# **Annual Report & Statement of Accounts** 

**Year to 31 March 2024** 


NIC106019 



Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Annual Report||
|-<br>Introduction|3|
|-<br>Purpose of the charity|3|
|-<br>Public benefit|3|
|-<br>Activities and achievements|4|
|-<br>Impact|6|
|-<br>Private benefit|6|
|-<br>Statement of compliance|7|
|-<br>Financial review|7|
|-<br>Reference and details|9|
|-<br>Governance and constitution|10|
|Independent Examiner’s Report|12|
|Receipts and Payments Account|13|
|Statement of Assets and Liabilities|14|
|Notes to the Accounts|15|



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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

## **Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio** 

## **Introduction** 

I am delighted to report another successful year for the Friends of the gallery, and to have welcomed so many new people to our worthy cause. I have thoroughly enjoyed the range of events that took place in 2023/24 and look forward with excitement to our programme for next year. 

It is also with real pleasure that I can report that plans for the much-needed extension to the gallery are progressing well. These include improved access to F.E. McWilliam’s work, more provision for education and community, more general capacity to meet demand from locals and visitors as well as plans for a larger café and shop. The Friends’ Committee and I look forward to supporting the gallery management team and Council representatives in delivering on this worthwhile development. 

## **The Purpose of the Charity** 

The purpose of the Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio charity is to “stimulate and promote an understanding and appreciation of art, in particular the work of Banbridgeborn and internationally renowned sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam (1909-1992), and thereby to enhance the lives of people of all ages locally, nationally and internationally”. 

The charity’s beneficiary is the general public. 

## **Public Benefit** 

The direct benefits flowing from our purpose are: an increased accessibility to and improved understanding and appreciation of culture, heritage, and the arts, including the work of sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam (F.E. McWilliam 1909-1992) 

To achieve this purpose from April 2023 to March 2024 we: 

- Organised artists’ talks and preview tours of exhibitions taking place at the gallery by Eilis O’Connell and Clement McAleer, and by the team (from Kids’ Own Publishing) behind the _Tada!_ exhibition. 

- Arranged a tour with the head gardener of Castlewellan gardens. 

- Hosted a Summer Celebration party which included a private tour of the Eilis O’Connell’s sculpture exhibition. 

- Hosted a book launch by the nephew of artist William Scott. 

- Arranged talks by specialist speakers and crafters: art historian Maureen Beary-Ryan; local historian and researcher Hugh McShane and; talented silversmith Cara Murphy. 

- Organised a tour of the private art collection at Hillsborough Castle. 

- Arranged a private tour by art historian Dickon Hall of exhibition ‘ _Colin Middleton: Among this peace and noise’_ 

- Provided a bursary for local artist Anushiya Sundaralingam to attend the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Monaghan 

- Funded the F.E. McWilliam prize through the Belfast School of Art which was awarded to Anya Nicholl in June 2023. 

- Provided transportation funding for six schools across the Council area to the gallery. 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

## **Activities and Achievements – detail** 

## **1. Organised artists’ talks and preview tours of exhibitions** 

With the help of Curator Dr Riann Coulter, and the staff of the gallery, Friends’ members were invited to preview tours by the artists of the following exhibitions taking place at the gallery in 2023-24: 

In June 2023 sculptor Eilis O’Connell originally from Derry/Londonderry, gave the Friends a preview tour of her amazing exhibition ‘ _A family of things.’_ The collection consisted of pieces made from a wide variety of media including steel, stone, bronze, resin, birds’ feathers, and bone. Eilis talked about her career, the sources of her inspiration and her motivation to continue to make unique work. 

In October County Tyrone artist Clement McAleer gave the Friends a preview tour of his exhibition _Clement McAleer: Selected work 1973 to 2023_ . Clement talked about his career as an artist, his time spent in London, and the landscape that so inspired his many largescale paintings on show so dramatically in this uplifting exhibition. 

