Athens Cultural Affairs Commission

Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Athens Cultural Affairs Commission Meeting Name: Regular Monthly Meeting & Orientation Meeting Date: 3/10/2025 Meeting Called to Order: 6:06 pm* ☐ a.m. / ☒ p.m. Location: Lyndon House Arts Center Community Room Virtual? ☐ Yes / ☒ No Public Input Requested or Received? ☐ Yes / ☒ No Voting Member Attendees: ☒ Mark Mobley ☒ Linnea Ionno ☒ Jessica Smith ☐ Matt Stefek ☐ Francis Oliver ☒ Jamie Berk ☒ Marissa Chastain ☒ Ian McFarlane ☒ Sally Kimmel Voting Members Absent: Francis Oliver, Matt Stefek 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) - Virtual ☐ Helen Kuykendall Items Discussed:  February Minutes: Linnea moved to approve February minutes. Mark seconded. Unanimously approved.  Chair report: o Farewell to Montu! o New member interviews will be on March 24th. Mark, Jessica, Francis, and Matt will participate as the recruitment committee. We have 4 applicants and 2 vacancies.  Staff/Project report: o Red Bass has been installed at the Akins Ford Arena which completes all three Arena projects. Stay tuned for a ribbon cutting for all three pieces. o Lantern Parade temporary art installation artists were Maria Nissa, Cindy Jerrell, Katherine Melcher, and Athens Puppet Collective. Tatiana will share more photos as they are available. o Call for Bishop Park pedestrian gates is open until March 14th. o Linnentown selection follow up is scheduled for March 20th. Linnea, Ian, Francis, and Matt participated in the selection panel for this project. o Art Benches Updates: Tatiana met with the team to discuss projects they are considering for these projects. They are currently evaluating sites and what type of support they would need (concrete pad, etc.) and once the space and budget requirements have been determined, Tatiana will present the information and recommendations to the commission. o East Athens Library Presentation  User group for this site is made up of stakeholders who do a lot of programming for the library. They will advise on the project as a whole.  The main theme they would like to convey is storytelling.  Budget for this project is $60,000.  Placement: Interior wall space inside and exterior programming area. They have identified several inside walls for potential mural placement. The user group prefers interior murals to exterior projects. Tatiana recommends only pursuing inside or outside, but a compromise could be a painted covered bench which corresponds to the interior murals.  Possible options:  Outdoor: o 2-d murals on seating o Sculptural seating o Painted covered benches  Indoor: o 3 indoor walls, 2 of which are located above eye level with great visibility. o Public Art Master Plan Updates  Interviews to Date: Artists, ACAC current and past members, HCD, Economic Development, Leisure Services, Capital Projects, Planning Department, SPOST Office, Sustainability  Analysis of Project Load: Estimates  2025: 25  2026: 28  2027: 17  2028: 7  2029: 6  2030: 7  2031: 10+  Outline of Plan  Executive Summary: What happened in the last plan and what’s new in this plan  The Big Picture: Vision, Mission, and Goals  SPLOST and TSPLOST o Highlights of Pipeline Projects o Strategies for Managing Project Flow o Reimagining SPLOST Processes  Future Initiatives o Art Walk and Cultural Trail Projects o Signature Temporary Project o Agency Collaborations  o Community-Based Proposal Process  Supporting Athens Artists o Strategies for providing opportunities that are accessible to local artists o Support of artists in their ACAC commissions o General field-building support  Policy Updates o Criteria/priorities for projects that are not specifically related to capital projects o Conservation and Maintenance Protocols o Relocation, Removal, Deaccessioning  Public Art in Planning and Development o Aspirational percent for art policy o Alternate equivalent requirements for urban design standards o Planned development processes o Community benefit agreements  Key Recommendations: Organized in terms of urgency  Address Immediate Workload/Continue Management Innovations o Identify standard elements o Stagger commissions/installations o Consolidate budgets into fewer projects o Consolidate calls to artists o Assign workload to consultants or part-time staff  Find better ways to deliver projects largely within the SPLOST model o Consider different ways to define project outcomes o Explore ways of identifying project opportunities earlier o Provide targeted technical assistance for artists who are commissioned to do projects o Supplement SPLOST project budgets with other public art funds o Reduce barriers to selection panel participation o Reduce barriers to artists who have difficulty obtaining insurance  Update Policies and Procedures o Build flexible funding in to future SPLOSTs (Project 21) o Develop criteria and priorities for projects that are not specifically related to SPLOST projects o Create a roadmap for encouraging public art through public-private partnerships o Revive use of annual plan as strategic tool o Update protocols   Conservation, Maintenance  Relocation, Removal, Deaccessioning  Next Steps  March o Review findings with public art staff o Schedule and conduct follow up interviews o Begin draft plan  April o Submit draft plan o Review with public art staff, ACAC, stakeholders o Submit revised plan o Review again o Submit final draft  Discussion: Commission members request more clarity about the ACAC’s role moving forward and how it differs from the 2017 master plan and the ordinance establishing the ACAC. o There will be several additional calls coming up over the next few months including the Costa Building, Morton Theatre, and others.  Outreach: Juried show opens this Thursday and commission members are encouraged to attend!  Misc: o CreateAthens continues to grow and market the site. They will be present at the opening on Thursday as well. o 3/18 at 5:30 at Cine is Humanities Festival Trivia. Mark is hosting. o April is Poetry Month and the poet laureate will read a poem at the Mayor and Commission meeting on April 1st. Votes Taken with Motion / Second / Results (Unanimous or Number of Yes / No Votes and names) (if applicable): Linnea moved to approve February minutes. Mark seconded. Unanimously approved. Mark moved to adjourn. Linnea seconded. Unanimously approved. Motion to Adjourn made by: Mark Seconded by: Linnea Result: Unanimous Meeting Adjourned at: 7:43* ☐ a.m. / ☒ p.m. Minutes Drafted By: Marissa Chastain