HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_ARTAB_09.16.2014Minutes of the Meeting of the
Arts and Culture Board
City of Georgetown, Texas
September 16, 2014
The Arts and Culture Board met on Tuesday, September 16 at 4:30 p.m. in the small conference room
of the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8t Street
MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Anderson, Philip Baker, Shana Nichols, Liz Stewart and Melissa
Waggoner
Regular Session — Chair Philip Baker called the meeting to order at 4:37 p.m.
A. Citizens who wish to address the Board. None were present.
B. Announcements of upcoming events —Liz Stewart reminded the Board that Senior University
will resume in late September. Sam Pfiester will give the free kick-off lecture, about fracking,
at 7:30 p.m. on September 25 in the Sun City Ballroom.
C. Consideration and approval of minutes of the August 19, 2014 Board meeting. Gary
Anderson moved to approve the minutes as distributed. Liz Stewart seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
D. Report regarding the operation of the Georgetown Art Center from August 19 through
September 15, 2014 — Eric Lashley, Gary Anderson. Lashley reported the door count from
August 2 — September 9 was 1857. The Great Outdoors show went up on September 1 and
will hang until September 30. Anderson and Melissa Waggoner reported very good
attendance at the opening reception. Some pieces from the show already have sold. Art Hop
is the next show. Pieces will be shown at the Georgetown Public Library, Cianfrani's Coffee
Company, Artisan's Connect, and the Art Center. Sarah Parent Ramos will show her
sculpture during November. The Art Center is sponsoring a special plein air painting event on
Saturday, September 20, on the Square.
E. Report regarding Council approval of the Operating Agreement for the Georgetown Art Center
presented on August 26, 2014. Eric Lashley. Lashley said that the new three-year Operating
Agreement had been approved with only the change of one word (changing "financial report"
to "financial statement"). The mayor has signed the agreement and it presently is in the City
Attorney's office for signature. Diane Gaume still needs to sign for Georgetown Art Works.
F. Report on the meeting with Ann Graham, Executive Director of Texans for the Fine Arts, on
September 12, 2014. Eric Lashley. Lashley passed out copies of an email he had received
from Jim Bob McMillan, who is with the Texas Commission on the Arts. The email (made a
part of these minutes) outlined recent developments in the Cultural District program and grant
opportunities that are available to Cultural Districts. He also said that representatives of
Texans for the Arts would be visiting each of the State Cultural Districts as they gear up to
lobby the legislature for more grant money for the Cultural Districts.
Lashley took Ms. Graham on a tour of the downtown, highlighting the assets in the Cultural
District. At noon she took part in an informal gathering of representatives of the Palace
Theater, Williamson Museum, Heritage Society, Georgetown Art Center, Georgetown
Symphony Society, Main Street, and the Arts and Culture Board (Philip Baker). Baker
reported that the gathering was very useful and there were many good ideas about how the
various entities could work together to promote the Cultural District. Lashley has suggested
that this group should work with the City webmaster as the arts.georgetown webpages are
redone. The local group plans to meet regularly for brown bag lunches on the second
Tuesday of each month.
G. Consideration and possible action reaardina motion oassed durina the Auaust 19, 2014 Arts
and Culture Board meetina to thank people who supported the Art Center durina its first vear
of operation. Judy Fabry. Fabry reiterated the motion that called for a quarter -page ad in the
Sun and a rack card that would be distributed from the Art Center during Gallery
Georgetown, which takes place in October. She said that the decision had not been clear
about who exactly would be thanked and she asked for guidance. Extensive discussion
followed, concluding with a motion by Waggoner that Chair Baker would sign a letter of
appreciation to Preston and Sarah Stone for their sponsorship of the Rene Alvarado
exhibit and the ad in the Sun would be thanks to everyone who had contributed to the
successful first year of operation of the Georgetown Art Center. Shana Nichols
seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Waggoner moved to rescind the motion made on August 19. Stewart seconded the
motion, which passed unanimously.
