Arts and Culture Commission Meeting

September 8, 2015 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION APPROVED DATE: September 8, 2015 TIME: 4:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, Urbana City Building, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, Illinois MEMBERS PRESENT: Barbara Hedlund, Eric Jakobsson, John Morrison, Jason Patterson, Pat Sammann MEMBERS EXCUSED: Ginny Waaler MEMBERS ABSENT: Ilona Matkovszki STAFF PRESENT: Pauline Tannos, Public Arts Coordinator; Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary OTHERS PRESENT: Nathaniel Banks, Rusty Clevenger, Abby Heras, Chantelle Hoagland, Shelley Masar, Cara Maurizi 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 the Nathaniel Banks/BBL Fine Arts Academy grant presentation would be added to the agenda under Communications. . 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the August 11, 2015 meeting were reviewed by the Commission. With no changes proposed, Mr. Jakobsson 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  September 8, 2015 5. COMMUNICATIONS • Presentation by 2015 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Rusty Clevenger from Prairie School Ms. Sammann introduced Rusty Clevenger and Cara Maurizi, teacher representatives from the fine arts team at Dr. Williams Elementary (formerly known as Prairie Elementary School). They gave a presentation on their project, Generations of Traditions and Stories, in which their goals were to enrich students’ educational experiences through arts by exposing them to different aspects of storytelling around the world. They collaborated with the Urbana Community and all four fine arts (dance, drama, music and art). Some of the activities done with the kids included storytelling; West African dance troupe; xylophone playing and drum circles; visual art class with Langston Alston, and a field trip to downtown Urbana to see art. They thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. • Presentation by 2015 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Michael O’Brien from Read Across America Ms. Sammann introduced Michael O’Brien, who was reporting on behalf of Sheri Langendorf, chair of Read Across America Planning Committee. He gave a slideshow presentation of the 15th annual National Education Association Read Across America Day, held at Lincoln Square Mall that featured over 30 hands-on literacy related activities. The event took place on March 7, 2015 from 10:00am-1:00pm. Celebrity greeters, rotary members, and professional storytellers participated in the event which over 1000 children and families attended. He thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. • Presentation by 2015 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Anne Newman from Central Illinois Puppetry Guild Ms. Sammann introduced Anne Newman and Michael O’Brien, President and Vice-President, respectively of the Central Illinois Puppetry Guild. They gave a slide-show presentation on their project titled, Puppet Palooza, which featured 5 family-friendly and entertaining puppet shows presented free for the general public from May 30th- June 27th, every Saturday at 11am. Each puppeteer did different shows and there were about 50-70 people at each performance. They thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. • Presentation by 2015 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Nathaniel Banks Ms. Sammann introduced Nathaniel Banks, Director of BBL Fine Arts Academy and Abby Harris. Mr. Banks gave a report on their project, the 9th annual Summer Music Camp. He stated that the primary purpose of the camp was to provide quality musical enrichment to young musicians, focusing on jazz, gospel, and popular music. The academy targets low- 2  September 8, 2015 income and underrepresented students, but the camp is very diverse. The camp consisted of 10 instructors, 21 instrumental beginning/intermediate students, 6 instrumental advanced students, and 10 vocalists, for a total of 47 people. Mr. Banks reported that the closing concert took place at Smith Music Hall with about 150 people in attendance. He thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard. • Presentation by 2015 Urbana Arts Grant Recipient: Shelley Masar Ms. Sammann introduced Shelley Masar, dancer and director of the project; and dancer, Chantelle Hoagland. They gave a presentation on their project titled, The Ladder Dance, in which ten dancers and two musicians worked together over a six month period to develop a way to improvise together around the themes and the narrative of the coming death of a matriarch in a tribe who lived close to the natural world. There were two performances given on June 26th & 27th at 8pm at the IMC. Ms. Masar and Ms. Hoagland 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 Mr. Boys 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 Art Expo, Mr. Boys reported that in the inaugural year, over 380 people, excluding artists and their assistants, attended the Urbana Art Expo at the Urbana Civic Center on sixteen artists/artist groups had been selected to participate in the first Urbana Art Expo, which would take place on Sunday, September 13th from 10:00am-5:00pm. The artists are Langston Allston, Roberta Bennett, Don Briskin, Allen Creamean, Beth Darling, Fred Delcomyn, Heather Dent, Kathryn Fitzgerald, Caroline Goldsmith, Travis Hocutt, Suzanne Keith Loechl, Sam Logan, Maria Ludeke, Karissa McDermott, Christina Nordholm, Ellie Pinzarrone, Erica Robertson, Carolina Rodriquez, Lynn Hawkinson Smith, Michael Owen Thomas, Jana Uebele, Sendra Uebele, and Nathan Westerman. A Facebook