Roswell Museum Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING AGENDA Monday, November 18, 2019 at 4:00 PM Bassett Auditorium at RMAC 1011 N. Richardson Ave. Roswell, NM 88201 Chair: Cymantha Liakos Members: Anne Baker, Jamie Barnes, Donovan Fulkerson, Peggy Krantz, Priscilla Ornelas, Jessica Parham, Kay Cargill Jenkins, Lorrina Segovia, Bill Siders, and Valli West. City Council Liaison: Barry Foster RMAC Staff Coordinator: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director RMAC Foundation: Cindy Torrez, Executive Director A. Call to Order B. Roll Call ACTION ITEMS: C. Approval of Agenda D. Approval of the October , 2019 meeting minutes E. Review and Approval of the 2020 proposed BOT meeting dates INFORMATION ONLY ITEMS: F. Membership/Event Report G. Director’s Report H. RMAC Foundation Report I. Chair’s Remarks and Board Announcements J. Public Comment K. Adjourn Notice of this meeting has been given to the public in compliance with Sections 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and Resolution 19-37. NOTICE OF POTENTIAL QUORUM – A quorum of the City Council may or may not attend, but there will not be debate by the City Council. If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact Human Resources at 575-624-6700 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. Public documents including the agenda and minutes can be provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the City Clerk at 575-624-6700 if a summary or other type of accessible format is needed. Printed and posted: November 15, 2019  ROSWELL MUSEUM AND ART CENTER MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING Monday, October 21, 2019 DRAFT DOCUMENT REGULAR MEETING AT 4:00 p.m. A. CALL TO ORDER Vice-Chair Bill Siders called the meeting of the Board of Trustees to order at 4:03 pm B. ROLL CALL The meeting of the Board of Trustees convened with members Donovan Fulkerson, Bill Siders, Peggy Krantz, Priscilla Ornelas, Valli West, Anne Baker, and Lorrina Segovia being present. A quorum was established with members Cymantha Liakos, Jessica Parham, Jamie Barnes, and Kay Cargill Jenkins being absent. Staff present: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director; Wendy Cook, Communications and Events Coordinator; Aubrey Hobart, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, and Cindy Torrez, Executive Director RMAC Foundation. Community members present: none. C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Krantz motioned to approve the agenda. Member West seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed with members Liakos, Parham, Barnes, and Cargill Jenkins being absent. D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Member West motioned to approve the minutes for the September 16, 2019, board meeting with one correction made. Member Segovia seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed with members Liakos, Parham, Barnes, and Cargill Jenkins being absent. E. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF SALLY CHANDLER DONATION Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Aubrey Hobart, shared information about a donation offering from artist Sally Chandler. The Collections working group had reviewed the offer and chose two works they recommended for acquisition; “Tethered” and “Ice Fields.” Member West motioned to approve the acquisition of the two Chandler works. Member Segovia seconded. A voice vote was taken with Member Ornelas opposing the acquisition. The motion passed with a majority vote and with members Liakos, Parham, Barnes, and Cargill Jenkins being absent. FOR THE RECORD: Member Barnes joined the meeting at 4:21 pm F. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MARTIE ZELT DONATION Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Aubrey Hobart, shared information about a donation offering from artist Martie Zelt. The Collections working group has reviewed the offer and chose seven works to consider for acquisition, with five of those being strongly recommended. A voice vote was taken on each of the individual seven works being considered with six works being unanimously approved. A voice vote was taken on a series of three works titled “deer head #1, #2, and #3” All three works were approved unanimously. A voice vote was taken on “sketch for chile pepper screen print” and the work was approved unanimously. A voice vote was taken on “untitled (tower)” and the work was approved unanimously. A voice vote was taken on “untitled (green)” and the work was approved unanimously. A voice vote was taken on “untitled (tan)” and the work was unanimously denied. Member West motioned to approve the acquisition of the six Zelt works. Member Segovia seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed with members Liakos, Parham, and Cargill Jenkins being absent. G. