Arts and Culture Commission Meeting

December 11, 2018 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION APPROVED DATE: December 11, 2018 TIME: 4:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, Urbana City Building, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, Illinois MEMBERS PRESENT: Courtney Becks, Barbara Hedlund, Eric Jakobsson, Jenelle Orcherton, Patricia Sammann, Jessica Snyder MEMBERS EXCUSED: Katie Harrell, Sara Jones STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Boys, Economic Development Manager; Rachel Storm, Public Arts Coordinator; Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary OTHERS PRESENT: Lori Fuller, Emily Knox 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM The Urbana Public Arts Commission was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Ms. Sammann. Ms. Reid took roll and a quorum was declared present. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the November 13, 2018 meeting were reviewed by the Commission. Ms. Snyder noted that the there was a typo at the bottom of page 1 under “Changes to the Agenda”. The word “with” should have been replaced with “would”. Mr. Jakobsson moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Ms. Hedlund seconded the motion. All Commission members were in favor of approval, and the minutes were unanimously approved as corrected. 3. CHANGES TO AGENDA There were none. 4. PUBLIC INPUT There was none. 5. PRESENTATIONS  Presentation by Staff: Monthly Progress Report 1  December 11, 2018 Ms. Storm 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.  Presentation by 2018 Grant Presentation: Emily Knox Ms. Sammann introduced Emily Knox, of Makerspace Urbana. Ms. Knox gave a slide-show presentation on their fifth annual, family-friendly event called the Heartland Maker Fest, formerly known as the Mini-Maker Faire that took place on October 13, 2018 at Lincoln Square. This event featured 30 makers from all over Central Illinois, and encouraged a do-it-yourself spirit in the community. It included a variety of projects such as Pat-factory, creating screen prints, Frankenbikes, designing board games, and constructing a quad-copter course. Ms. Knox stated that at least 1600 people attended the event. She stated that the next maker fest would be scheduled for October 5, 2019. Ms. Knox thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard.  Presentation by 2018 Grant Presentation: Lori Fuller Ms. Sammann introduced artist, Lori Fuller. Ms. Fuller gave a slide-show presentation on her project, Acrylic Painting for Artists with Alzheimer’s. She stated that in her conversations with friends who had lost loved ones to Alzheimer’s, she learned that those who suffer from it often feel isolated, deal with quietness, and lack social interactions. Ms. Fuller felt that art would be a great project for Alzheimer’s patients to work on. She worked with the patients at Amber Glen over four Saturdays in October, with each lesson lasting about 45 minutes. The lessons allowed the patients to use art as a social medium, gain confidence, and have fun. Ms. Fuller stated that she had been asked to come back again next year to provide art lessons. She thanked the Commission for the grant received. At the conclusion of the report, questions and comments from the Commission were heard.  Review of Urbana Arts Grants Proposed Changes Ms. Sammann introduced this agenda item. Ms. Storm passed out a fresh draft of the proposed changes to the Urbana Arts and Culture Grant Program, to the Commission members for review. She stated that the update reflected feedback received at the last meeting, and also included more of a process. A brief discussion between members of the Staff and Commission ensued. Following discussion, Ms. Storm stated that she would add updates to the draft and streamline dates for the Arts Grants Cycle for the next meeting. 6. ANNOUNCEMENTS There were none. 8. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Sammann made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Ms. Becks seconded the motion. With no further business, Ms. Sammann declared the meeting adjourned at 5:47 pm. 2  December 11, 2018 Submitted, Sukiya J. Reid, Recording Secretary 3