Arts Commission

Middletown Commission on the Arts Minutes of Meeting – September 26, 2018 Conference Room, Senior/Community Center, 61 Durant St. In Attendance Absent Other Cassandra Day Lee Godburn Kisha Michael, Arts Coordinator Crystal Laffan Charlotte McCoid Domenique Thornton (arr 7:38, left 7:43) Franca Biales Joyce Kirkpatrick David Bauer Seb Giuliano Julia Faraci Bob Santangelo (arrived 7:18) Barbara Arafeh (arrived 7:38) 1) Call to order: 7:09 Kisha noted that the quorum for Commission meetings is six members, though the Commission is short two members. 2) Public session: No members of the public present, no public session 3) Minutes a) Motion to approve minutes of the July 25, 2018 meeting: Approve – Day, Laffan, Biales, Faraci Abstain – Bauer 4) Approval of agenda – Motion to approve agenda as written – Bauer, seconded by Laffan, approved unanimously 5) Remarks from the Chair – On this, her first meeting of her term, Day noted her repeat service as Chair of the Commission. Marc Pettersen has resigned his position on the Commission because the time of the meetings conflicts with the hours of his job. The Vice Chair position vacancy will be added to the agenda of the October 24 meeting. Congratulations were extended to Kisha Michael on being selected for the position of Arts Coordinator. 6) Old Business a) Budget Report – no report; Michael is continuing her review of Arts Office business b) Program Update i) Arts Stakeholders Group – will be re-initiated. Michael is recreating data on members and updating contact list ii) Kids Arts update – no report. iii) Facebook – Michael noted that the Facebook pages needs more “likes”. She requested assistance reviewing page from a Facebook page administrator standpoint. More posts and activities are needed; the goal is to connect with the community. The social media app “NextDoor” was proposed by Laffan. NextDoor is intended for neighborhoods and can be set up with address parameters. It can be used to cross- post Facebook news. Twitter and other social media platforms will be considered. Santangelo suggested that the Arts Coordinator consult the City IT staff for procedure on social media posting.  Middletown Commission on the Arts Minutes of Meeting – September 26, 2018 Conference Room, Senior/Community Center, 61 Durant St. c) Other – i) Statement of Affiliations was disseminated for Commissioners to update for City records. ii) Ethics Code needs to be updated for Commissioners’ packets. It is now Chapter 40 in the City Code (formerly Chapter 30). Discussion tabled until next meeting. iii) Grants packages to be forwarded; applications will be due before next MCA meeting. iv) Discussion on audio recording of Commission meeting. Santangelo commented that recordings are most accurate and can be archived; Bauer commented that Roberts Rules require documentation of attendance, motions and record of vote. Michael will follow up on whether there is a requirement for audio recording Commission meetings as this is FOIA issue. 7) Committee Reports a) Executive Committee - no report b) Public Art Committee – i) Regatta Posters – 18-20 framed posters from the 1980’s need to be removed from the Arts Office. The Crewhouse was proposed as a possible home; however because the location suffers flooding issues, other options were suggested, including the Sports Hall of Fame, the Historical Society, or Russell Library. The posters could also be taken out of their frames to be archived, or digitized to create a photo gallery, or creation of postcards. ii) City Art Collection – Fixtures need to be added to walls for various artwork to be hung. Lighting quality in the halls needs improvement. The Public Art Committee was asked to generate correspondence to share concerns with the City’s Clean Energy Task Force. iii) Sun Valley travelling art – Abby Carter has asked to send her artwork that was recently acquired by the City to an art exhibit in Sun Valley, Nevada in December. The Arts Coordinator has received a letter from the City attorney stating that since the artwork is City property and no longer the property of the artist, she cannot remove it without proof that the work is insured while it is off City property. The Arts Coordinator will follow up with Carter to get the work appraised and advise her to come up with an insurance policy. iv) Fran Patanaude sculpture proposal – Patanaude has proposed an art installation at the Francis T Patanaude Inter-Municipal Pumping Station building to honor his father. The Arts Coordinator requested feedback on the chain of command for the response to this proposal, which is budgeted at $20,000. Santangelo suggested Patanaude take his proposal to the Building Committee. Bauer will get the email for the secretary of the Building Committee for Patanaude. Further discussion by the Arts Commission will take place once the Building Committee is consulted. v) Chair McCoid was not present today to report on her meeting with Bill Russo of DPW and Tina Gomes concerning the RFP for Palmer Field. c) Nominating Committee – no report  Middletown Commission on the Arts Minutes of Meeting – September 26, 2018 Conference Room, Senior/Community Center, 61 Durant St. d) Planning and Projects Committee – Godburn not in attendance to provide full report. Open Air Market at Wadsworth Mansion – Biales noted that the same children are coming back each year to make masks. Michael noted the use of the plastic display holders worked well to hold literature, though it was noted that some people don’t like to take paper literature because they can get information online. Arafeh asked if there was some way to approach more of the people that walk by the booth. e) Music Sub-Committee – Arafeh provided the minutes for meeting held on September 10th. The Sub-Committee is planning an exhibit of the history of music and musicians in Middletown at the Middlesex County Historical Society. The Sub-Committee will contact local media to reach out for materials for the exhibition, and asked Day, in her capacity as a reporter for the Middletown Press, to assist in publicizing the search. The Committee is compiling a registry of local bands and musicians to be kept at City Hall. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled, but will be on a Monday. f) Public Relations – no report g) Poet Laureate Committee Deadline for applications was September 14. Three applications have been received. The Committee will meet to discuss the applications. h) Other Grants Panel – Godburn, Faraci, and Biales were chosen for the panel and interviews, with Arafeh as an alternate. The Arts Coordinator will email packets to panelists. Grant reports – The Arts Coordinator has had to contact grant awardees who have not fulfilled the grant obligations by filing the required reports. 8) New Business a) Other – none 9) Miscellaneous a) Announcements Middlesex County Non Profit Candidate Forum – Candidates will discuss issues relevant to Non Profits and the Arts. September 27, 8:00-9:30 am, Middlesex Community College ArtsNet90 – Shoreline Arts Alliance quarterly meeting. Keynote speakers: Staff from the Connecticut State Office on the Arts. October 9, 8:30-10am. Hosted by Madison Lyric Stage at 581 Boston Post Road in Madison. “Voices of Poetry – Lending a Hand”. Poetry event. Saturday, October 20, 2:00-4:00pm, One MacDonough Place. “The Middletown Series”, an art show by Janine Janaki, will be at the Buttonwood through October 6. Maple Leaf Seven – presented by The Greater Middletown Concert Association. Jazz band playing the works of Scott Joplin. Sunday, October 7, 3:00pm, at the Middletown High School Performing Arts Center. Bauer moved to adjourn meeting, seconded by Santangelo. Meeting adjourned at 9:04pm.