Arts and Humanities Council of Falls Church

Arts and Humanities Council of Falls Church Meeting March 18, 2021 Virtual Meeting Minutes Members Present: Corey Jannicelli, Letty Hardi, Sally Cole, Ron Anzalone, Mary Sellers, Ellen Gross, Ed Henderson, Marybeth Connelly, Laura Hull, Maureen Budetti, Irene Chambers Guests: Keith Thurston (CATCH Foundation) Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Laura Hull at 9:35 am. Receipt of Public Comments  No comments were received Minutes: Minutes from December 2020 meeting were approved with edits Roll call and Council Member Changes  Welcome to Falls Church Arts representative Maureen Budetti  Departure / Thank you to Friends of Cherry Hill Foundation Representative Rosemary Ziskind New Business: 2020-2021 Council Work Plan  Review of Council priorities, specifically how the Arts & Humanities Council (AHC) can contribute to the work and reassessment of work with an equity lens  Artwork for City Council Chambers o Current artwork of founding fathers does not reflect the diversity of our City, looking to incorporate women and minorities into future artwork o Community groups have already expressed interest in having Maddy Gundry and Freddie Foote represented in future art  Point person has been identified for Maddy Gundry portrait but not Freddie Foote o Keith Thurston has identified a local artist able to paint future portraits o Village Preservation Society has offered to be the fundraising arm for future portraits o Portraits should be created at the same quality as current portraits but should not limit artist style at this time o Community input for future art should come through future AHC discussions o Time will be added to future AHC meeting to discuss additional individuals who should be considered for chamber artwork  Bust of George Mason at City Hall 1  o Time will be added to future AHC meeting for discussion and recommendation on the statue o Corey Jannicelli will compile resources/examples of how municipalities are reviewing names and statues with a focus on equity and inclusion  Wayfinding o Make sure that we are equitable with signage and not just focused on the Broad street corridor  Digital Guide of City Public Art o Make a digital guide of public art with images and context available on the littlecity.org website o Keith Thurston and Mary Sellers have offered to work on this project with student liaisons o Keith Thurston will share list created by VCA Student Group o A Master list will help keep track of the City’s assets and maintenance needs o Opportunity to incorporate a digital guide into a future walking tour and asset to school curriculum o Example of work: Fairfax’s Digital Guide Equity Roundtable: Work already being done within the City’s Arts and Cultural organizations  Historical Commission is reviewing the past naming of schools, parks and streets within the City o Review of historical plaques including the recent removal of the hangman’s tree o Asking the questions  How are we telling our story?  Who is our audience?  Who does our community include?  Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation is a model for diversity and equity work  Wall of Healing is a Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation project scheduled to go up in June 2021  Our city needs to do a better job representing the Latino, Native American and Vietnamese stories  Falls Church Arts membership does include a significant number of female artists but other aspects of membership diversity is still a work in progress  VPIS participated in conversations around hangman’s tree  Make sure we are including people with disabilities when speaking about inclusion  Creative Cauldron has been taking part in a personnel and institutional change creating a community of practice that addresses racism o Reviewing policies and changing boards to be more diverse  The City’s Arts and Humanities Grant Program should be reviewed for equity Old Business: Comp Plan Amendment: Enriching Falls Church Art and ordinance to establish an Arts and Cultural District  Acoustical and digital art should be included in list of public art 2   Consideration should be made for non-permanent art (temporary art)  Look into creating a list of local artists with support from Falls Church Arts  Cultural District map could use some more explanation, difficult to interpret Adjourn Meeting was adjourned at 11:16 am Next Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 15, 2021 Submitted: By Corey Jannicelli 3