Arts Commission

Minutes of the Meeting Public Art Committee Middletown Commission on the Arts Tuesday, July 6, 2021 11:00 a.m. Council Chambers, Municipal Building MCA Public Art Committee (Present: Charlotte McCoid, Joyce Kirkpatrick, David Bauer, Kate Ten Eyck) 1. Call to order – 11:00 a.m. 2. Public session – no public present 3. John Risley bench & screen restoration - It was suggested that the Kid City Museum Technician and Artist would probably be able to weld the damaged pieces and repair the three sculptures. Charlotte will talk with the museum President. 4. Suggestions for budget 2021-2022 - The 2022-23 budget allocation for Public Art was discussed. It was determined that the best use of the allocation would be to pay for professional attention to the 100 plus works of art that make up the City Art Collection by having a Supervisor of the Public Art Collection. With the proposed move to the Farmers & Mechanics site, the type of space for exhibiting the collection publicly will probably change. 5. Curator proposal - It was agreed that a better term than Curator for what is needed is a Supervisor (or Registrar) of the Public Art Collection. **Job description - The committee members should make laundry lists of what jobs need to be done to manage the Collection, such as: * Designing how the art is to be displayed * Labels and signs * Manage records of the Collection * Supervision of items on loan David Bauer offered to talk with the City Attorney about legal issues, and to the Director of Finance about asset management. A structure might be created that would include more than art, but also town documents – such as records that go back to the 17th century. The Committee agreed that the Public Art Committee needs to be involved in the design of the new Municipal Building so that there is ample public exhibition space and controlled storage space. The Public Art Committee agreed that this vision needs to be presented to Mayor Florsheim – perhaps with a walk through the Collection. 1. New Business a. New initiatives for public art 50 year celebration - New England Foundation for the Arts, National Civic League may be helpful. (Charlotte – this may need expansion – I don’t remember any more) b. Any other discussion - none 6. Adjournment – 12:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Joyce Kirkpatrick, Secretary pro tem