington and spotlighting culturally driven development for Warrington.

In Chester, the charity operated two spaces in the year, one led by the gallery working closely with the local authority and partners including Open Eye Gallery. The other led in collaboration with the University of Chester. A highlight for one of the Chester New Art Spaces for the year was supporting the development process and hosting a new commission by artist Fiona Banner AKA Vanity Press, at New Art Spaces: Chester, for the inaugural ‘Chester Contemporary’. Other highlights include:

New Art Spaces Chester:

Picturing High Streets – Suzanne St Clare and Chester Traders: Chester

28 July 2023 - 10 September 2023

Artist: Suzanne St Clare

For the past two and a half years, photographic artist Suzanne St Clare worked with business owners trading on the historical ‘Rows’ in Chester, as part of her Picturing High Streets commission in partnership with Open Eye Gallery. Conversation between the artists and traders focused on how these business owners came to Chester, their community, challenges, the quirkiness of independent trading and their love and passion for their beautiful, historic city. Inspired by photographers such as Daido Moriyama, Gregory Crewdson and Julia Fullerton-Batten, the traders and Suzanne worked together to create a series of stunning images that document the daily lives, stories and individuals who make up the local high street. The exhibition formed part of Picturing High Streets, a three-year project led by Photoworks which included six photographer-in-residence programmes at six high street locations across England, as well as artist mentoring, a digital nationwide mass participation project and a national touring outdoor exhibition. The high street cultural programme is the widest-reaching, community-led arts and heritage programme in the public realm that has ever been organised, led by Historic England in partnership with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. At New Art Spaces: Chester, with Open Eye Gallery, Castlefield Gallery was delighted to realise a high-profile display of large-scale portraits and the stories of the local traders on the external façade of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre.

Picturing High Streets – Ciara Leeming and The Spider Project: Chester

28 July 2023 - 10 September 2023

Artist: Ciara Leeming

In 2022, artist Ciara Leeming worked with participants from the Café 71, Spider Project organisation in Chester. The resulting works were created by people from Café 71, who took part in a series of workshops in 2022 in which they creatively reflected on their relationship with Chester. Over several months,

14

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

members used photography to observe the city with fresh eyes – and this process led to discussions about their personal experiences of the area. These ranged from seeing the Rows in Chester as a haven for young people or those wanting to escape the bustle of the high street, to memories of lockdown and feelings of alienation. Participants were also given access to photos from the Historic England Archive and invited to reinterpret them as they saw fit through the medium of collage. Spider Project, Café 71 is a community space in Chester city centre which offers creative activities and non-clinical help and support for people who are experiencing mental health challenges. The resulting work was displayed in vinyl form on the large retail windows of New Art Spaces: Chester, Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Chester.

Reclaim. Suzanne St Clare and residents of Chester: Chester

28 July 2023 - 10 September 2023

Artist: Suzanne St Clare

This exhibition explored the themes of belonging and the local community as part of the Chester Rows High Street Heritage Action Zone Cultural Programme. Working with Chester Pride, between January and March 2021 photographer Suzanne St Clare discussed experiences of lockdown and hopes for the cultural future of the city, with the Chester LGBTQ+ community. Together, they considered whether the time for retail-led regeneration had passed, and the notion of reclaiming – for the city and themselves. This collaborative response includes portraits in places of personal meaning and creative quotes inspired by their thoughts and vision for the city.

Through online sessions, St Clare supported participants to create photographic stories. Each participant shared three related contributions that expressed how they feel about their relationship with Chester. Each story includes a portrait of the participant in a place in Chester that is meaningful to them. The resulting work was displayed in vinyl form on the large retail windows of New Art Spaces: Chester, Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Chester.

Reflections at Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Chester

12 September 2023 - 03 October 2023

Artist: Ciara Leeming, Sam Ivin and Tadgh Devlin

The Covid-19 pandemic had an enormous impact on all of us, transforming the way we lived, worked and socialise. Open Eye Gallery and Cheshire West & Chester Council worked with residents and communities from across the borough to reflect on this time and preserve their thoughts for future generations in a project called Covid-19 Reflections. Artists and photographers worked with communities to capture their experiences in four themes. For the ‘lost voices’ theme, Open Eye Gallery commissioned photographers Ciara Leeming, Swas Ivin and Tadgh Devlin to work with groups whose stories were seldom heard. The resulting work was displayed in vinyl form on the large retail windows of New Art Spaces: Chester, Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Chester.

Artist Development

Over 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery continued to double down on its efforts to enhance connectivity across all programme areas including exhibitions, commissions, artist development, public programme, audience development and communications. The Charity’s commitment to Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Environmental sustainability, also sat at the heart of its activities. Our approach to Castlefield Gallery Artist Sustainability Spotlight pieces demonstrates this, as do many other activities developed and delivered in the year.

15

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Salford Scholars & Manchester School of Art Mentees 2023/24

In partnership with the University of Salford Art Collection, and studios Islington Mill, Paradise Works and Hot Bed Press, Salford Scholars continued in the year. Salford Scholars (graduate scholarship scheme), like Manchester School of Mentees which Castlefield Gallery also delivered in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, supports arts graduates with skills, knowledge, experience, practice and career development in their first 12-18 months after graduation. This is the period in which arts graduates are most likely to feel that the potential of a creative career is out of reach, and thus walk away from the possibility.

Both schemes coalesce around a programme of career, and professional development sessions with local and national sector specialists and leaders in the field, 1-2-1s and studio visits, including with Castlefield Gallery Director & Artistic Director, Curator & Deputy Director; national research trips to other notable scenes for the visual arts in the UK, artist coaching, specialist mentoring brokered by but external to Castlefield Gallery, with national and international specialists, Castlefield Gallery Associates membership, as well as paid for studios and bursary for 12months.

In 2023/24 – 2024/25 Salford Scholars marks 10 years. To commence a year-long anniversary celebration, the University of Salford Art Collection and Castlefield Gallery showcased work by several past and current Salford Scholars at The Manchester Contemporary Art Fair in November 2023.

