Friends of the Williamson Art Gallery and Wirral Museums
14022016 FWAGM AGM 2016
FRIENDS OF THE WILLIAMSON ART GALLERY AND WIRRAL MUSEUMS
Registered Charity Number 514641
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Sunday 14th February 2016
In attendance: David and Angela Hamilton; Brian Erskine; Joan Erskine; Gill Porter; Jean Benfield; Mike Studley; Susan Brown; David Brown; Vi James; Margaret Harrington; C. M. Welch; Valerie Edwards; Corinne Whitham; Bill Bannon; Kate Stansfield; Patricia Arthur; Malcolm Arthur; Jenny Heywood; Marjorie Elder; Robert Elder; John Roberston; A.S. Race; J.A. Jones; H. Davies; M. Reynolds; B. Bell; Monica Toosey; Patrick Toosey; Jean Potts; Cathy Warren; Jennifer Baldwin; Dorothy B. Smith; Naomi Horlock; Diana Lane; P. Foden; P.J. Dowling; K. MacKenzie; Judith Wheat; Barry Watton; F. Race; Terence Edgar; John Davies; Valda Parry; Pam Turner; Pam Southall; Mary Bryning; Sue Boardman; J. Hesketh; M. R. Hesketh; Christine Littler; Colin Simpson (CS) and Lawrence Holden (LH).
1. Apologies:Jane Hughes, David Ainsley, Terence and Judith Whaley, Audrey Platt
Alison Bailey Smith (ABS), Rhys Roberts, Alasdair Roberts, Owen Roberts, Janine Suggett, John Southwood, Riannon Evans, Lorraine Groves, Lesley McGarrity, Catherine Charles, Mary Bell Metcalfe, Gwen Collinson, Alan Southall, Margaret Finch, Paul Cook and Cliff Crozier.
Lawrence Holden (LH) welcomed Friends to the meeting and introduced Colin Simpson (CS) and the committee members present.
2. Minutes of the AGM held on 15th February 2015 and Special General Meeting held on 20th March:LH advised that copies of the minutes of both meetings were available on the seats in the room.
LH proposed and Sue Boardman (SB)seconded that that the minutes be accepted as an accurate record of both meetings. This was agreed.
3. Annual Report and Accounts for the year to 31stOctober 2015:Jane Horton (JH) talked to the finance section of the annual report. The year had been a success financially, although income was down on the previous year when two generous donations had been received.It looked as though we might have made a surplus of income over expenditure on the McGuires’ event. The membership had fallen with a consequent reduction in income. Looking ahead JH advised that she had budgeted for a substantial spend on publicity – communication with members was key.In the next year the Friends would not receive money towards publicity from the Council.The investment on the annual report meant that it could be used to inform potential funders about our activities and raise our profile. There was a project to upgrade the courtyard area and create a garden area with tables. The contractual work would be complicated but it was hoped that work could start at the end of the Summer. Money would also be spent on commissioning two bespoke collection boxes, one for the Williamson and one for the Priory.The Friends had been awarded £30,000 for Art Play Two for two years by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation – the project to be run by Nicola McGovern.
CS advised that the donation boxes would be clearly marked to indicate that the donations would go to the Friends.
A member expressed concern about the amount of detail in the accounts and suggested that an honorary accountant might be appointed. JH advised that the accounts had been examined by an independent professional accountant who had advised that the detail provided was acceptable. Another membernoted that the committee had been elected to represent the membership and they had done it very well, JH had been an excellent treasurer and had always answered any queries from members. LH advised that the committee were determined to get the best value out of every pound.
LH spoke to the Friends activities throughout the year, as detailed in the annual report. His objective was to lay out a sustainable mode of joint working with the staff for the year ahead.CSwas leading on a small group working on a talks’ programme, to be attuned to the exhibitions in the gallery. A visit programme would be helpful in adding to the vibrant atmosphere of the gallery.Thecourtyard project, being designed by David Ainsley and Peter Gommon, would create a multi-purpose space.The committee was aware of the need to give more attention to the Priory and it was planned to change the Friends’ name to Williamson and Priory Friends (WPF). The Friends’ role was to support the gallery staff in creating a much greater impact in the years ahead, however the gallery staff team was a small one and any Friends activity impinged on their time.The Museums Service would create a volunteers group for the Gallery, under the direction of the Gallery staff. LH paid tribute to the work of Alison Bailey Smith (ABS) for her work in the communications role, both paid and unpaid.Work had begun on a Cultural Strategy for the borough, representatives from the Gallery and the Friends had attended a consultation meeting at the Floral Pavilion and the Council appeared to understand the importance of culture for the borough and the need for an enabling Cultural Strategy. It had been made clear to the council that all of its staff should be aware of the importance of supporting creative businesses in the borough.