H. Report reciardina the exoenditure of funds from the Arts and Culture Board budaet and
consideration of expenditures for the remainder of the fiscal year. Judy Fabry, Eric Lashley.
Fabry noted the expenses that had been paid during the previous month: $3600 for the Art
Center's wish list, $2000 to Nick Ramos for design of the Cultural District banners, $3000 to
Ideal Signs for production of the banners, and $102.76 to Texas Department of Public Safety
for background checks for Art Center volunteers. Discussion followed about how the
remaining $6,062 in the budget should be spent. Lashley outlined several options, including
paying for a group ad to advertise all arts events taking place in October, sponsoring part of
the cost of Gallery Georgetown, and giving unsolicited grants to local arts organizations that
had received grants from the Board earlier this year.
Lengthy discussion followed, including expression of concern about the way in which Gallery
Georgetown is funding the event this year. Artists have been asked to contribute works that
will be sold to benefit the event. Gary Anderson believes that the event should be celebrating
the work of artists and not asking them to give away their work to support the galleries. He
therefore asked that no money be given to Gallery Georgetown. Other board members
favored providing scholarships for children through any of the arts organizations that offer
programming for children, such as the Palace, the Art Center, and Vivace Youth Orchestra.
Stewart said that she believed J.D. Janda, director of the Vivace Orchestra, would know
immediately whether scholarships might be needed in his program. Lashley said he would
talk with Janda.
Waggoner moved to disburse up to $5500 among the following entities, with discretion
being given to Lashley regarding how it might be divided:
The Festival of the Arts
Palace Theater
Georgetown Symphony Society
Williamson County Symphony Orchestra
Williamson Museum
Vivace Youth Orchestra
Stewart seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Consideration and possible action to approve fiscal year 2014-2015 Arts and Culture Board
budget. Eric Lashley. Lashley passed out a sheet (made a part of these minutes) showing a
proposed budget for the $50,000 that the Board will receive. He noted that considerably less
has been allotted for the Art Center than during the past year. He also said that funds for
marketing should be used to advertise the Cultural District instead of just the Art Center. A
continuing focus will be on public art, including the sculpture tour, support of the annual
Texas Society of Sculptors summer show at the library, and purchase of art for the City.
Nichols moved to accept the proposal as submitted. Stewart seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
Consideration of dates of coming meetings. Eric Lashley. All members present said they would
be able to attend the regularly scheduled October meeting.
Chair Baker adjourned the meeting at 6:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Liz Stewart, Secretary
I
Philip Baker,Jhair
Eric Lashley
From: Jim Bob McMillan <jimbob@arts.state.tx.us>
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2014 4:03 PM
To: Eric Lashley
Subject: Cultural District Update
Importance: High
Dear Eric:
Good afternoon. I wanted to touch base with you and let you know a few things that are coming up.
The TCA's Commission met on September 4`h and voted to designate the Downtown Bryan Cultural District and
Houston's Greater East End Cultural District.
In the corning months, the Texas Commission on the Arts will be working through the legislative process on our
appropriations for the upcoming biennium, and a part of the request includes an initiative to realize a substantial pool
of dollars to fund the State of Texas Cultural Districts. In partnership with Texans for the Arts and the Texas Cultural
Trust, we will approach the elected officials in the state and inform them of the great work you are doing in your
community with the cultural district you run. Be prepared for representatives from Texans for the Arts to be in touch
with you regarding this legislative initiative.
The Texas Commission on the Arts convenes a statewide conference in Austin every other year during the legislative
,ession to bring interested constituents together for professional development. This event will be held on January 29
and 30, in conjunction with Texans for the Arts "Arts Advocacy Day," on January 28, 2015. Let me know if you would
be interested in attending the conference, and if you would like to meet with representatives from other Texas
cultural districts to discuss common issues and challenges. Please let me know if you have an interest in attending the
conference in Austin next January.
