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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20240911 - Arts & Culture Commission Minutes Page 1 of 6 Hastings Arts & Culture Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 11, 2024 – 6:00 PM Hastings City Hall – Volunteer Room 1. Call Meeting to Order Meeting called to order at 6:03 p.m. Present: Chair Hollenbeck; Vice Chair Read; Commissioners Humphrey and Wagner; Staff Representative Lee and Economic Development Coordinator Menke Absent: Commissioners Maner, McCoy, and Tribe 2. Approval of Agenda Vice Chair Read motioned to approve agenda as presented; Commissioner Wagner seconded. Motion carried. 3. Approval of Minutes – August 14, 2024 Regular Meeting Commissioner Humphrey motioned to approve minutes as presented; Vice Chair Read seconded. Motion carried. Lee distributed previously requested commissioner name badges and postcards for email signups to distribute at events. OLD BUSINESS 4. Subcommittee Updates a) Policy & Procedures No updates – did not meet b) Finance & Fundraising Not currently active c) Outreach & Communications - Humphrey and Tribe No updates – did not meet 5. NAPAC – Humphrey Commissioner Humphrey presented handouts—one a flyer for a proposed upcoming event, the other an email from Alyssa Cherry, the new Native American Education Liaison at the school district—for a collaboration idea for Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the school district on October 14th. The idea is to bring indigenous author Tara Perron to elementary schools to read to students and share her books. Humphrey added that Perron is of Dakota Ojibwe descent, which is native to Minnesota. Liaison Cherry would like to know if the commission is interested in contributing to the cost of that event. Humphrey reminded that the commission has been looking for opportunities to contribute in such a way. Arts and Culture Commission September 11, 2024 Minutes Page 2 of 6 Hollenbeck referenced the $1,500 THRIVE grant previously given to the commission to fund the project, which falls in line with the intended use of the donation. The book event has a total cost of $1,650. Humphrey asked if the commission is interested in contributing the $,1,500 grant funds plus the additional $150 for this event. Commissioners discussed the benefits of sponsoring this event, including work with the indigenous community and collaboration with the school district. Motion by Chair Read to utilize the $1,500 grant from THRIVE, plus an additional $150 from the commission’s budget, to fund this author to bring her book event to the elementary schools. Seconded by Commissioner Wagner. Motion carried. Hollenbeck will submit this information to City Administrator Wietecha for the city council agenda. Humphrey hopes the commission will have more opportunities like this to work with Cherry and partner with the school district on events. 6. “Artistry in the Air” Fall Event Update – McCoy Commissioner McCoy was absent from the meeting. Hollenbeck reported that McCoy was not able to secure the Moss Piglets musical group as hoped, but musician Nick Fox is available to fill that now- vacant slot. Read discussed his plan for musician placement at the event. Artists will be placed in prime locations among the musicians. Staff member Lee will confirm we can use the shelter as part of our park reservation. Read also reported that the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is interested in providing artists for plein air painting. Confirmed painters include Dave Youngren, Andy Evanson, and Ryan Johnson. As for other potential painters, Hollenbeck will reach out to Jessie Eckroad, and Read will reach out to Jeremy and the rest. Wagner will secure a canopy tent. Hollenbeck will contact The Studio Downtown to ask if plein air art from the event can be displayed in their venue. She said this will tie in well with the commission’s upcoming Creative Convergence event that may be held at that location. Commissioners discussed the process to pay honorariums to participating artists, as previously approved. W-9 forms will need to be provided for anyone receiving city monies. Read will distribute W-9 forms at the same time he contacts them with event details. He will direct them to send completed W-9 forms to Lee for payment processing after the event. Read will set up a literature table at the event to support the commission and other arts organizations. Arts and Culture Commission September 11, 2024 Minutes Page 3 of 6 Now that musicians have been confirmed, Humphrey will create a flyer and send to Communications Coordinator Skelly to advertise event through the city’s website and social media channels. 7. Creative Convergence Event – October 3rd Hollenbeck said McCoy was not able to confirm the Confluence as a venue for the event. She then emailed The Studio Downtown to see if the event could be held there. She will also ask if plein air paintings can be displayed in their space. Humphrey will create an icebreaker and suggested a bingo game with prizes. She will also create a slideshow of commission accomplishments and event photos. Wagner offered her help. Hollenbeck will email River Valley Band to see if they can sponsor the event. 8. City Hall Tour – September 21st – canceled - Hollenbeck Hollenbeck canceled the City Hall Tour. She said when she approached the Historical Society last month, she received a tepid response due to a conflicting event and volunteer capacity. She added that she does not have the time to commit adequate planning for this event. Moving forward, she wants to revamp the script and reorient the focus including tour logistics, adding a slideshow component, and incorporating the larger history story of the building. NEW BUSINESS 9. Budget Hollenbeck suggested delaying this item to next month’s meeting. 10. Civic Arena Mural Discussion – Read Read reported that eight RFP applications were received, many of which were strong. He said the artists who are not chosen to move forward in the process can be used to build a pool the commission can keep on file to pull from and invite for future smaller-scale projects. Hollenbeck interjected to say she had tasked Commissioner Maner with creating a list of murals and mural artists to use as a resource. Discussion was then had about commissioner retention. Returning to the mural discussion, Read shared that he had intended for artists to include a drawing of their idea—and said some did, some didn’t. He noted we can still see what their strengths are through the past work they have done. Read led commissioners through a vetting process of the eight submissions to choose the three finalists that will be moving forward in the process. He said he was favoring artists who have the experience and track record doing larger murals and those who will deliver on a vast scale. The three artists chosen were Greta McLain, KADA Creative, and Lili Lennox. Arts and Culture Commission September 11, 2024 Minutes Page 4 of 6 Read explained that