Asian Art Fund Scotland - Annual Report
Scottish Charity No – SC049548 Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year from 1[st ] January 2025 to 31[st] December 2025
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Trustees’ Annual Report
The trustees take pleasure in presenting their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2025.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity name and number – Asian Art Fund Scotland, SC049548
Address – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD
Trustees who served during 2025
Richard Lewis Chair/Convener Jim Orr Treasurer (and de facto Secretary) Chelsea Yang Zhou Trustee
All three trustees were in position for the entirety of the year in question.
Structure, Governance and Constitution
The Charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (a SCIO). It was registered with OSCR on 20 August 2019. It has a single tier structure and as such the trustees are the members of the charity. Operations of the charity are governed by the Constitution.
Appointment of trustees
Trustees are re-elected at the annual general meeting and additional trustees may be elected at any time during the year. The existing trustees are always looking to recruit more trustees, up to the maximum number of seven, as well as volunteers to assist. Of particular interest are those who can fill particular skills gaps, those with an arts background and those of Asian ethnicity. At the year end the secretary position was vacant.
Objectives and Activities
Charitable purposes
The organisation is established for charitable purposes only as follows:
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To achieve higher visibility and better representation for Asian artists and art forms in Scotland and the cultural West
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To create close creative and heritage links and partnerships between Asia and Scotland
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To promote more diverse stories including those with an Asian perspective in Scotland and the cultural West
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Activities of Asian Art Fund Scotland
Our main activity for 2025 was organising the Asian Art Awards (AAA) during the Fringe in August. Except for a break during COVID, we have been running continuously since 2014.
90 productions participated in 2025 compared to 54 in 2024 and they came from all over Asia. Our team of volunteer reviewers expanded to 20 of whom half were Asian. All of them work in the arts sector or have a strong interest in the arts.
We had reasonable media coverage of the 2025 awards with a large feature in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Edinburgh Reporter. We also had a much greater social media presence than in previous years as we contracted an artist to work on our Instagram site and this was very effective. Our website (asianartfundscotland.org) is a little out of date but has galleries of prior years’ awards as well as information about Asian Art Fund Scotland (who we are, how we run the awards and more).
Earlier in the Fringe, we also had a Launch Party and Press Night at Wu Asia Pacific on George Street. The launch was very successful with artists having an opportunity to meet their peers and present their work.
Results of the 2025 Asian Art Awards
Our 2025 awards ceremony was held at the Moxy Hotel in Fountainbridge with special guest Lyndsey Jackson, deputy CEO of the Fringe, handing out the awards. As ever, the artistic standards of the productions involved were incredibly high.
Members of the Scottish Indian community were prominent among the winners of the 2025 Asian Art Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe on Tuesday 19th August. The highly acclaimed “Kanpur: 1857”, written and co-performed by Edinburgh-based Niall Moorjani, won the award for Outstanding Production. Set at the time of the Kanpur uprising in India, the play comically satirised contemporary conflicts around gender, colonial violence, and making art in times of crisis. The award was collected by the production’s musician, Sodhi. Shows by Sanjay Lago (Love me Like a Chai Tea Latte and Dance Ihayami (called Dansa Rickshaw) also won awards for Highly Commended performances (i.e. Runners Up). Sanjay is Scottish Indian while Dance Ihayami is “Scotland’s Indian dance company”.
Hahaha-Hamlet from Hong Kong, playing at the Paradise Green venue on George IV Bridge until Saturday, won the award for Outstanding Show. Our reviewers simply loved this captivating reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tale, blending original musical with dark humour and intertwining the struggles of contemporary Hongkongers with Hamlet's timeless tale. The whole cast were in attendance to receive the award and they were delighted.
