Public Art Commission

Salem Public Art Commission 98 Washington Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970 (978) 619-5685 KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL MAYOR Public Art Commission November 15, 2022, 6:30pm Meeting held remotely via zoom 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 6:34 pm. • Roll Call PAC: Norene Gachignard, John Andrews, Janine Liberty, Catherine Bertrand, Carly Dwyer-Naik, Kurt Ankeny Beauchamp & Gwen Rosemond in attendance. • Meeting Minute Approvals o October 18, 2022 Meeting Minutes- Norene entertained a motion, Gwen made a motion to approve the meeting minutes, Janine seconded. Motion carried unanimously. ● December Meeting Discussion Julie asks if the meeting seems too far into the holidays or if the Commission should meet at the usual time, or if we should postpone until after the holidays. Carly is unsure if she will be able to attend because of her trip to India. Otherwise all other members can attend, and quorum would be met. The December meeting will continue as scheduled. Julie is inquiring about the “Making it Public” submissions and a possible review time for the upcoming December meeting. The options for review are as follows: - All of the PAC members review all submissions for the “Making it Public” grant together in a public meeting. OR - Identify a team of people with no more than 3 of the PAC members along with other community members, to review and recommend an award recipient. Carly suggested the PAC reviewing the headline of the submission to gauge the types of projects and find a  team of community members that have an interest or forte in the subject. The PAC is in agreement with Carly, about a preliminary viewing of the submissions, and then setting up a review team to review and recommend a recipient. The reviewing will happen at the December meeting, and a commission will be gathered based on the submissions. ● Winter Activations Planning Update The remembrance project is up and running! photos of the PAC approved project were shown to Commission members. Julie has insisted that Kurt’s prior concern of the project feeling heavily political leaning was addressed to the artist, and it is a factual representation based on climate change. A program filled month ahead of us includes the following partnered with PAC: - A performative reading of A Christmas Carol by local artist Jennifer M Emerson of The Petticoat Pages (Inside OTH on Wed. Dec. 14th @2pm for school kids on early release day & Fri. Dec. 16th for all, with small pop-up vignette performances in Derby Sq. & Charlotte Forten Park on Dec. 3 ,4, 10, &11 for promotion full performance) - Holiday Music in Derby Square & Charlotte Forten Park provided by local school bands organized Chagall PAC (Sat. Dec. 17th) - Costumed Caroling provided by History Alive - Participatory Holiday Wreath Making with Public Artist in Resident Maia Mattson - Boys & Girls Club Wreath Sale - Professional Holiday Music Performance inside OTH organized by Chagall PAC (Sun. Dec. 18th) - Holiday Vendor Market with local artists only (including the Ukrainian Market artists) in OTH organized by Chagall PAC at no expense to the artists. (Sun. Dec. 18th) Norene brought up prior discussions about a “Meet the PAC Night” to attempt to get more eyes on the works of the Commission, and eventually more funding for the work that gets accomplished. Norene opened up the floor to discuss any ideas about that type of event. Janine asks about signage and promotional items, or t-shirts. John asked Norene about her ideas of a meet the PAC night, “What do you hope to get out of this type of event?” Norene wants to publicize the work that gets accomplished through PAC. Gwen suggests maybe a business card or sticker that reads “This event is brought to you by the Public Arts Commission” or something that will bring more attention to who the event is sponsored by. Catherine suggested a few PAC members attend each/different programs in the winter activations as it would be hard to get everyone at the same event scheduling wise. Julie asked the PAC for permission to use PAC funds for promotional postcards with our logo, mission statement, and QR code. Julie asked if anyone would be able to design the postcard, Kurt volunteered.  