Report of the Trusteeson the activities of BHAC

for the year ended 31st March 2017

REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2017

The Trustees of Brighton and Hove Arts Council (BHAC) herewith present their report of activities, together with their independently examined accounts, for the financial year beginning on 1 April 2016 and ending on 31 March 2017

STRUCTURE, G OVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Brighton and Hove Arts Council (BHAC) is a Registered Charity, No 270293, governed by a constitution which provides for the election of 11 Trustees - 4 Officers and 7 Other members of an Executive Committee - who contribute to the work of BHAC on an unpaid, voluntary, basis.

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The Executive Committee elected/re-elected at the Annual General Meeting on Monday, 27 June 2016 was as follows.

Chairman: Vaughan Rees OBE Secretary: Dean Lawrence

Treasurer: Andrew Granger-BevanCommittee: Kate Armes, Milla Hills, John Hird, Jason Patrick Squire, Tina Stiles-O’Brien

During the year Dean Lawrence, Honorary Secretary, resigned as a Trustee.

Also Chris Dunne, Jennifer le Roux, Kevin Rance, and Caroline Tyler have contributed to the work of the committee in a “co-opted” capacity, and Daphne Groves managed our website.

OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY

BHAC was established in 1974 to support and promote the not-for-profit arts community in Brighton and Hove, and its environs. This purpose continues to be pursued in the ways that are described below.

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MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHARITY

In March 2016 the membership of BHAC comprised over 60 group members and a similar number of: individual members. The Committee is pleased to report that the current membership continues to be at one of its highest levels in the history of BHAC.

ACTIVITIES OF THE CHARITY

From its inception over 40 years ago, the principal object of BHAC has been to provide for the ’not for profit’ arts groups (which represent a wide diversity of art forms) a means of communicating, collectively and effectively, with the wider community. We do this through the publication of a quarterly Arts Diary and, latterly, through the BHAC website. We have also produced, also quarterly, ArtsLink, a members’ newsletter. These then constitute our core activities. In the case of both print publications all editorial input and all distribution is undertaken personally by BHAC committee members, on a voluntary basis and at no cost to the charity. We also have various projects as described below.  

Publication of the Arts Diary

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The Arts Diary is our flagship publication.  During the course of the year yet further improvements were made in its design and the print run was maintained at 5,000 copies (an increase from 3,000 to 4,000 in 2014/15) . The layout of the listing of the events of member groups has been rearranged and is now even more attractive and readily accessible. Throughout the year production of the Arts Diary was master-minded by Milla Hills with immense care and great flair. Milla personally and single- handedly saw through each stage of the publication process and we are extremely grateful to her for her remarkable dedication and hard work.

ArtsLink

The subject of pretty radical change during the course of the year, ArtsLink is now produced under a new and exceptionally skilled editor, Jennifer Le Roux. We have thought long and hard about the extent to which the members’ newsletter is actually seen, and more importantly read by the individuals who make up our group membership. We have concluded that in future ArtsLink should be available online (with hard copies for the few members for whom this is not an option) and as a supplement to the Arts Diary. This is very much ‘work in progress’ and we will shortly be canvassing members views on these changes. Our fundamental aim remains constant: how can we most effectively communicate with our members?

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The BHAC Website

The website provides information about member groups, including the listing of events in an “Arts Diary Online”, as well as the activities of BHAC itself. The subject of a major upgrade in 2015/16, during last year the layout and overall design of the website has again been further improved. Over the year to date (rather than to 31 March) the website has had some 5,100 of users and some 6,900 sessions. The most visited was the online Arts Diary or online calendar, with the Events page and list of Members coming second and third respectively. A former Trustee, Daphne Groves, continues as Website Manager/Co-ordinator, and does so immaculately, for which we are all so very grateful. Daphne now works closely with Chris Dunne a co-opted member of the Executive Committee and our resident (and brilliant!) IT guru (Chris stands for election to the Council as a Trustee at the 2017 AGM.)

BHAC Drama Awards 2016

The Awards are a longstanding celebration of the extraordinary talent that is to be found amongst our local drama groups. This year six groups competed for a range of prestigious trophies that were

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presented at our much anticipated ‘Oscars Evening’ at BHASVIC in December. This year, for the second time the Awards were ‘directed’ - triumphantly - by Committee member Kate Armes, in whom BHAC has an absolute winner! 

