John O’Keefe – Guildford Arts

ga Annual General Meeting 2021

John O'Keefe — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:34:58 +0000

The 2021 AGM which has been delayed due to Covid will now be held at the Guildford Institute on 18 October at 7.30 p.m.

AGENDA:

1. Approval of minutes of the AGM held on Tuesday 3 November 2020 – see below

2. Matters arising

3. Treasurer’s report – see below

4. Adoption of the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021

5. Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts

The Treasurer recommends the re-appointment of Richard Norman as Independent Examiner of Accounts; Guildford Arts is not a charitable company and is therefore not required to have the accounts audited

6. Appointment of Bank

The Treasurer recommends the continuation of the services of National Westminster Bank and of CAF Cash, the banking arm of the Charities Aid Foundation, as the second bank. Longer term investments are with Secure Trust and there is an Investment account with Black Rock UK and a Legal and General Unit Trust.

7. Election of Committee Members

The following are the present elected Committee Members

Chairman: Bill Ward

Vice-Chairman: Jan Wilkinson

Treasurer: Richard Bowman

Administrator/Art@Work: Sue Dragon

Membership Secretary: Jan Wilkinson

News & Views Editor: Roy Hogben

Small Grants: Mike Beckwith

GASE Chair Philippa Sampson-Bancroft

Web Site Manager John O’Keefe

8. Election of Other Members of the Committee

Existing member: Gordon Jackson

9. Election of Nominated Members

The following are the present elected Nominated Members:

Councillor Jan Harwood representing Guildford borough Council,

Pippa Treharne representing the University of Surrey

Sandra Roberts representing the Guildford Institute

10. Modifications to the Constitution

11. Any other business

NB: Nominations for Officers and Committee Members are invited, with the prior agreement of the nominee, in writing, to Sue Dragon, Administrator, Guildford Arts, 5 Irwin Road, Guildford, GU2 7PW.

Sue Dragon

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 3 November 2020 :Virtually

In attendance: Bill Ward, Jan and Philip Wilkinson, Richard Bowman, Mike Beckwith, Richard Norman, Sue Dragon, John O’Keefe, Roy and Anita Hogben, Philippa Sampson Bancroft, Joan Clifford, Barbara Hester, Deena Goff, Ann Hyde, Alan Keat, Hilary Leigh, Gachou Pletts, June Pugh, Sinclair Webster.

Bill Ward welcomed everyone to this delayed AGM which was unable to be held in July due to the pandemic. He thanked Philippa Sampson-Bancroft for facilitating the virtual meeting.

1. Apologies: were received from Tammy Ellis, Gordon Jackson, John Nicholls, Judy Norman, Pippa Treherne.

2. Minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 4 July 2019 were proposed by Sue Dragon, seconded by John O’Keefe and accepted unanimously by the meeting.

3. Matters Arising:

None

4. Chairman’s report:

This had been previously circulated and Bill Ward also noted that there had been virtual exhibitions curated by Sue Dragon and Philippa Sampson-Bancroft and Roy Hogben had continued to produce News and Views from South Africa where he was hiding from Covid-19. In December the Guildford Arts calendar, curated by Sue Dragon, will be distributed to paid-up members.

5. Treasurer’s report:

Richard Bowman presented the accounts, previously circulated, noting that they referred to a mainly preCovid-19 period. He mentioned the increase in exhibition income and in the income from mailings. GA has continued to distribute funds. The first lockdown had an effect on investments but to date 70% of the losses have been recovered. There had been a £7000 loss due to the movements of the stockmarket.

Hilary Leigh asked if GA should be distributing more funds with £48,000 in hand. Bill Ward replied that support had been given to Guildford Fringe which is supportive of the Yvonne Arnaud Art exhibition, there had been contributions to Watts Gallery to facilitate the siting of Physical Energy on the A3 and to Guildford Book Festival. Philippa Sampson-Bancroft had distributed The Big Draw packs to children in the Guildford area. This had been publicised by social media. A recent recipient for a grant was Pirbright Arts which will be presenting events on-line until normal events can be held. A grant for the new Surrey Performing Arts Library has been agreed and is pending.

Philippa Sampson-Bancroft mentioned that the lighting system used for the summer exhibition is fragile and needs to be replaced, probably with LED which will also benefit by being cooler. It may be that the boards are at the end of their useful life too so considerable expense will be required for these purchases.

