Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-20 - Minutes -CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS MEETING MINUTES Fayetteville Arts Council Meeting April 20, 2022 6:00 — 7:30 p.m. Room 111 City Hall 125 W. Mountain And Via Zoom Video link: https://accessfayetteville.granicus.com/planer/clip/8057?view id=14&redirect=true Members: City Council member Sonia Harvey, Arts Council Interim Chair Jessica DeBari 06/30/24, Dwain Cromwell 6/30/23, Abby Hollis 06/30/2022, Cindy Morley 06/30/22, Barbara Putman 06/30/22, Robert Stafford 06/30/22, City Staff: Interim Staff Liaison Alison Jumper, Director — Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs Guests: Chloe Bell, Experience Fayetteville 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Meeting was called to order at approximately 6:03 pm. In Attendance: Jessica DeBari, City Council Member Sonia Harvey, Abby Hollis, Robert Stafford, Dwain Cromwell (zoom), Barb Putman, Absent: Cindy Morley 2. Approval of April 20 meeting agenda Motion: Stafford moved to amend the agenda to move approval of March16th minutes after discussion of resignations. Second: Harvey The amended agenda was approved unanimously. Motion was approved. 3. Approval of February 16t" revised minutes Motion: DeBari Second: Putman Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 Motion was approved. 4. Approval of March 16th minutes Motion: Stafford moved to table approval of the March minutes until the May meeting. Second: DeBari Motion to table was approved unanimously. 5. Experience Fayetteville Guest: Chloe Bell DeBari requested Bell to elaborate on how the arts community can get more involved in First Thursday again. Bell noted the event is weather dependent now. Hours have moved up to 5:30 — 9 to allow time for people to get there. Music line up coming out soon. Bell displayed the artwork for this year by Ashley Cane. Vendor applications are open and is how artists have traditionally been involved. Vendor fees are kept low at $25. Vendor booths are held for personally made goods in Fayetteville or the region. Paid opportunities are available as well for artwork based on themes. Teaming up with Ozark Acres in May to weave looms in plants and grasses that the community can work on. Themes include: June - "In Bloom" 90's Grunge July - "Ozark Oasis" Buffalo River 50th anniversary, watersheds August - "Dog Days" with dog pageant September — "A Closer Look", looking at emerging artists, non -profits, small installations downtown October - "Larger than Life", supersized installation, projection mapping, etc. Putman asked why they are weather dependent now. Bell explained they used to move inside the Town Center during bad weather but moving inside took away from what makes the event the event. Can reschedule to following Thursday in event of bad weather. They do have the ability to reschedule to the following week this year. Opportunities are kept broad within the theme so anyone can respond with their own ideas. May is planned, but they are open to ideas and collaborations for the subsequent events. In the past they would accept vendors for the full season. This year each month is reviewed to open it up to as many vendors as possible. DeBari asked what the process is for letting people know the application is open. Bell responded the post out on website and social media. She emails all previous participants and reaches out to makers group. Stafford asked if they reach out to CACHE, etc. Bell said yes, they work with them from time to time. Stafford noted prior to 2020 we had 2 galleries on the square that were part of First Thursday, but they have moved and asked if Experience Fayetteville are doing shuttles. Bell responded no. They worked with galleries to do a pilot which went well, then COVID happened. During covid they were not comfortable continuing the shuttles. Since then Art Ventures has continued during a shuttle on their own. DeBari noted Mt. Sequoyah also investigated a shuttle but it was expensive. She noted the Phoenix gallery had expressed interest in participating. DeBari asked what the process is for selecting artists for site specific work. Bell responded most of it comes from a concept she has designed, then they reach out to makers they know have the skill set. Said it happens organically, not necessarily as bidding process. She is open to artists approaching with ideas. DeBari asked if she has a full load of applications for the season or is it rolling? Bell responded it was rolling. It's not first come first served. You can apply for every installation still. Putman asked it there is a kid's area. Bell responded yes, it is a sponsor zone and will have themed activations each time. A member of the public inquired what Bell's title is. She responded Community Engagement Manager. DeBari had a question from a Springdale based entity that is interested in participating in First Thursday and asked if they are open to that. Bell said yes. DeBari said there is a dilemma she sees now that people spending their First Thursdays at Art Ventures, etc. that they can't participate in the activities at the Square. We