Castlefield Gallery Associates

Castlefield Gallery Associates is the charity’s part-subsidised scheme for artists, writers and independent creatives working with the contemporary visual arts. The scheme provides members with information, skills, opportunities, resources, promotion and critical dialogue. Castlefield Gallery Associates acts as a hub, bringing together creative practitioners, facilitating critical exchange and engagement with members’ work and strengthening the visual arts ecology of the North West of England and beyond. The programme offers a range of benefits and delivers monthly in-person and online events (breaking in Aug and Dec) devised in response to our wider gallery programme and reflect the needs, requests and interests of the artists and creatives who form Castlefield Gallery Associates.

During 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery Associates operated at an average of 250-300 artist and creative independent members across the year. Most Associates continue to live and work in Greater Manchester and the North West, some nationally and internationally. In the year, due to funding from Manchester City Council and Haworth Trust, the charity awarded thirty fully funded Associates membership awards to artists and creatives who applied for the fully funded 12month awards in line with specific criteria, including identifying as being currently on a low income, or from a low socio-economic background, as well as identifying as either being disabled or with a long-term health condition, being from the Global Majority, being neurodiverse.

Castlefield Gallery staff, Director & Artistic Director as well as the Curator & Deputy Director, delivered monthly 1-2-1s with Associates over the 23/24 financial year.

Castlefield Gallery Associates monthly events in 23/24 included:

Ashok Mistry // Being The Polemic

22 April 2023

The artist invited Castlefield Gallery Associates to join him in a workshop that explored new ways of creating meaning beyond our assumptions and the conventions of creating exhibitions. Responding to the

16

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

gallery exhibition ‘Archives at Play 2’. Together, participants interrogated how the role of the curator can be viewed as either a gatekeeper, interpreter or ultimate authority, before looking at ways of allowing art objects to reassert their own authority through the process of ‘interrogative seeing’. Through conversation, hands-on exercises, play, and a dissection of the curatorial process, the workshop considered the importance of playing with polemical approaches to unpack conventional narratives and present new meanings.

Writing an Access Doc

02 May 2023

Ellie Page is a freelance artist, producer, facilitator, and activist based in Manchester. She is an experienced youth worker and mental health practitioner. However, she had to step down from her Social Work practice due to worsening health conditions and mobility difficulties. This led to a successful freelance career, which she continued alongside her other work. She worked enthusiastically as the Project Coordinator of the UK Disability Arts Alliance during the pandemic and was a co-founding Director of TRIAD³, a virtual art studio with two fellow disabled artists. Ellie managed the North West Hub for Outside In, working with artists who faced significant barriers to the art world and continued to work as a freelance writer and arts producer. Ellie supported attending Associates to understand how to go about and produce access documents to support their working lives and in particular working with others eg. arts and cultural organisations.

The Alternative School of Economics – Talk and workshop

19 June 2023

Ruth Beale and Amy Feneck introduced their socially engaged collaboration, ‘The Alternative School of Economics’, through a short artists’ talk about their current and ongoing projects. They then led a workshop with attendees that drew on research Amy and Ruth had been conducting with union members in Manchester, including sound, mapping, and experimental writing, as part of a commission for The Whitworth’s summer exhibition ‘Economics the Blockbuster’.

Fundraising 101: First Steps | Led by Alisha Kadri and Helen Wewiora

25 July 2023

A blended event exploring all things fundraising with Alisha Kadri, consultant, Head of Business Development & Membership at One Dance UK and Castlefield Gallery Vice-Chair, and Helen Wewiora, Castlefield Gallery’s Director and Artistic Director. The session covered fundraising from a broad perspective whilst also included top tips and important considerations for fundraising and growing the sustainability of both practice and careers.

Show See Say with Will Marshall

26 September 2023

In this session, Associates were invited to present new and existing work to a supportive group of peers, providing an opportunity to gain critical feedback and test ideas. Additionally, the session was facilitated by an external guest, independent curator Will Marshall, who brought their expertise and knowledge to the discussion. It was an excellent opportunity for members to kick around new ideas and works in progress in an informal conversational setting while gaining detailed and constructive feedback from peers. Attendees were invited to present and contribute to the discussion. There were additional places for those who did not wish to present but wanted to join the conversation. The session took place when Castlefield Gallery’s exhibition space was in changeover from one exhibition to another. This created the opportunity for attendees to use the gallery floor space and wall space to bring along larger work, project a film, and more.

17

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Initiating socially engaged projects with Suzanne St Clare

24 October 2023

Following activity at Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Chester, Suzanne St Clare’s ‘Reclaim’ and ‘Picturing High Streets’, photographic artist St Clare led an online talk for Associates, focused on her practice. As well as discussing some of her recent work, Suzanne shared her experiences and thus some ‘know-how’ regarding initiating and developing socially engaged projects.

Preparing and Installing Artwork for Exhibition with Matthew Bamber and Matthew Pendergast

28 November 2023

To celebrate the launch of a new series of video guides exclusively available for Castlefield Gallery Associates, artist and technician Matthew Bamber (Whitworth) and Castlefield Gallery Curator & Deputy Director Matthew Pendergast were joined for an online event by Associates for an event that provided tips and advice on preparing artworks for exhibition. Matthew and Matthew shared their expertise on effectively preparing and installing artworks for exhibitions. They offered broader advice on the practicalities of working with galleries, before delving into the topics of the video series further; framing, hanging, and packing artworks. The session included a short Q&A where attendees were encouraged to bring any practical and logistical queries they had.

Winter Gathering featuring a workshop with Maisie Pritchard

12 December 2023

Castlefield Gallery Associates were invited to join the gallery to celebrate a fantastic year and look ahead to new things to come. In addition to the opportunity to bring our community together, artist Maisie Pritchard led a collaborative workshop during the evening. Maisie’s workshops explore the intersections between artistic production, design, and play, producing objects that sit somewhere between sculpture and functional or decorative design. Through the action of throwing, sticking and moulding, a collaborative work slowly appeared throughout the evening.

Funding for Artists and Independent Creatives

27 February 2024

Helen Wewiora, Castlefield Gallery’s Director and Artistic Director, and Maria Percival, Relationship Manager: Visual Arts, Arts Council England, were joined by Associates for a blended event, to take a deep dive into Arts Council England’s funding programme, Developing Your Creative Practice, designed to support creative practitioners who want to dedicate a focused period to their creative development. The session included top tips and important considerations for those wishing to make an application, as well as touching on other sources of support and increasing the sustainability of an artistic practice and career.

