The Arts Catalyst - Charities report - 21.2

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 02982223 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1042433

Report of the Trustees and

Unaudited Financial Statements

for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

for

THE ARTS CATALYST

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

7

Statement of Financial Activities

8

Balance Sheet

9

Notes to the Financial Statements

10

to

14

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

Arts Catalyst works across art, science and technology to produce ambitious new projects that critically engage with our changing world.

We programme exhibitions, events, residencies, performances and publications, often working in collaboration with national and international partner organisations from the fields of art, science and academia. Our public programme is intrinsic to our work, creating space for conversation, debate and fresh thinking.

Since 1994, we've commissioned more than 170 artists' projects, including major new works by the Otolith Group, Agnes Meyer Brandis, Tomás Saraceno, Aleksandra Mir, Larry Achiampong and David Blandy, and Susan Schuppli.

We frequently work in non-traditional arts spaces, often within a particular landscape. Through collective inquiries we investigate urgent global concerns, bringing together artists, scientists, communities and interest groups to address issues such as environmental change and inequality.

We believe in the potential of artists and cultural organisations to be active agents of change, challenging how culture, science and technology are defined, valued and understood.

Our Values

We are committed to:

- expanding the potential of arts organisations as active agents of change

- working collaboratively based on shared values and mutual respect

- championing artists' professional development and supporting risk-taking, ambition and experimentation

- working in ways that are both hyperlocal and responsive to planetary challenges and changes

- reducing our environmental impact on the planet and tackling climate change through our programme

- valuing all forms of knowledge equally

- proactively working to expose structural inequalities, systemic oppression and to resist racial prejudice through our programme and within all aspects of our work

- ensuring our work, our values and our governance reflects the diversity of contemporary society

- ensuring equality of access and opportunity across all aspects of the organisation and our work

- maintaining financial transparency and a robust ethical approach to funding

Significant activities

2020/21 marked an important year for Arts Catalyst, as the organisation moved its operations from London to Sheffield in South Yorkshire as part of its long term relocation strategy.

This year marked an ambitious online digital strategy to connect with new and existing audiences nationally and internationally.

During the national lockdown, due to COVID-19 pandemic all of the Arts Catalyst's programmes were formed as online events, workshops, film programmes, residencies and exhibitions. Through the programme we reached approximately 4,000 online live audiences. Previous to the pandemic our audiences had reached up to 80,000+ per annum. While Arts Catalyst did have reduced audience numbers due to the pandemic, the organisation did however provide new opportunities and projects for artists and audiences to engage with, as well as developing our organisational skills in digital programming and commissioning.

During 2020/21 we developed 6 new artists commissions and further new opportunities for artists to develop their practice, including 7 residencies, 3 online projects, 1 video commission, 4 new sound works and 1 digital publication. We also delivered an extensive online public programme, including 16 online events and a six-month skills-development programme as part of our new initiative Radio Arts Catalyst.

Three of the residencies led to new artistic commissions developed for 2021/22.

Our previously commissioned public artwork reached approximately 12,000 in person audiences in the UK and previously commissioned films reached 3,500 in person audiences internationally.

Projects 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021

Extractable Matters on Film | May - June 2020 | Online via artscatalyst.org

Artists: Ignacio Acosta | Joshua Portway and Lise Autogena | Regina de Miguel | Carolina Caycedo | Rachel O'Reilly | Emma Charles

Running for six weeks with a new film available weekly, this season of artist-made films expanded on the questions underlying Arts Catalyst's ongoing research programme Extractable Matters - explored in the context of the two-day conference Assembly: Extractable Matters which took place in November 2019.

The film programme aimed to explore the molecular effects of mining and extractive practices on a planetary scale. It tried to unpack these complex interdependencies - for instance, between the demand for forms of renewable energy that require the extraction of scarce resources and the disruption of ecosystems and communities - and expose existing forms of alliances and solidarity between artists, activists, and those affected by mining industries.

Rock the Hot Pot / Recentering Attention | June - October 2020 | Migration Matters Festival

Artists: Annie Jael Kwan, Cuong Pham, and Howl Yuan (Asia-Art-Activism)

Rock the Hot Pot was a project presented by Asia-Art-Activism in collaboration with Arts Catalyst as part of Migration Matters Festival. It centred around food as politics and opened up discussions around the local, migration, identity and belonging. Whilst Arts Catalyst were unable to host a hotpot in Sheffield due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing measures, we aimed to build community by opening up an online resource initiative, World Wide Wontons, through the collective gathering and sharing of recipes, stories, and histories of food.

