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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-07-21 - Minutes -Fayetteville Arts Council Minutes July 21, 2021 6 — 7:30 p.m. City Hall Room 111 (in -person) And Remotely via Zoom Members Present: Cindy Morley 06/30/22, Barbara Putman 06/30/22, Robert Stafford 06/30/22, Lia Uribe 06/30/24, Nick Zazal 06/30/22 Members Absent: City Council member Sonia Gutierrez, Jessica DeBari 06/30/24, Joelle Storet 06/30/23, Oliva Trimble 06/30/23, City Staff: Linda DeBerry / City Communications Project Manager/assigned staff person Guest: Mary McGetrick, Long Range Planning Call to Order and Roll Call New member welcome and orientation Lia Uribe introduced herself and gave a brief bio. Interested in promoting under -represented artists and composers. Individual Arts Council members each introduced themselves. Approval of June Minutes Robert Stafford motioned to table the approval of June minutes until August meeting, to allow all members to review them adequately. Seconded by Cindy Morley. Passed unanimously. Discussion of Arts Council projects to take to Economic Vitality steering committee for funding Robert Stafford: We should see this as an opportunity, Devin is looking for actionable ways to get us funded, so we need to come up with ideas. I don't know where the discussion on the Fayetteville Arts Coordinator is. Nick Zazal: Mentioned a job posting for a Director of Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Assets. Linda DeBerry: That's a replacement for the Director of Parks and Recreation, who just retired. It's not the same as the Cultural Arts Coordinator you are hoping for. Robert Stafford: Recommended that the council ask Susan Norton to attend the next meeting to talk about the Cultural Arts Coordinator position. Sub -committee updates Barbara Putman: Cindy and I were talking bout trying to act as a resource for people who wanted to engage artists. Then we realized that Cache is already doing that. Cindy Morley: We left it there because there's no use duplicating efforts. We will wait and see what they come up with. Robert Stafford: Nick and I and Jacob we were looking into holding a roundtable discussion with Kyle Kellums of KUAF, along with different heads of local organizations, event organizers, and venue operators to discuss how COVID has affected them and what changes they have had to make. Anyone else who would like to join that committee is welcome. Our next step is to have a meeting with Kyle Kellums. Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 Robert Stafford will send information on that project to Lia. He also had prepared a notebook about a year ago that has the current Arts Council ordinance, bylaws, minutes, etc. He will update that and send it to new members, as well as updating the Arts Council Dropbox. Guest: Mary McGetrick, Long Range Planning, to discuss Archibald Yell mural protect We are beginning street improvements on Archibald Yell at the beginning of September. We'd like this mural project to start at the same time, while we have the street blocked off, as it will be safer for the artist. There are two options for the mural: The panels are 12 feet high and 7 — 8 feet wide. There are 20 to 25 panels. I need to know if we want to do a series of artists or just one large mural. Another thing is whether or not we want a theme for the mural. Then there is the budget: We've allocated $20,000 for the project, and I want to hear from you if you feel that is adequate or not. I'm hoping to have a discussion tonight and get some ideas, and then get feedback from you by the end of next week (July 30) so I can get the call for public art out and get it through purchasing to get started. Barbara Putman: Is the $20,000 all for the artist, or does it need to cover supplies? Linda DeBerry: In past RFPs, the budgeted amount has included both artist fees and supplies. Robert Stafford: I think that's on the low side. After material costs, it doesn't leave a fair wage for the artist. This may need to be scaled down; maybe part of it can be done this year and we can get more funding next year, or we could find more funding. Lia Uribe: Even just to pay the artist, without supplies, that is low. Robert Stafford: Where does this funding come from? Mary McGetrick: We have a budget allocated for the project and a portion of that is set aside for public art. There are a couple of other budget areas that we might be able to get an additional $10 - $12,000. Robert Stafford: What's the budget for the full project, could you send that to us? Mary McGetrick: I can run it past the Public Works director and get it out to you. Robert Stafford: Maybe this is something we could ask for from the Economic Vitality Committee, for $40,000 or so a year to get public art out. Regarding a theme: I think if we have a group of artists, it might be best to have a theme to help define the project so it doesn't look patchwork. If we have only one artist, we could leave it open. Lia Uribe: What is the process of selection? Mary McGetrick: We'll put out a public notice for RFPs. The artists will submit those to you and you'll select the artist. Linda DeBerry: For past projects they have sent out an RFQ first and had people send in samples of their work. From that they've chosen a few to send in actual proposals, and those come to the council to choose. The artists chosen to do proposals are also paid a stipend for their work on those. Mary McGetrick: Is that the standard process? That seems like it's going to take a while. Linda DeBerry: It was the process used for the Fay Jones Woods construction fencing. I think it keeps artists from having to take the time to do a whole proposal, and pays them a stipend for their artistic work. Barbara Putman: When we did it for the fencing, it was at least a two -month process. Robert Stafford: What's the target date for the art to go up? Mary McGetrick: We begin the improvements at the beginning of September. That will take about four