Castlefield Gallery Associates Crits

26 March 2024

Castlefield Gallery invited Associates to participate in group crit that would make use of two different approaches: Critical Response Process and Rose Thorn Bud . Both approaches have a different flavour, and through the session, members were able to explore when each might be useful to them. The session was led by artist Jane Lawson. Through the supportive structure of its four core steps, the Critical Response Process combines the power of questions with the focus and challenge of informed dialogue, offering makers an active role in the critique of their own work. The Critical Response Process instils ways of thinking, communicating and being that can be invaluable for creative practice.

18

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Artist Development & Environmental Responsibility

As well as working with artists around environmental responsibility through the gallery’s exhibitions and commissioning programme, Castlefield Gallery drives commitment to and engagement with climate change and justice, and environmental responsibility, through its artist development-centred activities. SUSTAIN was a two-year Castlefield Gallery and Aarhus Center for Visual Art programme of professional development and artist exchange focused on developing low-carbon and ecologically aware ways of producing and experiencing art. Contemporary visual artists living and/or working in Greater Manchester and the Aarhus region could apply for two opportunities:

Opportunity 1: SUSTAIN Artist Digital Exchange

Opportunity 2: SUSTAIN Slow Culture Residency Exchange

In 2023/24 the programme concluded and was evaluated. Immediate SUSTAIN legacies were delivered, including ‘Digital Decarb’, a blended event that convened local, national and international creative practitioners engaged in action on digital decarbonisation.

A primary legacy of SUSTAIN is:

SPARK Artists Network

SPARK is for artists who want to intervene in the trajectory towards climate breakdown.

Castlefield Gallery established the SPARK Artists Network, initiated by Castlefield Gallery’s Artist Sustainability Lead and with the intention of seeding a Greater Manchester/ North West based network of ‘Low Carbon Artists’. Importantly, the network was designed to enable the network artists, especially as the group grows, to self-programme, with the gallery providing administration and communications support. There were 8 SPARK sessions delivered during the year 2023/24. Network sessions are programmed and organised, so they are nomadic, roaming about Greater Manchester and the North West of England. In summary, they were:

SPARK 10 Artist Steve Sutton (prior Castlefield Gallery bOlder) hosted an optional canal walk and talk outside the Timperley Metro station (Trafford), focusing on the value and importance of trees and included a short introduction of his own work with the trees. AIR curators Alan Baker and Becky Wild gave a short tour of the AIR gallery exhibition and explored how contemporary artists are embracing new technological advances.

SPARK 11 Held at Paradise Works (Salford), facilitated by Chris Alton, SPARK artists visited Alton’s exhibition ‘Tied to Everything Else’, and discussed the role that language plays in shaping our perception of the world, particularly with regard to the climate crisis. The session also addressed other phenomena to which the climate crisis is tied, including Britain’s colonial history, neoliberal capitalism, tax avoidance, nuclear infrastructure, deluge myths, extreme weather, extinction, and migration, amongst others.

SPARK 12 Held at Editional Studio run by architects Jo Sharples and Jack Richards in Chorlton (city of Manchester), this session included a tour of exhibition models, material samples, posters and guides that outlined how we can reduce the environmental impact of the buildings that we live and work in, and the creative potential of how it might be done. The group considered how artist spaces could be upgraded to improve their energy efficiency and keep us warm and healthy.

SPARK 13 Took place at Cadishead and Little Woolden Moss (Salford), and was facilitated by artist Louise Clarke, focussed on lowland peat and the restoration work being done at Casdishad and Little Woolden Moss.

SPARK 14 Took place at Gallery Oldham, and was facilitated by artist Ruth Moilliet. Attendees viewed the gallery’s exhibition, and this was followed by a talk with Patricia Francis who discussed the Natural

19

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

History links in the exhibition and how it links to environmental issues, referencing the breadth of the Natural History collection at Gallery Oldham and her work with artists.

SPARK 15 Attendees gathered at Oxford Road Station and at John Rylands Library. The session was facilitated by lens-based artists Sara Davies and Helena Lee and was focussed on photographic collections at the library with links to landscape and the environment. On the walk from the train station to the library, participants collected found objects for use in an Anthotype workshop.

SPARK 16 SPARK artists gathered at Hest Bank (Lancashire, near Morcombe and Carnforth). The day was hosted by artists Sam Pickett and Debbie Yare, the group focusing their time on the pebble shore and sensitively exploring what is a dynamic, ever-changing coastal environment, one featuring saltmarsh, mudflats, the River Keer channel, and a historic wharf. The session considered the relationship between organic and inorganic materials and the idea that matter could contain memory or energy, a principal theory within contemporary ontologies such as vital matter and morphogenetic making.

SPARK 18 Took place at Rogue Project Space, facilitated by the invited speakers Rebecca Chesney, Liz Postlethwaite and Debbie Yare. The session explored the exhibition, ‘Artist’s Interventions in a Time of Crisis’ developed by members of the SPARK Artists Network. The exhibition aimed to engender conversation and collaboration and foster the cross-pollination of ideas.

Residencies

Energy House 2 Residencies

Castlefield Gallery, with the University of Salford Art Collection, Open Eye Gallery and Energy House 2 at the University of Salford, with support from the Friends of Energy House, launched an open call and appointed two artists to undertake 18month residencies with Energy House 2, producing new work. The appointed artists are Emily Speed and Mishka Henner. A series of events and presentations at the end of 2023/24, leading into 2024/25 are acting as trailblazers ahead of the process leading to an exhibition with both artists at Castlefield Gallery in 2025/26.

Castlefield Gallery’s role in the regional Contemporary Visual Arts Network contributed to a development day in Leigh with the Turnpike, that brought together artists engaged in acting on climate change, alongside nature experts from the region and beyond.

Ageing In Place Micro-Residencies

Artists: Christopher Rainham, Claire Hignett, Julia Griffin, Ian Vines, Mei Yuk Wong, Marguerite Heywood and Sam Owen Hull.

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery, in collaboration with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, developed The Ageing in Place Micro-Residency project. Inspired by GMCA’s Ageing in Place initiative, the project consisted of seven artists being placed in eight boroughs of Greater Manchester to create workshops with older local residents that sought to explore the questions, “What’s it like to live here?” and “How can we make it better?”