Bill Ward thanked Richard Bowman for his crucial work behind the scenes to ensure that Guildford Arts remained on a sound financial footing and Richard Norman for his examination of the accounts once again.

The adoption of the accounts was proposed by Sue Dragon, seconded by Roy Hogben and approved by the meeting. The accounts were therefore adopted.

6. Appointment of Independent Examiner: The Treasurer recommended the re-appointment of Richard Norman; this was proposed by Philippa Sampson-Bancroft, seconded by Mike Beckwith and approved unanimously.

7. Appointment of Bank: The Treasurer recommended the continuation of the services of National Westminster Bank and of CAF Cash, the banking arm of the Charities Aid Foundation, as the second bank, and PayPal. Longer term investments are with Secure Trust and there is an Investment account with Black Rock UK and a Legal and General Unit Trust. The appointments were proposed by Richard Bowman, seconded by Jan Wilkinson and unanimously approved.

8. Election of Committee members:

The Chairman notified the meeting that all current officers were prepared to stand for re-election. There had been no further nominations.

Chairman: Bill Ward

Vice-Chairman: Jan Wilkinson

Treasurer: Richard Bowman

Administrator/ Art@Work: Sue Dragon

Membership Secretary: Jan Wilkinson

News and Views editor: Roy Hogben

Small Grants: Mike Beckwith

YAA Organiser: Philippa Sampson-Bancroft

Web Development manager: John O’Keefe

Proposed by Hilary Leigh and seconded by Deena Goff. All were unanimously approved for re-election.

9. Election of Members: Gordon Jackson was proposed by Bill Ward and seconded by Mike Beckwith. and was approved by the meeting.

Nominated members were: Pippa Treharne from the University, Jan Harwood from GBC and Sandra Robinson from Guildford Institute. The latter has just resigned as a trustee of GI so another nominee is awaited. The chairman thanked Pauline Searle and Charlotte Beck for their work on the committee. Pauline had retired from her position as lead on cultural matters on GBC and Charlotte who has moved away from Guildford.

Any Other Business:

Bill Ward spoke of the immense contribution to the Arts in Guildford by Pat Grayburn who has ceased to be the nominated member representing the University.on the Guildford Arts committee after very long service in this role. She has been involved in Guildford Book Festival, the International Music Festival, a gallery on the university campus with a legacy of prestigious art works, on the board of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Watts Gallery. Bill Ward announced to the meeting that she had been awarded the first Honorary Life Membership of Guildford Arts in recognition of her immense contribution.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 8 pm.

Treasurer’s Report 2021:

News & Views 1

John O'Keefe — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 15:33:31 +0000

Arts Emergency Fund Awards Yvonne Arnaud Theatre £248,000

John O'Keefe — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 09:57:09 +0000

Guildford’s treasured Yvonne Arnaud theatre has been awarded £248,000 from the Arts Council England Covid Emergency Fund.

Director Joanna Read said today: “We are relieved and heartened to receive this critical support. A small staff team is doing all we can to keep the theatre alive for the future and this support will help us plan for the new year and beyond.”

Joanna Read, theatre director

The curtain fell on March 16 as the pandemic struck deep. In July, patrons were told the traditional annual pantomime would have to be cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. But the theatre has recently re-opened with a socially distanced auditorium as a “virus-secure” venue for some performances.

ga Email Newsletters

John O'Keefe — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 16:10:37 +0000

Would you like to be kept informed about arts events as they are added to this website? Sign up for your preferred newsletters and leave the rest to us!

Guildford Shakespeare Company, Love’s Labour’s Lost 2018 (Photo Matt Pereira)

(You can always change your mind by revisiting this page or using the ‘Unsubscribe / Manage your subscription’ links at the bottom of the newsletters.)

ga Summer Exhibition 2024

John O'Keefe — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 15:11:43 +0000

Each Summer, during August, Guildford Arts presents a distinctive exhibition of contemporary art in the Mill Studio, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

A team of committed arts enthusiasts spend several months visiting Art Exhibitions in the Guildford Area, London and across the South East to select and invite a variety of local and national artists to exhibit work. The exhibition has acquired a significant reputation among artists and buyers of art for an annual collection of 2D and 3D art that offers a broad range of styles and affordable prices!

Want to make a further enquiry?

