Trustee Reflection
2021 has been another year of unprecedented challenge for everyone in Wester Hailes, and at WHALE Arts, as the Covid-19 pandemic continued, and we all had to adapt to the impact it had and the challenges it created. As Co-Chair, it has been inspiring, and not a little humbling, to witness the efforts of the WHALE Arts team and the local community, working together creatively to help get through these challenges. It was with both relief, and, I must admit, some trepidation that we were able to reopen our doors again, back in July. Again, the staff team are to be congratulated on the professional and considered manner that the reopening was managed, ensuring that the community could come back to WHALE safely and with confidence. And it was great to have people back! Now, towards the end of the year, it’s great to see Members meetings up and running, group visits happening and an exciting, full programme of activities and events taking place in and around the building for all parts of the local community. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to say a sincere thank you to Leah and the dedicated staff team, to all the artists, partners and creative people we have worked with throughout the year, to all our amazing volunteers, to our brilliant members and to everyone who has got involved or visited WHALE through the year. Collectively, it is you who make WHALE Arts the vital organisation that it is for Wester Hailes and it is you who will help shape its successful future in the better years to come. Kenneth Fowler Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees
Photo credit: Emily Stevenson (Board member)
Strategy & Themes
During 2020/21 we started to deliver our new WHALE Arts 5-year Strategic Plan. Our key themes 2019 – 2024 are: Health, Wellbeing, Happiness Economy, Enterprise, Learning, Skills Places and Spaces Development and Improvement Data, Design, Evaluation, Innovation Communication, Conversation, Co-production
Photo credit: Mario Cruzado
Mission, Vision, Values
Mission We create the conditions for our community in Wester Hailes to work alongside artists and cultural practitioners to become agents for change who will proactively co-design, participate in, support or lead quality creative activity at all stages of their lives.
Vision Wester Hailes is a creative, thriving, resilient, fair community.
We Value Equality; Equity; Diversity; Inclusion – we welcome everyone and strive to support anyone who wants to take part, we consider equity to be important as well as equality and we tailor activities accordingly when we can. Creativity – in its broadest sense and placed firmly at the heart of everything that we do, we see creativity as a way of unlocking self-expression, problem-solving, learning and joy. Openness - we encourage generosity, kindness and facilitate the sharing of ideas. Tenacity - we are brave and ambitious for ourselves as an organisation and for the people we work with: we foster resilience and resourcefulness. Working Together – we recognise we are one part of a bigger system and that we will be more successful if we work with others who share our vision. Innovation AND Continuity – we celebrate and sustain successful initiatives but balance this with taking risks and trying new things.
Photo credit: Hailey Beavis
Introduction - Chief Executive
This annual report is a reflection on a year that will go down in history. I recently reread notes from a planning meeting in March 2020 were we thought that our closure plans might only take us to the summer 2020. How wrong we were. Writing this in autumn 2021 I feel exhausted, yet proud, hopeful and optimistic for what comes next for WHALE Arts, and the community of Wester Hailes. I’d urge you to read on to find out more what we achieved together during this most exceptional of years. I feel extremely lucky to work alongside such a kind, passionate and dedicated team: staff, freelancers, volunteers, members and board. We have steadfastly buoyed each other through bumpy and unchartered professional territories, sometimes making educated guesses as to the best way forward. And we have supported each other through difficult and sad personal challenges. The results are a real testament to the whole team, and our amazing participants who have been patient, flexible and understanding of our need to reopen slowly and carefully. Looking ahead, the future is looking shiny bright for WHALE. On the horizon we have our Community Asset Transfer; building developments and adaptations; involvement in the Wester Hailes Local Place Plan; enterprise development including a café and a risograph printing studio; exploring Community Wealth Building; new website and rebrand, and much more. Thank you to all our funders: existing and new, and for your flexibility and kindness when times were uncertain. We are not out of covid-world yet – but I feel that we have come out the other side with more strength and kindness. 2022 is going to be a big year for us – not least because we will be extending a warm invitation for everyone to join in with our 30th birthday celebrations! Leah Black, Chief Executive 2021
Photo credit (front cover): Mario Cruzado
WHALE Arts Covid response
39 volunteers & 35 paid staff kept our services going throughout
We cooked 3,591 meals for local people
We made and delivered 4,406 Art and Wellbeing packs
We ran 224 digital support sessions
We supported 40 people to get vaccinated
With partners we made an online Food Map, to help residents access free food
We made weekly friendship calls to 119 people Street Arts ran 46 We gifted weekly wellbeing 34 social media activities digital for young people devices
952 people participated in 810 regular and one-off creative and digital sessions
Our garden volunteers made new outdoor creative spaces for everyone to enjoy
Our Participants & Volunteers
Across all of WHALE Arts activities in 2020/21 there were a total of 5,780 participants over the year in a range of activities participating both in the building and from their homes. 952 people participated in 810 regular and one-off creative and digital sessions, online and in-person, offering a diverse range of creative activities for all ages and abilities. In addition to our own sessions, our partnership projects with Edinburgh Art Festival and Starcatchers resulted in 303 people participating in 52 sessions throughout the year. We delivered 4,406 art and wellbeing packs to adults, children and young people (age 0 – 15) in Wester Hailes and further afield across South-West Edinburgh. And 3,591 hot meals were cooked and delivered or collected as take-away throughout the year (1,484 takeaway meals and 2,107 delivered meals). These were cooked over 45 cooking sessions, many of which were supported by local volunteers. We supported 119 local people throughout the year with ‘Friendship Calls’ – staff, freelancers and volunteers calling, emailing or messaging people regularly to check-in during tough times. The footfall in the building – despite us being closed for periods – was 2,373. In the year WHALE engaged 39 volunteers who contributed 996 hours of activity across a range of areas including supporting the preparation and delivery of community meals, gardening, art and wellbeing packs. We are extremely grateful to all of those who volunteered their time and expertise especially during such a challenging year.
