Brewery Arts Centre Annual review 2014 15

REV IEW 2014-2015

breweryarts.co.uk

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

20 1 4 1 5 Our mission is to be exceptional and ambitious.

We will be a flagship arts venue for the district, with a regional and national impact, drawing on the uniqueness of our location, but being inspired by arts and culture from throughout the UK and beyond.

We will achieve this through the following objectives…

• • • •

Present great art and entertainment Offer inspiring learning opportunities for all Create innovative and challenging new art Provide a welcoming and accessible social hub with high quality hospitality

We will play a full part in making Kendal and South Lakeland unique and be a key contributor to its sense of place.

The Brewery Arts Centre Highgate, Kendal LA9 4HE

ÂŁ2.9 The year at a glance...

02

700

million The Brewery generated an annual turnover of nearly ÂŁ2.9m.

2,338 YOUNG PEOPLE FILM SCREENINGS 87,960 tickets sold across 2,338 mainstream and specialised film screenings.

Over 700 young people on average per week attended youth arts sessions during term time.

250700 PERFORMANCES Over 250 ticketed live performances staged generating over 35,000 tickets sales.

#breweryarts

ADULT STUDENTS

Around 700 adults per week participated in adult learning classes..

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES Over my nine years as a trustee, I have taken every opportunity, during my travels, to visit arts centres in other towns and cities, and I have yet to find anywhere that compares with the Brewery in terms of impact and value for money.

We must, however, acknowledge the contribution of Arts Council England, South Lakeland District Council, Kendal Town Council and a wide range of trusts and foundations for their continued belief in and support for the Brewery, especially in these straitened times.

It is remarkable that a town the size of Kendal is able to offer to the people in the region and beyond the range and quality of arts activity described in this review. Some of the numbers are breathtaking: more than 700 per week participating in adult learning; 36 visual arts exhibitions; almost 88,000 people attending the cinema and more than 35,000 people attending 250 live performances in theatre, comedy, dance and music. What makes this truly remarkable is that the Brewery itself manages to generate over 85% of the revenue that supports this level of activity.

Equally we owe a debt of gratitude to the often unsung volunteers who give up their time and offer their skills to support the Brewery. But the real thanks must go to the staff working across the organisation. They are a dedicated, generous and hard-working group of people who manage, year after year, to enhance the quality of all our lives through the creation of so many memorable experiences. John McGovern

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STATEMENT FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Creating memorable experiences within the arts is at the heart of the Brewery’s mission.

However the past year has also highlighted how the centre can help to transform the lives of individuals, and have an impact on the prosperity of the town and region.

The Brewery continues to offer to hundreds of young people each week experiences that expand upon the rigid learning of the national curriculum, and a range of special projects like The Migration Project and Hot Potato have worked in unique ways with partners across the region to tackle issues like young people’s mental health.

Equally our adult learning programme seeks to address issues like rural isolation, and our forthcoming scheme of activity for those living with dementia aims to support Kendal Town Council in its age-friendly initiative.

In the last year Kendal Futures, SLDC and Kendal Town Council have all published development strategies that identify the Brewery as a key asset in increasing the town’s prosperity through cultural tourism, and encouraging the relocation of businesses to a town made distinctive by its arts and festival offer.

We are also spearheading the Cultural Destinations project on behalf of a consortium of Southern and Central Lakes venues. The project seeks to cement and increase the economic impact of cultural tourists in the coming years. Richard Foster

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

THEATRE & DANCE

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At the heart of its mission the Brewery seeks not just to host, but also to create, new and innovative work, that represents the arts centre and Kendal on a wider stage. In 201415 the Brewery worked with producers Fuel Theatre to co-commission Uninvited Guests’ This Last Tempest. This innovative and critically acclaimed show (Guardian Theatre Pick of the Week) toured the UK in 2014-15.

Right to Roam was launched in 2014. This curated programme of small-scale and site specific performances was hosted throughout the Brewery and across Kendal in meeting rooms, abandoned factory spaces and in a specially constructed studio space on the Brewery main stage. Performances included Peter McMaster’s all male adaptation of Wuthering Heights, Love Letters Straight from the Heart by Uninvited Guests, and work from theatre makers such as Laura Mugridge, Jamie Wood and Fergus Evans.

Partnership came to the fore with our Christmas show, Thumbelina’s Great Big Adventure, which involved a collaboration between the Brewery, mac Birmingham, and Cambridge Junction, while performance highlights included That Is All You Need to Know, from Idle Motion, The Trench from Les Enfants Terribles and Last Man Standing from James Wilton Dance Company.