The project was open to artists who had previously been members of the Castlefield Gallery bOlder development programme, aimed at artists over the age of 50, in addition to any other artists that the gallery had previously worked with who also fell into that category. We had seven amazing artists take part in the project – Christopher Rainham, Claire Hignett, Julia Griffin, Ian Vines, Mei Yuk Wong, Marguerite Heywood and Sam Owen Hull. Each artist was paired with a Pathfinder Partner in their

20

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

respective boroughs and got to work on creating collaborative, inspiring and engaging workshops with the older residents.

The residencies had no required end goal, rather they aimed to get the older residents to share their lived experiences of ageing in their local community, through creative and accessible means. The workshops ranged from poetry writing to origami, painting, drawing and clay sculpting – and some resulted in beautiful, permanent works of art made in collaboration with the residents themselves.

Manchester Open and Manchester Open Awardees

2023/24 saw the return of a major call for submissions to HOME’s Manchester Open. Castlefield Gallery once again was a selector for the Open, which attracts on average around 2000 entries and presents around 400 works every two years submitted by the public, from across Greater Manchester.

The exhibition launched in the last quarter of 2023/24 and Castlefield Gallery selected three awardees for it to work with through an artist development programme to be shaped around the awardees in 24/25. The awardees are Kay Shah, Naomi Harwin, Rowland Hill.

Wider Creative Community Engagement

CHAORDIC

CHAORDIC is a radical new partnership, led by Portraits of Recovery, with Castlefield Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth.

Through three art commissions, CHAORDIC aims to test and explore how deepened access to and participation in the arts can help re-frame addiction and recovery identities.

For the Portraits of Recovery and Castlefield Gallery commission, the gallery is working in collaboration with the ANEW Recovery Community. Over 2023/24, continuing into 24/25, Castlefield Gallery and ANEW, with Portraits of Recovery, have been exploring the vibrant arts scene across the North West, laying the groundwork for the appointment of an artist in residence with ANEW in early 2025, the residency leading to co-developed and produced new work to be exhibited at Castlefield Gallery in the summer of 2025.

As part of the residency, the artist will engage with the recovery community, observe service processes, and offer critical reflections that will shape the final exhibition. The process is about more than an artistic endeavour alone—it’s a chance for mutual learning and growth among artists, community members, and service providers. The exhibition will offer the public an opportunity to engage with narratives that challenge stereotypes and embrace a holistic view of recovery. The intention is for newly commissioned work to not only resonate with art enthusiasts but also provoke meaningful conversations about substance use and recovery. In 2023/24 CHAORDIC partners and their teams began specialist training to work with recovery communities.

21

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Financial review

At year end 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery net assets were £481,042. Of this total, £220,821 are restricted funds in the form of net assets (mainly premises), £7,508 are restricted current asset funds, £129,341 are designated current assets, and £123,383 are classed as unrestricted funds forming the Castlefield Gallery’s general funds - the charity’s free reserves. Total cash income for the year was £269,874. Total Donated Services income in the year was £338,227.

Under our charitable activities, cash donations for the year have been £60,777, generated through New Art Spaces corporate donations, individual regular giving, and one-off giving.

Castlefield Gallery generated £65,431 in earned income under charitable activities. Over 2023/24 this income is formed of consultancy and membership income, as well as other income in the form of project partnership contributions. Income from other trading activities in 2023/24 was £31,255, made of mixedincome related to New Art Spaces rates contributions that fell in 2023/24, art and book sales, fees, and rents.

The financial year achieved £90,910 in public funding combined, in the form of the charity’s Arts Council England annual NPO award and, continued annual public funding from Manchester City Council’s Cultural Partner fund. In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery secured a total £21,500 in Trust and Foundation awards, from Art Fund, Howarth Trust, and the Brian Mercer Trust.

In 2023/24 cash income included 23% generated from cash donations, 8% Trusts & Foundation awards, 33% public grant funding (Arts Council England NPO formed c.25% of annual cash income and Manchester City Council Cultural Partnership funding c.7%), 24% in earned income secured via charitable activities and 12% in other earned income. The organisation’s 2023/24 income profile reflects the charity’s postpandemic and Brexit operating context.

At 31 March 2024, Castlefield Gallery carries forward £123,383 in unrestricted funds, £129,341 designated funds, £7,508 restricted current assets. This met our reserves policy target on free reserves, which is to hold a minimum £95,000 free reserves, and an optimum target of £234,000. At the time of writing this report (September 2024), the finances of Castlefield Gallery are secure, and the trustees remain confident that the organisation will continue to operate for the foreseeable future.

Reserves policy

The Castlefield Gallery Reserves Policy is designed to be an emergency contingency fund but also builds in targets for gaining reserves to mitigate against fluctuations in public and private income for future years, as well as focus on continued operation as opposed to purely meeting its immediate liabilities. Castlefield Gallery’s development of designated funds supports a dynamic approach to the charity’s reserves.

The Castlefield Gallery Reserves Policy is set as:

-Retain a minimum 95k of c.4months liquid funds essential operating & to meet liabilities, including redundancies. This figure is based on the organisation’s financial commitments, namely staff notices, redundancies, overheads and committed contract costs should the organisation face a crisis where it needs to close.

-Grow free reserves to an optimum target of 234k, applied on the same basis, but at 8 months to enable some continuity that might bridge a gap and allow time to find solutions for future trading for the charity should ACE, MCC or other major or mix of income streams fail within one financial year.

22

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

-To have operated designated funds in 2023/24 including for, but not limited to, Castlefield Gallery’s main fixed asset, its premises - HQ & Galleries in Manchester city centre - at year-end the charity held £80,000 in this fund; expend a balance of designated funds of £24,589 to support organisational development, specifically a new and accessible website, transferring any balance of this fund back to free reserves at the year-end; £15,466 New Art Spaces Contingency Fund. At year-end the charity held £129,341, in designated funds.

The charity ended the 2023/24 year holding £123,383 of free reserves.

