Commission for the Arts

Agenda Royal Oak Commission for the Arts Meeting Monday, September 15, 2025, 7:00 p.m. City Hall, Room 122 203 S. Troy Street Royal Oak, Michigan 48067 Anyone planning to attend the meeting who has need of special assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is asked to contact the city clerk’s office at 248-246-3050 at least two (2) business days prior to the meeting. Pages 1. Call to Order 2. Public Comment 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes 2 5. New Business a. Mural Application at 1225 E. 11 Mile Road 4 b. Strategic Plan Update and Discussion 7 6. Old Business 7. Subcommittee/Program Reports 8. General Announcements 9. Social Media 10. Adjournment  Minutes Royal Oak Commission for the Arts Meeting August 18, 2025, 7:00 p.m. City Hall, Room 122 203 S. Troy Street Royal Oak, Michigan 48067 Present: Jason Gittinger Melanie Macey Alesha Beistline Laura Bonnell Jodie Ellison Absent: Denise Reske Robert Wilson _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm. 2. Public Comment None. 3. Approval of Agenda Moved by: Jodie Ellison Seconded by: Melanie Macey Motion Adopted 4. Approval of Minutes Moved by: Laura Bonnell Seconded by: Jodie Ellison Motion Adopted 5. New Business 5.a Mural Application - Hart and Harlow Business owner Amy Renick of Hart & Harlow presented her mural design for her building. The groups unanimously approved of her proposal. 1 Page 2 of 9  Moved by: Melanie Macey Seconded by: Jodie Ellison Motion Adopted 5.b Bent Brush The CFA would be interested in acquiring Bent Bush if Richard Gage backed it all financially. 5.c Community Benefits Ordinance Discussion The group's ideas for the Community Benefits Ordinance: Art installation, a space for art installation, grants for murals/public art (for businesses outside of DDA), donating space for gathering/gallery space, money for CFA, donating to a public art fund for the city, grants for annual performance art/community activities, donation to the concert in the park series. For next month's meeting, Susan Barkman will put these ideas into ordinance-appropriate language and present to the group. 5.d Youth Artist Laureate Program Staff will put together talking points for Jason Gittinger when he accepts the grant on Thursday August 21st, as well as publicizing the Emerging Artist Laureate Program. 6. Old Business 7. Subcommittee/Program Reports 8. General Announcements This is Melanie Macey's final CFA meeting as she's not seeking reelection in November and PTA meetings begin in September. 9. Social Media 10. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at . Moved by: Jodie Ellison Seconded by: Laura Bonnell Motion Adopted 2 Page 3 of 9 Public Art Application I. Contact Information First Name:Dianna Last Name: Haney Address:1225 E 11 Mile Rd City: Royal Oak State: MI ZIP: 48067 Email:info@noodwax.com Phone:702-524-8040 Website:www.noodwax.com II. Proposed Locations for Artwork (Please prioritize.) Priority 1: Priority 2: Site: 1225 E 11 Mile Rd Site: Please attach visual representations of proposed sites. III. Artwork Identification Artwork Name: Wish You Were Here Postcard Year:2025 Artist:Tori Kurtzhals Medium/Material: Sherwin Williams Outdoor Acrylic Paint Dimensions: 10ft x 37ft Footing Requirements: scaffolding Value of Artwork: $9,250 Page 4 of 9  IV. Visual Representation of Artwork Attachment x Drawing, photograph or other visual representation of artwork indicating its height, width, and relationship to desired site are to be attached with proposal. x Additional information including brief narrative of proposal including concept or visual representation of footing requirements may be attached if necessary. V. Artist Statement Attachment x Brief description of artist’s work. VI. Artist Bio and References Attachment x Please attach an artist biography and three (3) professional references. VII. Liability and Legal Requirements x All installed public art is subject to a contract and license agreement between the artist, owner, or representative and the City of Royal Oak for the duration of display. Projects shall not be initiated until legal requirements are approved by City Staff and the City Commission. VIII. Submission of Application x Send completed application with required attachments to 52&)$@romi.gov Failure to provide the information outlined above may result in the City’s rejection of this proposal until all the requested information is provided. For any questions regarding this application or the Royal Oak Commission for the Arts, please contact Assistant to the City Manager 6XVDQ%DUNPDQat 248-246-320 or 6XVDQE@romi.gov Page 5 of 9 Page 6 of 9 Royal Oak Commission for the Arts Strategic Plan - DRAFT Purpose