Williamsburg Public Art Council

City of Williamsburg Agenda Williamsburg Public Art Council Meeting Monday, February 28, 2022 @ 3:30 PM Stryker Center (Room 127), 412 N Boundary St, Williamsburg, VA 23185 Page I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. January 31, 2022 - WPAC Minutes 2-5 WPAC - January 2022 Minutes - Draft III. CHAIR'S REPORT a. Evaluating Public Art - Five Key Principles b. Midtown Row Meeting IV. GUEST SPEAKER a. Creating a Mural Program - Asa Jackson, Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Contemporary Arts Network V. NEW BUSINESS a. Midtown Row Tour - Pat Dent, Scott Spence & Joanna Skrabala b. Mural Program Open Discussion VI. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for March 28, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 127 at the Stryker Center. VII. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 5 The Williamsburg Public Art Council met at 3:30 pm, Monday, January 31, 2022 in room 127 at the Stryker Center, 412 N Boundary Street, Williamsburg, Virginia. WPAC members present: Robert Currie (Chairperson), Patricia Rublein (Vice-Chairperson), Sarah Balascio (Secretary), Barbara Ramsey, Scott Spence, Harold Philipsen (virtual), Chris Caracci, Pat Dent, Conor Sokolowsky Staff members present: Joanna Skrabala (Tourism Development Specialist), Michele Mixner DeWitt (Assistant City Manager) I. Call to Order Mr. Currie called the meeting to order at 3:32 pm. The new Planning Commission liaison, Conor Sokolowsky, was introduced. II. Approval of Minutes a. November 29, 2021 WPAC Minutes Mr. Spence motioned for an approval of the November minutes and Ms. Ramsey seconded. All approved. III. New Business a. Civil Rights Memorial – Michele Mixner DeWitt, Assistant City Manager Ms. DeWitt presented the history behind identifying a need and desire for an African American Heritage Trail. Ms. DeWitt also presented a map outlining the proposed route for the trail. She said the City found a grant opportunity to assist with overall funding, as well as a tourism-related grant to assist with funding a public art memorial at the beginning of the trail. Ms. DeWitt said a big part of the grant would be to hire a researcher to determine the story to tell on the trail. She said the beginning of the trail would be at the historic pump station where the memorial would also be located. Ms. DeWitt said the WPAC would be in charge of soliciting an artist to create something contemplative and meaningful. Ms. DeWitt reported the following locations would be included on the trail: • First Baptist Church • First office of the NAACP • Former home of Sam Harris on Richmond Road Page 2 of 5  • William & Mary campus • Hearth Memorial • Bray School • Site marker of First Baptist Church • Triangle Building Ms. Ramsey said the Linear Park in Fayetteville, NC could be used as a template for design. Ms. DeWitt said the cost for infrastructure would be around $1.2 million. Mr. Philipsen asked about the timeline and Ms. DeWitt said they would be submitting the grant in February. Ms. Skrabala said there was a separate National Endowment for the Arts grant for the public art piece. Mr. Caracci also mentioned the Tourism Development Fund as a potential funding source. Mr. Spence suggested there could be other opportunities for artwork along the trail and Ms. DeWitt agreed. Mr. Sokolowsky said there were a number of William & Mary students who have expressed interest and talent for contributing, as well. Ms. Rublein suggested adding oral histories about the Blayton Building. Mr. Caracci said this project is also an opportunity to work with Colonial Williamsburg on the 2026 anniversary. Mr. Dent suggested the Truth and Reconciliation group could also help tell the story. IV. Staff Updates a. New Application – Joanna Skrabala, Tourism Development Specialist Ms. Skrabala presented a new application submission for a mural by local artist Steve Prince in Midtown Row. There was discussion over the projected cost of $30,000 and why it was significantly more than the other mural applications. A final design and itemized list of expenses were still needed for approval. V. Chair’s Report a. Evaluating Public Art Proposals: Five Key Principles Mr. Currie said he wanted to shift gears to have an open conversation about what the WPAC is doing. He said he talked with City staff and other WPAC members to draft key principles for evaluation. He said he looked at other art councils to see what they’re doing to represent their communities. After reading through the principles, Mr. Currie said they are what would be used as a guide or tool to review and make decisions. Ms. Ramsey suggested using these principles at the beginning of the evaluation process. Mr. Caracci suggested adding language about “emotional accessibility.” Ms. Balascio agreed and said it’s a line fine between triggering and eliciting emotion. Ms. Rublein suggested a phrase about “varying reaction” or “emotional sensitivity.” Mr. Sokolowsky asked if there should be a public forum for each submitted piece. Mr. Currie suggested Page 3 of 5  pausing the conversation as it relates to next agenda item. VI. Evaluation Discussion Mr. Currie said the WPAC needs to make sure it’s doing its due diligence to proceed appropriately. He opened the floor up for discussion. Ms. Ramsey said she saw many robust murals while she was in Tampa, including “welcome to” signs. She said she thought this could be welcomed by the Williamsburg community because it’s done elsewhere, but questions whether the WPAC should do something different. Ms. Ramsey said Staunton’s “welcome” mural is more artistic and pictorial. She said they did a call for artists to get the right artwork. Ms. Ramsey said she thinks the WPAC has been more reactive to applications, but they need to be more proactive and suggested creating a mural program. She suggested talking to Broad Street about what walls are available. She also said the RFP process could help discern the costs. Ms. Balascio said the WPAC should also be continuing to get input from the community. Mr. Dent reiterated wanting to pause and approve projects thoughtfully. He said a mural program could give the WPAC the opportunity to evaluate and review multiple artworks from which to choose. Ms. Balascio asked how many mural spaces there were in Midtown Row. Ms. Ramsey said she did a walkthrough tour but couldn’t remember the exact number. Mr. Currie said this would be a shift in how the WPAC proceeds. Mr. Philipsen suggested inviting representatives who have created mural programs before to come in to speak with the group and assist in the process. Ms. Skrabala said she would send Staunton’s previous RFP to the WPAC members. Mr. Caracci said he saw two paths for acquiring artwork: 1) through the bid process with public input and 2) donations. Ms. Skrabala said the third pathway would be sculpture submissions on private property. Mr. Currie suggested the next steps would be to revise the principles to include emotional language and have talks with Broad Street about developing a mural program. He mentioned the financial aspect of the program. Ms. Ramsey said by putting together an RFP, it should help focus the funding. She also said that everyone needs to have some skin in the game and the WPAC needs to figure out some guidelines or percentages for funding. Mr. Currie suggested allocating a set amount to the murals and designating a number to each wall space. VII. 2022 Meetings a. 2022 Meeting Schedule Ms. Skrabala presented the 2022 meeting schedule with meetings on the last Monday of Page 4 of 5  every month. She said the exception was May as the last Monday is a holiday. The group decided it would meet the week prior on Monday, May 23rd. VIII. Adjournment Mr. Currie adjourned the meeting at 4:45 pm. _______________________________________________ Sarah Balascio, Secretary Page 5 of 5