Throughout the Migration Matters Festival (15 - 21 June) and beyond, we invited participants to send us their recipes, food stories and images to be included as part of an online resource that was launched in the summer. This event formed part of Arts Catalyst's ongoing programme Recentring Attention, Arts Catalyst's strand of programme that informs its relocation to Sheffield.

The First 10,000 Years | October 2020 - October 2021 | Online commission and public programme, Bloc Projects, Sheffield

Artists: Gary Zhexi Zhang | Agnes Cameron

The First 10,000 Years forms part of fud, a new body of work by Gary Zhexi Zhang - commissioned by Arts Catalyst and Bloc Projects - drawn from the artist's research into the role of insurance in shaping the times and spaces we inhabit. Over the past year, Zhang has been researching the "catastrophe industry", the billion-dollar market for insurance against hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts, priced through climate simulations and financial modelling. Over three episodes, fud explores the catastrophe industry as an elaborate work of science fiction, in which the business of underwriting the earth begins to resemble the shaping of possible worlds.

This 18-month project comprises a digital commission which launched online in October 2020, an exhibition at Bloc Projects in Sheffield (June 2021), a residency at Medialab Prado in Madrid (2021) and a publication. A public programme (online and in person) accompanies the project throughout its development, engaging audiences through study groups, workshops and talks.

EURO-VISION | March 2021 - April 2021 | Online project, publication and public programme

Artists: Francisco Gallardo and Audrey Samson (FRAUD)

EURO-VISION is an artist-led inquiry into the extractive gaze of European institutions and policies, commissioned by Arts Catalyst and Radar. Initiated in 2018 in collaboration with scholar and media practitioner Btihaj Ajana (King's College London), the project sought to make visible the many entangled modes of extraction that Europe enacts on third countries*: through the establishment of Free Trade Zones, fisheries partnerships agreements, and investment stratagems.

The project culminated with the launch of a web platform, which acted as a resource that revealed and mobilised EURO-VISION's multilayered body of research developed in conversation with academics, economists, lawyers, activists and journalists. Their voices, insights and knowledge emerged through video interviews, treaties, and documents, as well as a public programme of conversations in the form of podcasts, online workshops, and a series of policy recommendations.

From the end of March and throughout the month of April, a series of weekly podcasts punctuated the EURO-VISION web platform and mobilised it through the critical perspective of activists, scholars, fisherpeople, and artists. The podcasts featured a series of conversations hosted by FRAUD around the politics of extraction, migration and international agreements that are affecting communities and ecologies on a global scale and that perpetuate European colonial legacies.

Speakers included: Professor Adekeye Adebajo, Dr Epifania Akosua Amoo-Adare, Dr Nishat Awan, Professor Liam Campling, Ms Micheline Dion Somplehi, Dr James Esson, Professor Peo Hansen, Professor Stefan Jonsson, Ms Béatrice Gorez, Mr Nii Ayitey Sackey, Mr Solomon Sampa, Dr Ndongo Samba Sylla.

RESIDENCIES

The End of the Present | July - December 2020 | Online research residency and public programme

Artists: Ruth Beale and Amy Feneck (The Alternative School of Economics)

The End of the Present was a residency and public programme by artist duo The Alternative School of Economics exploring the relationship between linear time, economic and environmental crisis. The residency critically engaged with the financial boom and bust model of crisis. Learning from the accumulative crisis of environmental change, it explored ways to re-frame crises as a colliding of multiple narratives and connections.

The residency hosted a series of public events, through which members of the public were invited to contribute to the project. The first event was an online workshop titled Time(un)line: Mapping Crises, experimenting with co-research processes, including time for individual research, breakout groups, as well as mapping onto an accessible, online platform.

The Alternative School of Economics were originally invited to present a physical exhibition at Arts Catalyst's London Centre which would have been the final installation in that space prior to Arts Catalyst's relocation to Sheffield last year. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the project evolved and manifested as a participatory, online project.

Radio Arts Catalyst | November 2020 onwards | Online

Initiated in 2020, Radio Arts Catalyst explores radio as a site of encounter and as a critical space in which to collectively address current social, political and environmental challenges happening on a hyperlocal and a planetary scale. Approaching broadcasting as an ecology of overlapping spaces for listening, mapping, and transmitting, Radio Arts Catalyst is made up of three central elements: an artist residency programme; The School of Broadcasting informal self-education programme; and an evolving programme of artist projects, audio experiments and sonic inquiries connected to Arts Catalyst's ongoing research strands.

