Cultural Council

The City of Lowell 375 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 P: 978.446.7162 • F: 978.446.7089 www.Lowellma.gov Lowell Cultural Council Meeting Minutes May 24, 2022 Attending: Britton Boughner; Joseph Pyne; Erin Duffey (Administrator); Stephanie Call; Beth Noel; Kshitij Karke; Jerry Bisantz. Guest: Fatima Al-Muntafik (Timmy.) Absent: Rona Gofstein; Bianca Mauro; Olu Ibrahim The meeting was called to order at 6:36 PM. 1. Administrator updates a. Duffey reviewed grants that required signatures for reimbursement. b. Duffey and Pyne presented a proposal from a grantee to revise their original grant. Motion to approve and seconded. Six yays, no nays. Motion passes. c. Lowell Festival Foundation contacted Duffey about a perceived accessibility requirement. When ASL interpreters were contacted they asked for a script, but the program is not scripted. Pyne clarified it is not a requirement, it is something the Council has funding available for. Suggested that Duffey check with Mauro for a list of ASL interpreters that people have used before. d. Martian Radio Theater grant paperwork still in progress. Duffey has been in touch with the group since April. e. Cultural Affairs and Special Events office is doing a temporary public art survey and they will share those results with the Council. This won’t cover all the demographics for the community input survey, but it will be helpful. Artists from both outside and within Lowell will be represented. 2. Logo discussion a. Noel worked on suggested edits to the two logos; Council reverted to the original mill image. Noel will bring new option. 3. Officers a. If members are interested in a position, send your name to Duffey. Secretary, co-chair, and treasurer are open. 4. Marketing Training a. Mondays in September are now the most likely candidate for classes. Noel to send out invite. 5. Community Input a. Karke will create a Google form which will be shared via social media and distribution lists. People will have a deadline of July 11th so Council can discuss results at July meeting. Council members can share on their own social media if they want to. b. Email will be sent to grantees and people who applied but did not receive a grant. c. Will also go out in Cultural Affairs newsletter.  6. New Business a. ARPA funds- Lowell looking for input on where to spend the money. Lowell has $66 million. ARPA manager is Brendan Flynn and has been hosting listening sessions; next one is Wednesday 5/25 at 6PM. Sessions are structured where people can sit at a table and share their priorities for ARPA funds. There is also a survey for people unable to attend. On the Lowell MA website to be filled out. b. Inquiry about arts markets; the city was going to take over the arts markets but there isn’t anything happening over the summer (nothing planned from the city of Lowell.) c. June 4th is Lowell Pride at Kerouac Park. Meeting adjourned at 7:54 PM. END SC and KK 5/24/22