Structure, governance and management

Directors and trustees

The organisation is governed by a Board of directors who are also its trustees. The directors who served during the year are listed on page one of the annual report. The directors are appointed by members in general meetings. The Board may appoint directors to fill casual vacancies, but they only hold office until the next Annual General Meeting. The Board of Directors meet at least 4 times a year to review strategy, policy, operational plans, budget and finance control, and risk management, and once a year for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Trustee selection methods

The board aims to have members that cover a diverse range of skills, experience and knowledge to effectively govern the non-profit company and charity. It reviews its skills pool at Board meetings and when gaps are identified.

Board Directors recruit potential new members by one of two approaches, a) by unsolicited applications, including through open recruitment drives, and b) by Board Directors suggesting potential candidates. Agreed candidates are invited to apply and/or meet/interview (depending on the route taken) with existing directors, then to a Board meeting as observers so they can meet and discuss their potential role with the current members. If agreed by the current members (in the absence of the candidate) and the candidate wishes to proceed with becoming a member, they are invited to join the Board and are subsequently co-opted at the next Board meeting.

In accordance with our Articles, co-opted Board directors retire at the AGM and are eligible for re-election at that meeting.

According to clause 24 of Castlefield Gallery’s Articles, a third or the number nearest to one third of the Board of Directors shall retire at each AGM, with those being eligible being able to stand again.

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, first incorporated on 3 August 1984 and registered as a charity on 26 September 1984. The company was established under a memorandum of association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its articles of association.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity. All directors give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 9 to the accounts. The total number of such guarantees on 31 March 2024 was 9 (2023:12).

23

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

The gallery holds a 150-year leasehold with 355 Deansgate Management Limited dated from 1 January 2001, without charge - the Arts Council England charge period having ended in August 2021. Castlefield Gallery is a Company Director of 355 Deansgate Management Limited, a company of which it also holds a £37 investment. 355 Deansgate Management Limited owns the freehold for 355 Deansgate in entirety. The gallery main premises (HQ and main galleries) and registered address is 2 Hewitt Street, Manchester M15 4GB. 355 Deansgate Management Limited Mem&Arts assert that a minimum of two company Directors must be always in place. At the time of writing leaseholder of flat 1 located above the gallery premises is the other Company Director of 355 Deansgate Management Ltd.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

Castlefield Gallery relationship to 355 Deansgate Management Ltd is described above. The charity is regularly funded as a Cultural Partner of Manchester City Council and a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England, both funders having continued funding for Castlefield Gallery in 2023/24, the current funding periods with both Manchester City Council and Arts Council England being 2023/24 – 2025/26. With both funding streams come terms, conditions and expectations that grantees will deliver against the funders’ strategic aims. Castlefield Gallery is the recipient of year-to-year other public funding, support from Trusts & Foundations, and donations to support both projects and core activity. Other public funding and Trust & Foundation expectations of awardees and grant/award conditions broadly are more specific to the applied activities.

Castlefield Gallery, represented by its Director & Artistic Director is Director and Co-Chair of the Contemporary Visual Arts Network, North West. The Director & Artistic Director is one of four Directors and Chairs. Liverpool Biennial and Open Eye Gallery are also represented on the network through the same leadership roles. Castlefield Gallery’s Director & Artistic Director also represents the organisation on the Oxford Road Corridor’s’ ‘Cultural Corridor’ group.

Whilst not limited to, Castlefield Gallery has strategic partnerships in place with Manchester School of Art and the University of Salford / University of Salford Art Collection (UoSAC) to deliver annual practice, skills and career development activities for students and graduates. Activity with the University of Salford Art Collection in this regard, ‘Salford Scholars’, is also undertaken in collaboration with artist studios Hot Bed Press, Islington Mill, and Paradise Works. 2023/24 marked 10 years of ‘Salford Scholars’. With the UoSAC, Castlefield Gallery also co-develops and delivers exhibitions and commissioning to collect projects, and national and international activities, including artist exchanges, artist residencies, microcommissioning and more. In 23/24 the gallery, UoSAC, Open Eye Gallery and Energy House 2 (EH2) at the University of Salford, commenced the first year of 18–24-month artist residencies with EH2. In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery and Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University continued work with a Collaborative Doctorate Award post.

Since 2020 Castlefield Gallery has been working in collaboration with the University of Sheffield’s Creative Lives since the year 2020/21, receiving an award from the university recognising the quality and impact of the charity’s work around Creative Ageing. The gallery continued to engage with this programme in 23/24. Since 2019, and across 2023/24, Castlefield Gallery has worked in collaboration with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on Creative Ageing activity. In 2023/24 this coalesced around Greater Manchester Ageing in Place Micro-Residencies. Inspired by GMCA’s Ageing in Place initiative, the project consisted of seven artists aged 50+ years placed in eight boroughs of Greater Manchester with local pathfinders, co-creating with ageing communities.

24

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Castlefield Gallery has an ongoing working relationship with Creative Industries Trafford to annually deliver artist skills and career development projects designed to benefit artists and independent creatives living and working in Greater Manchester. This is also true of HOME, specifically regarding HOME’s Manchester Open and its awards programme for artists. In the year Castlefield Gallery continued to hold a multi-year strategic partnership with Venture Arts and Aarhus Center for Visual Art.

In 23/24 the charity’s time-bound multi-year cross-regional and national Hybrid Futures partnership with the University of Salford Art Collection, the Grundy Art Gallery (Blackpool), Touchstones (Rochdale), and Shezad Dawood Studios (London) continued, this extending to a new partner Salford Museum & Art Gallery. In 2023/24 the charity entered into a time-bound cross-city programme partnership with Portraits of Recovery, Manchester Art Gallery, Whitworth, and ANEW (recovery and homelessness service).

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery’s New Art Spaces: Wigan continued. Due to building works at the space in the year, partner activities were reduced, however, the charity’s relationship in Wigan with Wigan Council continued. Castlefield Gallery’s New Art Spaces: Warrington also continued in the year, partnership activity with Warrington Borough Council – specifically Culture Warrington and Warrington Museum & Art Gallery further developed, including extending to delivery with Warrington & Vale Royal College. Castlefield Gallery grew activity in 2023/24 at New Art Spaces: Chester, in collaboration with Cheshire West & Chester Council, the University of Chester, and the inaugural Chester Contemporary. Cheshire West & Chester Council, and Chester Contemporary.