event page and a website www.urbanaartexpo.com have been created to promote the expo and post information about the participants. Three volunteers would be at the Expo to assist with the setup, teardown, and more. On Saturday, September 12th, the night before the Expo, there will be a reception at Pizza M in Downtown Urbana to welcome Expo artists. The reception will be from 5:00-6:30 pm. • With regard to Murals on Glass, Ms. Tannos reported that new additions to Downtown Urbana’s Murals on Glass had been installed. On August 28th, Phil Strang’s Arles Morning was installed on the windows of the Urbana Business Association, and Nathan Westerman’s Slat Paintings was installed on the east windows of the Civic Center. On September 4th, a dedication will be held at 3pm, outside of the Urbana Business Association with a reception immediately following at the Civic Center. 3  September 8, 2015 • With regard to Artist of the Corridor, Ms. Tannos reported that the current Artist of the Corridor is Ellie Pinzarrone, local artist and art educator, and the founder of Ellie Pinz Studio at [co][lab]. An opening reception was held at the City Building lobby on Friday, August 28th, from 5:00-6:00pm. • With regard to Art at the Market, Ms. Tannos reported that the last Art at the Market of the season would be on Saturday, September 12th, from 8:00am-noon. There will be hula-hooping workshop with Braswell Magic and live music by Rebecca Rego & the Trainmen. August’s Art at the Market featured Bone Jugs N Harmony, and Rachel Storm, who taught visitors to make friendship bracelets. • With regard to Art Now!, Ms. Tannos reported that the August episode of Art Now! featured Mike Trippiedi, who is an actor, director, and screenwriter. In the September episode, Pat Sammann interviewed Jess Beyler, an abstract expressionist. Episodes can be seen at: http://www.urbanaillinois.us/artnow • 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 978 fans. She also stated that the Urbana Public Arts Twitter account, which could be followed @urbanapublicart, as of this meeting had 1,525 followers. She stated that the Program’s Instagram account, which was created last month with the username @urbanapublicarts, has 57 followers. Staff also manages a monthly e-newsletter, which currently has about 650 subscribers, and posts about upcoming events on community webpages and online calendars, such as chambanamoms.com and news-gazette.com. • With regard to Fundraising, Ms. Tannos reported that several staff members in the City’s Community Development Department, including Public Arts staff, have been meeting with staff and board members of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) to discuss the possibility of applying for a grant together. The grant opportunities that the group is looking at are NEA’s our town and ArtPlace America. • With regard to Training, Ms. Tannos reported that staff was offered a scholarship to attend One State Together in the Arts, an arts conference in Evanston, IL on September 28th-29th. The scholarship is from Arts Alliance Illinois, who is co-presenting the conference with the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and includes the registration fee, transportation, and accommodation. • For upcoming events, Ms. Tannos stated that the date for the next Public Arts Commission meeting was set for Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. • Discussion: Murals on Glass Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Tannos reported that the murals had been installed and looked great. She stated that both artists attended the dedication event on Friday, September 4th to honor their work that is being featured for the 2015-2017 cycle. A brief discussion of the matter by members of the Staff and Commission ensued. • Discussion: Arts in the Schools 4  September 8, 2015 Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Tannos reported that applications were now being accepted for the 2016 Arts in the Schools cycle. The guideline and application packages were released on August 10th, and the deadline for proposals is October 2nd. She stated that finalists would be selected on October 9th, and the selected few would need to submit their full application by November 6th. Ms. Tannos stated that the grant program had been promoted with social media posts, the public Arts e-newsletter, and a press release. A brief discussion of the matter by members of the Staff and Commission ensued. • Discussion: Urbana Art Expo Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Tannos gave updates on the Urbana Art Expo scheduled to take place on September 13th at the Urbana Civic Center. She stated that 23 local and regional artists would be showing their work at the Civic Center. Staff held 2 orientation sessions to introduce participants to the space and share detailed information about the Expo. Ms. Tannos reported that staff was still working to promote the event, and had been regularly posting about it on social media and the e-newsletter. She stated that after the Expo, staff would ask participants to share their feedback with a survey. A brief discussion of the matter by members of the Staff and Commission ensued. 6. NEW BUSINESS There was none. 7. OLD BUSINESS There was none. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS There were none. 9. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Morrison made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Ms. Sammann seconded the motion. With no further business, Ms. Sammann declared the meeting adjourned at 5:47 p.m. Submitted, Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary 5