Please email: gasummerex@guildfordarts.com

GA Summer Exhibition 2018

GA Summer Exhibition 2019

ga Mailings

John O'Keefe — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 15:09:59 +0000

Guildford Arts offers its members the opportunity to take advantage of our regular mailings

These are distributed to some 500 addresses – including a growing list of our many ‘buyers’ who have purchased artworks at our exhibitions. Seven mailings occur at roughly 2 monthly intervals throughout the year. (See below)

Guildford Shakespeare Company,
Romeo and Juliet 2018 (Photo Matt Pereira)

We distribute flyers, invitations, membership materials and our newsletter. It is quite usual for a mailing to contain 10 or more individual ‘communications’ – most of which are provided by our Organisation Members.

We request a contribution of £50 per mailing towards postage and materials costs – and we ask that 500 copies of the item (usually a flyer!) be delivered at least three days before the mailing date.

Note: It is important to register your intention to use the mailing service at least two weeks ahead of the chosen mailing date so that we can arrange sufficient ‘resources’ for the ‘stuffing’ session!

All label production and envelope ‘stuffing’ is undertaken by our committee members!

For more details, please contact us by email: gaflyers@guildfordarts.org

OR: gamembers@guildfordarts.org

Mailing Dates for 2021 will be announced once the Covid 19 situation has been clarified!

January 21st 2021

April 23rd 2021

June 15th 2021

ga Grants

John O'Keefe — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 15:06:21 +0000

Are you seeking funding for an arts initiative that will take place within the Borough of Guildford? Need help with money for a ‘one off’ arts event to be spent on publicity, materials, travel costs and /or fees? Perhaps you are looking for the backing of an established charitable arts organisation in support of applications to large funding bodies such as Guildford Borough Council or the Big Lottery Fund?

Guildford Shakespeare Company,
Alice 2017 (Photo Matt Pereira)

In which case you may be eligible for a small grant from Guildford Arts to help you towards your goal.

Guildford Arts Small Grants Scheme

Guildford Arts runs a small grants scheme with the principal aim of helping new local arts initiatives/projects to get off the ground.

If you have a new initiative/project and are seeking funding, please apply to gagrants@guildfordarts.com

Grants are made in May and November each year.

Applications must be received by the end of April or October.

Guidance on the Criteria for a Grant

1. Grants (usually £100-250, exceptionally up to £500) will normally only be made for new initiatives not a continuation or repeat of a previous or similar activity

2. Grants will usually be given to initiatives which have a longer term potential rather than a one-off event

3. Activities which enhance the lives of disadvantaged or young people will be particularly welcome, especially if it has the potential for some continuing engagement of the young or disadvantaged in hands-on artistic activity.

4. Preference will be given to initiatives which have the potential to involve a wider group of participants and have sustained impact

5. Receipt of an award will include the requirement to agree both to publicise Guildford Arts and allow the subsequent free use by Guildford Arts of the information provided (unless there is a specific agreement to the contrary)

6. A grant will be conditional on Guildford Arts receiving a report from the organisers setting out what was achieved and what subsequent actions are proposed.

7. Following the offer of a grant, 50% of the agreed funding will be made available subject to any other conditions that may be required. The second 50% will be available once the applicant has provided a suitable illustrated report on the success of the grant aided proposal. The report should be a relatively short appraisal of how the supported scheme performed against targets and how well it was received by participants/attendees.

Exclusions

1. Commercial or profit making organisations, education Institutions and Local Authorities, unless it is a completely separate project, supported by the organisation and run on a not for profit basis.

2. Retrospective applications

3. Capital expenditure or the acquisition or maintenance of buildings etc.

4. Contributions to paid employment or personal education costs

5. The full cost of an initiative/project will not be met. Significant funds must be available from other sources. Evidence showing the existence of such funds may be required.

N.B. Very rarely, in wholly exceptional circumstances, GA may waive one or more of these exclusions.

Procedure

If you have a worthwhile project which meets the requirements set out above, please send the following information to gagrants@guildfordarts.com

1. A short description (half/three quarters of a page) of your proposal and its objectives,

2. Details of established funding and /or realistic expected revenue
3. A breakdown of projected costs
4. The names, background and contact details of those running the project
5. A statement of the ways in which the project might develop and involve others.

If you are part of an organisation with a founding statement, constitution etc with a description of aims and objectives etc, will you please include that with your submission (or, if available on a web site, the URL).