need to find a way to represent the galleries on the square at the event Harvey noted that because the arts were one of the hardest hit sectors during COVID, there could be potential for small grant for transportation shuttling because of lost revenues for the artists. It could be a strong way to support. The next meeting she has regarding grants is end of May and is open to ideas. Putman said small grant opportunity ends at end of month. Harvey reiterated April 30 is the deadline for small nonprofits to apply for up to $5K of funds they may have lost due to COVID. Stafford asked where people can apply. Harvey responded on the city website. https://www.fayetteville-ar.gov/4110/ARPA-Nonprofit-Assistance-Programs. You can also reach out to Yolanda Fields with Community Resources. DeBari would like to explore other ways galleries can be involved in First Thursday. Bell said they have it in their marketing and in their social media schedule. Bell said she'd hope the shuttle would've worked, but she hasn't heard from anyone since. She also didn't want to ask galleries to split staff between the events. Hollis asked if the opportunities can be performance based. Bell said yes, it's open to all forms, however it's small budget. 6. 71 B Mural Update: Guests: Jeremy Navarette and Austin Floyd Navarette introduced himself said he has supplies, etc. ready. Putman asked which mural he was working on. Navarette explained the larger mural at the bottom with the cardinal. Stafford noted he was the person who requested moving the "Fayetteville" but now realized it will be facing the oncoming traffic. He also mentioned the daisies are flowers he sees hiking around. DeBari asked an approximate timeframe. Navarette said 6 straight days once he has access, working two to three days at a time. DeBari asked if he uses a spray paint or what king of tool. Navarette responded spray is tool of choice and will also be using a roller. DeBari asked if you must check from across the street. Navarette said yes, he definitely steps back to look at it. Cromwell noted that with the Mountain Inn coming down, this will work well together. DeBari asked if Navarette had any questions for the council. DeBari asked if he could email when he is about '/z way through. Navarette said he would let them know. He works in a tattoo shop now as an apprentice and hopes to be certified soon. Stafford asked if he had an Instagram account people could follow. Navarette responded Nvest inc. Navarette asked Stafford how he celebrated the first firefly. Stafford said he raises a glass. Austin Floyd introduced himself. AustinFloydartwork is his social handle. He noted he was excited he is also working with school with the bulldog. Stafford noted that one of the reasons his work was picked was because of its relationship with the bulldog. Floyd said he can't start the mural until the bulldog is removed. Stafford asked if there is a primer coat. Floyd said yes, but he must get the old paint off first. Hopes to do all the work at once. Navrette will be pressure washing and talked to concrete company about the wall. He will be sealing before he does his primer. DeBari said she like that the fireflies made it into Floyd's final design as it helps tie things together. Floyd is going to work to blend in the bulldog with this mural. Putman asked if Floyd would still be labeling the animals. Floyd said yes, he was thinking he would do it on the top of the wall but doesn't think that will work. He's thinking through how he will label them. Stafford asked if all the animals are native. Floyd said yes. DeBari asked if he could share his final design once it's complete. Floyd said yes, he can share. Floyd asked about the sidewalk and grass next to the wall and how it will be taken care of, so the artwork doesn't get damaged from maintenance. DeBari asked if it's possible for it to be replaced. Harvey noted the intersection will be redone in the next couple of years. There will eventually be a new sidewalk there. Stafford suggested looking at the construction documents to understand any changes in grade, etc. Stafford mentioned there was some discussion around the theme of the mural and asked for clarification on the thought behind the characterization of the animals. Floyd responded that he went with the design to keep it lighthearted and not step on anyone's toes. To him it represents community and coming together, like the woodland creatures. Stafford noted that is also what he got from it but wanted clarification on it and that for other reasons there were some recent resignations from the council, and he wanted to do due diligence and clarify the intent. Navarette asked if he didn't need the road closure, could he get started? Jumper responded she would connect everyone regarding road closures, and safety 7. Acknowledgement and discussion of Arts Council resignations DeBari acknowledged the recent resignations and said they came to her as a surprise to her personally, but after reflecting understands why they happened. Stafford said he came away from the last meeting feeling great and was also shocked. He had many conversations with