Roswell Museum Board of Trustees

ROSWELL MUSEUM AND ART CENTER MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SPECIAL MEETING Thursday, August 30, 2018 SPECIAL MEETING AT 4:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Chair Liakos called the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees to order at 4:01 p.m. ROLL CALL The special meeting of the Board of Trustees convened with Chair Cymantha Liakos, Vice Chair Bill Siders and members Jamie Barnes, Peggy Krantz, Priscilla Ornelas, Jessica Parham, Lorrina Segovia, and DeAngela Velasquez being present. A quorum was established with members Anne Baker, Donovan Fulkerson, and Nanette Schumacher being absent. Staff present: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director and Amberly Meli, Registrar Community members present: None C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Valasquez motioned to approve the agenda. Member Parham seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed, with members Anne Baker, Donovan Fulkerson, and Nanette Schumacher being absent. F. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL TO ACCEPT DONATION OF DEPUY AND RUSNELL ARTWORKS FROM GAIL BAKER Registrar Meli provided the background information regarding a potential donation by Gail Baker. Member Parham requested to have more information about the works including size, dates created, dimensions, and a preview of what works RMAC currently owns by DePuy and Rusnell. Director Brooks explained the donor would like a decision from the Board before the next scheduled meeting and suggested to have a special meeting within the next two weeks. Member Parham motioned to hold a special meeting for this donation with a recommended date of Wednesday August 29 at 4:00 p.m. Member Baker seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed, with Chair Liakos and members Schumacher, Segovia, and Krantz being absent. G. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL TO ACCEPT DONATION OF UNTITLED STUDY BY OSCAR BERNINGHAUS Registrar Meli presented an Oscar Berninghaus painting to the Board and provided the background on the suggested donation and the relevance of Berninghaus to RMAC. Present Board members looked closely at the work and Meli explained the condition. Member Parham motioned to accept the donation. Member Baker seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed, with Chair Liakos and members Schumacher, Segovia, and Krantz being absent. H. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL TO ACCEPT DONATION OF NAVAJO BLANKET FROM ANONYMOUS DONOR Registrar Meli presented an early 20th century Navajo blanket and provided what background information she had on the piece. Member Ornelas asked for a narrative associated with the blanket. Member Parham asked if the piece can be cleaned, what the value is and if it is possible to validate the age and origin. Member Parham motioned to vote on the acquisition when more information was available. Member Baker seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed, with Chair Liakos members Schumacher, Segovia, and Krantz being absent. I. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL TO LEND PETER HURD EGG TEMPERA PAINTINGS TO NEW MEXICO FARM AND RANCH HERITAGE MUSEUM IN LAS CRUCES, NM Registrar Meli explained the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces requested two to four Peter Hurd egg tempera paintings for an exhibit running from November 2018 to May 2019. Meli presented information on the museum’s security and building considerations. Member Parham asked which works we would consider lending. Director Brooks suggested checking if the museum would consider works in other mediums than egg tempera. Member Parham motioned to vote on lending the work when more information is available. Member Velasquez seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed, with Chair Liakos and members Schumacher, Segovia, and Krantz being absent. H. UPDATE – PEABODY ESSEX LOAN Director Brooks provided the update that the request from the Peabody Essex has been canceled as the exhibition would no longer be taking place. I. UPDATE – MEMBERSHIP/EVENT REPORT Communications and Events Coordinator Fulks presented the membership report and provided an update for pARTy After Hours. N. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Carlos de Anda, a representative from Huitt-Zollars architectural firm, presented the first set of concept drawings for the new museum store, family gallery and lobby update. DeAngela Velasquez (Board of Trustees), Cindy Torrez (RMAC Foundation), Kevin Dillon (City of Roswell) and Director Caroline Brooks were present. The group will request further feedback from additional Foundation and staff members to share with the firm before proceeding in concept phase. Saturday August 18, the museum presented the final installment of the lecture series with lecturer and musician Dr. Leo Mazow accompanied by vocalist Brittany Stephenson. The lecture explored windmills and related imagery in the art of Peter Hurd, which he used to demonstrate his love of landscape, and the critical importance of water in New Mexico and its environs. Mazow, accompanied by Dallas-based vocalist Brittany Stephenson, addressed the persistence of water, drought, and the vast American southwest as themes in popular music. The lectures were recorded and the museum is working on uploading them to the museum’s YouTube channel. The hiring committee for the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions position made a hiring recommendation to the City’s Human Resources department. The Preparator position was posted and has already closed, an application review will commence. A temporary employee, Jim Wheeler, is currently contracted in the Preparator position until the hiring is finalized. The museum is presenting an expanded schedule of planetarium shows through the end of August (Tuesdays at 7 pm and Wednesday through Saturday at 2 and 3:30 pm). Since school started on August 9, there has been a diminished attendance. The City will be hosting the annual New Mexico Municipal League conference on August 28-30. During this time the Planetarium, classrooms and auditorium will be in use for the conference. The Horgan Gallery will be used for one session on Wednesday from 8:00 to 11:30 am. pARTy After Hours will take place on Friday, August 24 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The theme is science in preparation for October’s science and art festival. Explore science center from Albuquerque will be presenting a variety of hands-on science activities and Miranda Howe from Bone Springs Art Space will present an egg tempera activity to tie into the Magical and Real exhibition. Five Star DJ and Photo Booth will be on hand with music and a mad scientist photo booth, and Toddzilla will be providing the catering. A Science Trivia game will take place at 7:00 p.m. Director of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth, TX), Dr. Andrew Walker, will be visiting the Magical and Real exhibition and giving a talk as part of the museum’s Brown Bag Talk Series on Wednesday, September 5 from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium. He will be presenting on the Peter Hurd painting Eve of St. John (the painting of the girl holding a candle). Plans are underway for the Roswell Science and Art Festival, which will take place on Saturday, October 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Convention Center. The festival aims to educate, inspire, and engage Roswell and neighboring communities with art and the science that surrounds our everyday world. Organized and led by the Roswell Museum and Art Center in collaboration with several of the area’s leading science, cultural, and educational establishments, the festival offers something for all ages. The event will feature University of Texas Professor “Kate the Chemist.” O. RMAC FOUNDATION REPORT Executive Director Torrez explained the Foundation board does not meet in the summer months and had no report. P. CHAIR’S REMARKS AND BOARD ANNOUNCMENTS None Q. PUBLIC COMMENT None R. ADJOURN Member Parham motioned to adjourn. Member Baker seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed, with Chair Liakos and members Schumacher, Segovia, and Krantz being absent. The meeting adjourned at 5:28 p.m.