Mayuri Bhandari of the Anti “Yogi” took home the award for Outstanding Female while Jeremy Rafal won Outstanding Male for “The Boy from Bantay” which was a heartwarming journey of growth and self-discovery. Mayuri was in attendance with her percussionist Neel Agrawal while Jeremy sent a video message to the audience. Both shows were hugely popular. At the Anti “Yogi” the audience were invited to join Mayuri and Kali, the Goddess of Death as they navigated the absurdities of Western Yoga culture.
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
The Outstanding Youth Performance was won by the show “Landscape of the Other Shore” from Shenzhen University which was also inspired by another European classic: Géricault’s painting and Georg Kaiser’s play The Raft of the Medusa.
The Asian Arts Special Award was shared between “GENDAI TOKYO” and “Up-cycle Music” by Creative Art of Korea. GENDAI TOKYO had a simply incredible laser show playing at WU Asia Pacific while Up-cycle Music was a response to climate change from a uniquely artistic perspective. They used waste to make music (cellos from abandoned equipment from rural areas or stringed instruments from thrown away plastic toys) and composed piano tunes based on the characteristics of endangered animals, to ask vital questions about the climate crisis.
Lyndsey presented the awards along with Richard Lewis and Chelsea Zhou both of Asian Art Fund Scotland.
The full list of winners was as follows:
Outstanding Show
Winner: Hahaha–Hamlet - Chai Wan Rabble (Hong Kong)
Highly Commended: 1Shoulder Pad: Galaxy Train, Japanese Musical Theatre (Japan)
Highly Commended: Practice of Zen - Theatre Ronin (Hong Kong)
Outstanding Production
Winner: Kanpur: 1857 - Niall Moorjani Storyteller and Pleasance (Scotland / India)
Highly Commended: 1457, The Boy at Rest - Poem and Star / Korean Season by GCC & AtoBiz (Korea)
Highly Commended: Relaxing and Balancing - Ying Yang - On/Off Theatre (Hong Kong)
Highly Commended: The Time Painter - ACC, ACCF, Haddangse / Korean Season by GCC and AtoBiz (Korea)
Outstanding Male Performer
Winner: Jeremy Rafal, The Boy from Bantay (Philippines / USA)
Highly Commended: Zheng Xiaofan Dance Theatre, PERSONALLERY 4.0 (China)
Highly Commended: Kumar Muniandy - Second Class Queer (Malaysia / UK / Germany) Highly Commended: Eden Choi - Proust Effect (Korea)
Highly Commended: Sanjay Lago - Love me Like a Chai Tea Latte (Scotland / India)
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Outstanding Female Performer
Winner: Mayuri Bhandari - The Anti "Yogi" (USA / India)
Highly Commended: Dansa Rickshaw - Dance Ihayami (Scotland / India)
Highly Commended: Elisabeth Gunawan and KISS WITNESS - Stampin’ in the Graveyard (UK / Indonesia)
Highly Commended: Afreena Islam-Wright - Lucky Tonight! (UK / Bangladesh)
Highly Commended: Chi-An Chen - Sole to Soul (Taiwan, China)
Outstanding Young Performer
Winner: Shenzhen University School of Arts 201 Theatre Company - The Landscape of the Other Shore (China)
Highly Commended: Creative Group SSAK / Korean Season by GCC & AtoBiz - Dream Space (Korea)
Highly Commended: Jasmine Thien - I Dream in Colour (UK / China)
Asian Arts Special Award – Joint Award (two winners)
GENDAI TOKYO (Japan) and
Up-cycle Music, Creative Art (Korea)
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Financial summary, funding and reserves policy
AAFS was funded during the year by Asian Arts Global (AAG: asianartsglobal.com) and Shanghai Jiashile Creative Culture Co Ltd. AAG is a commercial company which is primarily involved in bringing theatre productions and related activities to Scotland and is registered with Companies House (SC656290). The Creative Producer of AAG is Dr Chris Wang, who is also the founder of the Asian Art Awards. AAG makes donations to AAFS as agreed by its donors, in particular Shanghai Jiashile Creative Culture Co Ltd. We continue to explore other options for additional funding as we need to diversify in this area.