other arts council members and friends who do diversity, equity and inclusion work. Noted he thought no one had bad intentions or did anything wrong and wasn't anyone's fault. The conversation should've steadied but remained fluid and kept moving they didn't pause to hear concerns and should have. Impact through actions or inactions can be way different than their intentioned or what they are aware of. Stafford recalled the conversation from the last meeting and discussed that conversations need to be had. DeBari added they should have stopped and let each member weigh in. Stafford added that conversations need to happen even if they are complex. Stafford referred to an article that was written and an interpretation by others regarding the anthropomorphizing of animals to represent other races and cultures and that they should have stopped to discuss. Putman noted they moved on because the goal was to select the artists and they had already decided the didn't want to choose the piece being discussed. Stafford acknowledged there was no ill intent by brushing past the topic, but the impact was the same. Stafford and DeBari felt a statement of acknowledgement was necessary. Stafford read the statement. Council Member Harvey noted she had a conversation with Stafford and Storet and thanked Stafford and DeBari, said the letter was well written. Harvey said the nominating committee is constantly looking for a variety of people on the committee. They can get members there, but really need to listen. The conversation they are having is really important for the entire City. We need to do better. Harvey noted a rubric was mentioned in the letter and they should include if an item is a culturally sensitive topic or not, so it opens the gate to conversation. She asked if they would consider sending it from the committee. Motion: Stafford made a motion to enter statement into record Second: Harvey Cromwell consented for Stafford to sign for him on the statement. Hollis noted she appreciated that they included will happen in the future and appreciated the suggestion of the rubric. Harvey mentioned when we onboard new members, they can make them aware of the process to bring up topics that are important to someone to talk about. It could also set a precedent for other committees. Harvey noted the City is going through DEI training. DeBari noted that Mt. Sequoyah just went through DEI training. Stafford recommended the book White Fragility. 8. Other business and public comment DeBari welcomed Abby Hollis. Hollis introduced herself. She is from Fayetteville. Went to SCAD, fiber arts and fashion world. Interested in developing our fiber artists and all arts. DeBari asked what her day job is. Hollis responded fashion product development. Stafford asked what the correct terminology is for fiber work. Hollis responded fiber artist or fiber organizer Anyone who's term is up needs to reapply for their position. Harvey described the process and encouraged those who have served and want to continue to serve should reapply. Harvey said she would send a notice to the committee when the application periods opens. Stafford mentioned he attended a steering committee meeting for the Cultural Arts Corridor and requested to have Peter Nierengarten to present the Ramble next meeting. He mentioned Rob Sharp has a presentation regarding the RFP for the south building. DeBari said she would reach out to Peter and ask about presenting the to the committee. She mentioned they had also considered inviting Devin Howland, but they decided to keep it to one presentation. Putman mentioned plans have changed since the original plan for the Ramble Stafford inquired if there will be other RFPs. Harvey explained the process and that only one submittal was received in response to the RFP. There have been questions about the submittal if included what it was supposed to. Stafford asked if the City got out the word. Harvey responded yes, as the City does with any project. She said nothing is set in stone yet. Stafford said it seems like the voters voted one thing and along the way it has morphed. Putman stated just because only one submittal was received it doesn't mean it has to be accepted. Harvey said that would be a good question for the engineer. Stafford asked if the plaza is in the construction documentation or if it is still in design. Harvey said she doesn't want to defend the design but explained how the water flow informed the design. Stafford noted he has concerns about the design and the lack of a focal point. Cromwell agreed with Stafford. Harvey said the public is always invited to ask questions. DeBari asked if the there was any public comment. A member of the public introduced herself and gave a brief history of how she came to live here, and noted she was interested in painting utility boxes. She said she was having a hard time connecting with the group responsible for managing the utility box painting program. DeBari suggested she look at the Keep Fayetteville Beautiful on the City webpage. Jumper said she would help get her connected. 9. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 8:11 pm.