In 2023/24 Castlefield Gallery was pleased to be able to work with the John Hoyland Estate and become an active member of the Gallery Climate Coalition.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

Bringing staff remuneration fully in line with sector standards, considering the scale and reach of the charity’s activities, is an aim that requires ongoing work, especially as we look ahead and in a challenging operating context (ongoing cost-of-living crisis, post-pandemic and post-Brexit). This work continued in 2023/24 including staff annual % increases.

Management personnel are two - the Director & Artistic Director and the Curator & Deputy Director. They are both full-time posts and their combined remuneration in 23/24 was £58,140.01 per annum.

Risk management

The Board is responsible for managing the risks of the organisation. Risk is reviewed through Board meetings, with processes put in place to mitigate identified risks. The controls that the Board uses are:

• Comprehensive papers and carefully set agendas generated, presented and used to guide each Director and Trustee meeting, especially for monitoring and assessing risk (four per year, one for each financial quarter), and one Annual General Meeting.

• Comprehensive strategic planning, supported by and monitored via the Castlefield Gallery Business Plan which holds the company risk register, and the Castlefield Gallery Business Strategy.

• Comprehensive set of policies, including but not limited to the charity’s: Reserves Policy; Data Protection Policy (this covers matters related to GDPR); Health & Safety Policy; Equality Opportunities Policy; Child & Vulnerable Adults Protection Policies; Environmental & Sustainability Policy and Action Plan; Extremism Policy; Financial Policy and Procedures. Policies are regularly reviewed and updated annually, as applicable they are shared with staff, Trustees, and placements.

25

Castlefield Gallery

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of Castlefield Gallery for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP

• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

• State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on 20/ 11/ 2024 and signed on their behalf by

Alisha Kadri

Co-Chair

26

Independent examiner’s report

to the members of

Castlefield Gallery

I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 which are set out on pages 28 to 48.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since the company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Jennifer Daniel FCCA DChA Slade & Cooper Limited Beehive Mill, Jersey Street Manchester, M4 6JG

Date 11/ 12/ 2024

27

Castlefield Gallery Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2024 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds 2024 Total fund5 2023 Note Income from: Donation5 and legacies 399,004 399,004 383,933 Charitable activities: 165,508 12,333 177,841 200,217 Other trading activities 31,255 31,255 77,997 Investments 321 Total income 595,768 12,333 608,101 662,468 Expenditure on: Charitable activities: 632,470 67,737 700,207 787,554 Total expenditure 632,470 67,737 700,207 787,554 Net income/(expenditure) before net gains/(losses) on investments (36,702) (55,404) (92,106) (125,086) Net income/(expenditure) for the year (36,702) {55,404) {92,106) (125,086) Transfer between funds (3,141) 3,141 Net movement in funds for the year (39,843) {52,263) {92,106) (125,086) Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward 292,567 280,581 573,148 698,234 Total funds carried forward 252,724 228,318 481,042 573,148 The statement of fi nancial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. Prior year SOFA is shown on the last page. 28

Castlefield Gallery Company number 01838334

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 14 220,812 238,508
Investments 15 37 37
Total fixed assets 220,849 238,545
Current assets
Debtors 16 18,625 42,180
Cash at bank and in hand 17 258,796 312,726
Total current assets 277,421 354,906
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year 18 (17,228) (20,303)
Net current assets 260,193 334,603
Total assets less current liabilities 481,042 573,148
Net assets 481,042 573,148
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds 19 228,318 280,581
Unrestricted income funds 20 252,724 292,567
Total charity funds 481,042 573,148
----- End of picture text -----

For the year in question, the company was entitled to exemption from an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

• The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476,

• The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

The notes on pages 31 to 48 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the trustees on 20/ 11/ 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Alisha Kadri (Co-Chair)

29

Castlefield Gallery Statement of Cash Flows for the year ending 31 March 2024 Note 2024 2023 Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities 22 {53,931) (68,600) Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year (53,930) (68,279) Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 312,726 381,005 Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 258,796 312,726 30

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 Accounting policies The principal accounting policies adopted, judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows: a Basis of preparation The financial statements have been prepared 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), second edition October 2019 (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Castlefield Gallery meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note. b Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees have made no key judgments which have a significant effect on the accounts. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period. c Income Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Income from government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliablv and is not deferred. For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either.. the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor{s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, 15 only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have nntr hoon motr trhan trha l<n2rii ic 2 trr<2tr<*A rnntrinnantr Jccatr AicrlncoA if m2troriJl Income received in advance of a provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met. 31

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) O Donated services and facilities Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the trustees, annual report for more information about their contribution. On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market. a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt. P Interest receivable Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charityi this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank. Q Fund accounting Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity. R Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred. S Tangible fixed assets Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows: Asset Category Leasehold building Leasehold improvements Computer equipment Annual rate 20/0 40/0 200/0 32

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) T Fixed asset investments Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. The statement of financial activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year. The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments. The main form of financial risk faced by the charity is that of volatility in equity markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in sentiment concerning equities and within particular sectors or sub T Debtors Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. U Cash at bank and in hand Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. V Creditors and provisions Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due. W Pensions Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution 'money purchase, scheme. The charity's contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 8. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end. 33

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Legal status of the charity The charity is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The registered office address is disclosed on page l. Income from donations and legacies Current reporting period Unrestricted Restricted Total 2024 Donations Donated services 60,777 338,227 60,777 338,227 Total 399,004 399,004 Previous reporting period Unrestricted Restricted Total 2023 Donations Legacies Donated services 77,963 77,963 305,970 305,970 Total 383,933 383,933 34

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Income from charitable activities Current reporting period Unrestricted Restricted Total 2024 Arts Council of England Manchester City Council Consultancy Membership Miscellaneous Other Grants Other income 71,288 19,622 18,670 10,930 450 15,000 29,548 71,288 19,622 18,956 10,930 450 21,500 35,095 286 6,500 5,547 Total 165,508 12,333 177,841 Previous reporting period Unrestricted Restricted Total 2023 Arts Council of England Manchester City Council Consultancy Membership Miscellaneous other Grants Other income 71,288 10,000 12,708 11,480 205 10,000 44,385 71,288 10,000 31,708 11,480 205 31,151 44,385 19,000 21,151 Total 160,066 40,151 200,217 35

