Athens Cultural Affairs Commission

Agenda for ACAC Commissioners Meeting DATE: November 9, 2020 TIME: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PRESENT: Executive: Chair: Andrew Salinas Vice Chair: Holly Alderman Treasurer: Darcie St. Onge Secretary: Madeline Bates Members-at-Large: Beatrice Brown, Donna Brumby, Melisa (Misha) Cahnmann-Taylor, Patrice Green, Helen Kuykendall, Montu Miller Ex-oficio: Jan Bush Advisors: Didi Dunphy, Stephanie Raines Staff: Tatiana Veneruso ABSENT: Marilyn Wolf-Ragatz (Advisor) Approve Previous Minutes: • Motion to approve minutes: Beatrice Brown. Seconded by Donna Brumby. Passed with no discussion. Chair’s Report: ● Update: Mellon Foundation $250M monuments initiative o Opportunity is invitation-only, so ACAC does not have the opportunity to submit a proposal at this time. The best way to get an invitation would be to form strong partnerships.  o Subcommittee should still be formed to work on potential local partnerships. Current volunteers are Beatrice, Patrice, and Andrew. ● Update: UGA Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community o Revised public art recommendations were sent to the UGA Task Force last week o Discussion about 1% for public art recommendation and expanding it beyond downtown here in Athens. The Public Art Master Plan (PAMP) asks ACAC to be ambassadors of the “1% for public art” concept downtown, but we can advocate it in other parts of town. Volunteers to help are Misha, Jan, Beatrice, Madeline, Andrew. Treasurer’s Report: No major updates. Project Reports: Clayton, Greenway, Fire Hall #2, Cooperative Extension, Bus Shelters, Dudley Park, Firefly Trail, Whitehall Roundabout, Art Pianos, Poet Laureate, Jackson Street • Whitehall Roundabout: There will be a studio visit this week with Joni Younkins-Herzog. The artist’s contract is nearly complete. • Fire Hall #2: Update from Erin Hussey that he thinks he will be able to do the installation in early December. • Cooperative Extension: No major updates. • Dudley Park: Mayor & Commission approved the user group’s recommended artwork, which will be by mosaic artist • Clayton Street: Artist Eric Leshinksy will do his site visit the first week of December to see how the street is used during a football game that weekend. Public feedback session is suggested to be virtual after the holidays. • Greenway: Call for out is live through January 4. Site visit was a few weeks ago and was recorded so it is available online. • Poet Laureate: Application is finalized and ready to be made public (by Public Information Office), with applications due March 2 and the start date April 6. Current selection committee is Didi, Trudi Greene (Athens Clarke County Library, not ACAC), Patrice, Montu, and Misha. Mayor Girtz will be invited to select one or two more Athenians not affiliated with ACAC for the selection committee. Contract needs to be written. • Firefly Trail: SPLOST office says that the site should be cleared in January, after which we can organize the site visit and a user group meeting with the Firefly team. • Jackson Street Art Walk: ACAC sent letters last week regarding the changes to the surrounding development plans, as they impacted the project. • Music Walk of Fame: Didi wrote up the full process and costs for reference in the next round. 2 New Business: ● Arts in Community Awards: o Paperwork getting signed/processed. The updates are in each cohort’s spreadsheet in the ACAC Google Drive. ● Dec Meeting > Holiday Party? o Something like a tour of the Music Walk of Fame will be organized for us! Other: • Tatiana has artwork in the “Art is Activism” show at the Zuckermann Museum of Art at Kennesaw State University, on view through November 20. • Special Collections Library at UGA has exhibition on view about suffrage, Ted Turner, Election 1980, Pylon, and more • Third Thursday is November 19. There will be a talk at Lyndon House 6-7:30. Other programming around town, too! • “The Art of Seating” exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art • Cool Town book talk with author Grace Elizabeth Hale talk through Zoom this Thursday evening. Montu is participating in the talk. • Silas Munro “"W.E.B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America" Zoom webinar this Wednesday at 3 PM (hosted by Ideas for Creative Exploration at UGA) • Marc Beechuk has taken a new job in Covington so he will no longer be able to make ACAC meetings as an advisor. Congratulations Mark! Notes: Next Meeting Date: January 11, 2021 3