Athens Cultural Affairs Commission

Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Athens Cultural Affairs Commission Meeting Name: Regular Monthly Meeting & Orientation Meeting Date: 1/13/2025 Meeting Called to Order: 6:02* ☐ a.m. / ☒ p.m. Location: Memorial Park Conference Room Virtual? ☐ Yes / ☒ No Public Input Requested or Received? ☐ Yes / ☒ No Voting Member Attendees: ☒ Mark Mobley ☒ Linnea Ionno ☒ Jessica Smith ☐ Montu Miller ☐ Francis Oliver ☒ Matt Stefek ☒ Marissa Chastain ☒ Jamie Berk ☒ Sally Kimmel- ☐ Ian McFarlane Shepherd Voting Members Absent: Montu Miller, Francis Oliver, Ian McFarlane Voting Members Leaving Before End of Meeting & Time of Departure (if applicable): Staff / Ex-Officio Attendees: ☒ Tatiana Veneruso ☐ Madhuri Angadi ☒ Stephanie Raines (SPLOST Liaison) ☐ Jan Bush ☐ Todd Bressi (Public Art ☐ Kent Kilpatrick Master Plan) ☐ Helen Kuykendall Items Discussed:  Matt drafted minutes from the last meeting. Mark motioned to approve, Linnea seconded, unanimous approval.  Chair report: o Happy new year! o Members up for renewal in spring: Montu & Jessica, plus one vacancy  Up for renewal means they have the option to roll off or stay on. Members can renew as many times as they like.  Montu plans to roll off this year and Jessica plans to stay on. o New member call for two new members will go out in the next few weeks. Tatiana will share the link with members for them to share in their networks.  Staff/Project report: o Project updates  Georgia Music History interior mural at the arena by Stephen Teller was finished last week. He is currently clear coating it, which will be the last step of the process.  Big Red Bass sculpture will be installed next week, which will be the final of our three public art pieces at the new arena.  Firefly Trail piece on Lexington by the Racetrac will be installed the week of the 27th. o Linnentown selection panel has not been scheduled yet but once it has, we will need a few ACAC members to participate along with other community members.  This is an RFQ (view artists’ previous work, choose a top selection and then compensate those artists to create a site-specific proposal.)  Committee members who have not participated in a selection panel before and would like to will receive priority. o Flight of the Fireflies – March 8th  There will be another, smaller selection panel for this one including ACC employees.  The idea behind this call is that it’s something that looks great in the dark when illuminated. It can be temporary because it only has to make it through the parade (about 3 hours). Installation and removal all happens the night of the parade.  ACAC members are encouraged to attend and participate! Could consider marching together, dressing as rainbow forest, etc. o Public Art Master Plan  Working with Todd Bressi on the update of our Public Art Master Plan. He has been meeting with community stakeholders and will have an update for the committee next month.  In the new few months, we will review what he is preparing for the mayor and commission and have an opportunity to offer feedback. o Upcoming projects/events  There will be a lot of calls for art at a lot of skill levels this year! This means a lot of opportunities for selection panel participation as well.  Bishop Park Pedestrian Gates (Functional Sculpture)  Costa Building Mural (Interior/Exterior)   Tallassee Roundabout (Sculpture)  Community Center Murals (Digital file for commercial reproduction)  Morton Lobby Mural  Sandy Creek Mural (Digital file for commercial reproduction)  Tatiana is working on the covered bench project that we have discussed. She will report back to the committee after an upcoming meeting with more logistical and placement information.  50th Annual Juried Show at the Lyndon House Opening will be on March 13th. This show offers a wonderful mix of local artists and typically attracts a very large crowd for the opening. There will be a clinic open to all skill levels this Saturday at the Lyndon House to help artists in submitting their work for the show.  Outreach: o No updates at this time  Misc: o The Vagina Monologues Feb 6-8, 8pm at the Marigold Auditorium o Mark suggested Unsilent Night becoming an event that ACC runs. Stephanie will follow up with Mark for further conversation. Jessica added that the Athens Area Arts Council may be another organization to consider adopting this event. o Mark suggested exploring the thought of a memorial piece for San Coleman. Sally added that the Athens Anti Discrimination Movement is also working with the family on how to commemorate San’s life. Tatiana suggested discussing it with the district commissioner as well. o Tatiana joined the board of AthFest and will share more about their artist initiatives throughout the year. o Create Athens will be unveiling the new Athens Creatives Directory with a soft launch at the Lyndon House on 2/13 from 6-7:30 PM. Showcasing the new website and sharing marketing materials to encourage artists to create their profiles. After that event, we will launch the site to public (ideally at AthFest with a shared table with ACAC). o Art opening and artist talks at the Lyndon House this Thursday from 5:30-7:30 o On Saturday, Feb 1, the Morton Theater Corp is hosting a silent movie event which will feature a Buster Keaton silent film set to an REM album. o February 13th is Faculty Follies at the UGA Music School benefitting scholarships to the music school. Votes Taken with Motion / Second / Results (Unanimous or Number of Yes / No Votes and names) (if applicable):   Motion made by Mark to approve December minutes. Seconded by Linnea. Unanimously passed.  Motion made by Matt to adjourn. Seconded by Mark. Unanimously passed. Motion to Adjourn made by: Matt Seconded by: Mark Result: Unanimous Meeting Adjourned at: 6:42* ☐ a.m. / ☒ p.m. Minutes Drafted By: Marissa Chastain