2023-03-31-annual-report - Strand Arts Centre

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STRAND At2TS CENTQE ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2023 Strand Arts Centre IA company limited by guarantee) Nl Charity INICI Number: NIC104893 HMRC Charrfy number: N100285 Company registration number: 615954 Registered off ice address". 152-156 Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1 NY SIGNED.. PRINT: DATED: SIGNED: . PRINT: DATED". SAC. A NNIIAL REPORI 2023 Fo(Jp l 0131

COMPANY DETAILS & ADVISORS

The trustees who are also the directors of the charitable company present their report for Strand Arts Centres 10[th] year of service delivery together with the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2023.

The Strand Arts Centre (SAC) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It is governed by its Memorandum of Articles of Association dated 14 December 2012.

Throughout the subject period Strand Arts Centre’s trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s Public Benefit requirements when developing and executing their strategic plan, setting the organisation’s objectives and delivering its programme of activities.

DIRECTORS & TRUSTEES

The directors of the charitable company ( the charity ) are the trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees .

Jonathan Hegan Claire Ritchie Jenna Hall Brian Gaffney Paula McKay Rachael McGuickin Mark Compston Neill Morton Amberlea Neely Stephanie Vaughan

ACCOUNTANTS

Wallace & Co. 146 High Street, Holywood, County Down, BT18 9HS

AUDITORS

DNT Chartered Accountants, Ormeau House, 91-97 Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 1SH

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

CHAIR’S REPORT

2022/23 is the first financial year since 2018/19 without any covid closures or disruptions. This year Strand Arts Centre (SAC) placed a keen focus on re-establishing key programme features, community engagement activity and its audiences, and in doing so has displayed great resilience. It has also been a significant year in terms of securing funding which guarantees the delivery of our essential capital project.

In the attached report you will find details of our finances and activities, but I would like to make special mention of the following points:

SAC’s programme has returned to its full eclectic spread of cinema, live music, theatre, lectures, heritage events and community activities. We have served an audience of over 66,000, matching our pre-covid numbers, 17,310 of which attended arts events or activities. Throughout the year we worked with 98 groups including local care homes, schools, charities, voluntary groups and businesses, engaging the full spectrum of our local community and often attracting audiences from across N.I. We partnered with 15 festivals, bringing national and international events, activities and artists to East Belfast which would not otherwise have been represented.

All of this could not have been achieved without our core funders. Our thanks go to our principle funders, ACNI and National Lottery for Lottery Project Funding, as well as to Belfast City Council for our Core Multi Annual Grant. SAC also gratefully received a small but valuable contribution to its core costs from FilmHub NI, enabling us to take risks with our cultural film programme and audience development initiatives.

We are also extremely grateful to National Lottery Heritage Fund, who generously awarded SAC Development Phase funding for our capital project at this start of this financial year. This funding covers activity overheads and the salary costs of our Heritage Officer, which has bolstered both our financial and charitable performance this year. It also enabled us to progress our refurbishment plans to the detailed design phase with detailed costs, which subsequently assisted us in securing significant additional capital support – an award of £4.1m from the UK Levelling Up Fund in January 2023. It is finally a certainty that the essential capital works required to preserve the Strand, NI’s only working picture house, will be delivered, sensitively refurbishing the building into a state-of-the-art arts centre.

A great number of people deserve commendation for their dedicated contribution in the delivery of SAC’s charitable activities throughout this year. My fellow Trustees have gifted considerable time and expertise to support and guide the development of the Strand as a multi-faceted Arts Centre. Special thanks must go to the Chief Executive and the Management Team for all of their hard work throughout the year. We are also grateful to the 90+ community partners, 400+ artists and arts organisations, volunteers and front of house staff who are instrumental in delivering our expansive programme of arts and community activities. They are all very much a part of the ‘Strand Family’.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

Throughout this year we have bolstered our board of trustees with a number of new members, governance training and facilitated strategic sessions to respond the changing priorities and increased demands which comes with our capital project brings.

In closing, on behalf of the board and SAC staff, we would like to thank the East Belfast community for their on-going support. The Strand has long been knitted into the fabric of the East Belfast landscape and social history, its heritage and public affection inspires our programme as well as our capital plans. We are delighted that this year we have been able to secure the necessary funds to preserve the building for future generations, and we remain keenly aware of the importance of bringing the community with us as we evolve into a picture house which doubles as a shared multi-purpose arts centre.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

OUR PURPOSES AND THE BENEFITS OF OUR WORK:

Strand Arts Centre’s trustees have identified the board purpose of the charitable organisation to be:

“Providing an inclusive and inspiring venue where heritage, creativity and community come together.”

