Culture, Arts & Pride Commission

CULTURE, ARTS & PRIDE COMMISSION Thursday, February 12, 2020 12:00 noon Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room (3300) 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 MINUTES Members Present: Bren Romano Monteiro, Chair; Ann McGahey, Frank Sonntag, Kelly Trager, Charles Williams Members Absent: Corey Alston, Kathryn Whitaker Staff Present: Nicole Harvey Ms. Monteiro called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes from the January 16, 2020 meeting Mr. Sonntag made a motion to approve the January 16, 2020 minutes. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. All were in favor. 2. Public Comments None 3. Report from Subcommittees a. Town Hall Art Ms. Harvey said April 17 was the next change out date for the art at Town Hall and the Mayor’s Music and Art Reception. She said it would be before Blessing of the Fleet week and they were discussing having a shrimpers display. b. Sculpture Ms. Harvey said that Ms. Rogers had sent them pictures of the models that students at the College of Charleston produced along with their descriptions. She shared the pictures.  Culture, Arts & Pride February 12, 2020 Page 2 of 5 Ms. McGahey looked at the Globe sculpture and said it would be various metals providing different colors and textures that come together that would be more visible from afar. Ms. Harvey said that one sculpture had an environmental message. She continued sharing the submissions. The Commission discussed their favorites and possible sites to place the sculptures selected. Mr. Sonntag made a motion for the selection of three sculptures, all permanent, comprising the umbrella, tractor bench with leaves, and the koiwai fishhook. Ms. Trager said she was hesitant about the hook. She said if there was already an environmental one that contains trash she wondered if they want to make a practice of having trash sculptures. Ms. Harvey said Pete the Pelican was put in eight years ago. She said it was made of plastic and in the outdoor elements she did not know if it would last forever. She said they may would move the hook there if the pelican becomes too weathered. Ms. Trager said she did not disagree with the theme as she thought it was an important one. She said that based on a city-wide public art project she asked if they wanted two sculptures that look like trash in the same park. Ms. Monteiro said it was very specific to the Town’s fishing culture where the trash hurts the Town of Mount Pleasant. She said the overall message she got was we must take care of our town and our trash as the fishing cultures was being hurt by it. Ms. Harvey said there was pocket park between Reds and RB’s at Shem Creek where the sculpture could possibly go. Mr. Sonntag said he found the concept to be very appealing. He said he liked that it was site specific, but it speaks to Mount Pleasant and there was an environmental message just strengthens that. He said if they were similar trash sculpture’s he would agree with Ms. Trager’s observation. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride February 12, 2020 Page 3 of 5 Ms. Harvey said Pete the Pelican was made of plastic trash that was collected out of the waterways. She said they built it around a chicken wire frame and fastened the trash to it. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. All were in favor. c. Art on the Half Shell Ms. Harvey said she spoke with Mr. Douglas Balentine and he was happy to put a top on the beach towel bather. Ms. Harvey spoke with Ms. Hricik and her husband does not want to sponsor an oyster on their property next door to Town Hall. She said that the Special Events Office was working on Interactive Public Art Map that would have photos and information on every public art installation around Town. She said that they could not put a name on an oyster, but they could have a name on the interactive map and on social media posts. Ms. Harvey said that Ms. Hricik is rethinking it now and would let her know. She shared three more submissions by Mr. Emil Hristov, Ms. Mary Catherine James, and Ms. Zoe Hyman. Ms. Monteiro said they should wait to decide when they get more submissions. d. Traffic Box Art Ms. Harvey said there had been delays due to weather. She said that two were installed at Bowman Road and Chuck Dawley and by Flying Biscuit on Coleman Boulevard. e. Paint the Town Ms. Harvey said she checked with Mr. Quintin Chaplin and they are still building the frame for his painting. She said Mr. Karl Beckwith Smith was painting on the Farmers Market restrooms and it should be done by March 1. She said the two artists they had in mind to paint the Jones Center wall cannot do it this year. She said Mr. Everett White owns the gallery next to CDC on Coleman. She said he does amazing turtles and sea life and wondered if they want to talk to him about a painting for the Jones Center wall. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride February 12, 2020 Page 4 of 5 The Commission agreed for Ms. Harvey to proceed and talk with Mr. White. Ms. Monteiro said when Mr. Corey Alston joins the next month, she wants to talk about some of the ideas that he had. f. It’s Raining Art Ms. Harvey had not reached out to Ms. Kris Manning. She said they have a lot of paint left and would hate to give up the poems as they were well received. She said they own the stencils and Towne Centre would let them do them again. Ms. Harvey said she liked the high school students involved and asked if they could revisit another poetry round. She said they could paint some before ArtFest. g. Marketing Ms. Harvey said they have 317 Facebook followers and 201 Instagram followers. She shared an art map with pictures and information. She said when they get it built out, they will push it on social media, embed it on the Culture, Art & Pride Commission (CAP) web page on ExperienceMountPleasant.com and a link on the CAP page on the TOMP.com page. She said it would be a great way to recognize the artists. Ms. Harvey said they discovered who the little boy was on the traffic box by the old Burger King painted by Mr. Bob Graham. She said they met him, his mother, and Mr. Graham at the traffic box and got some good pictures and Ms. Rogers has started a story and she said she would do a press release about the artist and the little boy. Ms. Monteiro said they talked about making sure moving forward that anytime there was a person depicted that we ask the artist if it was a real person. Ms. Trager suggested that when they were at public events it would be good to have name tags for Commission members. She said the magnet ones work best. She said it would help get the word out for what the Commission does, who they are, and why they are at the events. h. Emerging Arts Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride February 12, 2020 Page 5 of 5 Mr. Sonntag said he spoke to Ms. Lori Carroll, Chair of Art Department at Wando and she was very interested in the Commission’s idea. He said spring is a nightmare for scheduling and she was pushing toward something in the fall. He said she will talk with the faculty and get input from them. The Commission discussed that it was best to wait until fall and having a Performing Art subcommittee. i. Culture Ms. Monteiro said that would be Mr. Alston and Ms. Whitaker and neither were there so this was tabled until the next meeting. 4. New Business Ms. Harvey said ArtFest was March 14 and asked if they wanted to have a table. She said they talked about using one of the oyster sculptures at events as the CAP exhibit. She said the March meeting is the Wednesday of event week and they could decide on something before then. Ms. Monteiro wanted to acknowledge and thank Mr. Williams for his work over the years on the Commission. Mr. Williams said it was initially the Pride Committee and then CAP. He said he had been on the Commission for nine years. Ms. Monteiro said their new member, Mr. Corey Alston, will be starting on the Commission. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bedenbaugh, 02/12/2020 Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com