Arts Commission

MINUTES OF THE MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024 – 5 PM Committee Members Present – Anthony Pandolfe (Chair), David Wolfram (Vice Chair), Sari Rosenblatt (Secretary), Sharon Riley, Robert Pelletier, Pamela Steele; Ad Hoc Members Jonathan Pulino, Steven Kovach Absent – Phil Pessina, Robert Santangelo, Gary Wallace, Amber Michael (Student Representative) Staff Members Present – Kisha Michael Members of the Public Present - Julia Faraci 1) Call to Order – The Chair called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm 2) Public Session – None 3) Approval of Minutes of October 23 Regular Meeting – Motion to approve is made by Rosenblatt, seconded by Riley, and passed unanimously with no discussion. 4) Reports of Officers – Chair thanked Michael for organizing the beautiful Arts Advocacy event in November. Rosenblatt commented on the personalized awards. 5) Reports of Committees – None 6) Staff Report – Arts Advocacy Award - The Arts Coordinator commented on the success of this year’s Arts Advocacy Award ceremony, noting many supporters of the awardees in attendance. Checking account - $12,002.80 remains, after the expenditure of $500 for the Arts Advocacy Award ceremony. Chair Pandolfe and Vice Chair Wolfram are now the signatories on the account. GOS and PSG Grants - The deadline for the next round of grants will be the second Monday in January (Jan. 13). All grant checks for the previous cycle are being processed and will be cut by the end of the month. Arts Secretary - Faraci returned to the position last week and has been reoriented in the Arts Office. Artist Professional Development - All resident artists are invited to the Artist Professional Development activity series that starts in January. Michael is emailing personal invitations to Middletown artists. She invites Arts Commissioners to participate in joining the arts sector community at some of these events; she will also invite Council members. Display of visual art - Michael is considering requests from visual artists to hang their works at City Hall. She asked Commissioners for recommendations on whether the display case should feature city artists on a revolving basis. She asked Commissioners to start inquiring about other venues to display public art. If you require special accommodations for any meeting, please call the Senior Services Specialist at 860-638-4542 (voice) or 860-638-4812 (TDD/TTY) or the Town Clerk’s Office at (860) 638-4910.The Municipal Bldg. is wheelchair accessible.  MINUTES OF THE MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024 – 5 PM 7) Unfinished Business – National Poetry Month – Rosenblatt proposed city-wide theme-based projects in order to promote youth literacy. She suggested that the Mosaics project, recently honored by the Arts Advocacy Award, could engage young people in writing poetry and stories for Poetry Month. The Arts Office and the Commission will consult educators and writers as resources to create programming. Additional ideas will be discussed at a Planning & Projects Subcommittee meeting which Pandolfe will schedule soon, and further addressed by the entire Commission as agenda item “Poetry Month Ideas” at the subsequent January Regular Meeting. Display of art by local artists – Rosenblatt proposed dedicating a specific month to display the work of local artists solicited by the Commission. Pandolfe will add as another item for a future Planning & Project meeting. Pelletier suggested other City buildings as possible venues; the Arts Coordinator will follow up. 8) New Business a) MCA 2025 Regular Meeting Schedule – Motion to approve the attached 2025 Regular Meeting schedule was made by Pelletier, seconded by Wolfram, and passed unanimously. 9) Announcements – Rosenblatt expressed concern about the resignation of the manager of The Buttonwood Tree. The Arts Coordinator confirmed that she received the resignation letter that was circulated. 10) Adjournment – Motion to adjourn was made by Steele and seconded by Rosenblatt. Meeting was adjourned at 5:25pm. Attachments: MCA 2025 Regular Meeting Schedule Next meeting: January 22, 2025 at 5:00pm (Hybrid) Submitted by, Julia O’Halloran Faraci Administrative Secretary III If you require special accommodations for any meeting, please call the Senior Services Specialist at 860-638-4542 (voice) or 860-638-4812 (TDD/TTY) or the Town Clerk’s Office at (860) 638-4910.The Municipal Bldg. is wheelchair accessible.