Photo credits: Louize Gibson, Iain Withers, Verity Combe
Photo credits: Kate Griffin, Oliver Benton, Verity Combe
Health, Wellbeing & Happiness Our Health, Wellbeing and Happiness strand of work encompasses a wide range of regular groups, events, workshops and partnership projects. Promoting positive wellbeing through engagement with the creative process is at the heart of what we do. For us, this means reducing reported levels of anxiety, depression and social isolation. Increasing self-confidence and self-esteem. Increasing social connectedness, positive relationships and sense of purpose within the community. Supporting people on this journey is our ultimate goal.
Adults
Photo credit: Mo Odling
Growing Our Own Artists – local people participated in co-production sessions, creation of the Treasured Tree, Risograph training sessions and online creative and conversation-based sessions. smARTcraft – we shared how-to-videos and materials packs with members. We checked in regularly with this especially vulnerable group.
Stitch 'N' Time – members of the textile group engaged through art-kits that were posted out to participants, discussion on WhatsApp then returned to in-person sessions when this was possible. Let’s Create – women’s art group engaged remotely through Friendship Calls and artpacks and returned to meeting in-person when this was possible. WHALE's Males – a walking group for local men, developed in place of Men’s Makers as this was challenging to return to in-person due to the tool and equipment sharing.
Health, Wellbeing & Happiness
Young People & Families Accessible Arts Programme: Play Sense Create & Explore projects – artist-led sessions for children with Additional Support Needs and their families, initially delivering online sessions and art packs, returning to in-person sessions when it was possible. We worked in a number of different ways to support our participants with disabilities and additional support needs during the past year as many of our participants have complex health conditions that meant they were shielding or vulnerable. Our specialist artists designed individually themed packs for 33 participants based on their interests, needs and abilities. Sensory play packs were created for shielding families. Our return to in-person sessions was carefully planned - we ran tailored oneto-one family sessions including giant jelly throwing, ‘Elevator Music’ sessions, messy play and UV paint discos!
Families - Saturday family creative activities for all ages. We ran online music sessions initially then in-person outdoors. Partnering with Starcatchers we developed a family 'Twas the Night Before Christmas garden trail and performances, including snow machines, doll houses, craft kits, puppets, treats, Santa and many helpful elves.
Photo credit: Ollie Benton, Starcatchers, Kirstin Cunningham-Abrams
Economy, Enterprise, Learning Skills
Under this theme we work with local people to develop projects focused on skills, creative learning and enterprise development. As with our other strands of work we coproduce these programmes with local people, building on existing skills and interests.
Adults Digital Skills and Wester Hailes Connects - Throughout the year we purchased and distributed 34 digital devices including tablets, phones and laptops to local people and volunteer-led groups to enable them to continue running activities, take part in different groups and events, and to prevent people being isolated. 32 local people took part in 224 digital support sessions led by our Digital and Communities Lead during Lockdown. The sessions took place over the phone or on Zoom and supported people to stay in touch with friends and family, how to use their new devices and support them when most activities were taking place digitally.
Digital Sentinel - A 'happy edition' of the Sentinel was delivered to homes across Wester Hailes earlier in December, sharing local good news and creative elements from WHALE Arts & the community. WHALE Arts Co-Production Artist in Residence Mo Odling gathered content entirely from local people & projects. It was printed on WHALE Arts new risograph printer and our wonderful volunteers to help to collate and fold all 6,000 prints! Pod Press - A new publishing house in the West of Edinburgh. Pod Press will be publishing artworks, maps, guides, stories, books, leaflets and more - capturing and sharing the wealth of creativity which happens in Wester Hailes. The Happy Sentinel marked the launch of Pod Press (see the following pages.) Mums into Business - members met fortnightly on Zoom across a range of inspiring busines-focused sessions throughout the year. The group developed an online creche and invited speakers to share their stories and expertise.