## **2. Organised a tour Castlewellan Gardens** 

Back in May 2023 Friends were treated to a fascinating tour of Castlewellan gardens by head gardener, Alwyn Sinnamon. Accompanied by two apprentices, Alwyn described the former castle owner’s life of status and privilege. He complemented the tour with a collection of old black and white photographs showing how the gardens had previously looked, and described plans to bring them back to their former glory. The Friends had a very enjoyable morning. 

## **3. Hosted a Summer Celebration party** 

In June, to coincide with the opening of the Eilis O’Connell exhibition, we hosted a Summer Celebration party. This was a popular event which not only included a private tour of the Eilis O’Connell exhibition but served as an opportunity to showcase the gallery as an important part of the arts offering within the area. The event included music by popular local group Seefin. 

## **4. Book launch** 

In September Cardwell McClure, nephew of acclaimed artist William Scott (1913-1989), launched his book at the gallery. His talk about the book gave background to Scott’s wider family and made links between the artist’s upbringing and the subjects within his work. Cardwell generously provided the book _‘William Scott - a family history’_ at a discount to those wishing to purchase it on the night. 

## **5. Organised talks by specialist speakers** 

In October 2023, art historian Maureen Beary-Ryan spoke about the importance of benefactors to the National Gallery of Ireland’s art collection. Maureen’s illustrated presentation was as always, educational and entertaining. We are delighted to maintain our relationship with Maureen as she shares with us her deep knowledge on the arts. 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

In November 2023, gifted silversmith Cara Murphy shared with the Friends her passion for her craft by illustrating how she has honed her skills over many years. She showed examples of various commissions which ranged from personal one-off pieces to work for Number 10 Downing Street, as well as intricate sports trophies. Her skill was mesmerising. 

In February 2024, local historian Hugh McShane gave an insightful and detailed talk entitled _Australia Bound – the female orphans of the Newry workhouse_ . Hugh illustrated his talk not only with images but with a display of handmade bonnets and an example of a wooden trunk used to transport an orphan’s possessions overseas. The well-attended talk was excellent. 

## **6. Private tour of Hillsborough Castle’s art collection** 

In December 2023 the Friends of the gallery attended a private tour of Hillsborough Castle’s art collection. The tour was set within the context of the history of the castle as well as the history of Ireland and as such made for a detailed and insightful event. 

## **7. Private tour of Colin Middleton exhibition** 

In January 2024, close friend and supporter of the gallery Dickon Hall, gave a tour of much anticipated exhibition _‘Colin Middleton: Among the Peace and Noise’_ at the Ulster Museum. Dickon, subject-matter-expert on Middleton, helped give context to the wide variety of works on show. He introduced the Friends to an artist who has come to be regarded as one of the leading Irish artists of his generation. 

## **8. Provided a bursary for an artist to attend a centre for creative arts** 

The opportunity to apply for a two-week bursary is open to any visual artists born in or resident in Northern Ireland and in 2023 attracted nine applications. 

A selection panel of committee members awarded the bursary to visual artist Anushiya Sundaralingam. Anushiya’s application described how she wanted to create a new body of work based on the development of the flax plant entitled ‘The Nature of Things’. We look forward to hearing Anushiya speak at the Friends’ AGM later in May 2024. 

## **9. Funded an arts prize at the Belfast School of Art** 

The Friends were pleased to be able to fund the Belfast School of Art prize again in 2023. Anya Nicholl was selected by a panel of committee members as the winner of the _F.E. McWilliam Prize_ for the best end-of-year show by a student in June 2023. The Friends Committee view the award not only as an opportunity to support the development of young talent, but appreciate the element of positive PR for the charity. 