LH concluded that a lot had been achieved in the last two years but the next five years were even more critical.
LH proposed the acceptance of the Annual Report and Susan Brown seconded. This was agreed.
4. Election of Committee under Rule 4:
LH paid tribute to the contribution of Christine O’Reilly Wilson and CristanPascuTulbure, who had both stepped down from the committee. He introduced Corinne Whitham as the proposed new member of the committee.
Resolution that the committee for the ensuing year should be:-
Chair: Lawrence Holden
Vice-Chair: Naomi Horlock
Honorary Treasurer: Colin Simpson
Membership Secretary: Pat Foden
Minutes Secretary: Jean Benfield
David Ainsley, John Southwood and Corinne Whitham
Brian Erskine proposed and Val Edwards seconded that the committee should be elected en bloc. This was agreed.
5. Constitution – proposal to convert the existing unincorporated Association to a CIO.
LH introduced explained that the Committee was asking for the authorisation to set up a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation, after which the existing organisation would be wound up. It was hoped to do this at midnight 31st October 2016, the end of the Friends’ financial year. A small working group had gone through the proposed constitution, which was based on the Charity Commission model, in detail. The major difference in the proposed model was the way in which the committee was elected – a third of the committee would retire in every year, creating the ability to take on new blood and creating a succession strategy. Friends were asked to contact any committee member if they were interested in joining the committee.
The personal liability of committee members was queried, LH advised that under the new system their liability was limited to the assets of the organisation, provided they complied with charity law (currently the Trustees had unlimited personal liability).
In response to a query from the floor LH advised that any trips out would be covered by suitable insurance.
The suitability of the model for the Friends was queried, given that it was suitable for people with substantial assets or a workforce, was it therefore suitable for the Friends?Taking taking on the role of an employer would not be appropriate. LH concurred that this would not be advisable and added that any volunteers would be the responsibility of the Museums’ Service. This model was suitable as it provided a separate legal entity with limited liability.
LH proposed and Barry Natton seconded the following motion.
a)A new Charitable Incorporated Organisation with Rules as set out in the annexed document marked X and signed by the Chair be registered with the Charity Commission.
b)All the assets and liabilities of the existing unincorporated Association be transferred to the new CIO.
c)All the members of the existing unincorporated Association be admitted into membership of the new CIO.
d)That once all the above steps have been completed the existing unincorporated Association be wound up under Rule 11.
This was agreed.
6. Address by Colin Simpson – Principal Museums Officer, Wirral MBC Museums Service.
CS provided an overview of activities in the gallery and the direction of travel over the next five years. He had been assured that no more savings would be expected from the Museum Service until the year 2021, although it had to be remembered that the council’s finances were dire and future income uncertain.
CS outlined the main points included in the five year plan, which would integrate with the wider Wirral Plan 2020 – tying in to various specific pledges contained in the wider plan e.g. tourism, ensuring a quality of life for older people, working with local artists and makers and getting children ready for school.
The Cultural Strategy was now in a draft stage and due to go to Cabinet in March. CS noted that the economic benefits of arts and culture were emphasised and that in 2008 Wirral had the highest participation in arts and cultural events outside London. There was a vast amount of grass roots cultural activity in Wirral and the Williamson needed to provide a vibrant cultural resource for the borough.He was waiting to hear that the Gallery had full accreditation again. The Museum collections were the nub of what the Museums Service was about, 12 exhibits had been lent to the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.The acquisition of a suitable computer programme in order to update record keeping was being negotiated.
The importance of conservation to the collection was key, there was a lot of work to be done in this area to make the collections visible.CS outlined some of the work undertaken with local schools during the year, as well as adult classes and family learning. He referred to the successful Starkers exhibition, work with the Methodist Housing Association on the Summer Workshops and the very popular Wedding Dress exhibition, in collaboration with Heswall U3A. The Priory had been transformed through Heritage Lottery money over the past three years. A key aim was to develop visibility as a tourist attraction, online publicity was becoming ever more important, so the Williamson and Priory websites and Facebook pages were key. He advised that the Williamson had received the Team of the Year Award in the Wirral Tourism Awards 2015 – the collaboration between the staff team and the Friends had been key both in winning the award and securing the immediate future for the Williamson.
LH thanked CS and reminded Friends of the opportunities to help out at various events.There would be a facilitated event in April for the committee and CS, at which some additional representation from the Friends might be possible. JH drew members’ attention to the questionnaire about potential trips.
7. Any other business– capable of being transacted at a General Meeting of which notice has been duly given. David Jones advised that he and Pat Foden were continuing to work on developing the database.
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