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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20230913 - PacketHastings Arts and Culture Commission September 13, 2023 – Regular Meeting Agenda Hastings City Hall – Volunteer Room 6:00 pm 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes – August 9th Regular Meeting Special Guest: HPAC will give brief introduction of organization and we will have a discussion on artistic/creative community in Hastings. a) Strengths/Weakness in the community b) Collaboration between HPAC & A&C Commission c) Holiday Hoopla Event at City Hall OLD BUSINESS 4. Subcommittee Updates a) Policy & Procedures NA b) Finance & Fundraising NA c) Outreach & Communications 1. Meeting with Dawn Skelly/Website 2. Meeting with Ashley (Red Wing) 3. Hastings Creative Convergence a. Discussion of Event b. Name Change from Hastings Creative Convergence to Hastings Creative Community 5. Updates from Commissioner Liaisons with City Commissions 6. Follow up on Collaborating on Events (2023) a) Halloween event with static performers b) Christmas in the Park NEW BUSINESS 7. Create Subgroup to Select Artwork to Lease for Riverwalk 8. Goals for completion 2023 9. Announcements 10. Adjourn Page 1 of 6 Hastings Arts & Culture Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 9, 2023 – 6:00 PM Hastings City Hall – Volunteer Room 1. Call Meeting to Order Meeting called to order at 6:03 p.m. Present: Commission Chair Hollenbeck; Commissioners Becker, Humphrey, McCoy, Skeba, Tribe; Staff representative Lee Absent: Vice Chair Read; Commissioner McGinn 2. Approval of Agenda Commissioner Becker motioned to approve; Commissioner Humphrey seconded. Motion carried. 3. Approval of Minutes – July 12, 2023 Regular Meeting Commissioner Becker motioned to approve; Commissioner Skeba seconded. Motion carried. Commissioner Skeba requested minutes be sent to commissioners earlier than the standard of including with the next month’s meeting agenda so members can see what they committed to doing and chair has something to build agenda from. Staff representative Lee agreed to create and provide copies of minutes sooner. OLD BUSINESS 4. Subcommittee Updates a) Policy & Procedures Chair Hollenbeck stated the City Administrator and City Attorney reviewed the Dale Lewis art lease and provided some revisions. The amended lease was approved by City Council at its August 7th meeting. Per the lease, and as recommended by Parks and Recreation Director Chris Jenkins, the Parks Department requires at least two weeks’ notice for sculpture installation so they can schedule appropriate labor and equipment. Moving forward, the commission will have the Dale Lewis lease for any future projects. And now that the City Attorney has reviewed the lease, the commission can use similar language for others. Hollenbeck clarified the three Dale Lewis sculpture pieces the commission chose for installation are the otter, rock bass, and bicycle tree (will be swapped with current automotive tree). Commissioner Skeba asked if any of these pieces overlap with the sculptures chosen for the HEP grant in Linear Park and if they’d determined a particular site within the park for placement. Hollenbeck responded that they chose the dragonfly and may want to do the otter next year as part of their three-year sculpture rotation. HEP has a separate lease agreement that identifies the piece and where it will be located. Hollenbeck reminded we can help HEP when they are ready. Arts and Culture Commission August 9, 2023 Minutes Page 2 of 6 Finance & Fundraising Subcommittee did not meet. b) Outreach & Communications Red Wing/Honoring Dakota Project: Commission Humphrey reported she contacted Ashley Corvin, city liaison to Red Wing Arts and Culture Commission and set a meeting for Monday, August 21st. A list of standard questions will be posed in the meeting. These same questions will be asked when meeting with other cities in the future to determine the similarities and differences. Other potential cities on the list include Northfield, Mankato, Bemidji, and Duluth. Humphrey invited Nicky Buck from Prairie Island to attend tonight’s meeting, but she was unable to attend. She will be invited to the September meeting. Nicky is heavily involved with community and projects with the Dakota tribe and Red Wing, mainly the Honoring Dakota project events and organizing. Commissioners are eager to explore elevating the Native American experience in Hastings and are interested in Nicky’s expertise in learning how to integrate something similar in this community. All agreed this would be an important partnership. Commission webpages on city website: Commissioners Humphrey and Tribe will set up a meeting with Communications Coordinator Dawn Skelly to discuss information and formatting for the Arts and Culture Commission pages on the city’s website including—but not limited to—tabs for meetings, resources, events listing, plans and policies, a community plan that conveys what commission is doing/future plans, and a public artist application/lease link—while keeping website maintenance in mind. Commissioner Skeba suggested a tab be added that shows people in the community