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF QWIST JOSEPH DONATION Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Aubrey Hobart, shared information about a donation offering from artist Quist Joseph. The Collections working group has reviewed the offer of his work “thorn” that was a part of his RAiR exhibition here at RMAC and has recommended approval of the acquisition. Member Krantz motioned to approve the acquisition. Member Ornelas seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed with members Liakos, Parham, and Cargill Jenkins being absent. H. UPDATE ON JEANIE WEIFFENBACH DONATION At the August 19, 2019 BOT meeting, the board approved a donation offer from Jeanie Weiffenbach for a Wesley Rusnell piece titled “Red Arches, Yellow Sky” for acquisition. However, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Aubrey Hobart shared that Ms. Weiffenbach has withdrawn the offer, and the work will not be acquisitioned by RMAC at this time. I. UPDATE ON HO BARON DONATION Donated works from artist Ho Baron will be picked-up by RMAC collections staff on Monday, October 28, 2019. J. UPDATE ON DORIS CROSS DONATION In May of 2018, the BOT voted to accept 1000 works along with personal papers from the family of artist Doris Cross. This donation is moving forward, and RMAC will be home to the largest collection of Doris Cross works and the leading source for scholars of her work. K. MEMBERSHIP/ATTENDANCE REPORT Director Brooks reviewed the September membership and attendance report. G. DIRECTORS REPORT Director’s Report to the RMAC Board of Trustees October 17, 2019 Board Meeting Submitted by: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director 1. Science and Art Festival The 2nd annual Roswell Science and Art Festival was held on Saturday, October 12 at the Roswell Convention Center. The event included a wide variety of activities to accommodate the many interests and ages of the more than 1,700 attendees. Kevin Delaney from Street Science and The Tonight Show was the headliner. New Mexico Military Institute provided many of the messier (=fun) hands-on activities in what was called the Make Lab. Explora, the library, and museum presented a new, popular Tinker Tots pre-K area. Keep Roswell Beautiful hosted a recycled bottlecap mural with the museum. The zoo, astronomy club, NMSU, and regional state and federal agencies provided demonstrations. Middle school students participated in a Mars colony design challenge, and local artists hosted a return of the chalk drawing competition. Thanks to those who came and/or were able to volunteer. Next year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, October 10 and planning meetings will begin in January for those who are interested.  Xcel Energy provided a grant contribution toward the event. A brief presentation ceremony will be held at the Museum on Wednesday, October 23rd at 10 am 2. Recent and Upcoming Exhibitions The Donald B. Anderson Gallery has been deinstalled and Sharbani Das Gupta is on site setting up for her upcoming exhibition which opens on Friday, October 25th from 5:00-7:00 pm. Titled In/Sight, she uses her work to draw attention to the not-so-hidden but often disregarded, links between ourselves and the worlds we inhabit and impact. Be sure to mark your calendar for A Line in the Sand: Wildlife of the Borderlands, which opens on November 8 from 5-7 pm. Co-curated by biologists Tracy Diver and Alexis Harrison and organized by Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Aubrey Hobart, the exhibition explores the stories of animals living along the border, from the observations of early explorers to contemporary artistic representations of these same species. This event is part of the Species in Peril Along the Rio Grande regional collaboration organized by 516 Arts in Albuquerque. General Services Meeting On Wednesday, October 23rd starting at 4:30 pm, the Museum will present information on the Family Interactive Gallery proposal at the City Council General Services Committee meeting seeking feedback on next steps. H. RMAC FOUNDATION REPORT RMAC Foundation Director Torrez shared that the Foundation annual appeal letter is at the printers and will be mailed this week. She also shared that the Foundation is in early planning stages for the February fundraiser, Mystery at the Museum event. I. CHAIR’S REMARKS AND BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS None J. PUBLIC COMMENT None K. ADJOURN Member Segovia motioned to adjourn. Member West seconded. A voice vote was unanimous, and the motion passed with members Liakos, Parham, and Cargill Jenkins being absent. The meeting adjourned at 5:11 pm. Director’s Report to the RMAC Board of Trustees November 19, 2019 Board Meeting Submitted by: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director 3. Staff Anniversary Aria Finch was honored on Friday, November 8 during the Potter’s Guild Show Opening Night for her 40 th year of teaching at the Roswell Museum. Laurie Rufe and I surprised her with a few words of acknowledgement over the audio system as she and friends from the ceramics community, students, Museum Board members, Museum staff and Foundation members were gathered. A few excerpts from the acknowledgment are as follows: “In 1979, Aria was appointed Manager of the Roswell Museum and Art Center’s Ceramics Program. A year later, she founded the Pecos Valley Potters Guild… In forty years, Aria’s unparalleled vision and leadership has contributed to Roswell’s growth as an arts community and she has touched the lives of thousands of children, adults, community leaders, and amateur and professional artists through the ceramic medium… Her artistry, creative vision, and support for students are hallmarks that won her the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2013 and that continues through her teaching today.” Cake, hugs, pictures, a card signing and some small gifts followed the acknowledgment. We are truly lucky to have such a gifted teacher at the Museum and the acknowledgement was very much well-deserved. 