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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes_ARTAB_11.17.2015Minutes of the meeting of the Arts and Culture Board City of Georgetown, Texas November 17, 2015 The Arts and Culture Board met on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in Classroom 211 of Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Anderson, Steve Harris, Shana Nichols, Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Liz Stewart, Amanda Still and Melissa Waggoner STAFF PRESENT: Eric Lashley- Library Director, Dana Hendrix- Fine Arts Librarian, Lawren Weiss - Administrative Assistant Chair Sensabaugh called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. Regular Session A. Citizens who wish to address the board. — None were present. B. Introduction of City Manager, David Morgan. — Eric Lashley. Lashley reported that the City Manager had to re -schedule his visit to an Arts & Culture Board meeting for January 19, 2016. C. Announcements of upcoming arts and culture events. — Georgetown Symphony Society's December concert will be held on the 6th at 4 pm at the Klett Center. GSS will showcase the annual holiday concert, "Home for the Holidays" with the Temple Symphony Orchestra. The Live Music at the Library series continues with the Austin Flute Project on December 20 and Kiyoshi Tamagawa on January 17. D. Consideration and approval of the minutes of the October 13, 2015 Arts & Culture Board meeting. Board members reviewed the minutes from the previous month. Liz Stewart moved to approve the minutes as distributed. Steve Harris seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. E. Consideration and possible action regarding the 2015- 2016 mural project. — Eric Lashley. At the beginning of fiscal year 2015- 2016, the Board voted to allot $4,500 of the regular budget for a mural project. Lashley informed the board that Convention and Visitor's Bureau Manager Cari Miller expressed an interest in having a mural painted on the back of the CVB building, located on 103 W. 7 th Street. The proposed project would include a Red Poppy theme, which will encourage artists to tell the story of Henry "Okra" Compton, the man credited with bringing red poppies to Georgetown. Lashley proposed sending out a call for proposals on November 18, 2015 with a proposal deadline in January. Board members will select the mural artist during the January meeting. The mural must be completed in April before the Red Poppy Festival. Lashley asked the Board to consider funding this project. After some discussion, Gary Anderson made a motion to proceed with the Red Poppy Mural Project. Steve Harris seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Lashley presented an idea to bring a red poppy display by Jen Rose and Clive Siegle to the downtown area, to go along with the mural for the Red Poppy Festival. These poppies are ceramic and have metal stakes that would be inserted in the ground, to give the illusion of real flowers. The board reviewed the handout Lashley provided (attached to these minutes) and expressed interest in this project. Board members asked Lashley to contact the artist for more details. F. Consideration and possible action regarding 2015 — 2016 grant proposals. — Eric Lashley. Lashley reviewed grant applications with the board and discussed ineligible applicants. Board members agreed that the Georgetown Ballet is not eligible because the proposed performances take place after the grant period ends in September 2016. Susie Flatau is ineligible for this fiscal year's grant funds because the proposal was turned in past the deadline. Lashley explained that the Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association will be receiving help to renovate the "Shotgun House" through other City of Georgetown funds via the Downtown West Project. Following some discussion, Board members chose to award each eligible organization 76% of their grant requests. Grants will be awarded as follows: ® Festival of the Arts - $2,280 • Frost Elementary - $2,230 ® Georgetown Art Works - $2,280 • Georgetown Heritage Society - $1,520 ® Georgetown Symphony Society - $2,280 • Georgetown High School's Theatre Department - $1,520 ® Handcrafts; Unlimited - $1,140 ® Palace Theatre - $2,280 • Williams Elementary - $1,508 ® Williamson County Symphony Orchestra - $2,280 ® Williamson Museum - $760 Amanda Still moved to award all eligible 2015 — 2016 grant applicants 76% of their funding requests. Melissa Waggoner seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. G. Report on the Texans for the Arts Foundation's Arts Funding & Leadership Development Workshop on February 24, 2016 in Waco, Texas. — Eric Lashley. Lashley reminded the Board that they are invited and encouraged to attend the Texans for the Arts Foundation's Arts Funding & Leadership Development Workshop on February 24, 2016 in Waco, Texas. Members interested in attending should let Lashley know as soon as possible, so we can register for the event. H. Report on the Sculpture Tour. — Dana Hendrix. Hendrix discussed changes made regarding the City of Georgetown Sculpture Tour. Hendrix projected the arts.georgetown.org website and explained that sculptures featured in the Sculpture Tour will no longer be presented to the public in a brochure, and instead be showcased on the arts website. She also passed out a map (attached to these minutes) that will show the locations where sculpture can be enjoyed by the community. When it's time to re -set the art at any location, the City will send an official letter to artists requesting that their piece(s) be removed. The Sculpture Tour will consist of 4 or 5 locations with sculpture from many different local artists. Report from Georgetown Art Works regarding the operation of the Georgetown Art Center during the month of October. —Eric Lashley. The Board reviewed the report from Georgetown Art Works regarding the Art Center's operation during October. Board members discussed the Small Works exhibit at the Georgetown Art Center, where board member Gary Anderson also has a piece on display. Lashley explained that Georgetown Art Works plans to elect new board members during their December meeting, so the new members can begin serving in January. J. Report on the proposed second floor co-op space above Georgetown Art Center. — Eric Lashley. Lashley updated the Board about the vacant space above Georgetown Art Center. K. Consideration of dates of future meetings. — The next meeting will be December 15, 2015. Chair Sensabaugh adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, C Liz S ew rt, Secretary Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Chair Jen Rose (with Clive Siegle) at Richland College "All across the meadows, many poppies blossomed, and that were so hypnotic and brilliant in color they nearly dazzled Dorothy's eyes. "Aren't they beautiful?" the girl asked her companions, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the big, bright flowers." — from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I feel sleepy. Very, very sleepy. I was not in the Land of Oz, but on Richland College campus in Dallas, suffering the sleep - deprived life of an adjunct professor. Whenever I think of poppies, I immediately think of Oz and opium instead of war veterans. But the poppy has been an international symbol of remembrance since 1919, inspired by a John McCrae poem entitled In Flanders Field (1915). Influenced by Paul Cummings' proiect at the Tower of London last year, professors Jen Rose (art) and Clive Siegle (history) collaborated on creating an outdoor ceramics installation honoring the 5,171 Texas soldiers killed in World War I. Entitled The Blood of Heroes Never Dies, the exhibit features 5,171 hand-crafted ceramic poppies that line the bank of the campus lake, creating a red sea of color in the otherwise gloomy campus landscape. The project came together rather quickly. Poppy -making commenced on September 4t' and Rose, a popular Dallas -based artist, hosted a weekly open Friday studio for anyone who wanted to make ceramic flowers. Over a two-month period, she estimates that 400-500 participants came to the open studio, including campus faculty, staff and students, as well as local residents and school children. I %1v Zj AIR PO Ots Besides providing a stunning visual reminder of the sacrifices of our service men and women, the project engaged both the campus and local community in a united effort. Using art as a catalyst to bring people together and give non -artists a way to engage with art in a meaningful way is generally inspiring, but on a larger level has the potential to convince art naysayers (i.e. those in power who continue to cut art funding in education and elsewhere) that art is a powerful, vital tool to teach history and foster a collaborative community spirit. I can envision this project finding a permanent home at one of Texas' World War I memorial sites. r.G f y `f ��{rr•%YY'£�T` r L � N . > _. i. ref '� �- �" �f � 1 l .Y. 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