Arts Commission

STERLING HEIGHTS ARTS COMMISSION Minutes of Tuesday, May 4, 2021 Meeting Locatio n: Zoom Conference Call Members Present: Lawrence Farhat, Grace Finazzo, Judith Foley, Amanda Koss, Sheri Marwede, Wendy Popko and Jeanne Schabath-Lewis Members Absent: Ron Bindle, David Bollman, Jan Burns and Gary Lusk Representing the City: Melanie Davis and Sue Giallombardo Meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES : Motion to approve the meeting minutes of the March 2, 2021 Arts Commission made by Farhat; Seconded by: Popko Ayes: all Nays: none Giallombardo introduced Sheri Marwede as the newest member to the Arts Commission; Marwede stated that she is a longtime resident of Sterling Heights (48 years) and has been employed with GM for 20 years in the purchasing area. She was laid off during the pandemic and wanted to volunteer in the community; she enjoys the vibrant public art around the city and is happy to be a member of the Arts Commission. AGENDA ITEMS: A. Memorial Day Ceremony – Art contest voting  Giallombardo stated that there were over 25 entries for the student art contest. She shared the power point presentation as well as the artwork that was dropped off at City Hall. Members voted for their favorites to narrow down the field, and then voted for the top three artists.  The winners were awarded $25 gift cards to Hobby Lobby; and the Memorial Day “cruise” will pass through the winner’s neighborhood. The winner was Ella, 11 years old and attends Dekeyser Elementary. The cruise will take place immediately following the Memorial Day Ceremony. Giallombardo added that all of the entries will be shared on the city’s Facebook page. B. 2021 Memorial Day Parade  Davis stated that the Memorial Ceremony will take place on Monday, May 31, and added that Sharron Allen will once again be recognized as the Grand Marshal, since there was not a ceremony in 2020.  Schabath-Lewis stated that she will be out of town for the weekend and will not be able to act as moderator for the ceremony, and asked if Popko would take her place; Popko accepted.  Giallombardo reminded commission members that the ceremony is open to the public and they are welcome to attend. However, the “cruise” will be limited to only those individuals that were invited, police, fire, veterans and politicians. C. Anton Art Center  Giallombardo stated that herself, along with several members of the commission attended Anton Art Center’s “meet and greet” on April 6. Members were invited to this event in lieu of the regular April Arts Commission meeting. Phil Gilchrist, Executive Director of Anton Art Center, coordinated the event and invited all Macomb County Arts and Culture Commissions.   Giallombardo added that the event was well attended by five or six other communities and it was a nice way to promote all that is available at the Anton Art Center, and to get public art ideas from surrounding communities.  Schabath-Lewis suggested coordinating a large art show in their gallery to promote different communities and their Art Commission members. She suggested possibly having the entries juried and voting on top artists. D. Crosswalk Painting  Giallombardo stated that City Administration would like to see more public art around the city; adding that since there are a couple of large projects pending, such as the park memorials for fallen police officers and the mural at Ventimiglia’s, that smaller projects such as painting crosswalks at schools would be an option.  Schabath-Lewis and Koss like the idea of having a theme, perhaps with similar colors to keep them uniform.  Foley asked who would be purchasing the paint. Davis replied that the city would purchase the paint out of the public art fund and suggested putting out a call to students, maybe starting with high school students. Foley mentioned that there is paint that is only visible when wet. Schabath-Lewis stated that it might be better for the paint to be visible at all times.  Giallombardo stated that we could start with two or three crosswalks to test the paint and the process, since we can’t close the road. The work would have to be done on one side of the street at a time, using cones or barricades to control traffic. OLD BUSINESS:  Schabath-Lewis said that she attended the Rock Garden ribbon cutting on April 20 and suggested putting rocks and small containers of paint at the area near the Library. The project was completed by a local Eagle Scout and residents were happy to see it was completed in a short amount of time. She suggested leaving the rocks and paint in small containers, with labels on them saying “Compliments of the Arts Commission.” Giallombardo said that she could assist with the labels or other tasks if necessary.  Schabath-Lewis stated that Popko’s mural was approved to be installed at Ventimiglia’s, and that it received a little backlash because it’s going on private property. She added that the mural will incorporate augmented reality and will be the first of its kind in Macomb County.  Davis stated that the updated mile-markers should be done soon; details and an invite to the ribbon cutting will follow.  Schabath-Lewis asked if there was going to be an official ribbon cutting at the Nature Center for the scrap metals sculptures. Davis replied that there will be one as soon as the Nature Center is open for visitors; she is currently working on a plaque that will incorporate the artist’s information along with the monarch butterfly designation. NEW BUSINESS :   Schabath-Lewis said that the mural honoring Officer Mark Sawyers has been touched up twice but needs to be refurbished; Davis will follow up with Police Chief Dwojakowksi.  Koss sent in a proposal to acquire an old cigarette machine for refurbishment. She suggested putting affordable artwork in the machine for purchase. There are similar machines in a coffee shop in Allen Park and a Whole Foods in Lansing.  Koss also submitted a proposal for a travelling art gallery titled “Let’s Zoom: Self Portraits of our Artist Community”; this project could possibly be on display at the Community Center in the next several months. The artwork would be 12x12 canvasses from artists around Michigan, and there are already 32 submissions. This is open to all residents. Koss will forward the link for additional information. Davis added that it would be nice to tie this in with another event.  Davis stated that the ribbon cutting for the mural on the side of the police department will be held on June 1, at 6:00 p.m. A large American flag will be covering the mural during the Memorial Day Ceremony, and will be lowered for the unveiling. Members are welcome to attend. NEXT ARTS COMMISSION MEETING: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 6 p.m.