The specific charitable purposes of the Strand Arts Centre and the benefits of these can be summarised as follows;

A. The advancement of arts and culture through increased engagement/ participation in the arts amongst East Belfast community and beyond. The benefit being that more arts activities are brought to the area, with specific art forms including, but not limited to, film, digital visual art, performance art and music.
B. The advancement of heritage through the preservation, improvement and continued use of Northern Ireland’s oldest cinema and only working art deco picture house. The benefits which flow from this include educating the general public on social and cultural history; generating a sense of place and pride through a greater awareness of local history and increasing appreciation of the Strand’s unique heritage and architecture.
C. The advancement of education by developing skills through our arts workshops and development of knowledge through attendance of our cultural film screenings, theatre performances, heritage tours, book launches, etc. The benefits which arise from this are increased employability of the youths who attend, patrons being better informed of employment opportunities in the creative industries and having higher education and employment aspirations.
D. The advancement of citizenship and community development by way of a beneficial ‘hub’ - a shared space where all the East Belfast community is welcome . We deliver this through our artistic programme, but also through our partnership projects with local community groups and schools, as well as hosting and promoting cross community projects and inter-cultural projects and events promoting human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation.
E. The additional charitable purpose of the provision of recreational facilities for all the community to enjoy use of, providing the benefits of mental and social stimulation, social interaction and community cohesion.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

STRATEGIC REVIEW OF OUR WORK:

Below under each of SAC’s charitable purposes is a summary of outputs produced to deliver on same:

THE ADVANCEMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE THROUGH INCREASED ENGAGEMENT/ PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS AMONGST EAST BELFAST COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.

Ø Bringing high quality arts events to East Belfast (87% of 2018 Strand survey respondents said they are more likely to attend a theatre or music event or workshop if it is local to them.)
Ø Presenting a busy programme of 442 creative events including live theatre, music, comedy, literature, heritage and specialist films events.
Ø Bringing national and international festivals and events to East Belfast – we took part in 15 festivals during 2022/23. Highlights included Future Arts Centre’s UK wide project, Belfast Film Festival, NI Mental Health Arts Festival and several EastSide Arts Festival events
Ø Creating and hosting events which target ‘hard to reach’ audience segments, e.g tribute acts The Elvis Spectacular, ABBA Sensations and Ultimate Sixties, plus recorded ‘live’ screenings of classical music and musical theatre such André Rieu and The National Theatre’s Nutcracker ballet marketed to seniors
Ø Eliminating perceptual barriers for those who believe arts venues are ‘not for them’ (e.g.) low cost creative workshops after our free Minors Club Screenings & including events which are community demand-led such as tribute music acts
Ø Eliminating financial barriers with our dynamic pricing strategy which provided discounted tickets for the unwaged, seniors and students; complimentary tickets for carers; and gifted tickets to community organisations which support families under financial stress. Our programme also includes weekly free educational screenings for children and subsidised dementia friendly films.
Ø Inspiring participation by promoting and celebrating local talent – within our film programme we have hosted a number of screenings with producer/director/screen writer Q&A’s and the Strand is the first choice for many local filmmakers to hold cast and crew screenings or premieres of their short or feature films (e.g.) premier and press launch for Conversations with Friends high-end TV drama produced in NI Local talent is also showcased at our Friday night live ‘Stranded!’ gigs, promoting both established and up-and-coming theatre, music and comedy talent, including Dave Elliott, Ciaran Bartlett and Ursula Burns.
Ø Attracting local audiences by telling local stories (e.g.) book launch of ‘Belfast Reflections’ by Aidan Campbell, a film of prose with Q&A by local poet and social commentator Alice McCullough.
Ø Increasing audiences and attracting new and diverse audiences to the arts through our extensive Marketing and Audience Development activity – We participated in several audience development initiatives including Meerkat Movies, Film Hub NI’s Cinema Day, the BFI & Camelot National Lottery Cinema Day, outreach workshops with The Junction Club and several local schools and community centres.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

THE ADVANCEMENT OF HERITAGE THROUGH THE PRESERVATION, IMPROVEMENT AND CONTINUED USE OF NORTHERN IRELAND’S OLDEST CINEMA AND ONLY WORKING ART DECO PICTURE HOUSE.