13,631 Number of theatre & dance tickets sold this year

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

12,202 Over 12,000 people came to see a gig

Music has always been one of the Brewery’s strongest art forms and this year has been no exception. The art centre’s ambition to offer new, innovative and exciting performances in larger venues was fulfilled in November with Sea of Brass, a co-commission with Derby Quad and Durham International Festival of Brass. Featuring British Sea Power and Foden’s Brass Band, the performance to an audience of 1000, in Kendal’s former carpet factory, was one of only six shows in the UK and a highlight of our year.

The Brewery was delighted to once again host the semi-finals of the Radio 2 Young Folk Awards, mixing scintillating performance with workshop and development time for the folk musicians involved. Folk music was also strongly represented in the programme of performances this year, with appearances

by Julie Fowlis, Eddi Reader, Cara Dillion and Mercury-nominated King Creosote.

Other highlights included performances by jazz super-group The Impossible Gentlemen, folk/reggae cross-over band Edward 11, The South, The Beat and Soul Train.

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MusIc

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

CINEMA

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87,96O Cinema tickets sold this year

The Brewery’s film programme offers Kendal and South Lakeland a year round programme of specialist film from across the world and the latest blockbusters on the week they are released. This range of films, combined with our food and drink offer makes a visit to the cinema at the Brewery a unique experience, not to be found at the local multiplex.

The Brewery was proud to host a special gala screening of Postman Pat; The Movie in 2014, with star of the show, Stephen Mangan, getting the red-carpet treatment in the garden. In July we also hosted a special screening of the classic children’s adventure, Swallows and Amazons.

Hundreds of fans of Arthur Ransome’s book, young and old, converged on the Brewery to meet actress Sophie Neville (Kitty) who hosted the event.

Technical improvements were made to Screens One and Two to enable us to screen live streamed performances direct from venues such as the Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company. The Brewery can now host work of a scale unaffordable to us when on tour.

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

37 The number of comedy performances at the Brewery this year

The Brewery’s enviable programme of comedy performances found its highpoint 2014 with the fourth Freerange Comedy Festival. The all-star line-up included Omid Djalili, Matt Richardson, Lucy Porter and Hal Cruttenden. Drawing inspiration from its location, the festival once again hosted unique comedy commissions in the Lake District landscape, including a ramble with Arthur Smith along the shores of Windermere and an intrepid performance by Bob Slayer in Cathedral Cavern, at Little Langdale. Other comedy commissions included Mrs Barbara Nice’s Arty Adventure, in partnership with Mintfest.

Work-in-progress performances by some of the biggest names in UK comedy offer Brewery audiences an insight into the craft of the comedian, and this year we hosted workin-progress shows by Lee Evans and Dylan Moran.

Marcus Brigstocke, Josie Long, Susan Calman, Jason Manford, Stephen K Amos and Mark Watson, among others, performed to sell-out

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COMEDY

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

ART

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36 T In 2014 the Brewery hosted its second Open Up North (OUN) exhibition. Inviting entries from professional and non-professional artists from across the north of England, nearly 500 works were submitted for selection and over 100 were exhibited in venues across Kendal.

OUN also provided the starting point for a programme of professional development workshops for around 100 emerging visual artists from across northern England. The Programme was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and delivered in partnership with the Castlefield Gallery, Manchester. Additionally, three emerging artists selected by the OUN judges embarked on an intense period of mentoring, which culminated in their exhibition, Artificial Landscapes, in the Sugar Store Gallery.

Other highlights included Anna Lambert’s exhibition of ground-breaking ceramics and the Homesick Truant’s Cumbrian Yarn commission of 10 travelogue comics and a touring exhibition, created in partnership with

The number of exhibitions at The Brewery this year

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

4

The Brewery presented the fourth Freerange Comedy festival, on the main site and across South Lakeland

Kendal has an enviable reputation for its programme of ground-breaking, awardwinning festivals, and the Brewery is proud of its key role in helping to host these events, as well as its partnership role in co-commissioning new work and exhibitions, which form an important element of many of these festivals.

In 2014 we were proud to host and support‌ Kendal Festival of Food Mintfest Lakes International Comic Art Festival Kendal Mountain Festival The fourth Freerange Comedy Festival, which the Brewery programmes and hosts itself, took place in May 2014, with a sparkling line-up which included Omid Djalili, Matt Richardson and Paul Chowdhry.

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FESTIVALS

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

YOUTH

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12 , 007 Places on youth art classes, workshops & projects attended

Last year was a very busy and successful one for Brewery Youth Arts (BYA), with over 700 young people each week during term time attending classes in dance, visual art, theatre and music This programme is delivered in the same spaces as our programme of professional performances and aims to normalise participation in the arts for people of all ages.

Additionally, large-scale events including Dance Platform and La’al Sing offered over 1,100 young people the chance to perform on the Brewery’s professional stage.

