Culture, Arts & Pride Commission

CULTURE, ARTS & PRIDE COMMISSION Wednesday, August 14, 2019 12:00 noon Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room (3300) 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 MINUTES Members Present: Bren Romano Monteiro, Chair; Rebecca Gosnell, Frank Sonntag, Charles Williams Members Absent: Ann McGahey, Kelly Trager, Kathryn Whitaker Staff Present: Nicole Harvey Ms. Monteiro called the meeting to order at 12:01 p.m. Ms. Monteiro said that there was a new format on how they are recording the meeting and asked if there was something different that they needed to be doing. Ms. Harvey said they need to make sure that they speak into the microphone as when she listened to the last minutes there were parts where they fade out. She said the minutes were going to be a broad overview along with any decisions that were made. She said when people listen online, they can click on the section they want to hear. Ms. Monteiro said the bulk of what they needed to review was Town Hall Art and she wanted to move that item to the end. Ms. Harvey said they need to make a motion to amend the agenda. Ms. Monteiro made a motion to amend the agenda to move Town Hall Art down to the end. Mr. Sonntag seconded the motion. All were in favor. 1. Approval of Minutes from the June 12, 2019 meeting  Culture, Arts & Pride August 14, 2019 Page 2 of 6 Ms. Gosnell made motion to approve the June 12, 2019 minutes. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. All were in favor. 2. Public Comments None 3. Report from Subcommittees a. Green Mount P Mr. Williams said he had a conversation with professors at Clemson University on the many contributing factors that are causing honeybees to die including the need to eliminate pesticides. He said he would submit a report on the information he found. At 12:06 p.m., Ms. Monteiro said that would pause the Subcommittee reports and return to Public Comments. Mr. John Wright, 145 Rose Lane, Mount Pleasant said he spoke to the Commission several months ago about a cultural mural on the side of the H & R Sweet Shop to commemorate the 75th celebration. He said he was met with some challenges by the owners who do not want to donate the wall. He said his next suggestion was to see if they could get that mural on the side of the Miriam Brown building. Ms. Harvey said it would make it a little easier to use the Town’s own property but there were still processes to go through. Mr. Gergick said he did not know how it would look on a corrugated steel building. He said it would also need to go through the Old Village Historical District. Ms. Gosnell said that the message and the story he brought to the committee was highly valued in making sure that part of this project reflects the cultural contributions and presence of African American history in the community. She said they could find the place to tell that story. b. Sculpture Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride August 14, 2019 Page 3 of 6 Ms. Harvey said the sculptures had been installed. She said she needed to follow up with the College of Charleston on the Shoe at Park West. She needs to make sure the location chosen would not cause any Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues. c. Art on the Half Shell Ms. Harvey said that she needed to place the order for more oysters. Ms. Gosnell asked if they had any businesses to host the new ones. Ms. Harvey answered in the negative. The Commission discussed having Council Member G. M. Whitley involved with this. d. Traffic Box Art Ms. Harvey said all the boxes were installed. She said that she updated the application and sent a press release out on Monday and she has already received some applications. Mr. Sonntag asked if artists had to be from Mount Pleasant to participate. Ms. Harvey said that Traffic Box Art was for tri-county residents. She said that Town Hall Art was for Mount Pleasant residents only. Ms. Monteiro asked if Mount Pleasant only meant living or working in Mount Pleasant. Ms. Harvey answered in the affirmative. She said with the Oysters and Traffic Boxes they need to reside in the tri-county area. e. Paint the Town Ms. Gosnell said they are ready to roll on the Turtle from Mr. Everett White at Towne Centre. Ms. Harvey said she said received something from Towne Centre stating they could not sign the agreement so she said they will need to talk later about that. Ms. Gosnell said they had three things rolling. She said they have the Towne Centre piece. She said that Ms. Kris Manning was Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride August 14, 2019 Page 4 of 6 moving forward on the salon and Mr. Karl Beckwith Smith was moving forward in painting three sides of a structure at the Farmers Market. She said that GDC has delayed movement with Mr. David Boatwright as there was some disagreement