The importance of arts and culture to the City of Royal Oak has been recognized by the City Commission through the adoption of an objective to "develop a plan to encourage artists and promote public art in Royal Oak" as part of a greater community goal to "preserve neighborhoods by encouraging community involvement and family activities; and further, to be recognized as a destination for entertainment, recreation and cultural opportunities." This is a chapter to establish the Royal Oak Commission for the Arts to encourage and support arts and culture in the City of Royal Oak. The Commission for the Arts wanted to develop a strategic plan so that they can plan for their future growth. Through their conversation the group discussed the following goal: To become the overarching source to support art within the Royal Oak community. Objectives Strategies Action Items To support the arts  Funding the purchase of  Continue supporting through funding. new art within Royal Oak, programs like Artist and the long-term Laureate and Art Explored. maintenance.  Continue to implement  Provide financial support programs like Share the for art related events and Warmth and Painted Piano programs. Project. (currently being done)  Develop an art maintenance program to give the art we own longevity and ensuring we have the highest quality art displayed.  Additional funding for a youth artist laureate program and to develop this for the future.  Assist other art organizations in finding and Page 7 of 9  applying for grants that will help support their mission.  Provide funding for other arts organizations directly. To build and  Network and  Facilitate regular meetings maintain better develop/maintain of arts organizations to see relationships with relationships with other how we can align and other arts related art/cultural groups support other groups. organizations (Symphony, theater,  Meet with groups within Royal and galleries, schools, individually to better Oak and the larger neighboring art understand their needs and region. commissions, etc.) find ways to meet those needs. Develop and  Develop electronic and  Develop and maintain a maintain arts print resources that help Royal Oak Art Guide marketing to inform and engage the  Art Walks – both self-guided materials. public in our community and guided. art.  Social Content (limited staff  Promote art and culture capacity) related events.  Develop and maintain a monthly arts events calendar.  Support art programs and potentially develop additional art fairs/programs for the community. The Commission for the Arts Department is appreciative of the staff support we have provided, however, to do more and bring this plan to life it will require additional funding and staff resources. Funding Resources The board acknowledges the larger funding challenges that exist for the city and strongly believes that art is a tool for economic development and improves Page 8 of 9 communities, so it is worthy of funding. There are a number of funding opportunities that could be explored, but these have limited ability to fund staff.  Grants – The board is willing to explore the use of grants but acknowledges grants will likely not lead to the long-term commitment to display and support arts within the community.  Fundraising – The board has expressed an interest in working with Royal Oak Civic Foundation; however, it is not clear what the Commission for the Arts role in fundraising would be.  Project based funding – The board would like to explore the possibility to include a percentage of a particular project’s budget to dedicate to the arts. This is one way in which art is supported in other communities.  General fund tax dollars – The board receives its funding through the general fund now, and this source would likely need to be increased for the arts to ensure the future growth of the programs. Staff Capacity The board recognizes the staff capacity has become tighter over the years since the board was created. While their work is appreciated and their other responsibilities are important too, the board would like to propose a new full-time employee to support art within the community for the following reasons:  Much of the work the board is interested in is additional work to what is being done today.  Staff time to take on additional work is limited currently.  Volunteer capacity can be inconsistent and having the work done consistently matters when building relationships.  A new staff member would better be able to grow and manage the city’s art collection.  In the chart above, green text is what we currently do, and purple text is what have a limited capacity to do more. All black text would be new and additional work. Page 9 of 9