4. Position Opening Julia Pope left her position as Preparator recently to take a job on the maintenance team at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. She did an excellent job during her short tenure and we were sad to see her leave. The Preparator position should be posted very soon on the City’s employment page. 5. Recent and Upcoming Exhibitions The Curatorial Staff have been hard at work with several exhibitions in recent weeks. Sharbani Das Gupta: in/sight opened on Friday, October 25 with an enthusiastic crowd including her college teachers from India and a childhood friend and fellow artist who aided in her installation during the final week. Her work draws attention to the not-so-hidden, but often disregarded, links between ourselves and the worlds we inhabit and impact. Cultural influences from her hometown of Calcutta, India, are apparent and the work presents a welcomed visual shift in our normal line-up of exhibitions. The work will be on view through April 5, 2020. A Line in the Sand: Wildlife of the Borderlands opened on November 8. Co-curators and biologists Alexis Harrison (who moved to Oregon earlier this year) and Tracy Diver attended and remarked about the background of the exhibition along with Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Aubrey Hobart during a 15- minute gallery talk. The exhibition explores the stories of 16 animal species living along the border, from the observations of early explorers to contemporary artistic representations. Items include print  engravings from an 1800s border survey, information on the shifting habitat and species numbers, and contemporary interpretations by scientist-artists and members of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence program. The exhibition also includes the taxidermied grizzley bear from the Aston Collection, which has not been on view since the Aston Collection was reinstalled in 2006. The exhibition is included in the Species in Peril Along the Rio Grande regional collaboration organized by 516 Arts in Albuquerque. Roswell Artist-in-Residence Cedra Wood will be opening her exhibition with a lecture and reception on Friday, November 22. Her work explores the natural world for which uses found items such as pine cones or fish scales to assemble costumes or creature-like forms inspired by ancient Scottish and English ballads. She then documents the “creatures” in their environments and recreates highly-realistic paintings of the encounters. An example of her work can be seen on the cover the current Museum Magazine. E Pluribus Unum: New Mexico Southeast is an exhibit of photographs by Axle Contemporary artists Jerry Wellman and Matthew Chase-Daniel. This ongoing project enlivens and documents communities throughout the state of New Mexico with a mobile photographic portrait studio built inside a vintage aluminum vehicle. In October 2018, Wellman and Chase-Daniel brought their mobile studio to southeast New Mexico to photograph the diversity of the people who live here. Participants each brought a small object of personal significance, and sat for a black and white portrait while holding the object. Objects have included car keys, photos of loved ones, artworks, tools, books, food, toys, and vintage collectibles. The exhibition opens on November 16 and the artists will be present for a gallery talk during the Holiday Open House on December 7. Winter Celebrations will open on November 30 in the Spring River Gallery with a selection of works from our permanent collection that explore winter customs and holidays. Aubrey Hobart will also give a gallery talk during the Holiday Open House on December 7. 6. Museum Renovation Update On Wednesday, October 23, I presented information on the Family Interactive Gallery proposal at the City Council General Services Committee meeting seeking feedback on next steps. Several RMAC Foundation and Board of Trustee members attended to provide community feedback and support as needed. The presentation was well-received and I am in consultation City administrators regarding gathering more- detailed information on potential exhibit designers and the Foundation’s interest/fundraising timeline. Once a more definitive proposal has been assembled, we can consider bringing the proposal back to General Services Committee and the full council for a vote. 7. Holiday Open House The year is coming to a close and the Holiday Open House is right around the corner to finish out our 2019 programming. The event will be taking place on Saturday, December 7 from 4-6 pm. Stop in or volunteer to be a part of the festive evening which will include gallery talks, Museum Store shopping, a paper-quilling project, marshmallow roasting, as well as warm hors d’oeuvres from Pecos Flavors and a warm beverage bar from Stellar Coffee.