Please note the dates for submission given at the top of this document.

Conclusion

Sometimes grants will be made/rejected on the basis of the above application alone: more usually, the people/person running the project will be asked to discuss the proposal with a designated member or members of the Guildford Arts Committee.

Guildford Arts
December 2012

Some examples of recent awards:

£300 toward the production of L’Orfeo opera staged by Esmond Cordingly-Poole for charity at St Mary’s in Guildford. The production gave young people the opportunity to produce and participate in a rarely staged opera.

£500 for a special arts related workshop for young people within the Always the Sun Festival in Stoke Park

£214.25 to Forge Initiative Productions for their production of ‘Hitchhikers Guide to Guildford’.This was a special production that would be adapted for schools.

£250 for a workshop for young people as part of the national Big Draw initiative.

Funding for one of the film screenings specifically aimed at the elderly within the Guildford Film Festival.

Delight in Libraries – A drama production for young people from Guildford schools. £500

Grant toward installation of Physical Energy, Watts Gallery and Artists Village. £500

New Surrey Performing Arts Library – £1,000 to help more the library contents to a new site in Woking.

Pirbright Arts for a live online music concert. £600. Ongoing.

The above selection of awards were made during the period 2017 – 2020

ga Arts Magazine

John O'Keefe — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 15:00:54 +0000

Guildford Arts publishes a general Arts Magazine entitled ‘News & Views‘ three times a year.

Content varies from reflections on the arts and cultural scene in the Guildford area, articles concerning local arts personalities and significant events to updates on Guildford Arts and the activities of other arts organisations.

Members receive copies via our regular mailings while additional copies are distributed via the Guildford Library and The Guildford Institute.

To contact the editor, email gaeditor@guildfordarts.com

To view the News & Views Archive, click HERE

Data Privacy Policy

John O'Keefe — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 14:45:49 +0000

Data Privacy Policy: Guildford Arts

Protecting your privacy is very important to Guildford Arts.

The following information describes how Guildford Arts collects and uses information about its members and others who use its services.

If you have any queries about this statement please email: gaadmin@guildfordarts.com

Collecting Information

We will collect personal information from you when you take out a membership subscription with us, make a purchase at one of our exhibitions or otherwise provide us with personal information.

We will also gather general information regarding the use of our website, such as which pages are visited most frequently. Only anonymous information and statistics will be used which do not identify individual visitors. This information is for administration purposes only.

Personal Information

The type of personal information collected includes name, email address, postal address, telephone number and other details related to your artistic activities where relevant.

How do we use this information?

We will use your personal information to provide you with

Access to our website to maintain your personal information
Access to our website to enable you to post articles as appropriate to your membership.
Regular mailings
Occasional email messages concerning our activities and your membership status

You can opt out of receiving emailed material at anytime by contacting Guildford Arts at gaadmin@guildfordarts.com

Privacy and Security

Cookies

‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by a web server to a web browser, which enable the server to collect information from the browser. Should we use cookies, they will only be required to facilitate website operation. The use of cookies does not give us access to the rest of your computer or to personal information about you.

Personal Detail Protection

Information that you submit is stored on a secure server. However, the transmission of information over the Internet is never 100% secure so while we try to protect your personal information, we can’t guarantee the security of any information you submit to us via our website or that we enter on your behalf.

We also take appropriate measures to ensure that the information we receive is kept secure, accurate and up to date and kept only for so long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is used. Access to our secure server is restricted to authorised officers of Guildford Arts.

Legal Compliance

Guildford Arts may need to disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a court order.

Consent

By providing us with your personal information you consent to the collection and use of that information for the purposes and in the manner described in this Privacy Policy.

Links

Our website may include links to websites run by other organisations. Guildford Arts is not responsible for the privacy practices of other organisations’ websites. Should you access such websites and provide personal information to them, you should read their privacy policies carefully.

Data Protection (Rights of Access)

You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you (for which we may charge a small fee) and to have any inaccuracies in your information corrected.

Guildford Arts reserve’s the right to amend this privacy statement. The most up to date version will be always be available on our website so please check from time to time, continuing to use our website you will be deemed to have accepted any changes.

Data Deletion

You may request the deletion of all information we hold about you at any time. Members who have provided an email address may access their profile by logging into GuildfordArts.com and selecting the ‘delete’ option at the bottom of the profile page.

23 November 2017