to six months. But the further we get into the improvements, the more heavy construction work will be going on. Lia Uribe: I would appreciate a process with an RFQ to give artists time to put materials together and get guidance from the City. Robert Stafford: I think it's important to get Joelle and Olivia in on this, too, because of their experience with murals. They can help us come up with a realistic budget. Mary McGetrick: I will also mention: Any budget adjustment over $20,000 automatically has to go to City Council to request additional funding. Robert Stafford: If you look at what Springdale and Rogers are doing regarding investing in the arts, Fayetteville needs to stop asking us every few years what to do: They need to invest money. It's an investment, it's not a cost. If you did each panel with a different artist, people would come from all over to see that. We need to show how this benefits the city, improves quality of life. Mary McGetrick: mentioned a multi -artist mural project in Little Rock that draws a lot of people. Would like to get a group of Arts Council members down to the site to walk the length and talk about it. There are a lot of stormwater outlets that would have to be incorporated. Robert Stafford: These panels would lend themselves to letters: Each panel could be a letter that spells out FAYETTEVILLE. Each artist could do a letter, you'd have the diversity of artists, as well as the cohesiveness of the whole. Bob suggested Mary put out a survey to Arts Council members to set up a time for them to go see it. The timeline is very tight. We may need to have a special meeting to try to set this up. It would be a disservice to rush something like this. It's a large wall and a huge opportunity to do something that's really a landmark piece. Mary McGetrick: Future planning: we have all of 71 B from 151" St. to Township beginning in the next year, which will be getting the same treatment. We've built in infrastructure not only for murals, but bases for statue work in each of the sections. Robert Stafford: Would like to share with you studies from other cities that we have as well, about ways to integrate art into those spaces. We have those reports and can get those to you. Mary McGetrick: I've been pushing to include art in the front end of the project. I will send the council the programming document that has a whole section on incorporating public a rt. Robert Stafford: Moving forward, Mary will send out the survey. Do we need another meeting to discuss this? Mary McGetrick: I would like to at least try to get the RFQ notice out by the middle of August. Robert Stafford: Can get the RFQ out without having the full project design? Linda DeBerry: I think we need to give some definition to the project, the timeline. I think we need to provide that information so people know what they are applying for. Robert Stafford: I like the idea of having one panel per artist because it gives more artists exposure. We just need to decide how much we can do. Barbara Putman: I would like to hear Joelle and Olivia's take on that Robert Stafford: I think this is an opportunity to request funding for this. We can define the full project and look for additional funding. We can get Experience Fayetteville involved. Mary McGetrick: Will reach out to Experience Fayetteville on that topic. I can also reach out to Olivia and Joelle to get their input. Robert Stafford: I think we do need to schedule a special meeting, as long as we can get five members to participate to have a stronger discussion. Linda will put out a survey to find out when people are able to meet. Linda will also send around the RFQ from the Art Fence as an example. Robert Stafford motions to reschedule Ted Jack to come in and discuss public art opportunities in parks. Cindy Morley seconded. Passes unanimously. Other business and public comment Lia Uribe: There is an opportunity with the NEA for a grant called Our Town. It's a yearly cycle of grants for interactive projects that involve the city and nonprofit organizations. I run a project called reflections music series. We are thinking of applying for a grant to bring some artists in and create a project around them called Sing for Hope. Robert Stafford: We can add that to the agenda for the next meeting. We haven't done much grant application. Lia Uribe: This is a direct request for support from the City, specifically it requires a letter from the Mayor approving the proposal. Barbara Putman: Usually there is some matching funds or other commitment required from the City. Lia Uribe: It requires matching funds, but the University has that. Barbara Putman: What I heard before was that if we wanted to do a grant, we had to put it together and send it to someone at the City to write it. Linda DeBerry: I don't think that's the process. There is not a city grantwriter, I think whoever is asking for the money has to do the work. Lia Uribe: This is a cooperative project. I would be writing the grant. I just need the support of the City and the support of the 501 c3 organization. Linda will double check with Purchasing to see what the current procedure is. (Note: There is no City grantwriter. Whoever is requesting the money is responsible for writing and submitting the grant, managing it in process, and reporting on it afterward. The City's Accounting department just tracks the funds) Lia Uribe: submitting of paperwork is in August / September. Decisions are made in July of 2022. She will send an email including the proposal, and will reach out to Experience Fayetteville to gauge their interest. Robert Stafford: I'm sure we have buy -in from the Arts Council, and I think the City Council will be receptive. If there's a cost, there may not be funding for it from the City, but Experience Fayetteville may have the budget for it. Suggests Lia make a list of the requirements for making a grant request and management of it so the Arts Council can present that to the City. No public comment. Adjournment at 7:30 p.m. 4