in the next phase of the process artists will be asked to submit final renderings of their idea, along with detailed project costs. Each finalist be paid a $1,000 stipend to dive into that work and develop a final idea. Motion by Commissioner Humphrey to accept the three finalists – Greta McLain, KADA Creative, and Lili Lennox – to move forward to the next step in the civic arena mural project process. Seconded by Commissioner Wagner. Motion carried. The commission’s next step is contacting finalists via email and requesting specific information on things such as cost, panel use, and installation plans, as well as reiterating required parameters to avoid any surprises. Read will compose the email and forward to Lee to send using the commission’s email address. Wagner asked if it is solely the commission who will make the final decision. Hollenbeck said the hockey board chose not to be involved. Final submission by artists is due October 25th. The original notification date will be changed to November 15th to coincide with next month’s commission meeting. Commissioners discussed payment of the $1,000 stipends to artists to create a finalized concept proposal. Read will include a W-9 form when he sends the notification emails. Hollenbeck will prepare this information for the city council packet and submit to City Administrator Wietecha by tomorrow’s packet deadline. 11. Commission Assessment – Hollenbeck Provide feedback to the City Council for them to make an informed decision about making the Commission permanent in December 2024 Hollenbeck said she is required to give a presentation to City Council at an October meeting in relation to extending the commission’s permanency in December. To make its decision, Council wants information on how/if the current Arts and Culture Commission model is working and any other information the commission would like to convey. She explained that the commission was granted a two-year window because it’s a new model for the city. She asked commissioners for feedback. Pitfalls: • The city does not have an arts department o Commission doesn’t have staff to support them and must do that work as volunteers, which other commissions don’t have to deal with • Lack of department head and support staff o All other city departments go to staff meetings, so this commission doesn’t have that avenue for information on what other departments are doing and how it relates to this commission • Lack of criteria or guidance by the city Arts and Culture Commission September 11, 2024 Minutes Page 5 of 6 o Unclear what projects the city would like commission to specifically look at, so it’s not exerting extra energy into things it doesn’t have to be doing o Should commission be focusing on events (like the Creative Convergence) or on things like the mural and electrical box painting? o Need clarity on city procedures and processes, such as what needs to go before the City Council and when, how monies can be spent, payment to vendors, etc. • Some commission members do more than others • Commission turnover Pros: • It’s nice the commission has been approached by department heads/staff to figure out how everyone can work together • Commission has worked hard and been successful Chairperson Position: • Struggles with having to reach out to departments to find out what they’re working on and to see if the commission can partner on issues • Feels the chair is the lynchpin that will make the commission successful • The commission will succeed on the strengths of the chair • Finding the chair position is a lot of work and responsibility (like setting monthly meeting agendas), which has been stressful Things Learned: • It’s important to find people that are the right fit • How to sell the commission to others • Have defined the commission and how it works • Able to recover when things break down • The time it takes to get things done • Finding a balance with different types of arts and working across the community Read recalled that in the very beginning, he had a conversation with former Councilmember Vaughn when vying for initial support. He said Vaughn worked at the City of Eagan, where there is a Parks and Arts department. He conveyed that Vaughn’s hope was that the City of Hastings would respond to the work of this commission by spawning something like Eagan has. Hollenbeck talked about her desire to look at grant opportunities in 2025 to write a strategic plan for 2026, so the commission would know what its goals are and how to achieve them. Humphrey added that this would be helpful for community knowledge too, so people who wonder what the commission does could refer to the strategic plan. Wagner inquired about commission logistics, such as term limits and expiration, and how that works moving forward. Hollenbeck explained the process for vacancies, reappointments, and term limits. Arts and Culture Commission September 11, 2024 Minutes Page 6 of 6 Hollenbeck would like to continue this discussion at the next meeting. 12. Recap of Action Items • NAPAC Event o Hollenbeck – submit information for city council agenda o Humphrey – contact author once funds are approved at 9/16 council meeting • Artistry in the Air Event o Hollenbeck – reach out to Jessie Eckroad about plein air painting o Hollenbeck – contact The Studio Downtown to ask about displaying plein air paintings o Humphrey – create flyer and send to Dawn Skelly o Read – reach out to Jeremy and other potential plein air artists o Read – distribute W-9s to artists to receive honorarium o Read – set up literature table at event o Wagner – secure a tent • Creative Convergence Event o Hollenbeck – contact The Studio Downtown to secure event location o Hollenbeck – reach out to River Valley band to see if they’d like to host event o Humphrey – create an icebreaker event o Humphrey – create presentation of commission accomplishments o Humphrey – create slideshow of commission event photos o Wagner – send Humphrey photographs for slideshow • Civic Arena Mural Project o Hollenbeck – prepare information for city could packet and forward to Dan o Maner – create list of murals and mural artists to use as resource o Read – contact finalists via email and include W-9 forms for stipend payment 13. Announcements • The HEDRA meeting is tomorrow where they will discuss the HPAC proposal for 213 Ramsey Street and is open to the public if any commissioners would like to attend. • Black Dirt Theater is auditioning for fall show. • Commissioner McCoy is doing screenings for the new community choir. • There will be a meeting to discuss starting a chamber society rather than a community orchestra. • Tickets for the season are now available at Hastings Arts Center. • River Valley Band has begun rehearsing for the Veterans Day concert. 14. Adjourn Vice Chair Read motioned to adjourn at 7:30 p.m. Seconded by Commissioner Humphrey. Motion carried. The next Arts and Culture Commission meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 9, at 6:00 p.m. in the Volunteer Room at City Hall.