Ø The vast majority of this activity has been delivered thanks to National Lottery Heritage Fund support
Ø Monthly heritage tours and on-demand group tours – delivered by projectionist Alan McClurg, giving people an oral history of Belfast‘s lost picture houses, highlighting the Strand’s art deco design features and demonstrating traditional 35mm projection. We took part in European Heritage Open Day and welcomed 3 American tour groups.
Ø Highlighting/showcasing our cinematic heritage & local social history through our programme, a total of 38 heritage events have been delivered (e.g.) re-creation of a Variety Night of live entertainment from the early 1980’s; screening classic films on 35mm and training staff and passionate amateurs on 35mm and super-8 projection; and commissioning neon artwork by the last neon sign-writers in Ireland.
Ø Being a catalyst and enabler for people exploring local heritage – we are a home to the NI Digital archives and our staff are trained to show the public how to use it to search topics which interest them.
Ø Our Strand Picture house education pack covering local history and literacy at Key Stage 2 has been used by 1,755 pupils across 4 different primary schools
Ø Securing sufficient funding to deliver essential major refurbishment of the building, preserving it for future generations and improving its heritage and cultural offer

THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION BY DEVELOPING SKILLS THROUGH OUR ARTS WORKSHOPS AND DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE THROUGH ATTENDANCE OF OUR CULTURAL FILM SCREENINGS, THEATRE PERFORMANCES, HERITAGE TOURS, BOOK LAUNCHES, ETC.

Ø Providing opportunities for creative skills development – we host weekly drama and dance classes and a number of youth theatre productions including both summer and Christmas productions from NiStars. Participants learn new creative skills whilst developing in confidence. Other workshops included Figure This life drawing classes, photography workshops and Anime style drawing.
Ø Directly linking our programme to the national curriculum - our free Saturday Minors Club screenings are accompanied with worksheets which link them to Key Stage 1 & 2 themes and encourage parents to be actively involved in their child’s learning, for example a Moomins screening followed by a drama and storytelling workshop.
Ø Monthly Short Film Markers nights provides an environment for amateur and professional creatives to share their work, learn from peers and develop their networks

THE ADVANCEMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BY WAY OF A BENEFICIAL ‘HUB’ - A SHARED SPACE WHERE ALL THE EAST BELFAST COMMUNITY IS WELCOME

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

Ø Designing, managing and delivering inclusive community engagement initiatives to bring people together and initiate a pride of place – delivering the ‘Bring a Little Light’ Lantern Parade with Wandsworth Community Association which attracted a record 1,500+ people. Months of preparation included the delivery of 15 willowlantern, drumming and costume design workshops to community centres, schools, scout groups, churches and nurseries.
Ø Building partnerships with local community groups to identify and deliver on local needs, e.g. a series of workshops for The Junction, a group of adults with learning disabilities,
Ø Programming events and activities which celebrate and support minority groups (e.g.) our semi-monthly ‘Global Film Screenings’ where cultural films are picked by someone who wished to highlight and inform the audience of their cultural experiences, the film is accompanied by a panel discussion; a screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show with live drag artists during Pride week
Ø Actively encouraging our patrons to shop local, partnering with and promoting local cafes for patrons to visit before or after events
Ø Providing activities which improve the well-being of those with high needs – our weekly Silver Screenings, supporting older audiences including those with dementia and /or living in care. These events include free tea/coffee beforehand, prompts to swap memories of previous cinema trips, and sheets with talking points about the film and other notable events in the year it was made, several also include live music. We served a total audience of 902 seniors plus 100+ free carers this year.

THE ADDITIONAL CHARITABLE PURPOSE OF THE PROVISION OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES FOR ALL THE COMMUNITY

Ø SAC attracted a total footfall of over 66,000, 17,310 of which attended cultural and heritage events or activities and 49,000 attended main release film screenings. The Strand is an accessible place where some patrons go back generations… those who remember coming to the Minors Club in the 1950s are now bringing their grandchildren! We aim to ensure that their visit increases the value they place on local heritage, and/or they learn something new and/or are positively inspired.
Ø SAC hosted 100+ bookings throughout 2022/23 from schools, community groups, businesses and charity fundraisers helped to raise awareness of the Strand to many coming here for the first time for a private event.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The business of the Charity is supervised by the Board of Trustees which meets five times each year or more frequently if required.

SAC’s board of trustees strategically reviewed and evaluated the organisations performance following a facilitated strategy day in November 2022. We have subsequently drafted a new strategic plan for 2024-2028. It identifies a clear theory of change process where measurable aims and objectives will indicate the successful delivery of social and economic outcomes in line with our charitable purposes.

Other than the current directors/ trustees no other organisation or statutory body has the power to appoint trustees. Trustees are elected annually by the members of the charitable company attending the Annual General Meeting and may serve a maximum of two three year terms. A full board of trustees shall total 8-10 members, though the trustees have the power to co-opt further members to fill specialist roles.

A Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and artistic performance related activity.

The number of full-time equivalent employees (excluding casual and part time staff) is 9, this is made up of a full time Chief Executive, a full time Operations Manager, full time Digital Marketing & Events Officer, a 3-day week Programme Manager, a 4-day week Heritage Officer, a full time Front of House Manager and 14 front-of-house staff members who work a collect 150 hours/week during the school term and 230 hours/week over holiday periods.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

LIST OF DIRECTORS / CHARITY TRUSTEES

The Directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end are detailed below.

