Lawrenceville Arts Commission

LAWRENCEVILLE ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Tuesday, October 12, 2021 GwMA Large Conference Room - 3rd Floor 6:00 PM 70 S. Clayton St, GA 30046 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM recognizing a quorum. Approval of Agenda Motion to approve the agenda was made by Commission Member Walden, Seconded by Commission Member Stone-Collins. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh Voting Abstaining: Commission Member Clark Council Member Clark arrived at 6:04 PM Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes 1. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the prior meeting minutes was made by Commission Member Stone- Collins, Seconded by Commission Member Abuaisheh. Voting Yea: Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone-Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh Voting Abstaining: Commission Member Clark General Discussion 2. Community Outreach The Commission members had DTL Rocks at Oktoberfest and it was very successful. It was noted that they need wipes, cups and paper towels, and Jasmine will look into setting up an account with a restaurant group supplier to be able to get a much better price on supplies, as long as they will take a tax exempt form. Members will provide Jasmine with a list of what items are needed. The rocks program has been very successful, and they will be participating  in Boofest next. Zoom meetings can be utilized for the subcommittee members to meet. It was noted that the Art Walk will be their next big project. 3. Grants Committee The Grants Committee has been focusing on researching grants. Alice did some research and determined that the Arts Commission would have to be a 501(3)c for a lot of grants, but we would also qualify for some grants as a city. Memberships were discussed as a way to raise funds which could allow patrons to receive certain benefits/discounts depending on the level of membership purchased. Decatur and Roswell do different versions of this type of membership. The Lawrenceville Arts Center is a city owned facility that contains three classrooms that could possibly be utilized by patrons. Jasmine shared a document, sent prior to the meeting via Grants Committee, that showed potential levels and benefits patrons could receive. The Historic Courthouse holds monthly classes and is open to partnering with the Arts Commission for projects such as Art Walk, anything else would need to be further discussed. If we create a steady service of monthly classes we could possibly offer 20% discount to patrons. With the newfound partnership of the Hudgens Center, and with artwork being showcased in City Hall and the Lawrenceville Arts Center, the Lawrenceville Arts Commission is open to partnering with the Hudgens Center for Arts and Learning in the future. Other potential membership benefits included members getting priority in participating in the Art Walk, names displayed in City Hall, offering Charter Memberships as well as Lifetime Memberships. Development needs were discussed, including a newsletter, website, social media, instructional offerings and a facility. The newsletter would need to be considered carefully and could possibly just be annual. A website would be great, as would a Facebook Arts Commission page, but both would require a lot of work and time commitment. The commission members would need to consider a marketing plan and social media postings should be a part of that. The Branding Subcommittee should meet and start the planning process for these items. It was suggested that the Arts Commission should add additional members, since we will be down 2 members by the end of the year, however, the bi-laws would need to be changed which will require Council approval, and the required quorum number would increase as well. The Commission could possibly use volunteers to assist on subcommittees in lieu of adding members. The Commission will also need to have a clear and concise message to be able to clearly ask for things from the City. The city promoted DTL Rocks and Aura-Leigh indicated that she saw an increase in the membership, and adding that the web page the Arts Commission currently has through the City's website is fantastic and adding the ability to purchase memberships online would be very helpful. The Branding Subcommittee should discuss development and membership and the Grants and Funding Subcommittee should work on membership options. Jasmine will send the top 5 options from the benefit list to the group and the subcommittees will get together to discuss. 4. Art Walk Update Aura-Leigh was unable to provide a proposal to the group before the meeting, but indicated that the proposal will cover the businesses that will start off the Art Walk, how the first group of art will be sourced and when items will begin to be placed. Jasmine and Aura-Leigh looked at 5 different businesses to see where and how artwork can be placed. Vacant buildings that are beginning or in the middle of a build-out will more than likely not be available for art  displays. Five locations will be utilized for this first round and it was noted that 14-15 businesses indicated they were interested in participating in this project. The process to solicit artwork from the community will need to be discussed as well. The Historic Courthouse indicated they were interested in hosting artists in their building and not incur a commission fee due to this being a partnership. They operate on a 3 month rotating art display, they know how to display/hang art pieces and they also have the infrastructure in place for these displays. They are open to participating beginning in January. The frequency of changing the artwork out quarterly was discussed, as well as making the artist responsible for the installation of their own artwork. When a call for art is made, specific wording will need to be included regarding nudity, etc. for public viewing. Community Outreach will wait on Aura-Leigh's proposal and after the first round of art installation they will have a better idea of where they will head. The Art Walk will need to be publicized so people are aware of what is going on and the Branding Committee will be working that. Discovery has a very robust art program and the Community Outreach committee will reach out to the schools as well. 5. Mural Update There was not much to update. McCray's is working on getting the dimensions for the two locations on their building, one is their current McCray's logo and the other will be the new mural. McCray's will be repainting the McCray's sign currently on the building and would also like to add another mural to the side of the building. The wall at the Post Office will be another location for a mural, and can potentially be a community engagement opportunity, and if so, this could be a 2 day project that would require the use of police to ensure the safety of the participants. Decatur used police to block off the more busy intersections when they were completing the power box paintings. Several businesses have reached out to donate space for murals. 6. Retreat Update With two vacancies on the Arts Commission at the end of the year, a retreat will need to wait until February or March of 2022. Other Business Jasmine Billings showed the seating space in front of Liberty Books and the potential to add additional seating, and asked the Commission members for their opinion at the request of the Executive Management. A sample of the chairs and table were shown, and the feedback regarding the table was that if the bookstore moved, it would not be a good fit. A robust discussion took place between Commission Member Clark and Staff Liaison Billings with regards to the Arts Commission not getting this project assigned to them. The Arts Commission requested further clarity on their role and the projects assigned to them vs. assigned to internal departments. Jasmine will talk to the Executive Team to get clarity on the role of the Arts Commission. Citizen Comments Comments will be limited to two (2) minutes per person. Arts Commission members will not respond to comments. Two citizens were present at the meeting, and commented that they like the mural ideas, the memberships and structures, and talked about their love of special, exclusive events for memberships, possibly a wine and cheese event for the upper echelon members. They also liked the chairs but pointed out that they may pose an issue for individuals that may have been drinking. Final Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Commission Member Clark, Seconded by Commission Member Chitwood. Voting Yea: Commission Member Clark, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Stone- Collins, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh The meeting adjourned at 7:28 PM. Minutes Signature ___________________ Aura-Leigh Sanders, Chairman ___________________ Jasmine Billings, Secretary