City of Lawrence

Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission (LCAC)

Monthly Meeting, April 10, 2013

 

Members present:    Chair: Patrick Kelly, Christie Dobson, Mandy Enfield, Lois Greene, Jane Pennington, Grace Peterson, Kathy Porsch, Katherine Simmons, and Richard Renner

 

Members absent:     John Hachmeister

 

Also present:           Diane Stoddard, City Liaison

 

 

MINUTES

 

Chair Patrick Kelly called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

 

Action Items:

The March 13, 2013 minutes were approved as presented.

 

There was a consensus of agreement among the LCAC members present hold the May 8th LCAC meeting at the Cider Gallery beginning with a 6:30-7:30 p.m. tour of the facility, if possible. Richard Renner will contact Patti McCormic to see if this can be arranged and notify Diane Stoddard as to the response.

 

Mandy Enfield and Richard Renner announced conflicts of interest due to their involvement with projects under consideration for Lawrence Community Arts Grants and left the room prior to that discussion. All other LCAC business was concluded prior to their departure.

 

Christie Dobson made the following motion, which was seconded by Jane Pennington and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:

 

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission approves funding in the amount of $175 as requested by the Lawrence Arts Roundtable to help defray the costs of a presentation scheduled for 6-8 p.m. on April 25 at the Lawrence Visitor's Bureau Train Depot in North Lawrence by the Executive Director of Salina Arts and Humanities on the economic impact of Salina’s support for arts and culture since 1966.

 

Patrick Kelly made the following motion, which was seconded by Jane Pennington and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present.

 

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission recommends that the Lawrence City Commission award Lawrence Community Art Grants in the full amount requested to the following applicants: Lawrence Busker Festival, “Busker Festival 2013” ($2,000); Douglas County Housing Inc., “Project YAC – Youth Arts Collaborative” ($1,325); Lawrence Percolator, “Percolator Arts Caravan” ($1,000); Under the Table, “Under the Table: 2013-2014 Season” ($1,000); The Lawrence Alliance: “The Festival of Cultures” ($500); and Watkins Community Museum, “Quantrill’s Raid: Modern Views Collaborative Exhibit” ($500); and partial funding to Van Go, Inc., “The Arts Train” ($350), and Final Fridays Exhibitions and Performing Arts (Lawrence Arts Center), “Final Fridays Public Arts Program” ($350), for a total of $7,025 in grant funding.

 

Discussion:

 

New Business:

Richard reported that Cider Gallery & Events, 810 Pennsylvania, http://cidergallery.com/, plans a grand opening on April 26 and that organizer Patti McCormic has invited the LCAC to tour the facility. Mandy said she toured it and learned that plans include office space, an entrepreneur “office hub,” a high end art gallery, a stage, and both indoor and outdoor events space. Patrick suggested the LCAC start its May meeting at 6:30 with tour of the Cider Gallery from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by a meeting in the conference room. There was a consensus of agreement to pursue this possibility, and Richard said he would contact Patti to see if this can be arranged and let Diane know for meeting announcement purposes.

 

Old Business:

 

Committee and Liaison Reports:

City Owned Art Maintenance Committee: Chair Katherine Simmons reported she is working on a book scenario as a permanent repository for information on the city-owned works of art that will include photographs, artists’ statements, and artists’ recommendations for maintenance over the life of each piece, as can be obtained. In the future, artists who have created artworks the City is considering purchasing or accepting as donations will be asked for maintenance and preservation recommendations, in addition to their artists’ statements.

 

Lawrence Community Arts Grants Committee: Chair Kathy Porsch started the 2013 review of grant applications by summarizing the selection process. The members of the committee then took turns summarizing applications and leading the discussion on each of the 13 applications. Following the discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend to the Lawrence City Commission funding of the full amount requested for seven projects and partial funding for two projects for a total of $7,025 in grant funding.

 

Nominating Committee: Chair, Christi Dobson reported there have been volunteers to fill the vacancy on the LCAC and she will follow-up with Diane to ensure that the Mayor has the slate of candidates and materials necessary from each so that he can select an appointee.

 

Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibit Committee: In Chair John Hachmeister's absence, committee members Katherine Simmons and Grace Peterson reported that the committee has met with City Parks & Recreation staff to determine where the selected sculptures can best be installed and sites are being prepared as necessary. Although there is some question of one applicant’s piece possibly not being finished by the time it needs to be installed, otherwise all is proceeding according to schedule.

