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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-03-16 - Minutes -CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS MEETING MINUTES Fayetteville Arts Council Meeting March 16, 2022 6:00 — 7:30 p.m. Held Via Zoom Video link: https://accessfaVetteviIle.granicus.com/player/clip/8010?view id=14&redirect=true Members: City Council member Sonia Harvey, Arts Council Chair Jessica DeBari 06/30/24, Dwain Cromwell 6/30/23, Cindy Morley 06/30/22, Barb Putman 06/30/22, Robert Stafford 06/30/22, Joelle Storet 06/30/23, Lia Uribe 06/30/24 City Staff: Interim Staff Liaison Alison Jumper, Director — Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs Guests: Chad Maupin 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Meeting was called to order at approximately 6:02 pm. In Attendance: Jessica DeBari, Lia Uribe, Joelle Storet, Robert Stafford, Dwain Cromwell, Barb Putman Absent: Cindy Morley, Sonia Harvey 2. Approval of March 16t" meeting agenda Motion: DeBari Second: Stafford The agenda was approved unanimously. 3. Approval of amended January 16t" Minutes Motion: DeBari Second: Stafford The agenda was approved unanimously. Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 4. Approval of February 711 and 16t" meeting minutes. Putman noted there were errors in the February meeting minutes towards the end of the meeting. Motion to approve minutes with noted corrections: Stafford Second: Cromwell The minutes with correction of section 5b as noted were approved unanimously. 5. Cattywampus Spring Arts Market - Guest: Chad Maupin Maupin introduced himself and explained he has hosted many shows throughout NWA. Some receive funding through A&P but many are family efforts. Shows were put on hold during COVID but are back. Wampus Wonderland show was very successful on very slim budgets. Funding is always an issue. All of his shows are very grassroots efforts. A&P funding is no longer available for the shows. Creative economy is changing. He is hosting these events the best way he can but would love to do it better. DeBari said the FAC is also just finding out what kind of Arts and Culture budget there is. She suggested the FAC may be able to help with marketing or a calendar coordination so shows are staggered so audience doesn't get exhausted. Maupin stated he is not competing with others and thinks teamwork, unity is needed. Putman inquired if Maupin had connected with CACHE and mentioned they have a community calendar. She also mentioned Mid America Arts Alliance as a resource as well as Artist 360. Uribe mentioned a new Artist 360 will open in May and will be expanding. DeBari mentioned the community activator event grant may a good fit for the types of events Maupin is holding. She also noted sometimes it's too late to check calendars as people plan well in advance. Could there be a registration system for art markets to help coordinate? Stafford agreed that is something the FAC could eventually help with. They've talked about creating a resource list. Stafford asked Maupin how many artists participate in the shows. Maupin responded a couple dozen up at Mt. Sequoyah to 100 or so but that's not typical. Stafford asked if the shows are open, or are they are a market? Maupin explained it's a market. Stafford asked how much traffic they get? Maupin responded some shows up to 1,100 and most shows are well attended. He credits the attendance to the community. Also said persistence helps Stafford responded that he wishes he could say the FAC has funding, but the FAC doesn't have funding. The only funding is through A&P. In the past some portions of the downtown parking went to arts. He hopes with the Arts and Culture Director funding will change. He suggested reaching out to Devin Howland to see if he has resources in Economic Development. Maupin said it's tricky spot trying to support the artists. In a perfect world, he wouldn't charge the artists as the mission is to support the artists. Stafford asked if a booth fee is charged, Maupin said yes. Stafford asked if A&P gives a discounted rate. Maupin didn't remember if he received a discount and said the venue is formal and large, which means a different type of show and expectations are different in that space. Mt. Sequoyah provides more flexibility for intimate shows, or shows in different spaces, etc. that drive people to the space. He wants it to be sustainable. Putman says Maupin has such great ideas and he needs sponsors. There are grant opportunities through CACHE and Arkansas Arts Council funds projects throughout the entire state and give funds to individual artists. Uribe suggested exploring partnerships with other organizations such as the Walton Arts Center. DeBari agreed, especially with using storage or props. Putman suggested the Community Creative Center. DeBari said she hasn't been to other art focused events that have been as well attended as Maupin's market. It could make sense for the City to think about art markets being incorporated into the corridor plan. Could there be a City sponsorship? Cromwell said the CattyWampus event was tremendously successful. Maupin said it would be helpful to have tables set up for students/emerging artists. Stafford suggested to connect with Devin Howland and see what opportunities there may be in Economic Development. Maupin said he's so thankful for the experience and connecting to the community and other artists. Storet offered she might have some resources of interest as well and asked to be included on the email with Devin Howland. She was able to help out at a previous market and echoed that the event was good. 6. Selection of Artists for Archibald Yell Mural DeBari asked if everyone ranked their choices. Stafford noted one of the artists has a proposal for small wall that would be great on the large wall. He said going forward it would be helpful to have artists present and available to answer questions. He asked if it is possible to vote for a concept but not a particular location. DeBari said it's reasonable to vote for concept and ask artists questions. Stafford noted at the very least, the artists should know when the work is being discussed. This is the biggest permanent project the FAC has done in years. Putman noted the only project she has been involved with was the fencing (at the Cultural Arts Corridor). DeBari shared her screen to display the submissions and noted her first choice for upper small mural is Austin Floyd's mural. She noted it's funky