how they can get involved. It was noted that community members also have access to agendas and comprehensive meeting minutes. Creative Convergence: The chosen date for the Creative Convergence event is Thursday, October 5th, from 6:30 to 8:00pm at Artspace. Humphrey contacted Simone at Artspace to sponsor the event, as tenant sponsorship is required for facility use. She also invited Simone to be a guest speaker at the event. It was noted that, while there is no cost to reserve, Artspace will accept donations to their Railway Gallery. A suggestion was made that a bucket be put out at the event for free will donations. The Hastings Performing Arts Center (HPAC) will provide refreshments. Arts and Culture Commission August 9, 2023 Minutes Page 3 of 6 Commissioners discussed ideas for event format, with the goal for attendees to build synergies and collaborations with a preference toward mixing and mingling. Possibilities include an icebreaker game of bingo and discussion of random topics of things the arts community would like to see. Humphrey will create an event flyer and submit to Skelly to post on the city’s website and social media channels. She would also like flyers printed to place in downtown areas that are visible to artists. Discussion led to the need for creation of a community arts schedule/calendar housed on a single platform that lists who is doing what, when, and where. Commissioner McCoy suggested the best alternative may be a communal Google calendar that could be shared by all, and a link could be shared on the city’s website as well. Commissioners agreed with this option, noting that people are not as likely to look on the city’s website when searching for arts activities as they are local arts organizations. 5. Updates from Commissioner Liaisons with City Commissions a) Parks Commission Commissioner Skeba contacted Chris Jenkins, Parks and Recreation Director; Paige Marschall-Bigler, Recreation Programming Specialist; and Bruce Karnick, commission chair. They are currently focused on athletics, athletic fields, and the hockey arena and don’t have anything yet for the Arts Commission. Once those things happen, though, they will be interested to see more sports-appropriate artwork. Skeba will continue to attend their meetings and reach out when there is opportunity for collaboration with Arts Commission activities. b) HEDRA Chair Hollenbeck advised that she had a nice conversation with Alex Menke, the city’s Economic Development Coordinator, about working on downtown things with him. She relayed that next time the city does a strategic plan, the commission would like to have arts included—not only as economic development, but also as engaging in tourism goals. The commission would like to have impact in the community, develop our creative workforce, and give the city an economic boost through arts. Commissioner McCoy brought up a past arts and culture plan done by the city a few years ago. Hollenbeck said she is aware of the plan and talked about it in conversation with Menke. Lee will provide a copy of this plan. Arts and Culture Commission August 9, 2023 Minutes Page 4 of 6 Regarding mural placement, Hollenbeck suggested we choose HEDRA properties— specifically 410 and 412 Vermillion Street—rather than private properties. Skeba suggested exploring LED panels that display art like 3-D signage, which other cities are doing. This form of visual art display is inexpensive and energy efficient. Commissioner McCoy posed the idea to have some of those panels utilized in a location like Oliver’s Grove to serve as a community hub of information and a welcome to Hastings. Visual displays could be rotated for variety and need. He is also interested in approaching Fleet Farm about bringing some kind of art to the back of their lumber yard that faces community and businesses to dress up the big gray wall. 6. Performing Arts on the Trails Hollenbeck said that due to time and logistical restraints, the commission will not be able to host the event this year. NEW BUSINESS 7. Select Artwork from Dale Lewis to Lease for the Riverwalk Hollenbeck said that beyond the three sculptures authorized for lease and placement, there are two more pads available for use. (Skeba said there are three pads available.) She asked if commission was interested in pursuing more art to fill those spaces. Skeba proposed we consider other artists for lease. He pointed the group to Society of Minnesota Sculptors (www.mnsculptors.com) that showcases local sculpture artists from around Minnesota and surrounding states. These artists want their pieces displayed, and most can be done for free. He asked about sponsoring a sculpture exhibition with these artists, who would get to display their art on the riverwalk at no cost. He emphasized that there are more options out there for diversity in artwork and said we should at least be aware of and consider this. Hollenbeck brought discussion back to the leased Dale Lewis pieces and said we will stick with what we’ve selected, with the option to choose more in the future for the vacant pads. She would like to solicit media attention for the installation of the Lewis sculptures through city channels. Skeba suggested also contacting the Hastings Journal. 