Lawrenceville Arts Commission

LAWRENCEVILLE ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Tuesday, September 13, 2022 Third Floor GwMA Conference Room 6:00 PM 70 S. Clayton St, GA 30046 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM recognizing a quorum. Approval of Agenda Motion to approve the agenda was made by Commission Member Fellows, Seconded by Commission Member Walden. Voting Yea: Commission Member Hammond, Commission Member Fellows, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders 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 Hammond. Voting Yea: Commission Member Hammond, Commission Member Fellows, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders General Discussion 2. Branding Committee Alicia Chitwood provided an update on Branding. A list of potential hashtags was presented to the group for review. DTL Instagram's official hashtag is #the_dtl, but they have also transitioned over to #thedtl for ease, removing the underscore. The hashtags presented had fewer than 1,000 posts so nobody is actively using them. The different iterations of the hashtags were discussed. Ultimately, the group decided that they will vote on two, one  hashtag that will be used continually and one hashtag as a backup. The group narrowed down one hashtag, #dtlarts, and will test it out at the next event. Motion to make the first choice hashtag to be #dtlarts with second choice to be #dtl_arts was made by Commission Member Chitwood, Seconded by Commission Member Fellows. Voting Yea: Commission Member Hammond, Commission Member Fellows, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders 3. Grants Committee Aura-Leigh Sanders discussed having two grant programs with specific criteria on who they would sponsor. Following the model of the Downtown Development Authority's Facade Grant Program, public mural on their buildings or facility can be public art. Parameters allocate 10% of the budget of $25,000 would create a matching grant of $2,500 and the recipient would have to match the $2,500. The range was $500 to $1,500 and the proposed increase would bring the maximum to $2,500 to allow up to 10 grants, and can open the grant up to public art as well, not just murals. The grading criteria would need to be determined to be able to have a reason to say a project will or will not receiving grant funds. If this grant was solely for murals, 10 murals per year will be a lot, so opening it up to things like figures placed in a business window can be considered. This grant will see a lot of interest and it will need to be determined if this grant will be done every year. An update can be provided to Council at Work Session, but their approval is not needed. Maintenance requirements will also need to be included as well as the responsibility of the installation entity. A deadline will need to be put on the project as well. Art projects will still need to go to Planning & Development, even though the Arts Commission provides a portion of the funding. The application process should be long enough to be able to procure an artist. The funds from the Arts Commission will be dispersed once the project is completed. The mural process goes to the Arts Commission and they share what they would like to do. The Arts Commission provided their input and then they will go to Planning & Development who will advise the business on their next steps. Permitting may be involved and the Ordinance rules will need to be followed. Planning & Development will be the oversight for the process. A stipulation can be added that the one year time limit to complete the project can start once Planning & Development approves the project. The Arts Commission can determine if a proposed mural is actually a mural. The Downtown Development Authority's Facade Grant is different than this program, however, if a business is painting the front of their building and installing a piece of art, they can apply for both. 4. Community Outreach Committee Jennifer Hammonds provided a brief update on the last event, Around the World in the DTL. The turnout was good, the volunteers were great and it was an overall great event. Current needs and lighting for the tents were discussed since evening events will have a need for lighting. Amber is currently looking for small pumpkins. Last year they had pumpkins and gourds but most people wanted to paint the pumpkins. 150 pumpkins were purchased last year and they ran out, so 200 will be purchased this year.  In July the group voted that Jasmine could spend up to $750 for supplies but a vote would need to be taken for any amount over that. Lighting discussions included spotlights from the ground. It was determined that those would not work well, and that overhead lighting would be best, that was battery operated or rechargeable to save the cost of purchasing batteries. 5. Slow Pour Brewing Mural Bill Rogers, Marketing Director, Ashley in Marketing, and Adam, Director of Sales with Slow Pour presented a mural rendering they would like to replace the current mural. The current mural faded and has become an eyesore so they wanted to do something to provide a destination photo op but also draw people into their business. Ashley will paint the mural and has indicated that it will take approximately two weeks to complete once she starts. The mural piece and business sign would need to be discussed, and they are happy to go back to the drawing board to provide an alternate design. They would like to wrap the design around the building to the other side of the wall to make it more of an art piece. Jasmine shared that the mural, although presented at the Arts Commission, would be considered signage and would need a sign permit via Planning and Development. Jasmine plans to connect the Slow Pour team with Planning and Development to begin the process. Motion to allow the signage to be placed alongside Slow Pour as their first phase of the process was made by Commission Member Hammond, Seconded by Commission Member Chitwood. Voting Yea: Commission Member Hammond, Commission Member Fellows, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders 6. Placemaking Leadership Summit Aura Leigh presented about the Placemaking Leadership Summit, its benefits, and how it can assist the Lawrenceville Arts Commission in future, art ventures. The commission agreed that this would be a great conference to attend and suggested that another member attend if able. Motion to approve up to $2,500 overall for two members to attend the conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to include registration, hotel and gas, was made by Commission Member Sanders, Seconded by Commission Member Fellows. Voting Yea: Commission Member Hammond, Commission Member Fellows, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders 7. Budget Jasmine Billings shared the budget with the art commission. The discussion was had about needing additional lights on the tent during community events such as Boo Fest. 8. GA Mural Trail  Commission reviewed a third draft of the mural, planned for the side of McCray’s Tavern of the Square. The commission had several edits that they wanted to make, but due to a few members being unable to be onsite, they requested a Special Call meeting to discuss this single project. Jasmine stated that a doodle poll would be shared with the commission to formalize a date for the requested meeting following the session. 9. Paver Art Jasmine Billings shared that the project along Seminary and Clayton Street that included raised pavers will not include art this time, however, the Arts Commission is to work on ideas, potential open calls, and designs for paver art that could be placed in the downtown area strategically 10. Community Mural Melissa Hardegree, Chief Communications Officer, and Community Relations Director joined the meeting to share about marketing efforts for the Arts Commission and the requested Open Call for Artists based on the board meeting in August. Jasmine shared with the commission the application and the detailed information to ensure that the items were correct. The Commission requested an update to add the word “Finalist” to the detailed information for compensation. Melissa shared that she will create a press release with this information; share it on social media, a news flash on the city website, and on kiosks throughout downtown. Other Business There was no other business. Citizen Comments Citizen Comments will be limited to two (2) minutes per person. The Arts Commission Board Members will not respond to comments. There were no Citizen Comments. Final Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Commission Member Chitwood, Seconded by Commission Member Fellows. Voting Yea: Commission Member Hammond, Commission Member Fellows, Commission Member Chitwood, Commission Member Walden, Commission Member Sanders The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM. Minutes Signature ___________________ Aura-Leigh Sanders, Chairman ___________________ Jasmine Billings, Secretary