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Income from other trading activities 2024 2023 Art and book sales Rents Other Trading Income 2,011 1,438 1,025 75,534 29,244 31,255 77, 997 All income from other trading activities is unrestricted. Investment income 2024 2023 Income from bank deposits 321 321 36

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities Current reporting period Total 2024 Staff costs Premises costs Administrative costs Project costs Depreciation Governance costs (see note 8) 172,405 43,518 54,930 408,872 17,696 2,786 700,207 Previous reporting period Total 2023 Staff costs Premises costs Administrative costs Project costs Depreciation Governance costs (see note 8) 188,156 105,720 50,676 423,566 17,696 1,740 787,554 2024 2023 Restricted expenditure Unrestricted expenditure 67,737 632,470 111,897 675,657 700,207 787,554 37

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Analysis of governance and support costs Current reporting period Basis of apportionment Governance Total 2024 Accountancy and independent examination Legal and professional Other governance Governance Governance Governance 1,985 1,985 801 801 2,786 2,786 Previous reporting period Basis of apportionment Governance Total 2023 Accountancy and independent examination Governance 1,740 1,740 1,740 1,740 Net income/(expenditure) for the year This is stated after charging/(crediting)'. 2024 2023 Depreciation Independent examiner's remuneration Independent examination Accountancy Payroll and consultancy 17,696 17,696 335 1,650 560 320 1,570 1,025 38

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 10 Staff costs Staff costs during the year were as follows: 2024 2023 Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs 162,140 7,272 2,993 177, 355 7,882 2,919 172,405 188,156 No employees has employee benefits in excess of £60,000 (2023: No). The average number of staff employed during the period was 7 (2023: 8). The average full time equivalent number of staff employed during the period was 5.4 (2023: 6). The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees, Director & Artistic Director, and Curator & Deputy Director. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £58,140 (2023: £57,000). 11 Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions One member of the management committee received a total of £150 remuneration during the year, for providing mentoring for artists engaged in the charity's artist development programmes. Castlefield Gallery Trustees are experts in their fields, including artist development (2023.. two members received a total of £1,050). No (2023:No) members of the management committee received travel and subsistence expenses during the year (2023:£Nil). Aggregate donations from related parties were £1,098 (2023.. £960). There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties. No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the year (2023: No). 39

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 12 Government grants The government grants recognised in the accounts were as follows: 2024 2023 Arts Council of England Manchester City Council Greater Manchester Combined Authority 71,288 19,622 71,288 10,000 90,910 81,288 There were no unfulfilled conditions and contingencies attaching to the grants. 13 Corporation tax The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the charity. 14 Fixed assets: tangible assets Leasehold building Leasehold improvements Equipment Total Cost At l April 2023 Additions Disposals 319,579 282,625 41,570 643,774 At 31 March 2024 319,579 282,625 41,570 643,774 Depreciation At l April 2023 Charge for the year Disposals 138,224 6,391 225,472 11,305 41,570 405,266 17,696 At 31 March 2024 144,615 236,777 41,570 422,962 Net book value At 31 March 2024 174,964 45,848 220,812 At 31 March 2023 181,355 57,153 238,508 40

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 15 Investments 2024 2023 Market value at the start of the year 37 37 Market value at the end of the year 37 37 Investments at fair value comprised.. Unlisted shares 37 37 37 37 Investments are all carried at fair value and are all traded in quoted public markets. 16 Debtors 2024 2023 Trade debtors other debtors Prepayments VAT 1,152 13,338 2,619 1,516 28,860 11,184 2,136 18,625 42,180 17 Cash at bank and in hand 2024 2023 Cash at bank and on hand 258,796 312, 726 258,796 312, 726 41

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 18 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 2024 2023 Accruals other creditors and accruals Taxation and social security costs 11,518 3,504 2,206 13,579 3,060 3,664 17,228 20,303 19 Analysis of movements in restricted funds Current reporting period t5aiance at l April 2023 t5aiance ar 31 March 2024 Income Expenditure Transfers Gallery premises Consultancy Project A Allied London Consultancy Project B Ageing in Place Micro Residencies Exhibition A - Hybrid Futures 238,506 (17,696) 220,810 595 (129) 466 15,636 (11,632) (4,004) 20,914 4,439 (25,353) Exhibition F 6,500 (8,840) 7,000 4,660 Talent Project B SUSTAIN Talent Project E GM Creative Ageing Talent Project F PIVOT Talent Project G bolder 2 2,129 1,108 (3,237) 2,382 2,382 850 (850) (431) 286 145 Total 280,581 12,333 (67,737) 3,141 228,318 42

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 19 Analysis of movements in restricted funds(continued) Previous reporting Balance at period l April 2022 Balance at 31 March 2023 Income Expenditure Transfers Gallery premises Consultancy Project A Allied London Consultancy Project B Ageing in Place Micro Residencies Exhibition A - Hybrid Futures 256,200 (17,694) 238,506 725 (130) 595 19,000 (3,364) (9, 686) 15,636 20,914 30,600 Special Project B - Art Fund Art Assembly Talent Project B SUSTAIN Talent Project E GM Creative Ageing Talent Project F PIVOT Talent Project G bolder 2 33,743 11,000 (47,443) 2, 700 15,031 2,500 (16,779) 1,377 2,129 2,400 (18) 2,382 12,260 (8, 701) (2, 709) 850 7,651 (8, 082) (431) Total 350,959 40,151 (111,897) 1,368 280,581 Name of restricted fund Description, nature and purposes of the fund Gallery premises The balance of grants from the Arts Council of England, used to purchase and fit out new premises for Castlefield Gallery. Depreciation on the fixed assets will be charged against the fund in future years. Consultancy Project A (Allied London) Spinningfield Public Art Commission digital maintenance costs falling within 5yrs from July 2019 Consultancy Project B (Ageing in Place Micro Residencies) GMCA contracted delivery of older artist residencies in GM ageing in place pathfinders. Residencies to engage older people in their neighbourghoods to explore what their place means to them. Funds include management fee for gallery delivery. Exhibition A (Hybrid Futures) - Funds from the Art Fund Reimagine grants, secured in 21/22 for commencing spend in 22/23, exhibition and commission project in 23/24, with engagement and symposium activity running into 2024125 when project will close and final draw down will be due. 43