The 2016 (and 2017) Fine Art Spring Exhibitions

Although technically the latter fell outside the period of this report it seems right that both should be referred to before the former slips away in the mists of time. Both were held as usual in April at the Friends Meeting House, both equally providing an important showcase for the remarkable work produced by members of our visual arts groups. These works represented a surprising range of styles (pun not intended!) and were produced in varying media but all had, as a common denominator, quality and integrity. This major undertaking was again delivered, calmly and with great good humour, by Tina Stiles-O’Brien, with her trusty right hand man, the incomparable John Hird, our former Chairman.

The Rendezvous Cafe/Gallery Initiative

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BHAC continued to benefit from the arrangement whereby works by our visual art group members are exhibited, on a rotational basis, at this attractive centrally located venue. Tina works closely with the owners, Ivan and Shawn (who are great supporters of BHAC) to ensure that all runs smoothly, and the response of artists and Rendezvous customers alike is consistently enthusiastic. 

Tina Stiles-O’BrienJust before this year’s AGM we were advised by Tina that, with great reluctance, she had decided not to stand for re-election this year but that she would continue to contribute to our visual arts activities at least for the time being. Tina’s colleagues were immensely saddened by this news. Over many years and in a number of different roles Tina has proved to be an outstanding Trustee, and her wise counsel and consistent cheerfulness will be sorely missed.

2016/17: Developments in the Provision of BHAC Services

Having recorded the major advances of lasting significance that were made during 2015/16, the report for that year forecast that 2016/17 would be a period of consolidation. And so it has proved. Our new ‘visual identity’ is now well bedded in across the board, in print and online our logo and new look Arts Diary and ArtsLink continue to attract very favourable comments. Further refinements continue to be

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made to the website, with excellent user feedback. During the year BHAC took its first tentative steps into the increasingly important world of social media. We have increased our usage of social media, setting up both Facebook and Twitter accounts, and have now gained a substantial following on both. This allows us to support our member groups by re-sending their own social media messages where appropriate, in advertising events, etc.

The BHAC Poets Competition and Festival 2017

Although in prospect rather than having taken place during the period under review, reference is made here to reflect the to the very considerable initial planning that has been undertaken during the early part of 2017 in connection with this ambitious and rather complex project. BHAC is indeed fortunate to have recruited Jason Squire and Kevin Rance - a ‘dynamic duo’ if there ever was one - to take this forward. The concept evolved from the successful Poetry Competitions that were promoted in 2013 and 2015. What Jason and Kevin envisaged was much more original: a competition that culminated in a day long celebration of both the written and spoken word. This will be held at The Old Market on the 18th of November and, in what is a significant coup for BHAC, will feature Carol Ann Duffy, the Poet Laureate!

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OUR KEY SUPPORTERS

BHAC has always operated within the narrowest of financial margins and much of its work is either supported financially by membership subscriptions or is self-financing through entry fees/ticket sales. However, not all costs, particularly in relation to the printing of the Arts Diary and ‘one off’ development projects such as the visual identity review, can be met from these sources. BHAC therefore wishes to acknowledge the generous financial support that it receives, as follows.

Brighton and Hove City Council

For many years the City Council has grant-aided BHAC from its ‘Smaller Charities’ Fund. The grant is specifically ring-fenced to meet ‘core costs’, and is therefore devoted to the printing of the Arts Diary and ArtsLink. We are extremely grateful to the City Council for its continued support, especially at a time when local authority finances are under such great pressure as a result of cuts in central government funding. 

Coffin Mew

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Coffin Mew is a long established and expanding law firm with offices located primarily along the South Coast. As reported in our last Trustees’ Report, in parallel with its arrival in Brighton early in 2015 Coffin Mew very generously became our Principle Sponsor. In fact that does not fully describe our relationship with Coffin Mew. From the outset we have mutually agreed to work in partnership with each other and this is very much how we view the arrangement. Our partnership with Coffin Mew has resulted in a significant increase in BHAC income and has enabled us to proceed with the much needed and important developments to which this report has already referred. A big thank you to Coffin Mew!    

WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED

The immediate beneficiaries of work of BHAC, and more specifically of the Arts Diary, are the group members through the citywide promotion of their activities, which in the view of those groups not only sustain and even increase audiences but, also, is frequently seen as the ultimate and useful recruitment tool. But it is the community at large that we seek to benefit most. The Arts Diary is a unique local resource that provides a means of access to the wealth of creative activity that to a remarkable degree is available here in the City, day in day out, night in night out. Given the disparate nature of our member groups in terms both of their activities and also their individual organisational

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arrangements, it is possible only to refer in broad terms to numbers, but a recent informal survey indicates that groups own membership ranges from between 25 and 200, and that our member group activities attract audiences and others in the community of tens of thousands. It would be no more than speculative to make any direct correlation between the extent to which the Arts Diary can be linked directly to audience growth but the fact that group membership remains near an all time high clearly indicates the value that is placed on this publication – that is in addition to its public popularity. This is perhaps best expressed in the following comment from a new group member:

“There is a great need for a website with a day-to-day calendar of cultural events in Brighton and Hove. Obviously, tourists and visitors need to consult it in advance to plan their holiday break in the city and when they arrive. But less obviously, so do the residents need this service. And perhaps even less obviously, so do the organisers of events need to see what is happening in your local church – which may be a concert venue – or in any of the numerous cultural organisations in Brighton and Hove. BHAC is precisely the online website (and its quarterly print version) that we need and dream about. Don’t re-invent the wheel. Develop it. Extend it. And above all, fund it.”

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In addition to the Arts Diary, BHAC annual ‘special projects’ are also greatly valued by participants and ‘audiences’ (in the broadest sense) alike, as demonstrates by the encouraging message that came to us from a group member:

“We entered the Brighton and Hove Drama Awards for the first time last year and not only was this a delightful experience for the members involved because the event was so professionally administered but, as a result of our success (and the press coverage surrounding the event), we have had 5 new members approach the group to join in the last five months since the awards (that is more than in the last two years combined!). We cannot stress how essential new members are for the survival of our, and other local amateur groups, and only by raising the profile and standards of local drama through the survival of organisations such as BHAC can groups like ours hope to sustain ourselves, and indeed to grow further and involve and enrich our local communities.”

LOOKING AHEAD

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For BHAC 2016/17 was again a period of sustained achievement that entailed a particularly heavy workload for your Committee. That does not mean that we can rest on our laurels. We will continue to publish the Arts Diary and ArtsLink, and maintain and continue to improve the website. In addition, having successfully delivered the Spring Art Exhibition planning is well advanced on the 2017 Drama Awards and also for our great new venture, the BHAC Poetry Competition and Festival. All of this requires a great deal of time and effort. We continue to consider the logistics of mounting an inaugural BHAC celebration of local music making. Much will depend in two crucial factors. First, our ability to attract new and keen individuals who are prepared to become involved with BHAC at the sharp end, that is who will be prepared to 'roll up their sleeves', either as Trustees or as co-opted members of the Executive Committee. The second, as ever, is financial. With the continued support of our main external funders, we can continue to provide our current, much valued, services and also bring forward the new and innovative projects that are in the planning pipeline. Without that support, we would be heading for a period of serious retrenchment. Even so, with the continued and enthusiastic support of our group and individual members, your Trustees are confident that for BHAC the best is yet to come!

FINANCIAL REPORT

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Summary for Year Ended 31 march 2017

The financial year to 31 March 2017 has been marked by stability. The enclosed accounts show a surplus of some £2,800. This figure is lower than the surplus in the previous year – our income reduced but so did our expenditure. Coffin Mew’s sponsorship has reduced to £450 per quarter but is still welcome. On the other hand we did not have one-off expenditure such as the rebranding exercise in the previous year. Subscription income is reduced but this is due at the last AGM to changing the date to 1 April on which subscriptions become due. We also saw a welcome increase in adverting fees in ArtsLink. During the year we transferred £5,000 to a charity interest account with Virgin Money.

Banker

National Westminster Bank plc, London Road (A) Branch, 41-42 London Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 4LL

Honorary Legal Adviser

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Mr. Glyn Adams, c/o Green Wright Chalton Annis, 305/307 Goring Road, Goring-By-Sea, West Sussex BN12 4NX.

Statement of the Trustees’ Financial Responsibilities

The Trustees are required to prepare accounts for each financial year, giving a true and fair view of the financial activities during the year and the position at the end of it. We are expected to follow best practice and to select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently. We are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records, so we can disclose the charity’s financial position with reasonable accuracy. Finally, we are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity, and for taking reasonable steps to prevent risks and irregularities.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have considered that the current reserves are sufficient to meet any reduction in net income during the next six months, including making any payments that are due before associated receipts are received.

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Signed on behalf of the Trustees: [Chairman]

[Hon Treasurer]… May 2017

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