8. Budget 2024 Hollenbeck met with City Administrator Wietecha to discuss the commission’s 2024 budget. She asked for the same amount of funds ($25,000) that was allocated in 2023. In addition to verbal discussion and agreement, she intends to follow up with a document that ties monies to projects and earmarks leftover funds. She wants the plan to be targeted and concrete. After much discussion, the group agreed funds would be used for performing arts, persistent art, visual displays, and culture educational experience. Arts and Culture Commission August 9, 2023 Minutes Page 5 of 6 Skeba said when it comes to funding in 2024, he’d like to see the commission pursue self- funding options, to pivot to externally funded projects sooner than later. He has ideas that involve working with other groups to get more money and would like to put in 2024 goals what an external funding path would look like—to set up a way for money to come in, where it would be housed, and how to do that because we need a vehicle to generate money to self-fund. He said the group should see what other cities are doing and then talk to the City Administrator about how that would work. Commissioner McCoy reminded there are city policies on donors and sponsors and suggested asking other charitable organizations in Hastings how they do it would make more sense. He explained any funding request would need to be project-oriented with demonstrated use of money as well as clear project details, purpose, and timeline. He cautioned against comparing Hastings to Mankato and how they do things. Though they would be a great source of information, we can never replicate what they’ve done in their college town. Skeba introduced the idea of grants and said there are many grants available for local indigenous people and arts. Humphry asked who would be writing and submitting grants on the commission’s behalf. Skeba replied that we could figure that out, but most foundations have trainings and there are low-cost classes available—and that we should bootstrap it ourselves. McCoy suggested we consider spending some of the commission monies on a grant writer where it makes sense. 9. Discussion on goals for 2024 Hollenbeck shifted discussion to the topic of goals that focus on the cultural aspect of the commission. The suggestion was made that various groups be brought in for cultural conversations to build rapport, relationships, and collaboration. We need to understand what we already have in our community (BR4R, IDEA, Pioneer Room volunteers, Historical Society, Artspace, etc.) Humphrey reminded she will be inviting Nicky from Prairie Island to the next meeting. Hollenbeck suggested they build the commission calendar and highlight recurring community events and decide how the commission can collaborate and participate with other organizations. Throughout the meeting, commissioners generated the following ideas that have been collected here: • Dovetail with existing events in the city (such as Holiday Hoopla, Trunk or Treat) • Trunk or Treat around town, with human statute performance art • Bring in music for Holiday Hoopla • A Christmas in the Park event where organizations sponsor trees for community engagement, all in one location (pavilion under bridge?), where people can walk through and enjoy. A similar event in spring/summer could be done with umbrellas. This would also be a great venue for performing arts. Arts and Culture Commission August 9, 2023 Minutes Page 6 of 6 • Community Christmas tree with ornament decorating • Window decorations in downtown businesses • Ice sculptures are done in January and generate enormous turnout—perhaps we can do similar things during other parts of the year. • Presence/visibility at 4th of July parade and other large town events • Temporary art/sculpture exhibits – run as short-term, 3-week events (year-round) Hollenbeck asked if anyone would like to head up the Halloween event—get contacts and create budget. The group will discuss further. Skeba offered to take on the Christmas Tree in the Park event. 10. Announcements Hollenbeck has been working with Artspace for the Downtown Business Association (DBA) event on September 30th, which will have a fall harvest theme and give people incentive to come downtown and look around. McCoy reported that the recent Music Man performance went well. Black Dirt Theater met goals for attendance and the show had great reception. About 30 percent of show participants were from outside of Hastings. Next year’s performance will be a “revamped” Cinderella. Hollenbeck was at a tourism meeting last week where it was revealed that the attendance for Rivertown Days, tracked through online ticket sales, showed that 60 percent of attendees came from outside the Hastings community—from as far as Iowa, Colorado, and Florida. Becker said the River Valley Band will be starting up in September. 11. Adjourn Commissioner McCoy made motion to adjourn at 7:48pm. Seconded by Commissioner Humphrey. Motion carried. The next Arts and Culture Commission meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 13th at 6:00pm in the Volunteer Room at City Hall.