The School of Broadcasting | September 2020 - April 2021 | Workshops held online via Zoom and resulting broadcasts via Radio Arts Catalyst, Audioboom and Spotify

Led by artists Evan Ifekoya and RESOLVE Collective, with production support from Sheffield-based producer Kitty Turner

In September 2020, Arts Catalyst launched The School of Broadcasting, an informal self-education programme and audio-centric space for exploring the possibilities of broadcasting as a collective practice. Over six months, under the guidance of two mentoring artists - Evan Ifekoya and RESOLVE Collective - two cohorts of participants embarked on a collective process of researching, organising, and creating on the airwaves.

Two experimental mixtapes were produced to celebrate the culmination of these projects, which brought together contributions from participants produced as a result of the learning and experience gained from the workshops. These broadcasts are widely available to listen to via the Radio Arts Catalyst platform, as well as via Audioboom, Spotify, and other play-on-demand platforms.

The School of Broadcasting was supported by partners SADACCA, Migration Matters Festival, Sheffield Hallam University, and University of Derby, who shared the open call for participants widely amongst their networks.

Radio Arts Catalyst Artist Residencies

Artists: Ashley Holmes | Breakwater & Cuong Pham | Kaajal Modi | Yussef Agbo-Ola (Mentor Annie Jael Kwan)

Residents were invited to develop experimental sound-based work, test out new aural approaches and pursue sonic modes of artistic inquiry, with mentoring support from independent curator, researcher and writer Annie Jael Kwan and Arts Catalyst's curatorial team.

Ashley Holmes

For the Radio Arts Catalyst Residency, Ashley Holmes developed a body of sound-based works and research that explored the potential of broadcasting and sound production to consider the ways perspectives around migration, class and racial identities are embodied, gathered and disseminated in music and cultural traditions.

Breakwater & Cuong Pham

This project considered mental wellbeing as a collective responsibility, focusing on the detrimental impact of Covid-19 and the spike of anti-Asian racism upon the mental health of Southeast and East Asian diasporas, refugees and precarious migrants in the UK. Drawing upon Franz Fanon's seminal observation on the relationship between colonial oppression/violence and mental illness, this project conceptualised collective healing as performing justice. Four radio episodes were developed during the residency that aimed to provide and hold a space of solidarity and communal comfort.

Kaajal Modi

For the Radio Arts Catalyst residency, Kajaal Modi worked with research outcomes and materials from a previous research residency to develop a multi-layered sound installation/experience that can be listened to in your own kitchen while you cook, that captured the experience of being taught how to cook by a friend or family member. The piece incorporated microbial becomings, creating an intercultural dialogue between the people and the bacteria who are collaborating in our preserved foods, thereby connecting us more fully to our food systems.

Yussef Agbo-Ola

For his Radio Art Catalyst residency, Yussef Agbo-Ola created acoustic architectural experiments that reflected upon the role of ethnomusicology, biological sonic feedback, and conceptual poetry around themes of environmentalism. He developed a sound work that questioned how different epistemologies from a range of diverse cultures relate, perceive, and become connected to or a part of their local ecological systems.

River Networks | January - June 2021 | West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire waterways

Artists: Helena Hunter and Mark Wright (Matterlurgy)

River Networks is an inquiry and web platform investigating the ways in which a river's health can be examined and understood.

As part of Test Sites: Calder, artists Matterlurgy have developed River Networks, an inquiry into what lives in the water of a river and into the different ways in which the health of a river can be examined, understood, and interpreted. The project blended methods from science and art by co-constructing a practice that cuts across perception, sound, language, and sense.

Matterlurgy is a collaborative practice between London based artists Helena Hunter and Mark Peter Wright. They work in critical contexts of environmental change, across disciplines and media, combining the production of artworks with co-constructed events and live performance.

International Residency | January - March 2021 | Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan

Artist: Hannah Rowan

Initiated in early 2020, Arts Catalyst has collaborated with Platform Asia and Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan as part of an international residency exchange programme for early-career artists. Artist Hannah Rowan was in residence at Taipei Artist Village from January - March 2021, undertaking aquatic research into the mutualistic relationship between butterflies and plants in the marginal ecosystems of mangroves. This built upon her ongoing research into organic materials, as well as relationships between nature, technology and human-made objects. Hannah developed a sonic output for Radio Arts Catalyst from the research, to be released towards the end of 2021. As part of the residency, Hannah also created a series of documentary images and journal entries emerging from her research.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Reserves policy

The Trustees' policy is to build and maintain unrestricted funds adequate for the organisation to meet its obligation to staff, operational costs and to projects in progress for three months. This gives time to adjust programme of activities in an orderly manner, should the need arise.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Organisational development and governance

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Arts Catalyst staff reverted to working from home. Adjustments to working online were developed rapidly and board meetings and events were hosted online. An online programme was developed as well as redirecting planned in person projects to be developed for online purposes.

