Public Art Committee

Public Art Committee Summary Minutes Tuesday, September 12, 2023 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Zoom For more information on how to join, visit: https://durhamnc.gov/453/Public-Art-Committee Committee Members Present Mya Castillo-Marte, Chair Laura Ritchie Jaime Chavez JP Trostle Lana Dennis Myra Weise Lee Nisbet David Ojo Student Member Eliza Redmann Oliver Hess Committee Members Absent Patricia Harris Michelle Smith Doreen Jakob (excused) Student Member Ann King Bren Veinrich-Felling I. Call to Order and Guest Introductions a. The meeting was called to order at 5:50 p.m. by Castillo-Marte. II. Approval of Minutes a. MOTION: To approve August 2023 meeting minutes (Castillo-Marte, Trostle 2nd). b. ACTION: Approved (8-0 with 0 abstentions). III. Adjustments to the Agenda a. None. IV. Announcements a. Molly Matlock has stepped down from Vice-Chair and PAC membership. There will be a discussion about nominating a new Vice-Chair at the October meeting. b. City of Durham  i. Cultural Roadmap 1. 60 external interviews completed on 16th and 17th of August 2023 and have sent out invitations on the week of September 5th for the planned 6 focus groups with 8 members each. The topics are: Faith Communities; Corporate Philanthropy; Communities, Organizations & Programmers; Artists; Arts Education; and Arts Businesses. 2. September 25th: Release of community-wide survey, flyers, and yard signs to market the survey. City of Durham staff asked that PAC members encourage their circles to participate in the survey to get the word out as much as possible. 3. Some members of PAC have participated in focus groups, but PAC members on the cultural roadmap subcommittee are also looking for ways to have a voice in the Cultural Roadmap, and will act as the voice of PAC for the cultural roadmap planning process. 4. Selection Committee for CCP Application met on August 18, and will be announcing the artists selected to be CCPs; as timelines develop, Cultural Roadmap planning staff will request support and engagement from PAC members. ii. Wheels Public Art Call for Artists Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 1. New RFQ went out for Wheels Roller Skating Rink, and will be open through the end of September. For more information, visit: https://www.durhamnc.gov/5132/Public-Art-at-Wheels-Roller-Skating- Rink. 2. The project will be a site-specific exterior art project, but the specific medium is open-ended (i.e. proposals can be for sculpture, murals, etc.) 3. Castillo-Marte asked staff if there is capacity to fundraise for this? Is there a potential for more than one player to join? 4. City staff responded that the budget is in a strong place starting off and will encompass artist fees, contracting fees, etc. The RFQ is open for artists, artist teams, and/or artist/artist and fabricator teams. c. Durham County i. None. V. Old Business a. Membership i. The application process for Public Art Committee (PAC) membership is currently open. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on September 22, 2023. PAC has two vacancies following the resignation of Christina Perkins and Molly Matlock, and one student PAC vacancy. There are currently 3 applications for the PAC positions, and none for the student position.  ii. Members elected to pause the discussion on filling the Vice-Chair vacancy until there is more clarity on the process of electing a new Vice-Chair. City staff are reaching out to Office on Youth to solicit support for promoting the student member opportunity. VI. New Business and Presentations a. Public Art Committee (PAC) Review Guidelines i. PAC members realized that there has been miscommunication between what is expected of the artist during a UDO process, and the role of PAC in the approval process. In response, PAC is creating a set of guidelines for the artist to use as guidance for their planned artwork proposals; ii. The first draft of new PAC guidelines is in its early stages, and the PAC subcommittee can choose to meet and review it again or share it with the rest of the committee; iii. Discussion: Are there particular questions or visions that members want to make sure are represented in updated guidelines? The guidelines should be simple and easy to understand and should focus on the things within PAC control and skill-set. Focusing on PAC expertise of assessing social consciousness, etc. iv. Decision: Upload the draft of the guidelines to the shared drive for committee members to review and streamline together for UDO public art and other City public art projects. b. Task Force Goal Updates i. New members are reminded to join a subcommittee Task Force. ii. Cultural Roadmap 1. The Cultural Roadmap Planning Group (CRPG) did not have a chance to meet since the last meeting but anticipate helping to distribute road signs, flyers, and other marketing materials. iii. Capacity Building 1. The Capacity Building Task Force did not get a chance to meet but is working on creating the guidelines for public art proposals; soliciting feedback, questions, and suggestions from the committee. Eventually want to build guidelines for connecting to local artists in Durham and find ways to get more local artists involved in City public art calls; a copy of the UDO questions is also in the G-Drive. iv. Implicit/Explicit Bias 1. None. v. PAC members anticipate looking for potential facilitators for a sensitivity training and will send candidates to City staff. Two key skills to focus on are: (1)  learning how to attract and retain diverse voices in PAC; and (2) how to better review artist proposals. By the October meeting, members want to know if a sensitivity training is within the PAC Retreat budget, or whether it will be done during a separate meeting. vi. Collective skill-building could be important to figure out how to attract and retain diverse voices in PAC, and how to build skills in reviewing artist proposals. VII. Public Questions a. None. VIII. Adjournment a. Final Thoughts and other reminders by Chair. i. Get in touch if you’d like to self-nominate for Vice-Chair. ii. Next meeting will be held in person on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, from 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at General Services Department, 2011 Fay St Durham, NC, 27704. iii. Members agree that the model of meeting every other month in-person, and making sure to meet via Zoom for UDO presentations is working best right now; for important occasions, meeting in-person may be better. b. October Meeting i. South Ellerbe Restoration Project Design Review. IX. Documents Public Art Committee goals: 1. Support the Durham Cultural Advisory Board’s planning process for the Cultural Roadmap. 2. Review and recommend training opportunities based on the results of the Capacity Building Survey and input from the Public Art Committee members. Identify capacity building solutions for local artists. Develop mentor and mentee guidelines/opportunities and other artist resources to address local artists' needs. 3. The Public Art Committee will develop the skills needed to assess, identify and address where implicit and explicit bias may impact or affect arts and culture in Durham, in order to develop a set of best practices for public art with a focus on anti-racism, community accountability and equity, and to uplift intergenerational, gender diverse, racially diverse, and LGBTQIA+ artists. For updates on City of Durham’s Public Art Projects, visit: https://durhamnc.gov/3319/Current-Public-Art-Projects For updates on Durham County’s Public Art Program, visit: https://www.dconc.gov/county-departments/departments-a-e/engineering-and-environmental- services/durham-county-public-art-program Submitted by, Ajani Anderson