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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£9.6K
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Spending
£9.0K
Public benefits
Purpose 1 The benefits which flow from purposes a – e are the advancement of public understanding of visual arts through access to facilities, and opportunities to participate in educational, cultural and social events linked to the charity's activities. Furthermore, those who would classify themselves as artists (both amateur and professional)
benefit from the provision of facilities and communal workspaces, events and promotional support. This is evidenced through the activities occurring at the two arts centres that the charity maintains. These include: the provision of 13 low cost artists' studios, the provision of bespoke workspace for the only fully equipped fine art print studio in the North West, the implementation of a variety of creative projects, including free to the public exhibitions and seminars, the hosting of many public classes and courses in a wide range of visual arts disciplines (watercolour painting, life drawing, millinery, photography, iconography, etc.)These activities attract widespread support across communities and socio-economic groups, for example with 300+ people participating in an open call visual arts exhibition organised by the charity. Any member of the general public can benefit from the charity's purpose, as all facilities are open to access irrespective of artistic qualifications, background or experience. There is also specific benefit to people who define themselves as practising visual artists in the Derry and Strabane district area – be they amateur or professional. The charity does not discriminate by subjectively assessing an artist's work, or requiring academic qualifications, or professional attainment. The only private benefits flowing from this purpose are 1 the potential for trustees to access the facilities for artistic use, in the same manner as the general public and/or artists e.g. as members of the Derry Print Workshop, using the fine art print presses, or attendees at creative courses. This is an incidental benefit. 2 for the effective management of the charity, the trustees have been the beneficiaries of free training programmes provided by Derry City and Strabane District Council e.g. the “Committee Skills and Minuting Meetings Training” course provided on the “Community Change” programme. This is a necessary benefit for good governance. purpose 2 Artistic activities in areas of economic and social disadvantage, such as the Diamond and Fountain Ward where the charity's arts centres are located, have been shown to promote greater mental health and well-being. Artistic activities can help to combat social isolation, provide therapeutic opportunities for self-expression, promote greater cross-community understanding, and improve educational performance. (Matarasso, 1996 & 1998, Williams 1997, Kay & Watt 2000). The charity has hosted arts and crafts apprenticeship classes, implemented as part of DCSDC's Craft Development programme,which introduced young and disabled people to potential careers in craft disciplines such as pottery and jewellery making. We host a wide range of classes that appeal to many sections of our community, some marginalised, such as “Knit and Natter” classes appealing to the older generation, Millinery classes appealing to fashion students. We have surveyed attendance at some of our exhibitions which demonstrated widespread appeal across socio-economic groups and postcode sectors which are a-typical of traditional gallery attendance profiles, by including C1C2D demographic categories in equal measure. This benefits the general public, in the Derry and Strabane District Council area. The trustees have the opportunity of participating in any hosted activity within the facilities, or participating in or attending organised exhibitions. This benefit is incidental, and there is no preferential treatment. There is no harm flowing from any of the purposes.
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
To launch, the CVA trustees voluntarily project managed the refurbishment of a run down building in the Diamond and Fountain Ward of Derry-Londonderry, funded by ILEX and the Inner City Trust. The building was converted into a Visual Arts Centre housing low cost artists’ studios, an educational space and a bespoke floor dedicated to fine art
printing. In 2014 CVA assisted local artists seeking workspaces, by securing a second building, the Bishop Street Studios, opened in March 2015. Day to day, CVA's volunteers undertake administrative tasks to meet all statutory requirements, and to answer the needs of our members, plus financial management to properly oversee the organisation’s affairs, site maintenance and fund raising. There are no paid employees. As several of the CVA volunteers have backgrounds in business and marketing they regularly work with the studio artists/members in a mentoring capacity. They draft and cost funding applications for both CVA-led projects and for other individuals (e.g. artists or event curators) and organisations, and implement PR and marketing campaigns. CVA maintains an online presence and email marketing database through which events can be organised, publicised and promoted. The CVA volunteers are very proactive in encouraging and participating in the implementation of creative projects, for example, The London Street Gallery, The Reflect Gallery and the Draw on the Walls project, (the latter implemented with Artlink from Buncrana, Donegal, as a cross-border initiative), and the Fashion and Design Hub. The CVA trustees have contributed to the Visual Arts Strategy Review undertaken by DCC and ACNI, and meetings of the Cultural Partnership Forum. CVA campaign on behalf of local artists, having corresponded with MLAs, the Council, DCAL and ACNI when the need has arisen.
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science
Who the charity helps
- General public
How the charity works
- Advice/advocacy/information
- Arts
