Arts Commission

Arts Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Tuesday 5:00 PM May 6, 2025 Mayor's Boardroom & Zoom Video Recorded https://meetings.cob.org Call to Order The Arts Commission meeting (video) was called to order by the Chair at 5:01 PM. • Commission members present: Eric Shew (Acting Chair), Jody Bento and Phillip Freytag • Commission members absent: Patricia McDonnell and Amy Chaloupka, Staff members present: Darby Galligan, PCDD; Taylor Webb, PCDD; Carol Rofkar, Public Works Guests: Free Borsey and Roy Nicols, Children of the Setting Sun Productions; Lindsey Payne Johnstone and Nathalie Wagler, Downtown Bellingham Partnership -Approve April Meeting Minutes No minutes to approve – postponed to June meeting Agenda Items . Coast Salish Interactive Living Mural p. 2 Free Borsey and Roy Nicols, resident artists of Children of the Setting Sun Productions, presented their art proposal for the downtown alleyway interactive living mural. This project was funded through the downtown activation and beautification program and will be located in the alleyway between the new location of the Children of the Setting Sun (former Mindport building) and Wild Buffalo. The concept for the 80ft mural is to depict the unique landscape of “Xwot’Qom” (Whatcom County) as well as Hero Pieces (local fauna) and traditional village sites unique to Xwot’Qom. In addition, projection will be used to make the mural come to life and tell indigenous stories unique to the Coast Salish peoples. They will also be including an interactive youth educational opportunity within the piece to allow children to participate in traditional Coast Salish artist expression and storytelling by coloring in salmon. All Commissioners and guests present expressed excitement for the living mural concept. A few clarifying questions were asked, but otherwise no substantive suggestions or edits were suggested by Commissioners. . Commercial Street Parking Garage Art Concept p. 3 Lindsey Payne Johnstone and Nathalie Wagler from the Downtown Bellingham Partnership (DBP) presented the Commercial Street Parking Garage Comprehensive Art Plan & Artist Handbook. The DBP received a $5,000 small and simple grant to work with  a team of designers, architects, artists and muralists to create a guide for the future implementation of any artwork in and on the garage. The concept included priority areas of improvement for the garage, aesthetic inspiration, recommended color palettes, and cost estimates for future implementation. Their goal was not to deter creative expression of any artists who may implement artwork in or on the garage in the future, but rather to ensure that any future art will feel cohesive as well as to transform the building into a lively, colorful, and welcoming space. The Commissioners liked the overall concept and agreed the garage could benefit from aesthetic enhancements to encourage more use of the underutilized facility. MOTION: Phllip Freytag/Eric Shew moved to approve the Commercial Street Parking Garage Comprehensive Art Plan & Artist Handbook. VOTE: All in favor, motion carried. . Woburn Percent for Art Approach p. 33 Taylor gave an overview of the capital facility project on the corner of Woburn St and Lakeway Dr which is subject to the percent for art program. The project is to create a new Parks facility with storage space for materials and large vehicles and equipment. The total project budget is approximately $7,000,000 which equates to ~$70,000 for artwork to be incorporated into the site vicinity. Staff proposed art to be install at the northern corner of the property at the intersection of Woburn St and Old Woburn St or near the tiny home site. The artist or artist team may consider incorporating a salvaged historic horse barn cupula and/or paying homage to the historic uses on-site within the art piece(s). Commissioner Bento recalled conversations years ago in which she thought the agreed approach was to incorporate an artistic fence into the property. Carol Rofkar, Public Works project manager, did not recall this was a formal decision/ recommendation and stated there were no logical places on-site to incorporate a decorative fence, especially for the limited budget. Other Commissioners agreed that the north corner of the property would be a great location for art, but that it could benefit from adding approach pathways to any artwork that may be sited there. Ultimately, they felt that it was not necessary to include the salvaged cupula or reference the historic usage of the site in the artwork. MOTION: Jody Bento/Phillip Freytag moved to approve the art approach without limiting the location options and eliminating any requirements to reference the historic horse barn in the artwork. VOTE: All in favor, motion carried.  . Recommendation for removal of artwork: "Turn" by Lee Imonen p. 36 Taylor updated Commissioners about “Turn”, a sculpture in Big Rock Garden Park, which is currently in a state of disrepair. A few months ago, Parks staff and park stewards notified planning staff that the piece was starting to rot and supports were failing. A couple weeks ago, a letter was submitted by a member of the Friends of Big Rock Garden Park who stated that the piece had finally collapsed. Due to the potential safety hazard, staff is recommending the piece be deaccessioned. An accompanying staff memo was sent to Commissioners prior to the meeting. Commissioners urged staff to continue making attempts to contact the artist before the piece is removed since staff had yet to hear a response. In the interim, they suggested that roping or fencing off the area around the collapsed piece could eliminate some liability concerns. Due to the growing age of our collection, lack of maintenance funds, and many pieces with undocumented donations (including Turn which did not have a contract), the Commissioners suggested that we develop and follow a structured process for deaccessioning artwork. Staff reminded them that we do have a written policy in the Policy and Procedures document, but that we agree we should be diligent in following the process rather than moving ahead too quickly. MOTION: Eric Shew/Phillip Freytag moved to continue outreach to the artist for another 30 days before the artwork be deaccessioned, and to bring the item back again next month. VOTE: All in favor, motion carried. Other Business . Public Comment Period Alex McLean stated that he appreciates and agrees with the Commissioners guidance to ensure the artists are contacted before artwork is removed since several of his pieces were removed from downtown without notifying him. Jack McBride shared information about and history of the Big Rock Garden Park of which he is a steward. He offered to give the Commissioners a tour of the park. . For the Good of the Order and Announcements • The June agenda will include a review of the combined artwork RFQ. It will also include two more percent for art approaches: Parkview Safe Routes to School Project and Padden Creek Project. Phillip agreed to the BAC rep for the Padden Creek and Woburn projects.  • Planned art conservation on several bronze pieces is scheduled to begin this month. The conservator will start with Goat Cart and the Fairhaven bronze benches. • Blake Hudson has been recommended for appointment to the BAC. The recommendation is currently with the Mayor’s Office awaiting approval. • A new skate park is coming to Bellingham and will be located under Roeder Street Bridge. • Staff will plan to organize a few dates to tour some of our public art collection. Meeting adjourned at 6:46 PM Minutes prepared by: ____________________________________________ Taylor Webb, Development Specialist II Minutes edited by both staff and Arts Commission members.