## **10. Provided transportation funding for schools** 

The Committee agreed to continue to provide funding for schools to visit the gallery. The Treasurer wrote to the gallery’s database of schools last year and in 2023/24 six schools from across the Armagh, Craigavon and Banbridge Council area took up the offer and visited the gallery. The children from these schools benefit both from seeing the art on show and getting “hands on” with activities such as clay sculpting, painting etc. 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

## **Impact** 

The benefit of the charity’s work can be demonstrated through the wider dissemination of knowledge about the artist F.E. McWilliam, the gallery and art in general, in the following ways: 

1. The exhibition tours, artists’ talks and lectures by specialist speakers (most of which took place at the gallery), increased members’ and guests’ knowledge and appreciation not only of art, but its place in the history of arts in Ireland. Talks are advertised directly to members on Facebook and on X so that the public can also attend. Members are encouraged to bring guests to events. 

2. The art tour of Hillsborough Castle directly increased art appreciation, and the tour of Castlewellan gardens increased understanding of the historical context of art and culture in Ireland. 

3. Feedback about the schools’ visits through the subsidised transportation costs, has been excellent. The opportunity for young people to see exhibitions, take part in workshops and events, and visit the gallery space itself is, we believe, key to increasing art appreciation. The earlier this takes place in life, the better. 

4. A condition of receiving the Maurna Crozier bursary is for the artist to share with the charity’s membership their experience of the residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. This involves describing their work and artistic practice, thus increasing the audience’s learning and appreciation of art. We were delighted that Sue Morris, last year’s bursary recipient, shared her experience with the audience at the Friends’ 2023 AGM. We were moved not only by the motivation for the work Sue developed at the Tyrone Guthrie, but by the inventiveness and uniqueness of her pieces. It was a pleasure to hear her speak. 

5. Funding the Belfast School of Art F.E. McWilliam art prize helps to increase awareness of the artist F.E McWilliam and the gallery, as well increasing the general appreciation of art. 

## **Private Benefit** 

Fees of £150 are paid to lecturers and invited speakers such as with Maureen Beary-Ryan, art historian. These payments are considered a justified expenditure and are often mitigated by ticket sales which generally range from £5 for members of the Friends and students, to £8 for non-members, depending on the nature of the event. 

The charity pays for other miscellaneous services provided, such as refreshments at events and considers such payments necessary, although some private benefit may be gained. 

Payments totalling £111.10 were made to two Trustees in reimbursement of charity expenses they paid relating to hospitality, postage and stationery. 

|**Date**|**Recipient**|**Cheque**|**Amount £**|**Purpose**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|02.05.23|J Boyce|203|18.50|Hospitality|
|26.07.23|L McFadden|208|40.00|Hospitality|
|19.10.23|L McFadden|210|52.60|Postage, stationery & hospitality|
|||**Total**|111.10||



Digital media training – see page 7 

There were no other payments made to Trustees, their close relations or businesses in 2023-24 or to third parties on their behalf. 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

## **Statement of Compliance** 

In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year, the Trustees considered the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit. The guidance is designed to ensure that objectives and planned activities provide benefit to the intended audiences. We believe the events that took place in 2023-24, did so. 

## **Financial Review 2023-24** 

We started the year with £7,910 (£4,933 unrestricted and £2,977 restricted). 

The restricted fund is money very generously donated by the Banbridge art club following their dissolution. We aim to make use of it in the promotion of the arts among our local schools both at primary and secondary level. 

During the year an additional £1,000 was added to this fund through a bequest from Banbridge Art club. We spent a total of £783 in reimbursement of transport costs to facilitate visits to the gallery for a total of six schools from across the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council area. The children from these schools benefit from both seeing the art on show and getting “hands on” with activities such as clay sculpting, painting activity etc. 

Donations came to an impressive £1,913. This was made up of the £1,000 bequest already mentioned, £500 and £41 from individual donations and £372 from our donation box. The relocation of the donation box into the exhibition space area seems to have had a significantly positive effect with the take for the year well up on 22/23 (£157). 

Membership numbers are now standing at 127 despite losing about 25 former members of the Banbridge Art Club who had been given free membership until March 2023. An increase in new paying members increased our membership funds from £2,250 for 22/23 to £2,340 for 23/24. 

Event ticket sales were down slightly (£1,443 – from £1,773). This may have been due to cancellation of a couple of events due to poor take-up. 

