Arts and Humanities Council of Falls Church

Arts and Humanities Council of Falls Church Meeting March 17, 2022 Virtual Meeting Minutes Members Present: Corey Price, Letty Hardi, Laura Hull, Mary Sellers, Elise Neil Bengtson, Ron Anzalone, Marybeth Connelly, Katharine Stewart, Maureen Budetti, Tim Stevens, Ellen Gross, Ed Henderson, Nikki Graves Henderson Guests: Keith Thurston (The Little City CATCH Foundation), Ariadne Autor (Falls Church City Resident) Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Laura Hull at 9:35 a.m. Receipt of Public Comments  No comments were received Minutes: February 2022 minutes were approved New Business: 1. AHC Charges/Responsibilities Review- Laura Hull/Corey Price  A document listing the new draft charges was shared before the meeting.  The changes are a reflection of the SWOT analysis previously completed by the AHC along with several meetings with the City clerk’s office.  The AHC original charges were written as very specific tasks. Our goal is to create charges that are more broad scope providing us with flexibility in the future but also a clearer direction moving forward. Comments  Promotion o Where do promotion and public awareness of arts, culture, and history fit? o Recommendation to add promotion for the arts under advocacy o Caution using the word promotion, what are we committing to? general support of the arts, culture, and history or promotion of individual programs by organizations represented on this council?  Fostering Collaboration o Organizations should be listed with artists, architects, engineers, businesses, and property owners o The round table conversations at the end of the meeting are important  Fiscal Planning o Add advising to fiscal planning and also add budget  Room for growth o Before the list of charges, add the phrase “including but not limited to” (to allow for growth and other voices) 1 2. Member Agreements- Laura Hull  A document listing the new draft member agreement was shared before the meeting.  The changes are a reflection of the SWOT analysis previously completed by the AHC along with a review of other boards and commission member agreements  Attendance by electronic means o If you are attending electronically, would it count towards attendance? o Rules around electronic participation are determined by the state government. Corey Price will follow up with more details.  Meeting attendance o Should members be required to attend so many meetings a year (example ¾ or 2/3) o Other boards and commissions have a policy that members cannot miss a certain number of consecutive meetings o Corey will follow up with a recommendation based on other boards in the city. o Should individuals receive gentle reminders rather than removal?  Replacement of individuals representing organizations would not mean the removal of the organization from the board simply they would need to select a new representative 3. Voting Membership- Corey Price  The changes are a reflection of the SWOT analysis previously completed by the AHC along with a review of other boards and commission membership.  The AHC is the only board or commission that has organizations associated with its membership. It is also the only board where the staff liaison and City Council members are voting members (verse liaisons). It is one of the few boards that have other boards and commissions on as voting members. The AHC is also one of few boards that allow non-City residents to sit on the board.  The recommendation is to move the City Council position, staff liaison, and board and commission representative positions to a non-voting role. We also recommend adding 2 additional members-at-large positions and a position that can be either an at-large position or the addition of the Vietnamese literary and artistic club of the Washington metro area.  Requirement Concerns o Recommend expanding requirement guidelines to include those who live, work or own a business in the City of Falls Church  Many individuals would be residents if it was not for past gerrymandering efforts and these individuals should not be removed from participating because of past discrimination efforts.  Art has no borders and only being represented by residents limits our diversity efforts  Corey will schedule a meeting with the City clerk’s office to see if we can have members that live outside the city but work or own a business in the City. 2 Old Business: Thelittlecity.org – Keith Thurston  The website will be updated by creating a landing page for each arts organization in the city.  The landing page would be static but would link to the organization’s website to learn about upcoming events. Falls Church Art Walk  Part 1- Create one or two walking tours and promote the routes this spring  Part 2- Create a scavenger hunt or walk that would be more of a community event and local organizations and businesses can participate  Volunteers are needed to make this possible, please email Corey Price if you would like to help. Beyond our Walls  The Falls Church City Public Library is working with American University on some pilot programs around active play to create learning opportunities outside.  The group is using a program called Hive Mechanic to create an interactive program using cell phones.  The first pilot in Falls Church will focus on the Cherry Hill outbuildings, most likely finding a way for the public to engage with the Corn Crib  Hopefully, this can create a model for other opportunities for Falls Church to work with American University on its program. Roundtable Discussions  Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation hosted Stand and Deliver event attended by roughly 150 people, protesting the State’s mandate on CRT and teaching diverse perspectives. The event was also protesting the tip hotline created to report teachers.  March 26 – Community Workshop on Diverse Perspectives on Race and Equity from 9:30 am to noon at Meridian High School  March 26- Falls Church Art Member Show  Cherry Hill winter newsletter is available online and printed at the farmhouse  VPIS has expressed concern around the increase of litter in the city and working with the City to encourage better accountability from local businesses  VPIS is working on signage to label streams on city bridges and improving public gardens  VPIS has their T-shirt sales coming up and spring meeting  March 18- April 3 Creative Cauldron learning theatre production of The Adventures of Mr. Toad Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 11:46 AM The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 21 Submitted: By Corey Price 3