HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_ARTAB_04.15.2014Minutes of the Meeting of the
Arts and Culture Board
City of Georgetown, Texas
April 15, 2014
The Arts and Culture Board met on Tuesday, April 15 at 4:30 p.m. in the small conference room
of the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street
MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Anderson, Philip Baker, Shana Nichols, Betty Ann Sensabaugh,
Liz Stewart, Amanda Still, and Melissa Waggoner
Regular Session — began at 4:30 p.m.
A. Citizens who wish to address the Board. None were present.
B. Announcements of upcoming events — Liz Stewart announced the final concert of the
season for the Georgetown Symphony Society will be Sunday, April 27, at 4:00 p.m.
at the Kieft Center. She also invited all board members to attend the event for which
they had granted the Symphony Society $3000, the children's musical enrichment
concert at 10:30 and 12:45 at the Klett Center, on May 7. Fifth graders from all over
the county will be bused to this event.
C. Consideration and approval of minutes of the March 18, 2014 Board meeting.
Sensabaugh moved to approve the minutes as distributed. Waggoner seconded
the motion, which passed unanimously.
D. Consideration and possible action to institute the use of City -owned iPads at Arts and
Culture Board meetings — Judy Fabry. Fabry explained the City's interest in reducing
the amount of paper used for agendas and that the iPads would be shared among all
of the City's boards and commissions. Still moved to not use the iPads; Stewart
seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
E. Report about the operation of the Georaetown Art Center since the March Arts and
Culture Board meeting — Gary Anderson. Anderson reported that it is nearly time for
the Benini exhibit to end and the Snell exhibit to go up. Several of Benini's pieces
have sold during this show and 25-30 new members joined Georgetown Art Works
(GAW) during the opening reception and events at which Benini spoke. Approximately
70 people attended the private reception that took place before the public one. The
Hollow catered both events. Dr. Nelson and Mrs. Micki Avery sponsored the opening.
Anderson said they had donated $5000 for the event.
Chair Baker suggested that it would be nice for the Board to write a thank you to the
Averys for their support. He said he also would read the thank you letter in a Council
meeting to draw attention to the fact that the community is doing much to support the
Arts Center. Anderson moved to send the letter; Stewart seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
F. Report on Assessment of Georgetown Airport as a possible location for additional
pieces of borrowed sculpture — Judy Fabry. Fabry showed photos that Dar
Richardson and Eric Lashley had taken when they visited the airport, at the invitation
of interim director Curtis Benkendorfer. Benkendorfer had chosen two sites that he
believed were appropriate: one outside the terminal near a picnic table where people
often sit to watch planes coming and going, and the other near the entrance to the
terminal that is used by pilots. They agreed that both sites were good choices.
Lashley reported that City staff could build the concrete pads that will be needed at
no cost to the Arts and Culture Board. Stewart moved to approve putting two
sculptures on the proposed sites at the airport; Sensabaugh seconded the
motion, which passed unanimously. Fabry will relay the decision to Richardson so
that he may proceed with finding the sculptures to display.
G. Consideration of and possible action to approve purchase of architectural
photographs of the Georgetown Art Center — Judy Fabry. Fabry explained the
circumstances that brought this item back to the agenda, essentially that Eric
Lashley and Gary Wang had tried to reach a compromise price for the photos Wong
had had taken that they thought would be agreeable to the board. Considerable
discussion followed regarding the uses for the photos. Anderson said that they could
be used when negotiating with artists to do a show at the art center. Waggoner
agreed that the interior shots of the gallery would be useful in that respect. Others
said that the photos did not fill the needs of the board or GAW and that they would
rather use the requested $1500 to have other photos taken that would be more
useful in advertising the assets and activities at the Art Center. Nichols moved to
decline the offer to purchase; Sensabaugh seconded the motion, which
passed unanimously.
H. Consideration and possible action on Georgetown Art Works' request for $3500 from
the Arts and Culture Board for the Don Snell exhibit in the gallery in May 2014 — Judy
Fabry and Gary Anderson. Waggoner asked why the Arts and Culture Board was
being requested to pay for this event, so Fabry explained the board's budget and
itemized some past expenses related to events at the Art Center. Other board
members asked about a budget for the event. Anderson said that although he is on
the executive board of GAW, he was not aware of a budget. Waggoner, who is on
GAW's events committee, said that she knows that levels of cost have been
established for receptions that depend upon the public profile of the artist, but she
could not say with certainty what the levels are. The group considered Ruth Roberts'
$1000 contribution to the event and someone suggested matching that. While the
group did not consider not funding the event, the consensus was that a request for
$3500 needed to be justified to be granted. Someone proposed purchasing a Snell
painting during the show so that some money would go to Roberts and some to
GAW. Ultimately, Anderson moved to give $1500 to GAW from the marketing
and promotions budget for the Snell reception. Stewart seconded the motion.
Nichols added that she would like GAW to know that their support would be used for
publicity and promotion and not for food. The motion passed unanimously.
Report on expenses since the March meeting — Judy Fabry. Fabry reported that she
had paid no invoices during the preceding month. She was unable to request a
check for the Williamson Museum until the minutes of the March meeting were
approved. Also, the bill for the ad in the Community Impact for the Benini exhibit
has not come through.
J. Consideration of dates of coming meetings — Judy Fabry. The regular May 20 date
for the next meeting was agreeable to everyone.
Chair Baker adjourned the meeting at 5:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Liz Stewart, Secretary PoilipBaker, Chair",
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