Arts Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Arts Commission Wednesday, January 15, 2025 7:00 PM Online and Redwood Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Veith called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Chair Agnes Veith Vice Chair Kathryn Filley Commissioner Dawna Eskridge Commissioner Molly Kauffman Absent: 1 - Commissioner Winnie Lam Council Liaison Mehlinger (present) STUDY SESSION 1 25-0081 Discuss Commission Projects for 2025 Public Art Manager, Kristin Dance, along with Recreation Services Manager, Trenton Hill, provided a presentation on the 2025 Projects Discussion. Highlights included: Hands on the Arts, Arts and Humanities Month and 2025 Suggested Projects (Neighborhood Association Projects, Dancing and Music at the Amphitheater, and Community Banners). Michelle Perera, Director of Library and Recreation, added that music and dance can be added as a possible project for the commission to consider, but at a small scale. Additionally, putting out a survey in the next year would be good to see what the public is interested in. Commissioners inquired and staff responded. Can you explain the scale of the "small scale murals?" 4-feet by 5-feet, or 3-feet by 4-feet murals that could be put on blank, city-owned walls throughout the city. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Arts Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 15, 2025 Can we have performers in the amphitheater as well? Yes, but the amphitheater doesn't have a lot of shade, so we will need to consider the time of day. Would it be possible to have a spoken word event during Arts and Humanities month at the amphitheater? Yes. What would the budget be for at a spoken word event? It depends. For a simple event, such as a poetry reading, poetry slam, or a reader's theater, performance fees and staff time would be required. A Shakespeare performance could require several paid actors and set production costs as well. What kind of a lead time do we need in order to use the city amphitheater? We require a minimum of a 60 day lead time for any event, however, depending on the scale of the event, it could be longer. Is it possible to have a literary event at the city amphitheater? Yes. Can we do the canvases at Washington Park in addition to a literary event? Its up to the commission since they would need to staff both. We already have the process established for the canvases, and there are people that may be looking forward to it since they have participated in the past. However, the commission can recommend additional projects that they want us to focus on. Are we able to have temporary paintings at City Line? City Line is a private development and already has a public art plan, so we need to do further research to see if that is possible. Would the commission need to write the survey questions? Staff can assist with writing a survey, but only the projects that require funds from the Public Art Fund need a survey. If a neighborhood association wants to do a project, independent of the other neighborhood associations, would they have to go to a council meeting and do a presentation in order to access funds for public art in their neighborhood? The public art fund is for city projects. The neighborhood associations have the ability to apply for grants for community events, which can include art projects. Kristin noted that the commissioners should think of projects to bring forward to the City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Arts Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 15, 2025 February meeting for a vote. Commissioner Lam, who attended virtually as a member of the public, mentioned that some members of the public have expressed interest in painting fire hydrants around the city. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 2 25-0078 Approve the Arts Commission Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2024 Approve the Arts Commission Minutes of November 20, 2024 as submitted. Commissioner Kauffman moved and Vice Chair Filley seconded the motion to approve the Arts Commission Minutes of November 20, 2024 as submitted. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Veith Vice Chair Filley Commissioner Eskridge Commissioner Kauffman No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Lam PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 3 25-0079 Rank 2025 Study Issues Commissioners collectively discussed the study issues. Staff conducted a random voice vote. See the study issue ranking results below: 1. DPW 24-01 Evaluate Feasibility of an Art Crosswalks Program or Policy 2. LRS 25-02 Aligning Public Art with Sunnyvale's Sustainability Commitment Commissioner Kauffman moved and Commissioner Eskridge seconded the motion to approve the 2025 Study Issues ranking, with the recommendation to Council to drop study issue ESD 25-01. City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Arts Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 15, 2025 The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Veith Vice Chair Filley Commissioner Eskridge Commissioner Kauffman No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Lam STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES None. NON-AGENDA ITEMS AND COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Veith, thanked everyone for providing input to the questions put forth to Council for the board and Commission applications for individuals that are interested in joining the Arts Commission which will have two seats available in June. Council voted on and approved the following: "What role do think public art plays in a city?" and "as an Arts Commissioner, how would you prioritize and include visual, literary, interactive, and performing arts to embody the cultures of our diverse community?" Chair Veith also announced there is a seat in The Board of Library Trustees, and recruitment is underway. -Staff Comments Kristin Dance, public art manager, has announced that most of Suns of Sunnyvale sculptures have been received, and the planning of a formal launch is underway. Recording Officer Ricky Le, announced the "Point in Time" initiative needs more volunteers to participate on January 22nd if anyone is interested. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 4 25-0080 Arts Commission Proposed Study Issues, Calendar Year: 2026 ADJOURNMENT Chair Veith adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4