New trustees undergo a half day induction to brief them on their legal obligations under charity and company law, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the annual business plan and 4-year strategic plan and recent financial performance of the charity. This is followed by a ‘shadowing period’ where they experience the committee and decision-making processes, meet key employees and other directors and develop their understanding of the contribution they can make to the board and the strategic development of the Strand Arts Centre. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events (such as those run by Arts & Business and CO3) which may assist them with undertaking of their role. None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity.

NAME	POSITION	DATE OF APPOINTMENT	LAST DATE OF ELECTION	PERIOD IN OFFICE As at 31/03/23
JONATHAN HEGAN	Chair	2ndJanuary 2014	19thJanuary 2023 RETIRED: Jun 2023	-
CLAIRE RITCHIE	Incoming Chair	27thMarch 2019	19thJanuary 2023	4 years
DAVID PRICE	Non-Executive co. Director (NED) & charitabletrustee	28thJune 2018	21stOct 2021 RETIRED: Sept 2022	-
JENNA HALL	NED & charitable trustee	12thFeb 2020	19thJanuary 2023 RETIRED: Apr 2023	-
BRIAN GAFFNEY	NED & charitable trustee	25THNov 2020	19thJanuary 2023	3 years
MARK COMPSTON	Secretary, NED & Trustee	19THJanuary 2023	19thJanuary 2023	0 years
PAULA MCKAY	NED & charitable trustee	3RDMay 2022	19thJanuary 2023	1year
RACHAEL MCGUICKIN	NED & charitable trustee	14THSept 2022	19thJanuary 2023	0 years
NEILL MORTON	NED & charitable trustee	19THJan 2023	-	0 years
AMBERLEA NEELY	NED & charitable trustee	19THJan 2023	-	0 years
STEPHANIE VAUGHAN	NED & charitable trustee	19THJan 2023	-	0 years
MICHELLE TURTLE	Chief Executive	14THDec 2012	19thJanuary 2023	10 years

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 as well as in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

All company directors’/ charity trustees and management staff are aware of the necessity to declare any conflicts of interest which may arise around their involvement in the organisation. Conflict of Interest is also a standing item on the agenda for each Board meeting. During the current year the following potential conflicts of interest have been highlighted and managed:

Chief executive, Mimi Turtle, is the daughter of the building’s landlord
Chief executive, Mimi Turtle, is niece to Paul Wallace of Wallace & Co. accountants

All trustees complete a Declaration of Interests form annually.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:

an annual review of the risks the charity may face; the establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the plan; and the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise.

This work has identified financial sustainability as a major risk for the charity in the event of circumstances such as staff illness or urgent property maintenance. A key element in the management of this risk is the generation of sufficient reserves or assets which can leverage a charge. No additional reserves have been generated this year.

Key non-financial risks identified include fire, health and safety of artists and audience, management of performing rights and food hygiene.

An additional standalone risk assessment for the Capital Refurbishment of the Strand building has been drawn up and maintained by the Project Managers, Aecom. It is reviewed by Strand Arts Centre’s Capital Sub-committee and Audit and Risk committee.

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SAC ANNUAL REPORT 2023

OUR ADVISERS

Accountants: Paul Wallace & Co Charter Accountants Auditors: DNT Charted Accountants

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Incoming resources for the year were £725,825, the highest level of turnover SAC has secured to date, an 15% increase on the prior year. Costs of generating incoming resources also increased to a record £727,655 meaning the gross deficit at year end of -£1,830. A notable increase in restricted grant income accounts for the overall increase in turnover - £207,960 of National Lottery Heritage Funding is restricted for the capital refurbishment project.

Administrative expenses include total wage costs of £252,222, an increase of £13,741, reflecting minimum wage increases and our Heritage Officer hours increasing from 3 to 4 days/week.

With a marginal deficit Total Funds remain steady at £192,406 at year end, with reserves of £89,188.

RESERVES POLICY

The trustees have a Reserves Policy where it states its aspirations to secure suitable reserves to bridge the gap between the spending and receiving of resources or to cover unplanned emergency repairs and other expenditure.

In calculating the reserves figure, fixed assets from unrestricted funds on the basis that they will be used operationally and their disposal may adversely impact on the charity’s ability to deliver its aims.

Whilst the current level of reserves meet the Charity’s reserves policy for normal trading conditions, toward to end of 2023/24 we will be required to close the building for

refurbishment works to commence. Subsequently SAC will lose the vast majority of its selfgenerated income whilst it operates off-site, we will review our reserves policy accordingly to mitigate this period of higher risk.