I am reminding you that your designation as an official State of Texas Cultural District brings the opportunity to apply
for grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts. Your cultural district is eligible to apply for Arts Respond Project
funds from the Texas Commission on the Arts. These funds are available twice a year (July 15 deadline for projects that
begin between September 1 and March 31 and January 15 deadline for projects that begin between April 1 and August
30). All projects must conclude by August 31 of the fiscal you apply.
The minimum request is $1,000 and the maximum is 50% of the project budget. TCA is not allowed to fund organizations
more than 25% of their previous year's cash operating budget. So, if your budget for the previous year was $58,000,
then the most that TCA could fund a project would be $14,500. Typically, these projects are funded with awards ranging
between $1,000 at the bottom and $8,500 on the top. To review the types of projects that have been successful, spend
some time looking at the most recent round of grant awards listed here: httpj/ www:arts.texa�gv/citiesl5/cities
Finally, these projects must be related to one of the five priorities of Texas government. The priorities include
education, health and human services, economic development, public safety and criminal justice, and finally agriculture
and natural resources. You can read about each priority below in the grant description, but if you have questions or
want to discuss ideas with me, please feel free to call me at 512/936-6572.
Your cultural district has a grant account with TCA, and you should have received an email that gave you the user name
and password. If you cannot locate that information, please give me a call.
Here is the link to our grant guidelines for Arts Respond Projects:
https://www2.ar*ts.state.tx..us/tcagr-an!ZTXAr-tsPlan/ARP.h-tm
Here is the description of the grant program:
Arts Respond Project
Eligibility: Arts Organizations, Established Arts Organizations, Minority Arts Organizations, Rural Arts Providers, TCA
Cultural District
Intent: See individual priority areas
This program provides project assistance grants on a short-term basis and may include administrative costs directly
related to the project.
Projects must address ONE of the following priority areas:
• EDUCATION
Intent: Projects that use art to promote innovations in K-12 education. Designed for projects that impact K-12
students in a school setting or during the school day in conjunction with school officials. Must be TEKS aligned
(public schools).
• HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Intent: Projects that use art to improve human health or functioning. Designed for projects that focus on health
related topics, serve specific populations, or occur in a health care or human service setting (hospital, clinic,
senior activity center, women's shelter, homeless shelter, etc).
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Intent: Projects that use art to diversify local economies, generate revenue, and attract visitors and investment.
Designed for projects that focus on job growth or cultural tourism (festivals, gallery walks, art fairs, etc).
• PUBLIC SAFETY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Intent: Projects that use art to prevent juvenile delinquency and recidivism in youth and adults. Designed for
projects that focus on at -risk youth or incarcerated populations (after school program, juvenile detention center,
adult prison, alternative learning center).
• NATURAL RESOURCES & AGRICULTURE
Intent: Projects that use art to understand and/or improve the ecological and agricultural environment.
Designed for projects that occur in rural counties (festivals, fairs, exhibitions, performances) or focus on natural
resources (oil, water, green art, ecological issues).
Grant Type: Sem i -annual
Application Limit: Organizations may submit up to two applications per deadline. Over the course of TCA's fiscal year,
organizations may address up to four of the priority areas through Arts Respond. Organizations should not submit more
than one application addressing the same priority area per fiscal year.
Minimum Request: $1,000
Maximum Request: 50% of project budget
Match Requirement: dollar for dollar (1:1)
Application Deadline: July 15 for projects beginning Sept. 1 through March 31; January 15 for projects beginning April 1
through Aug. 31
Attachments Deadline: Postmarked July 15 for projects beginning Sept. 1 through March 31; January 15 for projects
beginning April 1 through Aug. 31
`:riteria: see Application Review Criteria
:;lick here for ineligible requests
Click here for attachments checklist
• i i ' • i I • . • s • • 1
Art Center Expenses $3,000
OMMMIEW 1=111,
Public Art/Sculpture Tour $15,000
Scholarships & Grants $20,000
TOTAL $50,000