Norene entertained a motion. Kurt motioned to allocate $150-$200 on promotional postcards for PAC, Carly Seconded. Motion approved. CLC Mural Project Anna Dugan has been formally approved, some glitches in payment have delayed her start of the project. This week she will be connected with the folks at the CLC and will be able to get started on the mural. Naumkeag Portrait Project Update A dedication date for the Naumkeag portrait project has been determined. Members of PAC will get a formal invitation to the dedication ceremony, and a press release will go out about this as well. The ceremony will be Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 11:00am. PAC members are invited to attend and say a few words if they would like to. ● Sculpture Garden Review About fifteen sculptures have been submitted for review for the Salem Sculpture garden. The total budget allocated is $8,000.00 which includes a $1,000.00 stipend for each artist and includes a $1,000.00 Curatorial Consultant award (7 Artists x $1,000 stipend each + $1,000 Curatorial Consultant = $8,000.00). Upon review of the submitted designs, Julie generalized that the majority of the submissions this year have seemed more delicate than years previous. PAC spent some time reviewing the layout of the Salem Public Parks, and determining the locations. The Sculptures mutually agreed upon by all members were as follows: Eric Olson, Leap of Faith Pike Messenger, Singing Rainbow Joshua Ruder, River Siren Allen Spivack, Reflections on Hot Still Scape in 3D Mark Wholey, Follow Your Heart Joyce Audy Zarins, Safety Net Blaze Konefal, Dandelions PAC has expressed interest in the Ramani Rangan, Fire From the Sky piece. The PAC would like to include the piece in this year’s sculpture showcase, but as they reached the bottom of the budget, they have decided to get more information behind this piece before using unallocated funds to include it in the 2023 showcase. Julie plans to bring the proposed locations to Trish- The Parks and Recreation Commissioner, and with that information, we will be able to finalize the locations of all sculptures. Locations to be discussed at next meeting. Norene entertained a motion to approve the seven identified sculptures for lease. Gwen moved, Kurt seconded. Establishing Review Process for Community Proposed Projects Seeking PAC Funding Possible Policy statement regarding Community Proposed Projects reads: “The PAC welcomes requests for funding for public art projects taking place on public property from individuals or organizations based in Salem, MA. These proposals are reviewed twice a year in our regular March and September meetings. Proposal will only be reviewed during these meetings; However, proposals may be submitted any time using our online submissions form.” Janine asked why there is a limitation on Salem Artists only. Julie stated that in previous meetings we have agreed that local artists will be considered above other non-residents. Norene had suggested that the funds should give first priority to Salem Residents, then outside artists. Julie reminds PAC that this protocol is for the small pot of money of $2,500 for local PAC-funded art that community members come to this Commission to install or operate their own project. Ultimately the PAC agreed to keep the protocol as just Salem residents only, with the ability to change it in the future. Catherine likes the format of the submission page, and the rest of the Commission is in agreement. What is a qualifying proposal? Do we create specific review criteria? Questions to be addressed as follows: o How often can someone apply and be funded? Once per year o What happens to a proposal if denied? Can they resubmit in the next cycle? They can resubmit the next cycle if desired. o What happens if there is a proposal that we would approve but we don’t have any money left for that fiscal cycle? Do we ask them to resubmit, or does it automatically get funded when money is available? PAC would hold off on reviewing proposals after the money is allocated, and the unread proposals will be moved to the next review cycle. Establish a Community Announcement and Engagement Plan With interest in having a “Meet the PAC” night, and a goal of creating community connections to increase PAC visibility, Julie would like to organize the first round of PAC volunteers to the next event. The November 18th date might be too soon to do anything substantial, such as a presentation/powerpoint of recent & favorite PAC funded projects or events. John worries that no one will interact with a table of people without anything to showcase work completed. Julie wants to instead focus on having short conversations with program goers as they pass through the event, and quickly share with them why we are here, what we do, and how to get involved. John has offered his services to put together a trifold if someone could gather pictures/projects that they think would like to be featured. John states he has the energy to accomplish the product, just not enough time to dig through the photos and projects to find something to feature.  Julie will find pictures and put them in a folder to share with John, Norene and Catherine. Who will then help John pick projects to feature in true team effort. ● Public Comments- None ● Adjourn- Norene motioned to adjourn. Moved by Catherine, seconded by Carly. Meeting Adjourned at 8:27 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.