Lawrenceville Arts Commission

LAWRENCEVILLE ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Tuesday, December 14, 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 6:10 PM recognizing a quorum. Approval of Agenda Motion to approve the agenda was made by Commission Member Walden, Seconded by Commission Member Clark. Voting Yea: Commission Member Clark, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes 1. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the prior meeting minutes was made by Commission Member Walden, Seconded by Commission Member Abuaisheh. Voting Yea: Commission Member Clark, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh General Discussion 2. Lawrenceville Arts Commission 2022 Proposed Meeting Schedule The first 6 months of the City's 2022 Event Calendar has been approved and posted on the Downtown Lawrenceville website. Newly appointed Arts Commission members are Katrina Fellows and Jennifer Hammond. They will be made aware of the Lawrenceville Arts Commission 2022 schedule to avoid conflicts. There will also be a Council member appointed as a member of the Arts Commission and that information will be communicated  prior to January's meeting. The Lawrenceville Arts Commission meeting schedule will continue to be the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 PM. Motion to approve the 2022 Lawrenceville Arts Commission meeting schedule was made by Commission Member Walden, Seconded by Commission Member Abuaisheh. Voting Yea: Commission Member Clark, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh 3. Community Outreach Update Community Outreach has taken a little of a break, and for the time being DTL Rocks has been put on hold. A virtual meeting will be planned for the subcommittee members, and they will also look for volunteer opportunities that will hopefully include some of the schools. Aura- Leigh and Amber will reach out to the new Commission members prior to the January meeting. Jasmine advised the group that Officer voting will take place at the January meeting and will be added to the meeting agenda. 4. Grants Committee Update The Grants Committee has not met, and does not have an update. They will begin to meet again in January. 5. Alleyway Update Jasmine Billings provided a picture of the work that has been done so far to the Alleyway. Weather slowed the work a bit, and there was an issue determining the type of light pole that would be installed, but that issue has been resolved and work is continuing. A new completion date has not been determined yet, as the December 11th date has already passed. 6. Depot District Signs Jasmine Billings provided an update on the progress of this project. The lowest bidder has been approved by Council. Letters have been distributed to all the businesses in the area as well as a transfer station, which provided a list of the companies that use them. Although Council has approved the project, no timeline has been determined yet. Melissa Hardegree is crafting a press release on this project that should come out at the end of the week. Jasmine will share that with the Arts Commission members when it is completed. 7. Art Proposal Update (Art Walk & Community Mural) Jasmine Billings provided an update on the Art Walk. She added everyone's feedback into her document and provided an overview. The Waiver is still being worked on, and the businesses are ready to go in January. Branding will still need to be completed as well. Aura- Leigh indicated that the Branding Committee will need to kick off prior to January's meeting and will need to determine how to get this project out to the artists. The first 5 locations have been determined: Gwinnett Historic Courthouse, 178 East Crogan, 159 East Pike, Southern Performing Arts Center and La Cazuela. The Dizzy Gypsy Waiver will be updated and Steve North will review prior to the legal reviewing. The artist and businesses will work together to install the art pieces in their respective locations. Aura-Leigh indicated that she has not had  any problems with artists allowing a business where their art is displayed to not have any liability for the art piece. If this is an issue with an artist, then the Arts Commission can decide if they will move on to other artist. Aura-Leigh indicated she would like to make an event out of the Art Walk and is hoping to come up with ideas on how to promote. Maybe Broadway on the Lawn would be a good fit. Jasmine also provided an update on the Community Mural project. The Arts Commission would need to provide a rendering of what the project would look like, the measurements of the wall, how long the mural will be so Council can approve. Once art submissions are received, the Arts Commission would need to provide 3 possible murals so Council can approve, or request additional submissions. The artists would be given a direction on the subject of the art and the artists would submit their vision. The Arts Commission would need to determine how the clean-up process will work once an individual is done (i.e. buckets of water, cloths, etc.), creating time slots for community members to sign up as well as the duration of the shifts (possibly 20 minutes painting, 10 minutes cleaning up). This will help control the number of people that will be on-site, given this is a very busy street. This project is open to all community members 10 years of age and older, and does not require any artistic ability. No one under the age of 10 will be allowed on site for safety reasons. An invitation will be put out to specific mural artists. Once chosen and the project starts, the artist will outline the art piece, the community members will paint in areas assigned and the artist will make sure the finished project is cleaned up artistically. It was suggested to ask some members of the public what information they would need to know so we would be able to provide the information community members would need. We can also provide a "puzzle" so people would know where they will be working. Jasmine can share the mural with the City Manager and Council to get their feedback. Jasmine will forward any additional questions they have to the Commission Members. 8. Budget Jasmine Billings advised that the City's budget season will being at the beginning of the year, for 2022-2023. The Arts Commission has allocated $5,000 for supplies. The Art Walk and Community Mural will spend some of the current budget. The Roundabouts have been put on hold for the time being and the Arts Commission will need to start to think about projects they would like to have in the coming year. Some landscaping, that will not require a lot of water, can possibly be installed in the roundabouts for the time being. It would be good to start having some conversations with Georgia Gwinnett College when the new members are on board. The Grants Committee will need to determine if a portion of funding can be given in grant money, and Jasmine advised that the Façade Grant Program for the City will be coming back. Businesses that have expressed interest in having a mural completed on their building may need to have some buy in. 9. Retreat Update Aura-Leigh Sanders indicated that Jasmine has gotten in touch with Linnea with the Suwanee Arts Commission and indicated that she is interested in becoming a facilitator for the retreat. The meeting would be an open meeting, and details on the length of the meeting,  date, time and place will need to be determined, as well as what the focus of what the meeting will cover. This meeting can possibly take place during the 1st or 2nd quarter. Aura- Leigh would also like to create a master plan, and hopes that Linnea will be able to guide us on crafting that document. This will serve as a guide for long term planning for current and future Arts Commissions, help to determine what projects the Arts Commission chooses to work on, how funds will be spent and should fit in to what Council has already accomplished. 10. Art Projects Jasmine Billings advised that Chuck Warbington has donated tiles and asked if the Arts Commission would be interested in doing something with them. Ideas will be gathered to help determine a use for them. 11. Bicentennial Event Jasmine Billings provided an update on the Bicentennial event, and reminded everyone that the event was Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at the Lawrenceville Arts Center, beginning at 6:30 PM. Other Business There was no other business. Citizen Comments Comments are limited to two (2) minutes per person. Arts Commission members will not respond to comments. There were no Citizen Comments. Final Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Commission Member Clark, Seconded by Commission Member Walden. Voting Yea: Commission Member Clark, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders, Commission Member Abuaisheh The meeting adjourned at 7:18 PM. Minutes Signature ___________________ Aura-Leigh Sanders, Chairman ___________________ Jasmine Billings, Secretary