Note 5 to the accounts gives a breakdown of our spend. Our running costs increased significantly mainly because we had an almost full-time paid co-ordinator throughout July and August which was not the case in 2024. This was a great success. Our Awards event was more expensive as we had a better venue in 2025; the Moxy in Fountainbridge. Admin costs rose as our founder visited on two occasions incurring extra accommodation expenses.
The funding and reserves policy is that funds are released to AAFS by our donors in accordance with our budget. As such there is no reserves policy per se.
Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis Chair of Trustees, 26 March 2026
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Statement of Receipts and Payments for the year to 31/12/25
| Receipts Donations Loan Fundraising Total receipts Payments Fundraising costs Cost of charitable activities Governance costs Purchase of equipment Total payments Surplus/(Deficit) for the year Transfers between funds Surplus/(Deficit) for the year |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 4,995 350 - 5,345 - 5,550 - - 5,550 (205) - (205) |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total current period to nearest £ Year to 31/12/24 £ 4,995 6,100 350 - - - 5,345 6,100 - - 5,550 5,788 - 60 - - 5,550 5,848 (205) 252 - - (205) 252 |
|---|---|---|---|
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Statement of Balances - As at 31st December 2025
| Statement of Balances - As at 31st December 2025 | Statement of Balances - As at 31st December 2025 | Statement of Balances - As at 31st December 2025 | Statement of Balances - As at 31st December 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted funds to nearest £ Restricted funds to nearest £ Total current period to nearest £ |
9 months to 31/12/23 to nearest £ |
|||
| Opening cash at bank and in hand 312 - 312 |
60 | |||
| Surplus/(Deficit) for the year (205) - (205) |
252 | |||
| Closing cash at bank and in hand 107 - 107 |
312 | |||
| Bank and Cash Balances | ||||
| Bank deposit account |
107 - 107 |
312 | ||
Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis, Chair, 26 March 2026
Jim Orr
Jim Orr, Treasurer, 26 March 2026
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Notes to the accounts for the year 31st December 2025
1 Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the constitution.
2 Nature and purpose of funds
Unrestricted funds are those that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. A single unrestricted fund is maintained for the day-to-day running of the club.
3 Related party transactions
No remuneration was paid to any trustees or connected person during the year or in the prior year. However, our Treasurer did loan the charity money during the year and was owed £350 at the year end. This was necessary due to short delays in receiving the agreed income payments as well as a late (small) reduction in the overall level of funding. This £350 will need to be repaid in 2026. We are confident that this measure will not need be repeated in future.
4 Donations
| Donations from Asian Arts Global (AAG) and Shanghai Jiashile |
Unrestricte d funds to nearest £ 4,995 |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - |
Total current period to nearest £ 4,995 |
Year to 31/12/24 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,100 |
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
5 Cost of charitable activities
| Costs of AAA Launch Party Costs of AAA Awards Party Delayed payments relating to prior year Running costs including staff Admin costs Banking costs Website and similar costs Total 6 Governance costs Independent examiner's fee |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 510 1,348 - 2929 547 - 215 5,550 Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 0 |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - - Restricted funds to nearest £ - |
Total current period to nearest £ 510 1,348 - 2929 547 - 215 5,550 Total current period to nearest £ 0 |
Year to 31/12/24 to nearest £ 863 1,054 2,500 1,099 199 35 98 5,848 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Year to 31/12/24 to nearest £ 60 |
7 Transfers between funds
There were no transfers of between restricted and unrestricted funds during the period. We have no restricted funds.
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Asian Art Fund Scotland
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ending 31 December 2025 which are set out above.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities.
Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the following requirements were not observed:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
Name: Mr. Simarjot Singh Luthra
Simarjot Luthra
Address: 5 Viewfield Place, Stirling, FK8 1UA
Date: 22nd February 2026
Asian Art Fund Scotland – 25/2 Roseneath Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JD asianartfundscotland.org - charity number SC049548