Our Brewery Young Actors Company performed A Shop Selling Speech at The National Theatre in London, as part of The National Theatre Connections festival. This is the third time in the last ten years that the company has represented the Brewery on this national stage.

In conjunction with the Brewery’s Emerging Artists Programme for visual artists, BYA worked with physical theatre company The Knotted Project, to develop the company’s professional practice (establishing Fuse, an after–school arts club at John Ruskin School, Coniston) and to create a new work, Lonely Hearts, which premiered at the Brewery and toured northern venues with support from our technical and programming teams. We seek to develop the role of the Brewery in championing the careers of emerging artists, and to resolving issues around career development in rural locations.

The Migration Project saw children and young people from schools and youth groups across South Lakeland take part in a wide-ranging visual arts project looking at the nature of human and avian migration, culminating in an exhibition at The Brewery

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

1,796 Students attended classes and workshops

Our status as one of Cumbria Adult Education’s flagship community learning centres was underlined with more than 1,700 enrolments over the year. The department continued to widen its impact on the community, developing activity for residents living with dementia and championing the Brewery’s drive to become a dementia-friendly organisation.

The introduction of short five-week courses proved hugely successful, providing learners with the opportunity to try a wider range of art forms. Our most popular courses were life classes, print making, creative writing and the sewing bee.

We also saw an increase in students attending language courses, particularly in Polish and Japanese.

In 2014 the Brewery launched its new summer painting weeks. Dozens of aspiring artists from across the UK took part in workshops in locations across the Lake District, including Tarn Hows, Coniston and the Lyth Valley.

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ADULT LEARNING

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

FOOD & DRINK

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1.1m

2014-15 was characterised by strong sales and innovative developments in the food and drink offer at The Brewery. An increasing variety of events, offers, new menu items and collaborations with local suppliers helped the Brewery grow its reputation as a great venue for quality food and drink.

Events like our festival of local ales, part of the Kendal Festival of Food, our wine-tasting suppers with Stainton Wines, and our beer and food matching dinner with the Hardknott Brewery, have all been superbly supported and well received.

Kendal Catering Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brewery Arts Centre) continued to work to increase sales and profitability by focussing on exemplary customer service, developing its stand-alone food and drink clientele, and continued to deliver attractive events, offers and promotions.

Over ÂŁ1.1m generated in food & drink sales

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

LITERATURE Verbalise, the monthly spoken word open mic night, had a great 12 months with the majority of the events selling out. The Warehouse CafĂŠ welcomed a diverse range of performers and readers from the local area and further afield. Open mic performers included poets, novelists, storytellers and songwriters and up to 15 people took the mic at each event.

Verbalise also welcomed a range of guest performers ranging from page poets to songwriters, including local author Simon Sylvester who won last year’s Guardian Not the Booker Prize with his crime novel The Visitors.

The Brewery Poets continue to programme discussions and readings throughout the year and held a special night commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of WW1.

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16,557 Number of tickets sold through the Lakes Tickets agency Last year saw the launch of Lakes Tickets, the Brewery’s own ticket service for events and festivals in the region.

The scheme saw the Brewery provide box office facilities, website and marketing support for a number of local organisations, including the Bowness Bay Blues Festival, Westmorland Orchestra and More Music in Morecambe.

Lakes Tickets aims to support the artistic programme at the Brewery and the wider arts ecology of the region.

