Culture, Arts & Pride Commission

CULTURE, ARTS & PRIDE COMMISSION Wednesday, February 17, 2021 12:00 PM Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room (3300) 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 MINUTES Members Present: Frank Sonntag, Vice-Chair; Corey Alston, Brad Dunnells, Ann McGahey, Courtney Sarre Members Absent: Bren Romano Monteiro, Kathryn Whitaker Staff Present: Nicole Harvey Mr. Sonntag called the meeting to order at 12:04 p.m. Mr. Sonntag introduced Ms. Courtney Sarre as the new Commission Member and said her organization is Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre. 1. Approval of Minutes from the January 20, 2021 meeting Ms. McGahey made a motion to approve the January 20, 2021 minutes. Mr. Alston seconded the motion. All were in favor. 2. Public Comments None 3. Report from Subcommittees a. Art on the Half Shell Ms. Harvey said the oysters have been ordered and are in production. She said the Commission will be picking art for them next month. She said they had been talking with Ms. Anna Dassing, the principal at Lucy Beckham High School, as they are looking at putting an oyster on display at the school. b. Paint the Town  Culture, Arts & Pride February 17, 2021 Page 2 of 3 Ms. Harvey said she was still waiting on the proposal from K. Hovnanian Development on Rifle Range Road. c. Performing Arts Ms. Sarre said they were talking about getting a performance location during the summer for different art venues to have a long weekend of productions. She said they could do it at the end of the summer with camps, opera groups, local talent, bands, and ballet companies. The Commission discussed the type of event this could be with various scenarios. They discussed the needs in the arts community along with ensuring social distancing. They discussed picking a date, location, and the need to work out the logistics. Ms. Harvey said they are already working with the Youth Council to host a Cultural Fair on April 24 which is the day before the Blessing of the Fleet. She said they want to represent all cultures of Mount Pleasant. She said to proceed with planning a new performance event there needs to a meeting for budgeting and coordination with Public Services, Fire, and Police support. She said it would be difficult to add a three-day event at the current staffing level. She suggested they schedule a subcommittee meeting to discuss this. d. Culture There was discussion about Culture and Performing Arts. Ms. Harvey said she was working with the youth on the cultural fair the day before the Blessing of the Fleet. She said they are working also with the Charleston Port and Seafarers Society. e. Unincorporated Areas Mr. Alston said he wanted to update the sweetgrass basket stands from Four Mile to the edge of Mount Pleasant. He shared photos of some stands. He said the stands are managed by the weavers and the ones he spoke to want to be involved. He said he needs to determine the cost per project and would like to bring in youth to help the Town. He said they need to be renovated and painted. Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com  Culture, Arts & Pride February 17, 2021 Page 3 of 3 Ms. Sarre suggested adding a mural to one side to tell a story about sweetgrass to educate people. Mr. Alston said they may could add a separate structure to tell the story. He said he wants the stands to look nice so the weavers will want to use them. Mr. Sonntag said this project becomes infinitely more compelling if the end result was creating opportunities for basket weavers to sell their product as it shows Mount Pleasant culture. The Commission discussed the color palette of the stands and possible donations for the items needed. Ms. McGahey said they need to be very specific about the type of paint coating on the wood to make it last as long as then can. She said there are a lot of scientific make ups of different coatings and they would need a special grade of exterior paint. f. Student Art Ms. Harvey said they had talked about working with students on art on the drains by Laing and Jennie Moore. g. Marketing Ms. McGahey did not have anything to report but offered to help on social media posts. Ms. Harvey said they had 400 Instagram followers and 600 Facebook followers. 4. New Business None 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bedenbaugh, 2/17/21 Telephone (843) 884-8517 - Fax (843) 856-2180 www.tompsc.com