Public Art Commission

Salem Public Art Commission 98 Washington Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970 (978) 619-5685 KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL MAYOR Public Art Commission Tuesday, July 27, 2021, 6:30pm Meeting held via Remote Participation MEETING MINUTES Note: All proposals, presentations, and/or documentation to be reviewed and discussed at this meeting can be viewed online at the following link: https://bit.ly/SalemPACProposals ● Meeting called to order at 6:33pm ● Roll Call: Norene Gachignard, John Andrews, Janine Liberty, Thu Ngan Han, & Kurt Ankeny Beauchamp in attendance Absent: Emily Larsen, Carly Dwyer-Nik ● Minute Meeting Approvals: - May 18th minutes entertained motion requested by Norene, motion moved by Thu Ngan, and seconded by Kurt. Janine abstained. Motion carries, minutes have been approved. - Norene entertains a motion for May 27th minutes approval, Janine motion moves by Janine and seconded by John. Motion is unanimous, minutes approved for May 27th. ● Salem Sound CoastWatch Drain Murals presentation: Guest Speaker Maggy Tran - Maggy, along with SSWC is working on an afterschool program called “Expanding horizons” via Saltonstall School. This program focuses on the advocacy and early education of ocean conservation with 6th grade students from the area. This group has completed 15-16 installations of stenciled paintings on the ground reading, “only rain down the drain” (among 3 other wordings) with fish with white text around the point neighborhood. These signs are required annually by the state of MA for all Municipalities with a MS4 permit (which are all communities in MA and NH) which require public awareness and education towards litter and ocean conservation. DPW’s role is to sign off on the work being conducted. Maggy showed us a glimpse of the sketching process as students designed these murals in likeness of the bikini bottom cast, surrounding the storm drain. The design would be cut out with stencils by the students. Working with artist Olivia Danzler (previous program attendee) to make it happen. First choice of placement zones for murals would be the storm drain by the bus stop in front of Palmer's cove on leavitt street. Materias include Mylar, concrete primer and brushes. Older stencils will be power washed to make way for new work. Question asked if SSCW was willing to do more than one mural. The program ends by August 5th, and this group doesn’t have the time for that right now, but it would be a fun  program to keep going with SSCW. Many of the students that are working on the project live in the area. Potential road work might put a damper to the mural, which should be followed up by DPS and Traffic and Parking. Images of trash are a concern to the council as it isn’t aesthetically pleasing. Norene entertained the motion to move. Motion moved by Kurt, and seconded by John. Approved unanimously. ● Statue of Diversity Proposal Presentation: Guest Speaker Paul Ingalls - Paul is looking for a city to display his “Statue of Diversity”. A 12 ft tall, by 13 ft wide pyramid. Bottom of the statue has a marble base, and clear plexiglass casing over it for longevity which is environmentally friendly. Shiny aluminum boards as edges, and pictures and paint covered also by plexiglass. Would need to be cleaned once every 2 months. The budget for this project would be one-million dollars. Though Paul is not from Salem, he says is looking for a place to put this statue in a city that is enthusiastic about diversity. He aims to put this piece in the Salem Common, though it was mentioned by the committee that this installation is beyond our purview. Before he approaches the Salem Common Neighborhood Association, approval would be needed from us on the design. It was suggested by the Committee that the classifications of humans into 6 groups of people could alienate massive groups of people, and people would not feel represented in the diversity statue. Modern design of the statue would be difficult to approve by the Salem Common Neighborhood Committee. John motions to vote. Carly motions for further discussion. Norene seconded and approved further discussion. Question from Carly about what this message means to Salem. Paul is not interested if the statue would not be able to be placed in Salem Common. Committee collectively decided that this was not a project that the city would be interested in, nor have the funds for. John rescinded his motion, and Paul was dismissed. No need for any formal vote. ● Program Updates- ○ Salem Arts Slam: All went fantastically, about 8 murals left over that were not claimed by the artists, which are now property of the city. Suggested by Julie that they would be for public auction. That idea might need to be run by the legal team. Murals are very large and heavy, and would need professional help hanging them. Possibly public schools and areas, or committee spaces might be a viable option. Looking into different venues and organizations to display. John volunteered to reach out to Liz, Marketing liaison for the SPS. ○ -Artist row tenants agreements: looking to make a contract for a 2 year lease after the 2020 season. Looking to extend their lease for an additional year. No voting necessary, the idea was wanted to be jetted about the committee. John suggested that the row should do more community engagement rather than all retail. The committee agreed to negate 2020 because of the loss during COVID19, and allow them to reapply at the end of 2022. ○ -Liars and Believers Yellow Bird Chase Theatre Camp: Very successful performance, 106 attendees. Press release will encapsulate 4 different companies doing 20 different performances throughout Salem for free. ○ -Black Lives Matter Mural: The Mayor would like to see this mural on the building down Essex Street outside of the YMCA, which would need to be approved by the property owner. Otherwise it will be displayed at the Horace Mann School. Hoping to be up before the middle of August.  ○ -OTH Bid launch: Getting proposals before Aug 19th for the major construction and renovation & restorations for the Old Town Hall. ○ -Forest River Project: Artists will be arriving in town for work on the build out for the splash pad and filter building mural, which was voted on and designed last year. Potentially to meet in person for the August meeting, and be able to give us an update on the project. ○ -Naumkeag Portrait Project: Artist is excited to move forward. Starting connecting with tribal councils. They are starting the research and development phase, hoping for a design for PAC to review before the end of the year. PAC is not planning on rushing them as they tend to move slower in tribal councils as they have a lot of formalities to be met. Respectfully, we will let them take their time. ○ -Conservation and Maintenance: Julie hired a conservator/collections care specialist, to care for the art boxes, maintenance, cleaning, preventative maintenance on murals, We got a $10,000 increase in our budget this year which was earmarked in the budget for collections management and care. ○ Artist Row Ballards: Indra has requested $1,500 to paint the ballards on artist row. This would be coming out of the revolving account. John requested to find a different solution than just painting rainbows on the ballards, and instead focusing on the tarp infrastructure, to secure something more permanent on Artists Row for the live music when it rains. ● No further discussion & no public comment. ● Norene motioned to adjourn. Moved by John, seconded by Kurt. Meeting Adjourned at 7:54 pm Persons requiring auxiliary aids and services for effective communication such as sign language interpreter, an assistive listening device, or print material in digital format or a reasonable modification in programs, services, policies, or activities, may contact the City of Salem ADA Coordinator, as soon as possible and no less than 2 business days before the meeting, program, or event. Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A § 18-25 and City Ordinance § 2-2028 through § 2-2033.