In June 2020, the Executive Director - Joint CEO, embarked on their Maternity leave and their role was covered by an interim Deputy Director role until March 2021.

After an open call for new north based trustees Cheryl Bowen was appointed as a trustee in September 2020. She has worked in Museums and the Cultural sector for more than 10 years and now works for Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust as the Community Engagement and Participation Coordinator. Cheryl is currently a member of the Museum Detox Network, and Museum Detox North West Group, a Mentor for TATE We Make Change Programme and Sheffield Hallam University. Cheryl is also the Co-director of Museum X, a CIC which looks after the Black British Museum Project Initiative.

New funding opportunities were sought and developed from Art Fund, Freshgate Trust, Sheffield Church Burgesses Trust and Arts Council England's Culture Recovery Fund. A new partnership project with University of Leeds was also developed as well as forming an MOU with Sheffield Hallam University.

Risk management

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the organisation, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate its exposure to the major risks. These risks are monitored at quarterly board meetings and the annual review of the risk mitigation policy.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

02982223 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1042433

Registered office

c/o 18-20 Union Street

Sheffield City Centre

South Yorkshire

S1 2JP

Trustees

A Biswas

K Evans

D S Jago

E A Lynch (resigned 29.5.20)

F Nicholas

A Sandhu (resigned 29.5.20)

M D Smith

C O Bowen (appointed 29.9.20)

B Escritt (appointed 29.5.20)

K L O'Neil (appointed 29.5.20)

C Lastra (appointed 20.5.20)

L Clarke (appointed 20.5.20)

Company Secretaries

C Lastra

L Clarke

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 21 October 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

K L O'Neil - Trustee

31.3.21

31.3.20

Unrestricted

Total

fund

funds

Notes

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Public grants, trusts and foundations

228,735

201,290

Other income

2

8,050

46,397

Total

236,785

247,687

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

3

217,195

223,758

NET INCOME

19,590

23,929

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

94,956

71,027

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

114,546

94,956

31.3.21

31.3.20

Unrestricted

Total

fund

funds

Notes

£

£

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

7

7,298

1,464

Cash at bank

154,378

119,668

161,676

121,132

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

8

(47,130

)

(26,176

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

114,546

94,956

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

114,546

94,956

NET ASSETS

114,546

94,956

FUNDS

9

Unrestricted funds

114,546

94,956

TOTAL FUNDS

114,546

94,956

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2021.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

(a)	ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

(b)

preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 21 October 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

K L O'Neil - Trustee

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

2.	OTHER INCOME

31.3.21

31.3.20

£

£

Earned income

7,723

45,456

Donations

327

941

8,050

46,397

3.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Direct charitable activities

31.3.21

31.3.20

£

£

Direct costs

80,533

78,169

Support costs

136,662

147,192

217,195

225,361

4.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were trustees remuneration and benefits of £0 for the year ended 31 March 2021 (2020 - £0.)

Trustees' expenses

There were trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2021 of £0, there were trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2020 of £250.

5.	STAFF COSTS

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

31.3.21

31.3.20

Employees

4

5

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

6.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

fund

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Public grants, trusts and foundations

201,290

Other income

46,397

Total

247,687

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

223,758

NET INCOME

23,929

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

71,027

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

94,956

7.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.21

31.3.20

£

£

Other debtors

138

192

VAT

618

375

Prepayments and accrued income

6,542

897

7,298

1,464

8.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.21

31.3.20

£

£

Social security and other taxes

2,228

-

Other creditors

425

572

Accruals and deferred income

44,477

25,604

47,130

26,176

9.	MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Net

movement

At

At 1.4.20

in funds

31.3.21

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

94,956

19,590

114,546

TOTAL FUNDS

94,956

19,590

114,546

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

236,785

(217,195

)

19,590

TOTAL FUNDS

236,785

(217,195

)

19,590

Comparatives for movement in funds

Net

movement

At

At 1.4.19

in funds

31.3.20

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

71,027

23,929

94,956

TOTAL FUNDS

71,027

23,929

94,956

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

247,687

(223,758

)

23,929

TOTAL FUNDS

247,687

(223,758

)

23,929

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

Net

movement

At

At 1.4.19

in funds

31.3.21

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

71,027

43,519

114,546

TOTAL FUNDS

71,027

43,519

114,546

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

484,472

(440,953

)

43,519

TOTAL FUNDS

484,472

(440,953

)

43,519

10.	OTHER FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

The company had capital operating lease commitments at the year end of £0. (2020 - £26,125)

The company had pension commitments at the year end of £425.28. (2020 - £572.06)

11.	RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2021.