Arts Commission

Minutes Middletown Commission on the Arts PLANNING AND PROJECTS SUBCOMMITTEE Tuesday, November 14, 2023 4:30pm Virtual Meeting by WebEx PLANNING AND PROJECTS COMMITTEE Minutes of Meeting In attendance: Anthony Pandolfe (Chair), David Wolfram, Sari Rosenblatt Also in attendance: Staff: Kisha Michael, Arts Coordinator; Julia Faraci, Admin Sec’y 1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 4:31 pm. 2. Public Session: no members of the public present 3. Approval of Agenda: Wolfram moved to approve, Rosenblatt seconded. No discussion, approved unanimously. 4. Approval of Minutes 10-17-2023 Rosenblatt moved to approve, Wolfram seconded. No discussion, approved unanimously. 5. Remarks from Chair – none 6. Old Business a. Music Ambassador i. Tasks – Pandolfe offered assistance from Planning & Projects to Arts Office staff for the ceremony awarding Music Ambassador to Sal Vinci in January 2024. The Arts Coordinator will need Mr. Vinci’s bio for the proclamation, and recordings of two of his original songs. The Committee will ask Sandra Russo-Driska or Domenique Thornton to reach out to him. ii. Review of draft criteria – Pandolfe noted that much of the criteria he drafted carries over from previous language. The two most important criteria are that the awardee should be a current Middletown resident, and a composer of original musical works. Candidates might not “check all boxes” in all the criteria, but the other considerations allow flexibility for artist diversity. The Arts Coordinator thanked Pandolfe for his “comprehensive” work, especially for the “cultural contribution” component, adding that these criteria will be useful when soliciting public input on Music Ambassador selection. The criteria document will be attached to these meeting minutes and shared with the full Commission. Since a Music Ambassador has been chosen for 2024, the draft criteria will be reviewed and processed for the 2025 award. b. 2024 Arts Advocacy Award i. Discussion of names – Pandolfe reviewed the list of nominees; the names currently under consideration will be sent to the full Commission, as will a list of previous honorees. The Committee will adjust its “Year at a Glance” timeline to hold Arts Advocacy Month in October,  since the 2023 ceremony was just held last month. Pandolfe will revise the “Year at a Glance” document accordingly. ii. Review of draft criteria – Pandolfe reviewed considerations for nomination in the context of the history of the Arts Advocacy Award. The Arts Coordinator emphasized the importance of the “community impact” component. She asked for clarification whether the award can be bestowed on a Middletown group if it is led by an out-of-town resident; Faraci noted that there is such a precedence. Michael emphasized that the award should not exclude impactful work in Middletown. Pandolfe will revise the draft criteria for the Committee to review. 7. New Business a. Potential New Projects – The Chair is keeping an inventory of potential new projects; in the interest of expediting its work, the Committee will hold off on discussion of projects that are not immediate. i. New ideas to discuss at future meeting 1. Free write-in – Rosenblatt explained that the Free Write-in is a writing exercise project. It could be run by a Poet Laureate (or Rosenblatt herself). Free Write-In could highlight the work of the Commission and promote literacy and writing. The Chair will add this item to the “Year at a Glance”, and to a future meeting agenda. 2. Other ideas – The Arts Coordinator suggested that the MCA use October as Arts Advocacy Month to plan some of the “Year at a Glance” activities; for instance, the Write-In could be planned as a day event organized by the Commission. Pandolfe suggested that, for purposes of succession and transition planning for the Commission, the inventory of potential new events could be codified and added to the MCA bylaws, as was the Planning and Projects Committee description recently. 8. Announcements - none 9. Adjournment Rosenblatt moved to adjourn the meeting; Wolfram seconded. Meeting adjourned at 5:10pm. Respectfully submitted, Julia O’Halloran Faraci Admin. Secretary III, Arts & Culture Office CC: Mayor’s Office Attachments: Nominations Spreadsheet AAA MA Year at a Glance document Recipients of the Arts Advocacy Award Arts Advocacy Award Criteria (PDF) Music Ambassador Criteria (PDF)