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Annual Review 2014 - 2015

N UMBERS THE FINANCIAL PICTURE FOR 2014-15

ACTIVITY 2014-15

2013-14

FILM

Screenings Audience

Avg

Capacity %

FILM

Screenings Audience

Avg

Capacity %

Main Cinema

2,244

86,372

38

18.81%

Main Cinema

2,384

85,932

36

21.50%

Warehouse

94

1,589

17

39.37%

Warehouse

123

1,976

16

47.61%

TOTAL

2,338

87,961

38

18.99%

TOTAL

2,507

87,908

35

21.77%

PERFORMING ARTS

Events

Audience

Avg

Capacity %

PERFORMING ARTS

Events

Audience

Avg

Capacity %

Theatre

117

12,041

103

47.26%

Theatre

117

15,287

131

48.56%

Dance

11

1,590

145

59.26%

Dance

13

2,149

165

48.49%

Comedy

57

5,881

159

66.41%

Comedy

36

6,569

182

66.42%

Music

60

12,202

203

60.11%

Music

71

11,454

161

55.39%

Literature

5

64

13

33.68%

Literature

13

331

25

63.78%

TOTAL

250

31,778

138

55.26%

TOTAL

250

35,790

143

53.42%

Visual Art

36

35,000

Visual Arts

36

35,000

TOTAL

286

154,739

TOTAL

286

158,698

UNRESTRICTED INCOME AND EXPENDITURE INCOME

2014-15 2013-14

Donations and Grants

£494,598

£605,029

Charitable Activity

£1,285,916

£1,147,946

Commercial Trading Operations

£1,116,424

£1,397,903

Investment & Other Income

£2,558

£15,012

TOTAL

£2,899,496 £3,165,890

EXPENDITURE Charitable Activity

£1,819,534

£1,789,304

Commercial Trading Operations

£940,321

£1,223,416

Cost of Generating Funds

£48,921

£48,921

Governance Costs

£39,693

£39,693

TOTAL

£2,848,469 £3,101,334

Net outgoing resources before transfers

£51,027

£64,556

NB: The figures for unrestricted activity excluding exceptional items are provided to give a clear picture of the operational performance of the charity.

The figures for 2014-15 were unaudited at the time of publication. Copies of the full audited accounts are expected in the Autumn 2015.

Information for 2013-14 has been extracted from the full annual accounts of Kendal Brewery Arts Centre Trust for the year ended 31 March 2014, which have been audited. Copies of the full financial accounts which includes the trustees’ report can be obtained from the company secretary, Kendal Brewery Arts Centre Trust Limited, 122a Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4HE.

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BREWERY YOUTH ARTS

2014-15

2013-14

Sessions

Sessions Attendance Avg

Attendance Avg

DRAMA Weekly classes

158

1,617

10.2

214

2,214

Outreach classes

16

304

19.0

-

-

0.0

Other projects and performances

10

405

40.5

12

222

18.5

Audiences for performances

13

744

57.2

13

744

57.2

Subtotal

239

3,180

239

3,180

10.3

DANCE Weekly classes

282

2,269

8.0

309

2,632

8.5

Outreach classes

38

372

372

12

205

17.1

Other projects and performances

31

804

25.9

11

497

45.2

Audience for performances (1)

8

1,768

221.0

7

1,673

239.0

Subtotal

290

5,213

339

5,007

MUSIC Weekly classes

96

696

7.3

111

625

5.6

Outreach Classes

40

380

9.5

22

153

7.0

Music workshops and projects

10

511

51.1

16

979

61.2

Audience for Performances (2)

2

518

259.0

2

428

214.0

Subtotal

148

2,105

151

2,185

VISUAL ARTS Weekly classes

117

1,119

9.6

129

1,239

9.6

Workshops

37

500

10.5

15

157

10.5

Exhibition

-

-

-

Subtotal

154

1,619

TOTAL

789

12,007

9.7

144

1,396

873

11,768

9.7

NB: (1) The figure for dance audiences was significantly lower due to the fact that the annual school dance platforms in 2013 and 2014 fell outside the financial year 2013-14 (2) The figure for 2012-13 included one-off activity related to the Cultural Olympiad

ADULT EDUCATION Student Numbers

1,796

1,864

MARKETING REGION

NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS

2014-15 2013-14

LA POST CODES

68,099

69,992

SOUTH WEST

833

CA POSTCODES

4,703

4,452

GREATER LONDON

537

391

SUBTOTAL

72,802 74,444

SCOTLAND

1,107

502

REST OF NORTH WEST

4,007

WALES

371

204

NORTHERN IRELAND

39

18

SOUTHERN IRELAND

4

4

ISLE OF MAN

8

22

JERSEY

8 18

SUB TOTAL - OTHER REGIONS (EXCLUDING NORTH WEST)

8,701

TOTAL

85,510 81,596

POSTCODE NOT GIVEN/Unclassified

61,874

2,636

NORTH WEST REGION TOTAL OTHER REGIONS WITHIN UK NORTH EAST

1,178

555

YORKSHIRE & HUMBERSIDE

205

1,385

WEST MIDLANDS

2,154

279

EAST MIDLANDS

757

351

EAST OF ENGLAND

148

200

SOUTH EAST

1,352

481

GRAND TOTAL POST CODE KNOWN & UNCLASSIFIED 147,384

106

4,516 68,313

149,909

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

Core Funders - Arts Council England - South Lakeland District Council - Kendal Town Council

- The Co-operative Community Fund - The EsmĂŠe Fairbairn Foundation - Youth Music

Programme Funders - BFI Film Audience Network - The Sir John Fisher Foundation - Cumbria County Council Area Committees (South Lakes & Barrow) - The Ernest Cook Charitable Trust - The Hadfield Trust - The Backstage Trust

Brewery Supporter Groups - Brewery Friends (formerly the Friends of the Brewery/Patrons) - Brewery Business Club members

breweryarts.co.uk Registered Charity No. 01086789