Economy, Enterprise, Learning Skills
Young People Street Arts – creative youth sessions every Thursday evening in four locations across Wester Hailes. We distributed art packs, ran online making sessions and supported young people's mental health with Wellbeing Wednesdays activites and resources on social media and returned to in-person sessions as soon as we could. Time Travellers - our partner project with the Fruitmarket Gallery was completed with online sessions. We held in-person screenings of the finished films for family and friends. smARTies – artist-led after-school club for primary age children – online and delivered artpacks then moving to in-person during the year with garden making sessions. Holidays - themed packs for teens, primary, early years and delivered online and outdoor sessions with our partners. Wester Hailes Children's Film Festival in October had online film making sessions and submissions from groups across Wester Hailes. Schools - 2,000 art packs designed, made and distributed to pupils at Sighthill Primary School, Clovenstone Primary School, Canal View Nursery, Canal View Primary school, WHEC photo credit : Chris Scott ,Fruitmarket Gallery
Community Programme
Within this strand of work we work across Wester Hailes, collaboratively with local residents and local partners. This includes Creative Placemaking, work by volunteers in our Community Garden, our Community Meal and collaborative work we do with other food and growing projects locally, and our involvement in local networks such as Living Well Wester Hailes. We also moved ahead with supporting Wester Hailes Community Trust with the next phase of the Local Place Plan, as well beginninng a Community Asset Transfer process in relation to the land beneath and surrounding the WHALE Arts Centre, on behalf of the local community.
Creative Placemaking – public artworks were developed, three murals across the area, one green classroom, a commemorative paving slab, and work and activities in Westburn Woods. We held our third annual Wester Hailes Open Exhibition and grew our membership significantly and with both online and in-person members breakfasts. Community Meal – our usual sit-in meal was flipped to a takeaway then a delivery service quickly after the first lockdown. 1,484 takeaway meals were collected and 2,107 meals were delivered around Wester Hailes, supported by a group of volunteer delivery drivers.
Community Garden - regular gardening sessions with 20 adults throughout the year; supporting 18 Community Payback hours in the garden; providing the garden as activity space for room bookings and partners.
Photo credit: Hailey Beavis
Photo credits: Mo Odling, Verity Combe, Fabien Merville, Oliver Benton and Debbie Wright
Networks, Partnerships & Covid Support
We jointly established Go Beyond, a new Covid response network across South-West Edinburgh established to share learning and challenges. We also continued to co-chair Living Well Wester Hailes, our thriving local network which meets regularly and works collaboratively. We continue to support the Wester Hailes Community Trust and in 2020/21 we worked on the collaborative projects Seven Kingdoms, led by Napier University and Wester Hailes Connects, led by Prospect Housing. We see this collaborative approach as key to supporting local people to thrive. In addition to our regular programmes, we have worked on a range of projects with partners such as Edinburgh Art Festival, Starcatchers, Napier University, Prospect Housing, SCOREscotland, Grassroots Remedies, The Health Agency and Wester Hailes Community Trust, amongst many others. We accessed £20,000 to distribute to 16 local groups to support residents during the recovery phase of the pandemic boosting activity in litter picking, supporting families, moving church services online, canal-based youth work, gardening and more, supporting around 600 local people. We continued to work collaboratively with City of Edinburgh Council and local community organisations on the continuation and completion of a Local Place Plan for Wester Hailes, aligning this with the council-led master planning project.
Photo credit: Oliver Benton
Digital Engagement
Our Instagram Our Twitter page has
page
421,900 impressions 5,7541 visits & 2,298 followers
reached
17,128
accounts & has
1,733 folllowers
Our Mailchimp news letters reached
10,600
Our Facebook page
173,955 & has 2,087 likes
reach was
Our website had
30,982 page views from 10,162 visitors
What people say...
Thanks so much for the food delivery today! And for the art packs kids just love little surprises like that! You guys are amazing! Local Resident Right now MIB is helping me immensely because it makes me feel as though I am doing something towards my own personal development whilst being part of a group which is really important when the world has been put on hold, everything has been paused and I have felt very lost. Now is a particularly pertinent time for healing, self-care, mindfulness, being present in the moment and remembering what is important to you. Mums into Business Member A huge thank you for his art pack. It's fantastic and so generous. He particularly loves the personalised activities. We may not be doing too well with literacy and numeracy but I've got a budding Banksy on my hands! Thanks again. Play Sense Create Participant Parent
I just wanted to say the hugest thank you for the pack you sent. She's having a ball and we still haven't done it all. Also, the packaging was just too amazing and she could recognise her name which was very special. It really uplifted us so thank you so much for your kindness as the last year has been especially tough. Explore participant parent Lockdown. Crappy weather. Everyone fed up. Art pack saves the day. Thank you! Parent
What people say...