and ties into the bulldog well. Her second choice for upper mural was Jeremy Navarette's mural. Third choice was Lloyd -Jones's groceries. Fourth choice was D'Antoni's. Stafford requested to look at Navarette's submission. Uribe asked if it would be more effective to talk through each image. The submissions for the lower large mural were reviewed and discussed by the members starting with Navarette's mural. Members noted it felt welcoming, sophisticated, has better relationship with white space, colors measure well with the eye. Stafford noted the curve of the wall and asked if the "Fayetteville" could potentially be repositioned to maximize visibility. Putman asked if it was the entire wall. DeBari responded it was only the four panels. DeBari asked how many members ranked as top choice. Cromwell asked what the cardinal, bi-plane and lightening bug have to do with Fayetteville? Members responded the cardinal is very common in Fayetteville. Storet also noted the cardinal may have deeper meaning and is a migratory bird and from everywhere DeBari mentioned the majority of the members ranked Navarette's mural as their top choice. The members then reviewed Lloyd -Jones's submission. DeBari was impressed with the response from feedback the council gave her. Members generally noted it looks like the graphics are leading out of Fayetteville. Members liked it and wished there was another location for the work. Would be hard to switch the mural around. They discussed the second option from Lloyd -Jones option. Uribe noted she loves the mural except for representing specifically what she interprets as a white woman notes if they could uplift other demographics it would be a great opportunity, but otherwise loves the design. She suggested maybe the figure could be de-gendered and de -raced to make it less specific. DeBari discussed the option of reconfiguring the image to just the triangular shape. Storet asked to elaborate on Uribe's comment. DeBari noted it was hard for her to interpret the race of the person in the mural from the colors Uribe said it was easy for her to interpret from the texture of the hair and very gendered. Maybe something more open would be good. Stafford agreed that was a reasonable request to de -gender and de -race the mural. Storet responded it could be a self-portrait or other, but it was a good point to discuss. DeBari said this was part of her preference for the Floyd mural with the animals was because he specifically spoke about wanting to welcome everyone and was an inclusive thought. Storet agreed that was a good idea, but there may be a better way to express it. Putman noted that the artist intended to label the animals and it became educational. Stafford noted that the words on the Lloyd -Jones mural will instantly date it. If it were chosen, he would ask for some of the words to be changed. Members then briefly discussed the grocery mural. Council members then discussed D'Antoni mural and noted that the intricacies make it hard to read. The separated sections were favored; however, seems to be focusing on a limited number of groups and Fayetteville has many communities. The middle panel was not understood. Stafford noted that he hopes all the artists continue to apply even though they weren't picked for this project and hopes they won't take it as a rejection. The Council then discussed Floyd's mural submissions. Putman liked the cork board. DeBari added she thought it might be hard to paint, may not be a lot of payoff for what it takes to paint. It incorporates many Fayetteville things. Putman noted the cork board mural may create opportunity for people to stop and take pictures and is Instagrammable. DeBari asked if anyone else had any comments on the Floyd upper murals. Storet abstained. DeBari noted there are fireflies on both murals. The Council then reviewed the Navarette mural again and discussed the differences in the mural and if they would be separated enough since they are so different. Stafford commented there is a curve in the wall and it's almost two blocks apart from the upper mural. It's like they are two completely different murals. Jumper mentioned the School District is open to freshening up the existing bulldog mural. DeBari asked about funding for the bulldog. Jumper responded it may be possible, the selected artist would just need to connect with the School District. DeBari made a motion to take a vote to award the lower large mural. Second: Cromwell Motion passed. DeBari took a vote to award the lower large mural to Jeremy Navarette, which was approved. Stafford inquired if we could make a suggestion to the artist to potentially explore moving the word "Fayetteville" to the left. Putman inquired about the budget for the murals. DeBari explained that by applying, the artists agreed to do the work for the set budget that was in the RFP. DeBari made a motion to take a vote on the upper mural. Second: Cromwell Motion passed. DeBari took a vote to award the upper mural to Floyd, which was approved. 7. Other business and public comment DeBari asked if any public wanted to comment Ms. Navarette, Mr. Navarette's wife, commented that they were to listen and thanked the council members. Storet asked about the cardinal in the mural. Ms. Navarette responded the cardinal was an inspiration from Mr. Navarette's grandmother. DeBari asked if Navarette might be ok with moving the Fayetteville to the left. Ms. Narvarette responded he would look at it. DeBari asked if any council members would serve on the interview panel for the Arts and Culture Director. Stafford requested FAC have 2 seats to make sure someone could be there in the event someone couldn't make it. Cromwell, Stafford and Uribe volunteered to serve on the panel. Uribe asked what the demographic representation of the panel was. Jumper responded she was still pulling the committee together but could let them know. They will have both internal and an external panel and offered to send the panelists to them once it was firmed up for their input. Stafford made a motion to request two seats on the interview panel. Second: DeBari Motion passed. Putnam asked if there was any plan to get back in person meetings. Storet noted it's flexible to not be in person and they've had success getting everyone there. Jumper said she can check in with the City Clerk on room availability, it is possible to meet in person if the council would like. 8. Adjournment No motion was made. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:29 pm.