Culture, Arts & Pride Commission

CULTURE, ARTS & PRIDE COMMISSION Wednesday, September 9, 2020 12:00 noon Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room (3300) 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 MINUTES Members Present: Ann McGahey, Vice-Chair; Corey Alston, Brad Dunnells, Frank Sonntag, Kathryn Whitaker Members Absent: Bren Romano Monteiro, Kelly Trager Staff Present: Nicole Harvey Ms. McGahey called the meeting to order at 12:07 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes from the August 12, 2020 meeting Mr. Sonntag made a motion to approve the August 12, 2020 minutes. Ms. Whitaker seconded the motion. All were in favor. 2. Public Comments Ms. Leah Edwards, General Director, and Mr. Dimitri Pittas, Artistic Director, with Holy City Arts and Lyric Opera (HALO) were recognized. They said they reside in Mount Pleasant and are the first full time opera company that Charleston has had. HALO has been doing outdoor concerts in their neighborhood and around Charleston. Ms. Whitaker said she invited Ms. Edwards and Mr. Pittas to come to the meeting as Mr. Sonntag had been working on Performing Arts and thought they could support this as they moved forward. Ms. Harvey said the Special Events Office runs the arts program and all large events in Mount Pleasant. She said most things that were planned had been canceled. She said they have tried to find ways to have smaller events and one will be with Charleston Opera Theatre for a performance at Memorial Waterfront Park. She said they had also talked with Woolffe Street Playhouse about a Linda Ronstadt/John Denver tribute performance on the lawn at Town Hall. Ms. Harvey said they had also added a Friday night movie series at Carolina Park Recreation  Culture, Arts & Pride September 9, 2020 Page 2 of 4 Complex, and they will continue to try to have smaller events. She said this was a great time for them to be having this conversation. Ms. Leah Edwards and Mr. Dimitri Pittas’ address is 2728 Gaston Gate, Mount Pleasant. 3. Report from Subcommittees a. Town Hall Art Ms. Harvey said Town Hall Art remains on hold. She said some artists left work at Town Hall or brought some in. She asked the Commission’s thoughts about the age requirement. There was discussion about this and the Commission agreed that they would like to keep the age but would waive it for a teenager whose mother had reached out during this down-time. b. Sculpture Ms. McGahey said she had been in communication with the College of Charleston and have set a time to go there on Thursday, September 17, at 10 a.m. She said they will see a juried exhibition with new submissions as well as some from last spring. c. Art on the Half Shell Ms. Harvey said they have a quote to purchase more oysters. She said it takes a month or two to get them delivered. She said there were some on display downstairs that would be installed but with the pandemic, staffing had been limited. d. Traffic Box Art Ms. Harvey said they had normally done five traffic boxes a year and last year they did six because they had a sponsor. She said as they decide to allocate the budget that would determine how many. She shared pictures of the traffic box submissions and shared some previous submissions. She said there was a traffic box that was hit at the entrance to Oakland Market and they are awaiting information on whether insurance will cover the re-wrapping of it. She said they may want to have money in the budget for replacements due to construction around existing boxes. The Commission discussed the submissions and liked the Rooster, the Wave, the Birds, the Man playing the Fiddle, and the Sun. The Turtle was also chosen as a backup piece if one of the others would not wrap well. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride September 9, 2020 Page 3 of 4 Mr. Sonntag made a motion for the selection of the Rooster, the Wave, the Birds, the Man playing the Fiddle, and the Sun with the Turtle as a backup. Ms. Whitaker seconded the motion. All were in favor. e. Paint the Town Ms. Harvey said they now have a plan for getting the Sweetgrass Basket Maker Mural on the side of Fire Station 7. f. It’s Raining Art g. Marketing h. Performing Arts Mr. Sonntag said he and Mr. Dunnels had talked about the budget for Performing Arts of $4,000. He said they thought that amount would enable two concert events in either high school. He said they would like also to put performing arts in front of the movies. Ms. Harvey said they skipped It’s Raining Art and Marketing due to time. She said she will send them updates on the Charleston Opera Theatre and Woolfe Street Playhouse. She said staff will facilitate discussions with HALO. i. Culture Ms. Harvey said they will revisit Culture next month. 4. Budget Review Ms. Harvey said they had reviewed the budget and she would email them copies and for them to let her know of any suggestions or changes needed. 5. New Business Mr. Alston said he was a member of the Charleston Business Bureau of Explore Charleston. He said that are trying to focus on the culture of Charleston and he would like to do something like that to help younger children understand what made their communities what they are. He said he was also a member of a group to help preserve the community. He wants to start a conversation with art, knowledge, or plaques to preserve settled communities. Ms. McGahey said they needed to vote for the Civic Pride Award. She suggested Shepherd Dermatology. There were no other nominations. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride September 9, 2020 Page 4 of 4 Ms. Whitaker made a motion to award the Civic Pride Award to Shepherd Dermatology. Ms. McGahey seconded the motion. All were in favor. 6. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:13 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bedenbaugh, 9/9/20 Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com