Arts and Culture Commission Meeting

March 11, 2014 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION APPROVED DATE: March 11, 2014 TIME: 4:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, Urbana City Building, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, Illinois MEMBERS PRESENT: Greg Chew, Robin Douglas, Kevin Hamilton, Barbara Hedlund, Eric Jakobsson, Ilona Matkovszki, John Morrison, Pat Sammann, Ginny Waaler STAFF PRESENT: Tom Carrino, Economic Development Division Manager; Lisa Hatchadoorian, Public Arts Coordinator; Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary OTHERS PRESENT: Raymond Morales 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM The Urbana Public Arts Commission was called to order at 4:31p.m. by Ms. Sammann. Ms. Reid took roll and a quorum was declared present. Ms. Sammann introduced and welcomed Lisa Hatchadoorian as the new Public Arts Coordinator. Ms. Hatchadoorian gave a brief summary on her arts background. Members of the Commission welcomed Ms. Hatchadoorian to the Commission. 2. CHANGES TO AGENDA There were none. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the December 10, 2013 meeting were reviewed by the Commission. With no changes proposed, Ms. Waaler made a motion to approve the minutes. Ms. Hedlund seconded the motion. All Commission members present were in favor of approval and the minutes were unanimously approved as presented. 4. PUBLIC INPUT There was none. 1  March 11, 2014 5. COMMUNICATIONS • Presentation by 2012 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Dr. Raymond Morales Ms. Sammann introduced local artist/producer, Dr. Raymond Morales. He gave a presentation of his project, titled “ILL Poets Society Volume II: The Aaron Ammons Project,” which consisted of a combination of live events, collaboration with artists, and a spoken word CD. There were two live events given for this project. One was on June 29, 2013 on the University of Illinois Quad, and one took place on February 6, 2014 at the Krannert Art Museum. 15 different artists collaborated on this project. An audio CD was produced from this project and content from the project was also showcased on several local TV stations. Mr. Morales thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. . • Presentation by Staff: Monthly Progress Report Ms. Hatchadoorian presented the City staff’s monthly progress report to the Commission, outlining projects in process, recent requests and recommendations from the public, staff activities, and upcoming events. For an update on current projects, she reported the following: • With regard to the Martin Luther King Jr. Park Project, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that the sculpture dedication would take place on Saturday, April 19, 2014. She stated that there would be more details to follow as far as specific events. • With regard to the Urbana Arts Grants Program, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that the jury panel recommendations for 2014 Urbana Arts Grants would be presented during the New Business portion of the meeting. • With regard to the Boneyard Creek Public Art, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that Jack Mackie would be working with the design team and contractors as the last phase of the project progresses towards completion this summer. • With regard to the Fundraising subcommittee, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that staff went to a meeting with the IL Community Foundation. She stated that this could be a solution to fundraising if a foundation was created through them. • With regard to the Marketing Subcommittee, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that the subcommittee was in the process of meeting, but that staff had been working to promote Public Arts along with other City programs through new avenues. • With regard to the Downtown Arts subcommittee, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that the subcommittee was in the process of meeting and planning for possible Boneyard events this summer to coincide with the unveiling of the Jack Mackie installation along Boneyard Creek. • With regard to Annual Planning, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that as the Public Arts Budget was still under review, the budgeting discussion for FY14-15 would take place during the April 8, 2014 Public Arts Commission meeting. • With regard to Art Now!, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that the March episode featured painter and printmaker, Rosalind Faiman Weinberg. She stated that episodes could be 2  March 11, 2014 seen at: http://www.urbanaillinois.us/artnow. • With regard to the Artist of the Corridor, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that a new Artist of the Corridor exhibit by Jason Patterson featured portrait paintings of recent historical figures. She stated that the exhibition opened on February 28th and would be on display until May 4, 2014. • With regard to Art at the Market, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that staff had worked with the Director of the Market at the Square to reserve the following Art at the Market dates for the 2014 Market season: May 10, June 14, July 12, August 9, and September 13. She stated that staff would conduct a call for artists for the workshops and performances the week of March 10th. • With regard to Marketing, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that City staff had been regularly updating the Public Arts Program’s Facebook page, which as of this meeting had 677 fans. She also stated that the Urbana Public Arts Twitter account, which could be followed @urbanapublicart, as of this meeting had 825 followers. • With regard to Grants, Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that staff was drafting the grant application for FY14-15 for general operating support in the local arts agency category from the Illinois Arts Council and was actively looking for other grant opportunities. • For upcoming events, Ms. Hatchadoorian stated that the 2014 Urbana Arts Grants Announcement Celebration would take place on a date to be determined in late March, early April. Other events would be the King Park Sculpture Dedication on April 19th, Boneyard Arts Festival April 10-13th, Illinois Marathon Expo April 24-25th, Working Women’s Expo on April 24th, and start of Market at the Square on May 3rd. She also stated that the date for the next Public Arts Commission meeting was set for Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. 6. OLD BUSINESS • Discussion of Permanent Funding for C-U Folk & Roots Festival Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Sammann opened the meeting up for discussion by the Commission members concerning the proposal by board members of the Folk & Roots Festival to receive permanent funding from the City for their festival. A discussion of the matter by members of the Commission and Staff ensued. Following discussion, Ms. Sammann suggested that the Grants subcommittee look into in-kind resources, other ways to support the arts, and determine if it would be feasible to provide permanent funding. 7. NEW BUSINESS • Presentation by Staff: 2014 Urbana Arts Grants Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that since its inception in 2009, the Urbana Arts Grants Program had funded 110 projects with over $227,000. She stated that the use of the Wufoo system for this year’s cycle, helped to streamline the application process. Ms. Hatchadoorian reported that 40 applications were received for the 2014 Urbana Arts Grants Cycle. Ms. Hatchadoorian briefly highlighted parts of the memo on this agenda item. Commission 3  March 11, 2014 comments and questions followed. She stated that City staff recommended that the Commission review and approve the 2014 Urbana Arts Grant Award Recommendations from the selection juries. With no further comments or questions from the Commission, Ms. Sammann called for a voice vote. All Commission members were in favor of approval and the motion carried unanimously. • Presentation by Staff: 2014-15 Program Planning Process Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Mr. Carrino briefly summarized the proposed Public Arts Program Plan for FY14-15. He asked that the Commission review the proposed plan, and be prepared to discuss and take action at the April Public Arts Commission meeting. A brief discussion of the matter by members of the Commission and Staff ensued. • Presentation by Staff: Hackberry Tree Memorial Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Hatchadoorian discussed the proposed project to memorialize Urbana’s first legacy tree. She asked if two Commission members would be willing to sit on the jury panel for the Hackberry Tree Memorial Proposal. Mr. Jakobsson and Mr. Hamilton volunteered. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Hatchadoorian reiterated that the Jackson Sculpture Dedication would take place on April 19, 2014. She stated that she would email the commission members with official times for the event. Mr. Morrison mentioned that the current artist of the corridor, Jason Patterson, was having a show at the Cinema Gallery. He stated that the show would run for 5-6 weeks. Mr. Carrino stated that he wanted to welcome Lisa Hatchadoorian, and thank her for hitting the ground running in her new position. He also stated that he would be contacting the subcommittees for future meetings to complete the FY14-15 Program Plan. Mr. Chew announced that a large group of Urbana High School students would be performing the musical, “Beauty and the Beast” starting Wednesday, March 12th-Sunday, March 16th. 9. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Jakobsson made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Mr. Hamilton seconded the motion. With no further business, Ms. Sammann declared the meeting adjourned at 5:47 p.m. Submitted, Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary 4