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 19 Analysis of movements in restricted funds(continued) Special Project B (Art Fund Art Assembly): Art Fund Art Assembly- funds held are from the Art Fund held on behalf of the Manchester Art Assembly 2022 partners (HOME, the Whitworth, Manchester Art Gallery and Sheena Simon Campus, The Manchester College). Talent Project B (SUSTAIN) - Funds from MCC ERF and strategic funds, Trafford CIT / LA), partner contribution, secured in 21/22 - 2022/23 for SUSTAIN international artist exchange project 21122 - 22/23, extending into 2023/24 when due to complete in full. Talent Project E (GM Creative Ageing Forum) Talent Project E-GMCA Great Places GM funding Creative Ageing legacy activity. Talent Project F (PIVOT): PIVOT-Funds from Brian Mercer Trust and partner funds for 24- 36month mid career NW artist development programme bolder 2- Funds held from WEA ESF for bolder 2 2020121, an artist development programme for +50yrs artists in GM 20 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds tSalance at l April 2023 Current reporting period Asat31 March 2024 Income Expenditure Transfers General fund Exhibition C - OMID ASADI 140,719 553,560 (592,933) 22,037 123,383 20,000 5,050 (7,837) (17,213) Exhibition E (Castlefield Gallery 40 Years of the Future: WSWBN 7,530 7,530 New Art Spaces Rates Contributions 15,466 15,466 Organisational Development Activity (Editions activity & Rebrand & Web) Sinking Fund Talent Project A Manchester Open Talent Project C Scholars & Mentees 24,589 80,000 (20,594) (3,995) 80,000 782 9,880 (782) (2,000) 7,880 11,011 27,278 (10,324) (9,500) 18,465 292,567 595,768 (632,470) (3,141) 252,724 44

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 20 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds (continued) Previous reporting period Balance at l April 2022 Asat31 March 2023 Income Expenditure Transfers General fund Exhibition C - OMID ASADI Exhibition G - Nina Chua and D Silver Extraordinary Programme Expenditure (including D. Blandy & Venture Project, Creative Lives etc) Members Exhibition A 2022/23 Associates Show New Art Spaces Rates Contributions 184,709 577,271 20,000 (631,348) 10,087 140,719 20,000 2,000 5,220 (7,220) 7,500 (7,500) 2,500 (2,500) 15,466 15,466 Organisational Development Activity (Editions activity & Rebrand & Web) 34,000 (9,411) 24,589 Sinking Fund Talent Project A - Manchester Open Talent Project C - Scholars & Mentees 80,000 10,000 80,000 782 (120) (6, 643) (2, 455) 11,100 19,946 (11,035) (9, 000) 11,011 347,275 622,317 (675,657) (1,368) 292,567 45

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 20 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds (continued) Name of unrestricted fund Description, nature and purposes of the fund General fund The free reserves after allowing for all designated funds. Exhibition C - OMID Commissioning Patron Funds donated in 2022/23 for 2023/24 spend and ASADI programme Exhibition E 40 Years of the Future.. Where should we be Now (Exhibition E): a Castlefield Gallery 40 'commission to collect, exhibition and commissioning programme, Years of the Future: fundings being from a programme partnership investment for the project WSWBN from the University of Salford Art Collection. Exhibition G - Nina Commissioning Patron Funds donated in 2021122 for 2022/23 spend and Chua and D Silver programme Extraordinary Funds paid to Castlefield Gallery in 2021/22 for shared budget partner Programme delivery from University of Sheffield in 2022/23 Expenditure (including D. Blandy & Venture Project, Creative Lives etc) Members Exhibition A . Partner contribution from MSOA paid in 2021/22 for 2022/23 spend and 2022123 Associates programme Show New Art Spaces Rates Funds held to pay NAS Rates Contributions should legacy payments not Contributions billed arise Organisational Development Sinking Fund Talent Project A Manchester Open Talent Project C Scholars & Mentees Organisational developmet activity for brand, web, sales development, 40th Year activity, to be delivered across multiple years. Premises and major asset maintenance (R&R), and development fund. Partner contribution for HOME Manchester Open Awardees artist development programme HEI graduate artist development programmes, annual but work to academic years. Funds also include contributions to gallery costs - project management and overheads. 46

Castlefield Gallery Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 21 Analysis of net assets between funds Current reporting period General fund Designated funds Restricted funds Total Tangible fixed assets Fixed asset investments Net current assets/(liabilities) 220,810 37 7,471 220,812 37 260,193 123,381 129,341 Total 123,383 129,341 228,318 481,042 Previous reporting period General fund Designated funds Restricted funds Total Tangible fixed assets Fixed asset investments Net current assets/(liabilities) 237,913 595 37 279,949 238,508 37 334,603 (97,194) 151,848 Total 140,719 151,848 280,581 573,148 22 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities 2024 2023 Net income/(expenditure) for the year Adjustments for: Depreciation charge Loss/(profit) on sale of fixed assets (Gains)/losses on investments Dividends, interest and rents from investments Decrease/(increase) in stock Decrease/(increase) in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors (92,106) (125,086) 17,696 17,696 (i) (321) 23,555 (3,075) 29,649 9,462 Net cash provided by/(used in) operating (53,931) (68,600) 47

Castlefield Gallery

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

23 Prior year Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account)

Income from: Donations and legacies Charitable activities: Other trading activities Investments Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities: Total expenditure Transfer between funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward Net movement in funds for the year Net income/(expenditure) for the year	Unrestricted funds £ 383,933 160,066 77,997 321 622,317 - 675,657 675,657 (53,340) (1,368) (54,708) 347,275 292,567	Restricted funds £ - 40,151 - - 40,151 - 111,897 111,897 (71,746) 1,368 (70,378) 350,959 280,581	Total funds 2023 £ 383,933 200,217 77,997 321 662,468 - 787,554 787,554 (125,086) - (125,086) 698,234 573,148	Total funds 2022 £ 384,580 315,412 71,873 16 771,881 - 688,563 688,563 83,318 - 83,318 614,916 698,234

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

48