I am entirely enthralled by the bankrupt and alienating aesthetics of corporate monitoring documents. The mild colours and stock photos, the praise-by-rote executive summaries and unintelligible tables. I like the gulf between an Annual Report and any real engagement with an audience. Reports to arts funders are falling into that gulf.

This is something I’ve explored before, as with the Steal This Production Report in 2010. And I’m always engaged with blogging development processes and results, as you’ll find often on this site. But I’ve never gone quite as far as the What We Owe: Strategic Impact Report, available to download below, with a comprehensive analysis  of the finanial, environmental and social impacts of my Arches LIVE one-on-one:

(click to download)

We are pleased to note that What We Owe was completely commercially unviable. Given minute incomes for
both the performer and the venue, both of whom incurred a loss on the project, it could only exist in a wider
festival context and with public arts funding.

In contrast, the performance was highly carbon-efficient compared to standard theatre productions. In a low
carbon future, short, technically simple performances for tiny audiences may become the new norm.

For its size, What We Owe had enormous social impact. We are able to claim the planning of over £200,000 of
financial debt repayment, plus increased civic and environmental responsibility across a range of spheres.

Thanks to the lovely Nick Anderson for arranging, and the equally great Chris Strachan for filming, I also have a film of one interaction, so you can see what it’s all about. Enjoy:

Harry Giles – What We Owe from Nick Anderson on Vimeo.