“Gallery projects” encompasses several schemes that we feel should be supported by our charity. The previously mentioned school transport funding is one with a spend in 23/24 of £783 from the restricted part of Friends’ accounts. 

The annual F.E. McWilliam prize (£500) is awarded to a promising young artist graduating from the Belfast School of Art – won by Anya Nicholl in June 2023. 

We also provided funding for the Maurna Crozier bursary for established artists to attend the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for two weeks along with expenses of £100 – awarded this year to Anushiya Sundaralingam. The funding spend in 23/24 was a total of £801- this includes payment for one week for Alison Lowry (the previous year’s winner who had split her two weeks over two financial years). 

Also included in “gallery projects” was digital media training for two of our committee members, Brigitte Boland and Lynda McFadden, and two gallery staff, Michelle Garvey and Jason Diamond (also a gallery representative on the Friends’ Committee). They initially attended a group training session organised by ABC Community Network on 09/08/23. The trainer (Emma) agreed to a follow-up session to help organise the Friends social media channels and this took place on 08/09/23. By all accounts it was a great success and worth the £606 for the two days of training. 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

Lecture fees totalling £780 were paid to a total of six speakers during the year. It was felt that rather than paying £100 plus a bottle of wine and/or flowers we should increase the fee paid to £150 without additional gifts – as from January 2024. 

Other expenses listed are self-explanatory. We had fewer events away from the gallery and this is reflected in the lower spend on admission fees (and income from ticket sales as mentioned previously). 

Our year-end figure is £8,633 (£5,439 unrestricted - including £10 petty cash and £3,194 restricted). 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

## **Reference and Administrative Details** 

## **Charity Name** 

The Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio 

## **Charity Number** 

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland NIC 106019 

## **Address** 

Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio 200 Newry Road Banbridge BT32 3NB 

## **Charity Trustees during the year** 

Mrs Jane Boyce - Chair (from 25 April 2023) Mrs Millie Moore – Chair (to 25 April 2023) Miss Lynda Fyffe-McFadden - Secretary Mr Dermott Hutchinson - Treasurer Mrs Della McKinney Mrs Anne Davidson Mrs Helen Blane Mrs Emily Neill-Dalzell Mrs Brigitte Boland Miss Patricia McAteer Mrs Hilary Good (to 25 April 2023) Mrs Marbeth Lynch (to 25 April 2023) Mrs Jane Boyce (to May 2024) Mrs Miriam Dudley (appointed June 2023) Mr Colin Mathews (appointed June 2023) 

**Ex officios** Dr Riann Coulter – Gallery Curator/Manager and Mr Jason Diamond 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 

## **Governance and Constitution** 

The charity is an unincorporated charitable association governed under Northern Ireland law by a constitution adopted on Friday the 23rd of September 2016. The charity operates within the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council area of Northern Ireland. 

Its purpose is to stimulate and promote an understanding and appreciation of art, in particular the work of Banbridge-born and internationally renowned sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam (1909 to 1992), thereby enhancing the lives of people of all ages locally, nationally and internationally. 

The charity is run by a committee of Trustees appointed at an annual general meeting, who pay an annual subscription. The charity has three officers: Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Officers may serve for seven consecutive years but may be re-elected after two years. As of 31 March 2024, there are 11 Trustees plus the Curator of the gallery and one other gallery representative. 

The charity has a membership who pay annual fees of £25 for an individual member, £40 for two from the same household and £18 for students and under 18 years of age. 

The committee meets typically once per month except for July and August. In the year to the 31 March 2024 the committee met on nine occasions since the April 2023 AGM. At each meeting the Treasurer presents the latest accounts, and these are reviewed against budgets and forecast. Spending is discussed and approved. Officers may authorise some spending between meetings but must ensure that spending is reported at the next meeting. The meetings offer a forum to review activities within the annual programme of events and to plan forthcoming events. Further ad-hoc meetings are called if required, for example, to plan and manage special events or projects. The annual report and statement of accounts are approved by the Trustees and then presented to the members at the annual general meeting. 

