Public Art Committee

Public Art Committee Summary Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 12, 2023 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. VIRTUAL For more information on how to join, visit: https://durhamnc.gov/453/Public-Art-Committee Committee Members Present Lana Dennis Eliza Redmann Sia Thorne Alexis King Laura Ritchie JP Trostle, Vice-Chair Ann King Tony Santiago Student Members Mya Castillo-Marte, Chair Bren Vienrich-Felling Committee Members Absent Jaime Chaves Myra Weise Jalen McGee (Excused) Student Members David Ojo Samantha Gonzalez (Excused) Michelle Smith (Excused) Oliver Hess Guests and City/County Staff Present Ajani Anderson, City of Durham Sarah Martin, Durham County Rebecca Brown, City of Durham Stephanie Minor, City of Durham E’Vonne Coleman, Durham Cultural Advisory Annette Smith, City of Durham Board Margaret DeMott, Durham Arts Council I. Call to Order and Guest Introductions a. Mya Castillo-Marte called the meeting to order at 5:49 p.m. b. New members Alexis King, Tony Santiago, and Sia Thorne introduced themselves to the Public Art Committee (PAC). Current members and City staff introduced themselves to new members as well. II. Approval of Minutes a. MOTION: To approve November minutes with one edit to adjust a typo in timing from 4:29 p.m. to 7:29 p.m. (Ann King, Trostle 2nd) b. ACTION: Approved (8-0) with three abstaining (Tony Santiago, Sia Thorne and Alexis King). III. Adjustments to the Agenda a. None. IV. Announcements a. Cultural Roadmap Updates i. The Cultural Roadmap Community Survey has been closed, with 903 completed survey responses and 394 partially completed responses. The demographics of respondents don’t match the Durham community, but AMS Consulting and Planning (AMS) and the Durham Cultural Advisory Board Cultural Roadmap Planning group aim to address this gap through other community engagement strategies, such as the Creative Community Partners, and community input sessions. ii. AMS hosted its first input workshop with the Durham Cultural Advisory Board (DCAB), PAC members, the Cultural Roadmap Planning Group, and other key community stakeholders on December 11th, 2023. AMS presented its data from surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Attendees also gave feedback on the presented data and identified some largescale priorities for the Cultural Roadmap. iii. City staff announced that AMS will host its first public community input session on January 20, 2024. This session will be an opportunity or Durham’s community to provide input on the planning process. To support this session, PAC members were encouraged to recruit people to their own networks so that the session can engage as many people from the community as possible. iv. City staff will aid the outreach process by working with the City’s Communications Department to create marketing materials for social media. Staff will share these links with PAC members as they become available. The Creative Community Partners (CCP) will also be engaging with Durham community members to both encourage attendance at the community input session, and to garner feedback on the planning process. v. PAC member Laura Ritchie, who leads the Cultural Roadmap Task Force in PAC, shared that members can point people in their network to the Cultural Roadmap webpage for updates. She also reiterated that while the Community Survey received many responses, most of the respondents were wealthy, White women, and encouraged PAC members to extend their outreach to better reach diverse voices. b. 2024 Calendar of Meetings i. Members reviewed the 2024 Calendar of Meetings, which explains when and how the PAC’s 2024 meetings will take place, as well as how to get access to meetings. It is a helpful resource for PAC members to share with members of the public who are interested in attending meetings or submitting public questions. c. New members participated in a virtual orientation on December 4th, 2023. i. Some new members attended the virtual orientation provided by City staff on December 4th, 2023. ii. Members who were unable to attend orientation were encouraged to watch the recording to understand what the duties of PAC members are, as well as other foundational information about joining the PAC.  d. City staff also noted that members who watched the recording are welcome to ask staff any questions needed, or to set up a call to discuss the information presented. e. Durham County updates i. None; the County is currently developing some new public art projects and will share the RFQs within the next few months. V. Old Business a. Public Art Committee Review Criteria and Review Guidelines i. The PAC is creating a document, “Criteria & Guiding Questions for Public Art Review” which will provide a shared set of criteria for the PAC and interested parties (artists and/or private developers) to use during Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and City-funded Public Art Project presentations of proposed public artwork. 1. UDO Process Background: The City/County have a Unified Development Ordinance that includes requirements for public art, if public art is included in the building process. Builders can provide public art in lieu of trees, benches or other public facing amenities. The UDO requires that the Public Art Committee is a part of the review process. The committee votes to provide a recommendation of approval for the presented design, if the majority of the PAC members are in favor. If PAC is in favor, then City/County staff provide a letter to the Planning Department of PAC’s determination. In the event that PAC is not in favor, the presenter may be asked to re-present amended public art designs addressing the committee's concerns, or PAC may issue a letter of decline that will be presented to the Planning Department. The Planning Department makes final determination for all approvals for the builder owner(s). ii. PAC members edited the “Criteria and Guiding Questions” document with input for City staff about how proposed changes aligned with current City policies. The committee plans to recommend the document for approval to the DCAB before March 2024. City staff shared that once the document is approved, it can be used as a resource for all public art UDO presentations. iii. Members made a number of edits to the document, including streamlining the content, fixing redundant questions, and updating the format to make the document more readable. Other edits are summarized below: 1. PAC members noted that “Public Art” can be a term that is often misunderstood, so members will clarify terms to better delineate between “public” art and “private” art projects. 2. PAC members noted that this document should be a short and readable document (within the range of 3 pages) so that it isn’t too burdensome and overcomplicated for interested parties to review. a. PAC members edited the Overview and Project Planning subcategory.  i. PAC members removed redundant questions about project feasibility and project goals to better streamline the questions, and clarified the criteria listed. 3. PAC will review the last four subcategories of the document in its January meeting. City staff will send out an editable document to PAC members for them to edit during December and January. VI. New Business a. 2024 PAC Retreat – February 2024 i. PAC members were asked to vote on the best date to hold PAC’s annual retreat. Members that did not fill out the poll previously will submit their availability outside of the meeting via email. ii. PAC members decided to bring in an external facilitator for the retreat, because an external facilitator will offer more capacity for the Chair and Vice-Chair to participate in the retreat, as well as opportunities for team-building. iii. Castillo-Marte shared that in previous retreats, PAC has done team-building exercises and has reviewed its yearly goals, mission, and strategies for achieving its identified priorities. PAC members discussed the upcoming 2024 retreat and identified three primary tasks: 1. To review and revise its 2024 goals; 2. To clarify Task Force goals and map out strategies for reaching them; and 3. To finish editing its “Criteria and Guiding Questions” document and submit it for approval to the DCAB. iv. The PAC’s planned DEI training will be held separately from the Annual Retreat, at a later date, to allow ample time to complete all three tasks during the retreat. VII. Public Questions a. None. VIII. Adjournment a. Castillo-Marte encouraged members to fill out the Annual Retreat poll so that members can choose a date in February. b. Castillo-Marte adjourned the meeting at 7:17 p.m. City of Durham’s Cultural & Public Art Program https://www.durhamnc.gov/450/Cultural-Public-Art-Development Durham County’s Public Art Program https://www.dconc.gov/county-departments/departments-a-e/engineering-and-environmental- services/durham-county-public-art-program Respectfully Submitted, Ajani Anderson