Athens Cultural Affairs Commission

Minutes for ACAC Commissioners Meeting DATE: May 10, 2021 TIME: 6:00-8:00 PM PRESENT: Executive: Chair: Andrew Salinas Vice Chair: Patrice Green Treasurer: Absent Secretary: Madeline Bates Members-at-Large: Beatrice Brown, Donna Brumby, Helen Kuykendall, Montu Miller, Victoria Prevatt, Esra Santesso Ex-Officio: Jan Bush, Serena Scibelli Advisors: Didi Dunphy, Stephanie Raines, Marilyn Wolf Ragatz Staff: Tatiana Veneruso Guests: Madhuri Angadi (SPLOST), Gavin Hassemer (SPLOST), Diana Jackson (SPLOST) ABSENT: Darcie St. Onge, Linda Ford Approve Previous Minutes: Motion to approve previous minutes: Beatrice Brown. Second: Helen Kuykendall. Motion passed with no discussion. Chair’s Report: ● New member Welcome! Esra, Victoria and Serena! ● Intersection improvements at Hawthorne Ave. & Oglethorpe: continuing conversation with the SPLOST office for this $30-35,000 public art opportunity. Clarity from the City Attorney’s Office is that the location of public art must be clearly associated with the intersection. Volunteers to walk the site: Patrice, Jan, Andrew, Madeline, Esra, Victoria, Beatrice. ● Special guests: Gavin Hassemer and Madhuri Angadi from SPLOST - SPLOST Project list. o Project #27: SPLOST’s list of prioritized projects within Project #27 include roofs, HVACs and generator projects that would not include public art. Exemption from the 1% for Public Art: approval on a yearly basis, or approval right now for 12 years?  o Motion to vote NO on including Project #27 in 1% for Public Art through the duration of SPLOST 2020: Beatrice Brown. Second: Patrice Green. Yay: 10. Nay: 0. Motion passes. o Motion to vote NO on including SPLOST Projects #12, 14, 36 and 37 for the duration of SPLOST 2020 but say YES to every other feasible option for 1% for Public Art: Helen Kuykendall; Second: Patrice Green. Yay: 10. Nay: 0. Motion passes. o ACAC needs to vote on which projects will have art associated with them; ACAC will share letters of approval/agreement for each of the SPLOST projects that will have art associated. 1% for public art is 1% of construction budgets, not total budgets. Implementation schedule (a prioritized schedule of what projects are happening and when) is being presented to the Mayor & Commission at their session next week. ● Murals o High end mural panels leftover from a purchase related to the Hot Corner Mural project process. An artist outside of Athens-Clarke County was interested in acquiring two of the panels for a mobile project throughout North Georgia, but ACAC will not move forward with giving the panels away outside the county. ● Scheduling “big picture” ACAC meetings o Andrew proposes breaking off into two subcommittees: Outreach (chaired by Patrice) and Strategy (chaired by Andrew). These committees will primarily focus on non-SPLOST opportunities for public art in Athens and considering how we can enact the Public Art Master Plan in the Commission’s new reality with a full-time Public Art Coordinator. Treasurer’s Report: Updates from the Chair on behalf of the Treasurer: the ACAC’s FY22 budget was approved by the Mayor & Commission which includes $21,000 in the operating budget. This will no longer include the Public Art Coordinator’s salary. Project Reports: Clayton (underway), Greenway (artist selected, M+C approved, Contract pending, assistant call ended 5/9, assistant interviews pending), Fire Hall #2 (May), Cooperative Extension (In Progress), Dudley Park (Contract executed), Whitehall Roundabout (underway), Poet Laureate (selected, announcement TBD), Music Walk of Fame (phase 2 selections complete, announcement TBD)  Greenway: Artist selection was approved by the Mayor & Commission last week with no changes or comments. We received 15 applications to the Greenway Artist Assistant position call, which closed yesterday. The installation is projected for August 2021.  Fire Hall #2: The installation is scheduled for end of May. Pressing outreach item: a dedication event while the artist is in town from Baton Rouge.  Poet Laureate: Scope of work for the Poet Laureate is being developed to celebrate poetry in the community of Athens, establishing a standard to bring into future iterations for this new program. Contract is still being drafted and will include what is and is not an official part of the Poet Laureate’s duties. We must be conscious that project information is confidential until contracts have been signed and the Mayor & Commission have approved the project. 2   Ecostations: A call for art will be issued after the enclosure design is finalized. The artwork will be vinyl wraps (2D artwork). AICA: ● Arts in Community Awards 2021, new call for 5 * awards o We can distribute five $1,500 awards before the end of the fiscal year. The call for applications should go out this week or next, likely closing on June 10. A subcommittee will need to convene a day or two after the application closes. Volunteers for subcommittee: Beatrice, Serena, Andrew, Jan, and Madeline. Outreach: ● Ribbon cuttings, new surveys, etc. ● Outreach meetings: Reach out to Patrice with any ideas or to get involved. Other:  The Lyndon House is available to host groups for meeting in person if the group meets the prescribed safety requirements. Contact Didi Dunphy or Shannon Williams to put ACAC meetings on the schedule. We will revisit this topic at our June virtual meeting. Next Meeting Date: June 14, 2021 3