Amazing! I know our families would love to receive an art pack. Head Teacher, Sighthill Primary School As you can see.... There's a happy smile on that face! Thank you so much! He loves it! We've agreed we're going to do the messy activities out in the garden tomorrow. But he's taken all the activity cards and the rest of the stuff up to his room, and has been up there for half an hour just setting them out on his bed, and humming the songs. For me, that's a sign he loves it. My child can't fake anything. You're awesome! Play Sense Create Parent Can I just say what a brilliant job you are doing.
Adult Group Participant
I just wanted to share with you some really positive feedback from one of my senior OTs whose parents have been accessing a range of the services that you are currently offering. She shared this with the wider team yesterday and is really impressed and truly grateful for everything that you and all your teams are doing. Healthcare Professional I just wanted to say thanks for the food...I'm finding it difficult as my benefit's not been paid. Local Resident Thank you again these are brilliant packs and will really help our students!! Deputy Head Teacher, WHEC
What people say...
It’s lifted me up during a difficult time. Participant, Hailesland Park (garden mural project)
Every time I see this, I just feel so proud. Hailesland Park resident (garden and mural project)
This project has helped me create a legacy, something I’ll be remembered for in my community. Participant and resident at Hailesland Park (garden and mural project)
In tough times you see who really cares, thanks for being there for me and my
busy and looking out for people when family. You're feeding folk, keeping the kids
everything else has shut down.
Local resident
I can’t thank you enough. Caroline McKinna, The Dove Centre (mural project)
The art helped me to think outside the parameters of nornmal day to day life and
helped me to create meaning without using words, which is really nurturing for
my soul. Mums Into Business member
Photo credits: Ollie Benton, Rebecca Green
Photo credit: Hailey Beavis
Photo credit: Mario Cruzado
Who We Are
Volunteers
Finance & Payroll Heather Hartman Jill Scott Judith Pritchard
Staff 2021
Shirin Karbor Gemma Smith Roz Shah Rebecca Livingstone Michelle Robson Lorna Baxter
Photo credit: Youth Snappers
Alison Johnston Allan McNaughton Anna Mulkeen Charlie Wright Chelsea Elvin Claire Dancer Dean Wright Donna Heritage Ema-Sayuru Nyx Eunice Main Evelyn Hardie Fabien Merville Holly McDonald Hossain Mohammad Hamid Hugh McIntee Jackie Blake Joan Aitken Jodie Johnson John McClarey Jonny Taylor Júlia Nadal Laura Black Kevin O’Rourke Lesley Chalmers Lian McLeod Louize Gibson Lukasz Paluszkiewicz Mark McKenzie Mark Howden Paul Ross Pere Alcantara Rosalie Williamson Ross McFarlan Rosalie Williamson Shirley Ann May Stephen Dalgliesh Stephen Duffy Stuart Buchan Seona O’Flaherty Susan Gibson Tiki Muir
Photo credit: Oliver Benton
Financial Summary
Statement of Financial Activities for the Period Ending 31 March 2021
INCOME Donations Grants Rental and Admin Charges Fees and Other Income Income from other activities TOTAL
2021 £23,310 £677,307 £18,982 £33,683 £852 £754,134
2020
£27,397 £356,286 £62,460 £25,891 £484 £472,518
£462,886 £36,547 £499,413
£337,030 £30,862 £367,892
EXPENDITURE
Project Activities & Core
Premises Costs
Raising Funds
TOTAL
DEFINED PENSION BENEFIT
SCHEME GAINS/(LOSSES)
£854)
(
£711
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
£253,867
£105,337
£167,086 £5039 £460,227 £563,250
£165,824 £6,720 £185,466 £583,725
RESERVES
Unrestricted Funds Designated Funds Restricted Funds Non-Capital Restricted Funds
Capital
An Independent Examination was carried out by Whitelaw Wells for the Financial Year to 31st March 2021
Created by Kate Griffin Leah Black Verity Combe Craig Tyrie Kirsty Frankland Michael Bowdidge
With thanks to Oliver
Fabien Merville
Benton, Maurio Cruzado, Verity Combe, Chris Scott, Rebecca Green, Camila Cavalcante, Youth Snappers, Hailey Beavis, Debbie Wright, Mo Odling