MILWAUKEE ARTS BOARD PUBLIC ART SUBCOMMITTEE

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes MILWAUKEE ARTS BOARD PUBLIC ART SUBCOMMITTEE POLLY MORRIS, CHAIR Tina Klose, Emilia Layden, Sandra McSweeney, and Tim Murphy Staff Assistant, Molly Kuether-Steele, 286-2775 Fax: 286-3456, molly.kuether-steele@milwaukee.gov Tuesday, September 11, 2018 3:00 PM Room 303, City Hall Meeting convened at 3:05 p.m. 1. Roll Call Ms. McSweeney joined the meeting at 3:15 p.m. Present 5 - McSweeney, Morris, Murphy, Klose and Layden Individual also present: Sally Witte, DCD 2. Review and Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes Ms. Witte said to replace Titantower Park with Tiefenthaler Park on page 2 of the minutes. Ms. Layden moved approval, seconded by Mr. Murphy, of the meeting minutes from August 14, 2018 with the correction of "Tiefenthaler" on page 2 of the minutes. There were no objections. 3. New Work Fund Presentations: -Sixteenth Street Community Health Center Ms. Layden recused herself. Individuals appearing: Stephanie Mercado, SSCHC Environmental Health Dept. Mary Ann Bonet, Haggerty Museum of Art Travis Hope, KK River Neighbors In Action Ms. Mercado gave an overview and PowerPoint presentation. The KK River has had issues with flooding and water backups. MMSD has developed a flood management project to remove the concrete from the river and return it to its natural state. The first phase of the project is at Pulaski Park, and construction has already begun. Being proposed is phase 2 of the project. The area of focus is the greenspace between 13th City of Milwaukee Page 1 MILWAUKEE ARTS BOARD PUBLIC Meeting Minutes September 11, 2018 ART SUBCOMMITTEE Street through 16th Street along Harrison Street, which will not be touched for the next five years. The goal is to put public art at the greenspace for the next five years to beautify it, prevent nuisances from occurring, and activate the space. Ms. Bonet commented. There were art and science walks done with local artists. There were conversations with urban engineers, planners, and college to explore the naturalization of the river. The first artist selected was Molly Oblinger, a sculptor. Mr. Hope commented. Ms. Oblinger would be installing bird houses and bat houses along the river in consideration of different native birds and bats. The goal is to activate the greenspace with the bird and bat houses, have people walk there and utilize the area, and use the same colors from the Pulaski Park art benches. Members questioned artist selection, education material, height of the banners, and graffiti maintenance. Ms. Mercado, Ms. Bonet, and Mr. Hope responded. Ms. Oblinger was chosen through a referral. The hope is to realize Ms. Oblinger’s bird houses by next summer. The second artist chosen was Gabriela Riveros, an illustrator. Ms. Riveros’ project would entail installing banners along the trail with water deity illustrations (representative of the community) and information on the deities and cultures depicted. The artists were chosen and voted at a picnic by residents. Phase two could consist of Ms. Oblinger’s bird and bat houses project. A third artist would be explored in the future for a workshop and focus on evasive species. Descriptive text would be incorporated under the banners as a context on the deities depicted. There would be ongoing education programming. The height of the deity banners is high, was discussed with MMSD, and would still be visible due to their large size. Any graffiti would be addressed and removed right away. MMSD would help to address graffiti. The neighborhood is very responsive in reporting vandalism. Mr. Hope lives in the area and will frequent the greenspace. Phase one is fully funded. The request is for 100 percent funding of phase two. There is no other source for phase two, but further inquiry can be made to acquire other sources of funds. Ms. Klose said that anti-graffiti coating should be used to address graffiti. Members discussed and made a recommendation later in the meeting after the applicant representatives had left the meeting. Ms. Morris moved to recommend awarding $4,000 in New Work Funding to the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center towards the artist fee and materials for phase two of the center’s project relative to Mary Oblinger’s bird and bat houses, seconded by Mr. Murphy. Ms. Layden abstained. There were no objections. -Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail Individual appearing: Melissa Cook Ms. Cook gave an update on behalf of the Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail. The organization is committed and intends to complete the project with all five sculpture pieces; however, they have only raised enough funds to do two pieces currently. RACM is ready to prepare the site, dig, and pour concrete. Fundraising continues to be a challenge. There will be a meeting to identify an appropriate individual or party to approach a significant potential donor. Canadian Pacific Railway was asked to donate, but representatives have yet to make a decision on donating. Contacting and obtaining funds from pledged donors have been difficult. Many of them are out of town. Ms. Morris commented. The project is a major one that has had a long delay with no significant action in over two years. There is a concern about the project’s delay and that the project is being minimized. The arts board had approved previously to award $7500 towards the project, and 75 percent had been paid out thus far. If only two pieces are being made at this time, it would be better to store them and install all five City of Milwaukee Page 2 MILWAUKEE ARTS BOARD PUBLIC Meeting Minutes September 11, 2018 ART SUBCOMMITTEE when the remaining three are made. It would be more cost effective to install all at once. Grassroot fundraising and a media campaign may help promote the project. Ms. Klose inquired about smaller donations. Ms. Cook further commented. There is risk to minimize the project, and the organization has concerns, also. It would be ideally desired to do all five pieces and their installations all at once. There is a storage issue. The desire is to acquire several large donors first before doing a smaller donor campaign. Suggestions from the subcommittee will be taken to the rest of the group. Ms. Morris said that another update should be given to the subcommittee in a few months and that there seems to be some forthcoming progress. Updates on Projects There were no updates. 4. Conservation Fund -Update on Brady Street Application Ms. Morris gave an update. The owner of the building and sculptures are not the same. The local BID owns the sculptures. There is no formal relationship between the owners. No award funds will be released until a MoU between the BID and building owner is received. All lighting is being replaced. Clark Stan is Bill Reed’s assistant, and $5000 is going to them for their time. A maintenance fund will be considered with the BID being responsible for the maintenance. Additional in-kind work will be done by Dave Olson. The BID is doing fundraising for other aspects of the project. The Arts board was asked to fund the restoration part of the project. Overall, the total project is over $10,000. Ms. Morris moved to recommend awarding $5,000 in Conservation Funding to the Brady St Area Foundation for Arts and Education (BAFAE) for the Brady Street Cavorting Creatures, seconded by Ms. Klose. There were no objections. The funds will not be released until a MOU between the Brady Street BID and the building owner is received by DCD. The MOU must guaranty access for installation, visual inspection and conservation as needed, and a conservation plan covering the next five years. -Updates on Projects Ms. Morris said that Still Waters Collective will make a presentation to the subcommittee at its next meeting. 5. New Business There was no new business. 6. Old Business There was no old business. Meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m. Chris Lee, Staff Assistant Council Records Section City Clerk's Office City of Milwaukee Page 3 MILWAUKEE ARTS BOARD PUBLIC Meeting Minutes September 11, 2018 ART SUBCOMMITTEE City of Milwaukee Page 4