internally about how and where they want to do that mural. Ms. Gosnell said the subcommittee was pursuing an agreement with Mr. Robert Lange and Mr. Nathan Durfee who are considering working together to do a Jones Center installation with Wando art students and that would happen in January. She said there are three artists that have not connected to a project yet. She said that Mr. Quintin Chaplin was almost finished with the fire station piece. She said they needed a budget update. Ms. Monteiro said they were hoping to present that at the next meeting in September. f. It’s Raining Art Ms. Harvey said she and Mr. Sonntag did several installations before the last meeting. The Commission discussed this program and the possibility of other possible projects. They decided to continue with this program and use the remaining paint. g. Marketing Ms. Monteiro said they have a pending Marketing meeting. Ms. Harvey said that on the Experience Mount Pleasant website she had added a Culture, Arts & Pride (CAP) page. h. Emerging Arts Ms. Monteiro said they were using this as a catch all for up and coming ideas. She said they had the idea of being able to use Wando to try to host a cultural performance event. She said they had put a lot of emphasis on visual arts. Ms. Gosnell said they should invest some of their resources into other forms of art. She said CAP could have a performer at Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride August 14, 2019 Page 5 of 6 gatherings that are scheduled to take place instead of trying to create a new event. Ms. Monteiro said that on their database of visual artists they could add local performers. Ms. Harvey said at the next week’s movie at Waterfront Park they are showing The Greatest Showman and the East Cooper Baptist Orchestra was playing for them that evening along with Bach to Rock. i. Culture Ms. Monteiro said that Ms. Whitaker said she would be a part of this subcommittee with Mr. Sonntag. She said that Emerging Arts was a launch pad for any possible new projects and Culture was going to be an ongoing subcommittee. Mr. Sonntag said they both seemed to be concentrating on a performance event. Ms. Monteiro said Emerging Arts could include Traffic Box Art once that ends. Ms. Harvey said that It’s Raining Art was born in Emerging Arts. Ms. Gosnell said she wanted them to think of the sweetgrass basket as an iconic image for the Town. Ms. Monteiro said they had discussed having a writer and a photographer feature the basket makers and create an exhibit that would be a long-lasting thing. Ms. Gosnell suggested having a tribute to the sweetgrass basket culture in a video format that could run at the movie theaters in Town. She said if they could edit it to what would be permissible, they could use CAP funds to add that advertising space. 4. New Business Ms. Monteiro said they need to set up a meeting with the Artists Guild to discuss the fine art show proposal. j. Town Hall Art Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride August 14, 2019 Page 6 of 6 Ms. Harvey said there were 38 pieces submitted by 14 artists. She said there were 33 pieces presently hanging with two of them having two rods due to the size. She said they probably do have space for five to ten more rods. She shared the paintings and photos from Mr. Andrew Allen, Ms. Barbara Smith, Mr. Dave Harrison, Mr. Don Sturdivant, Ms. Fer Caggiano, Ms. Gloria Union Smith, Ms. Heather Moran, Ms. Julia Kelly, Mr. Konstantin Voronin, Ms. Lynne Gettelfinger (quilts), Ms. Michelle Fiorello, Ms. Phyllis Malpas, Ms. Susan Bryant, and Ms. Vanessa Grebe. She said they have 35 rods and 38 pieces that were submitted. The Commission discussed ordering more rods and said they did not want to turn down art if we have space. They discussed choosing just one if an artist had submitted several due to size and space. Ms. Harvey said they do not have to vote on this as in the past they just discussed how to make it work. They discussed the hanging of the quilts and not confining art to hallways but possibly conference rooms as well. She said that one would be chosen by the Mayor to hang in his office. Ms. Gosnell left the meeting at 12:52 p.m. Ms. Harvey said they will lay this out to figure how where to hang. She said if there is not enough space, she will email the pictures out and they will choose which one if there are several by an artist. Mr. Sonntag said there was a Homeless to Hope benefit concert on August 25 that he had been working on at the Gaillard Center at 6:30 p.m. He said that if anyone would like tickets, he would get them if they would let him know. He said there would be many performers including Mayor Haynie, The Blue Dogs, Mayor Tecklenburg and many others. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bedenbaugh, 8/14/19 Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com