Arts and Culture Commission Meeting

December 9, 2014 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION APPROVED DATE: December 9, 2014 TIME: 4:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, Urbana City Building, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, Illinois MEMBERS PRESENT: Robin Douglas, Barbara Hedlund, Eric Jakobsson, Ilona Matkovskzi, John Morrison, Pat Sammann, Ginny Waaler MEMBERS EXCUSED: Kevin Hamilton STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Boys, Economic Development Manager, Pauline Tannos, Public Arts Intern; Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary OTHERS PRESENT: Suzanne Linder, Tracy Mapaye, Mai-Lin Poon, Monica Robinson, Angela Wyatt 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM The Urbana Public Arts Commission was called to order at 4:33 p.m. by Ms. Sammann. Ms. Reid took roll and a quorum was declared present. 2. CHANGES TO AGENDA Ms. Sammann stated that a Grants presentation from Suzanne Linder of Amasong would be added under the Communications section of the agenda. . 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the November 18, 2014 meeting were reviewed by the Commission. With no changes proposed, Mr. Morrison made a motion to approve the minutes. Ms. Waaler 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  December 9, 2014 5. COMMUNICATIONS • Presentation by Staff: Monthly Progress Report Ms. Tannos 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 Urbana Arts Grants Program, Ms. Tannos reported that a grant workshop was conducted at the University’s Music Building on December 3, 2014. She stated that there would be two more workshops in December: at Parkland Art Gallery on December 10th at noon, and at the Independent Media Center on December 12th at 6pm. Futhermore, ads are up on smilepolitely.com, UPTV, and the UBA Newsletter. Posters are currently being produced, and will be displayed on MTD buses and at strategic places around Champaign-Urbana. Applicants from previous years (2011-2014) have been notified about this cycle’s program through email blasts. • With regard to the Urbana Sculpture Project, Ms. Tannos reported that Athirst, the last of the six works for this 2014-2016 cycle, was installed near the corner of Race Street and Griggs Street on November 21st. This was on the same day as the Boneyard ribbon- cutting event, which was attended by artist Sarah Deppe, sponsors, and representatives from the Public Art League. Ms. Tannos announced that Ms. Matkovskzi had something to add on the topic of Urbana sculptures. Ms. Matkovskzi read a “Letter to the Editor” that was submitted expressing disappointment with the sculptures in Urbana. • With regard to the Fundraising subcommittee, Ms. Tannos reported that Staff would send a Holiday Season e-mail blast to direct subscribers to the Urbana Public Arts’ online donation page. • With regard to Marketing, Ms. Tannos reported that City staff had been regularly updating the Public Arts Program’s Facebook page, which as of this meeting had 756 fans. She also stated that the Urbana Public Arts Twitter account, which could be followed @urbanapublicart, as of this meeting had 1,240 followers. She stated that the Program’s Instagram account, which was created last month with the username @urbanapublicarts, has 10 followers. Staff is designing a marketing brochure to highlight the public artworks in Urbana. • With regard to Downtown Arts Subcommittee, Ms. Tannos reported that Staff was currently planning an event at Boneyard on April 11, 2015. She stated that the plan was to have performances, activities for kids, food trucks, an arts exhibition by Boneyard Arts Festival, and possibly a call for banner art and street art. Staff will work with Jack Mackie to have him attend the event. • With regard to Artist of the Corridor, Ms. Tannos reported that the current exhibition, which ends on February 1, 2015, features the watercolors of Carol Diss Farnum. She stated that the next exhibition would start on February 2nd, featuring works by students from Wiley Elementary School. • With regard to Art Now!, Ms. Tannos reported that in the November episode, sculptor Rick Larimore was profiled and that December’s episode would premier on December 2  December 9, 2014 1st and feature the sculptures of Christiane T. Martens. Episodes can be seen at: http://www.urbanaillinois.us/artnow • With regards to Art in the Schools, Ms. Tannos reported that Rusty Clevenger from Prairie Elementary School would be presenting his proposal later in the meeting. She also stated that the Arts in the Schools subcommittee met and agreed that the $3000 available could be used to fund a single project this year, although clear goals and programs would need to be defined before the next fiscal year. • For upcoming events, Ms. Tannos stated that the date for the next Public Arts Commission meeting was set for Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. • Presentation by 2014 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Mai-Lin Poon from University of Illinois Asian American Cultural Center Ms. Sammann introduced Tracy Mapaye, intern at the Asian American Cultural Center. Ms. Mapaye gave a slide-show presentation on their event, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month AsiaFest Celebration, that took place on May 3, 2014. She stated that the event has been around for 7 years and that attendance this year went from 250 to over 1500 attendees. During this event, free performances and interactive cultural booths were offered to the community. There were 9 cultural performances with over 40 different performers. Ms. Mapaye thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. • Presentation by 2014 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Suzanne Linder, Amasong Ms. Sammann introduced Suzanne Linder, member of Amasong, which is Champaign-Urbana’s premier lesbian-feminist chorus. Ms. Linder gave a presentation on their project titled, “Returning to Our Roots: The 11th Sister Singers Network National Women’s Choral Festival”. The Festival was held from July 23-26, 2014. The first performance was free and took place in the lobby of Krannert Art Center with about 150 community members in attendance. The Festival consisted of 16 choruses, 5 different concert blocks, and 33 workshops provided by volunteers. 450 tickets were sold to the Champaign-Urbana public. Ms. Linder thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. 6. NEW BUSINESS There was none. 7. OLD BUSINESS • Arts in the School: Presentation by Rusty Clevenger from Prairie Elementary School Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Rusty Clevenger, Visual Arts Teacher at Prairie & Wiley Elementary Schools; and Angela Wyatt, Dance & Drama Teacher at Prairie & Thomas Paine 3  December 9, 2014 Elementary Schools addressed the Commission. They presented their proposal called “Generations of Traditions & Stories” where the purpose would be to enrich students’ learning and understanding of the world through storytelling and celebrations. A brief discussion of the matter by members of the Staff and Commission ensued. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS There were none. 9. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Sammann made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Ms. Matkovskzi seconded the motion. With no further business, Ms. Sammann declared the meeting adjourned at 5:34 p.m. Submitted, Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary 4