Public Art Commission

Salem Public Art Commission 98 Washington Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970 (978) 619-5685 DOMINICK PANGALLO MAYOR Public Art Commission April 8, 2024 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 6:36 pm. • Roll Call PAC: Noreen Gachingard, John Andrews, Becky Fisher, James Bostick Absent: Hannah Gathman Arriving Late: Carly Dwyer-Naik, Gwen Rosemond Also Present: Julie Barry • Meeting Minute Approvals • March 2024 Minutes Motion to approve the March 2024 meeting minutes is made by James Bostick, seconded by John Andrews and passes 4-0. • Lesley University Student Design Project Presentation Joe Magarolas, Kelsey McFarland, Odalis Aguilar Mendez, and Rick Rawlins are present from Lesley University. Ms. Barry introduces the project. PAC is working with a graphic design class at Lesley University for signage for the city’s public art works as well as the PAC website. Two variations were created, one dark blue with white, one light blue with white, both with Adobe Garamond font. 5x7 & 7x9 sizes on 1/8-inch CM board with vinyl printed graphics. Information on the placards will be title, artist, year, material, and QR code. CM board has an aluminum coating on the outside. The freestanding signs would be 42” high at the highest and 36” high at the lowest with 1x1x 1/8 pole. The pole will 18” in the ground and filled with concrete, this is somewhat standard for these projects. This will be readable at any level. Freestanding signs will be aluminum. Mr. Rawlins says that one option is to wrap aluminum composite boards, another is to print on the metal, powder-coated enameled aluminum is costly but would be the ideal. The landing page would be associated with the QR code. The new landing page will follow the existing format. List of art works in the city, a “let’s explore” section, mission of PAC. The team will work with the city’s IT to see what is possible.  The QR codes will be general rather than individualized in order to curtail technological problems. Placards will not be bilingual due to size constraints though will consider adding text to indicate that multi-language options are available on the website. PAC had questions on the accessibility of multiple languages. Ms. Barry will discuss this issue with Regina Zargoza-Frey, the city’s Director of DEI. There may be the ability to do a multi-language option, but Braille will not be possible as the fabrication process is entirely different. The pinholes shown in the shared designs will be color matched to the chosen background color (light or dark blue). Additionally, the fasteners will be dependent on where the placard is attached. Ms. Barry asks commission to weigh in on color preference. There is a strong preference for the darker blue, and current city signage leans to the darker blue. However, there is also the consideration that the light blue is reminiscent of the Salem 400 logo. Mr. Andrews asks if the team could shift the lighter blue on the signage to the aqua of the Salem 400 logo. Mr. Bostick asks how flexible the city website can be, Ms. Barry says that with appropriate knowledge, the page may be dynamic. Adding description on the placard will be difficult as there is not a lot of information on all items. A QR code is the best option as the URL would be far too long and this would have to be a bit.ly which takes away the sense of City of Salem public art. • PAC Mini Grant Approvals The Mini Grant subcommittee submitted recommendations. Maia Mattson has pulled her application. Mr. Bostick proposes a review of what was recommended. • Austin Guin, review committee recommended $2500. Mr. Bostick said that he had not allowed for marketing funds and the increase in funds would help him be successful. • Sabrina Jacqui Levin $2500 • Diana Schafer $800 • Gill Sefinger, not recommended The last grants will be taking place in a private space. The recommendation was to fund these as they will be occurring during Arts Festival. With the withdrawal of Maia Mattson’s grant, there is still $1500 that could be reallocated to Gil or Diana or to something different. All grant applications were funded from the Downtown Activation Fund. Ms. Barry reminds PAC that this money disappears on June 30. There is discussion about what to do with the $1500 that must be spent. Mr. Andrews recommends spending the money on marketing. Ms. Fisher recommends doing more art. $3000 is already earmarked for marketing. Ms. Rosemond is in favor with going with the remaining 2 proposals but not projects not recommended. Mr. Bostick clarifies that it wasn’t about quality but about the activation of public spaces. Motion to approve the Mini Grant Applications is made by John Andrews, seconded by Norene Gachingard and passes 6-0.  Creation of a subcommittee is proposed to see how to spend the remaining money. Formally recommending a subcommittee requires a formal public meeting. Mr. Andrews wants to talk about recommendations, not spending money – what does the group think about what they want to see – offline. As the $3000 has been approved. Is $3000 enough to put together? Ms. Barry would like to do 2 additional art boxes. Mr. Bostick would also like to include another sculpture for the rotating sculpture garden. Ms. Fisher asks for 2 weeks to source a sculpture. • Letters of Recommendation to Park and Recreation Commission Ms. Barry will draft a letter and send to Ms. Gachingard for a signature for the following recommendations • Steven Young’s Macro Micro • El Punto/NSCDC’s Muñecas sin Rostro • Maia Mattson’s Botanical Eco-Labryinth • Project Updates Ms. Barry asks if PAC has reviewed the Artists’ Row agreements and asks if the commission has thoughts on increasing rental prices? No one thinks this will be a problem. Ms. Dwyer-Naik asks why there is a need for an increase. Ms. Barry explains says because it will allow for maintenance of the property and increase the fee to the PAIR. Mr. Bostick asks about the subdivision of the stalls as he thinks stalls 1 and 4 are quite large. The structure of the building will allow for the division of the ese two stall. Artists could apply for both spaces in stalls one or four or just a single space. Ms. Barry is concerned about building the wall to subdivide the units or we were responsible if artist A stole from artist B. Additionally, this is infrastructure that the city would need to invest in and consider how to deal with utilities However, subdivided the spaces would allow for more affordable spaces and therefore be more accessible to artist. Ms. Barry has received feedback from previous tenants that a higher rent with fewer required opening hours may be better. The PAIR will need to submit a working budget going forward. Mr. Bostick would like section 12 of the agreement to be enforced. Ms. Barry clarifies that this section stipulates that an Artists’ Row tenant cannot sell or display items that they did not make. Enforcement is a warning from Ms. Barry with a request for removal. If there is no compliance, then Tom Daniel, Director of Planning and Community Development issues a letter. • Other Business There is no other business • Adjourn Motion to adjourn is made by John Andrews, seconded by James Bostick, and passes 6-0. 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.