## **Carrying out the charitable purpose** 

To carry out the charitable purpose the Trustees have the power to: 

- (1) provide money by receipt of subscriptions, grants, and donations to pay the costs of running the charity and furthering its purpose 

- (2) organise and promote exhibitions, lectures, recitals, and other social activities that encourage the appreciation of art including the collection of sculptor F.E McWilliam 

- (3) provide grants for artists and/or commissioned art works 

- (4) establish strategic relationships with educators to promote visits to the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio for learning 

- (5) support other charities with similar charitable purposes 

- (6) do anything that is lawful and necessary to achieve the charity’s purpose. 

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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Annual Report Year to 31 March 2024 


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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio 


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## Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Receipts and Payments Account Year to 31 March 2024 

||**Unrestricted**|**funds**<br>**2024**|**Restricted**<br>**funds 2024**|**Restricted**<br>**funds 2024**|**Total 2024**|**Total 2024**|Total 2023|Total 2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Receipts**||**£**||**£**||**£**|£||
|Donations||**913**||**1,000**||**1,913**|157||
|Event ticket<br>sales||**1,443**||**-**||**1,443**|1,773||
|Membership<br>subscriptions||**2,340**||**-**||**2,340**|2,250||
||||||||||
|**Total receipts**||**4,696**||**1,000**||**5,696**|4,180||
||||||||||
|**Payments**||**£**||**£**||**£**|£||
|Gallery projects||**1,907**||**783**||**2,690**|2,945||
|Hospitality and<br>gifts||**715**||**-**||**715**|377||
|Visits admission<br>fees||**326**||**-**||**326**|968||
|Membership<br>refunds||**nil**||**-**||**nil**|170||
|FULS public<br>liability<br>insurance||**50**||**-**||**50**|65||
|Independent<br>examination fee||**300**||**-**||**300**|250||
|Bank Fees||**65**||**-**||**65**|67||
|Postage &<br>stationary||**39**||**-**||**39**|203||
|Sundry<br>expenses||**8**||**-**||**8**|47||
|Lecture fees||**780**||**-**||**780**|639||
|**Total Payments**||**4,190**||**783**||**4,973**|5,731||
|**Excess of**<br>**Payments over**<br>**Receipts for the**<br>**year**||**506**||**217**||**723**|(1,551)||
|Opening Bank &<br>Cash balances||**4,933**||**2,977**||**7,910**||9,461|
|Closing Bank &<br>Cash balances||**5,439**||**3,194**||**8,633**||7,910|



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## Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Statement of Assets and Liabilities As at 31 March 2024 

||**Notes**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds 2024**|**Restricted**<br>**funds 2024**|**Total 2024**|Total 2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Bank and**<br>**Cash**||**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|Current<br>Account|**2**|**5,429**|**3,194**|**8,623**|7,892|
|Pettycash||**10**|**-**|**10**|18|
|**Total Bank**<br>**and Cash**||**5,439**|**3,194**|**8,633**|7,910|
|||||||
|**Other**<br>**monetary**<br>**assets**||**Nil**|**Nil**|**Nil**|Nil|
|||||||
|**Liabilities**||**Nil**|**Nil**|**Nil**|Nil|




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Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Notes to the Accounts Year to 31 March 2024 

## **1. Accounting policies** 

Set out below are the principal accounting policies which have been adopted in the compilation of the Receipts and Payments Accounts and the Statement of Assets and Liabilities: 

## **(a) Receipts and Payments Accounts** 

All items of income and expenditure included within the Receipts and Payments Accounts have been accounted for on a cash basis. 

## **2. Restricted Funds** 

||**Bank balance at**<br>**1 April 2023 £**|<br>**Receipts £**|**Payments £**|**Bank balance**<br>**at 31 March**<br>**2024 £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Banbridge Art<br>Club|2,977|1,000|783|3,194|
|Total Funds|2,977|1,000|783|3,194|



The purpose of the restricted funds is to provide art education for young people. 

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