 

Percent for Art: Chair Grace Peterson reported that at its April 9th meeting the City Commission approved the final design and signed the contract with artists Dierk Van Keppel and John Shreve, whose work was recommended by the Percent for Art Committee for the renovated Lawrence Public Library last fall.

 

Phoenix Awards Committee: Chair Mandy Enfield asked LCAC members for names of artists who might be asked to create the 2014 Phoenix awards. She also asked for ideas about the keynote speaker for the event. Several names were suggested in both cases, which the committee will consider alongside any other suggestions that might be forthcoming.

 

Lawrence Arts Round Table Liaison: Kathy Porsch reported that the April 10th Roundtable meeting centered on final planning for the presentation by Brad Anderson on April 25 from 6-8 p.m. at the Lawrence Visitor's Bureau Train Depot in North Lawrence. Anderson, Executive Director of Salina Arts and Humanities, the City of Salina, will make talk about the impact of the creative economy in Salina. She said the Roundtable is asking all its members and anyone else interested in the arts and culture in Lawrence/Douglas County to help spread the word about the meeting. The aim is for local business people and city and county commissioners and staff, as well as members of the Lawrence arts and culture community to learn about Salina’s successes and its lessons learned over 47 years of significant investment in arts and culture.

 

Lawrence Arts Center Liaison: Patrick reported that he will meet with LCA Director Susan Tate before the May LCAC meeting.

 

Percolator Liaison: Grace Peterson reported that she met with Rachael Perry, Chair of the Percolator Board of Directors, and learned that the Percolator is applying for grants and also partnering in grant applications by other arts and culture-related organizations to help fund its various initiatives. She noted that the Percolator is seeking performance artists for its April Final Fridays events and Perry asked anyone interested to contact her through the Percolator’s website or FaceBook page. The percolator has scheduled “Give Take Give” in May to commemorate the David Lowenstein project focused on the dumpster behind social service league in the alleyway east of Ninth and New Hampsire, and in June will do a nesting show.

 

Cultural District Task Force: Members Mandy Enfield and Grace Peterson reported that the Lawrence City Commission revised its resolution establishing the Cultural District Task Force to include eight rather than seven members, with the proviso that the eighth be a member of the Lawrence City Commission. The Commission then named the following people to the Task Force: Robert J. Schumm, City Commission member; Cindy Maud, Member at Large; KT Walsh and Jacki Becker, East Lawrence Neighborhood Association; Susan Tate, Lawrence Arts Center; Mike Logan, Downtown Lawrence; and Grace Peterson and Mandy Enfield, Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission. Diane Stoddard will serve as the City Liaison for the Task Force. The first Task Force meeting will be Monday, April 15. Task Force meetings are open to the public and the liaison will make public announcements of the meetings.

 

Grace reported that there has been some discussion among artists and other business owners in East Lawrence of a map that is being widely distributed by the Lawrence Arts Center that includes some artists’ studios and businesses but not others, and that some artists’ first indication their studios would be on the map was to see it listed. She said this is causing some negative feelings that could be resolved if there was an organized way of developing such a map rather than what appears to be a random listing of artists and businesses.

 

Patrick said that the City has approved the area as a cultural district and has appointed a Task Force to study it and make recommendations. Someone will always have to be in charge of updating the map, he said. There is not currently a staff person at the City to do this. While the map and issues of ownership and who is on the map are potential issues for the Task Force to take on, Patrick said the LCAC members of the Task Force should consider carefully what to bring before the Task Force in terms of issues like the map, its content, and its ownership and how they relate to the Task Force’s mandate as stated in the resolution:

 

Established by Resolution No. 7021, the Task Force shall have the primary focus on identifying three (3) cultural arts district models that combine private, public and grant funding to support improvements to the district, as well as initiating a broader community-wide cultural arts plan. The Task Force shall organize its work in such a way to provide a report on findings and recommendations by October 31, 2013. The work of the Task Force shall include identification of three (3) cultural district models that combine private, public and grant funding to support improvements in cultural districts. Additionally, the following questions will be examined: What are the best practices for making necessary improvements in cultural districts?  How can the cultural district maintain its unique cultural and socio-economic mix?  What existing cultural organizations play a role in the creative economy of Lawrence? What existing policies currently govern the creative economy? What recommendations for changes in policies and practices are appropriate to enhance the creative economy of Lawrence?

 

Commissioner Items: No commissioners had additional items to bring before the LCAC.

 

Staff Liaison: Diane submitted a request from the Lawrence Arts Roundtable for $175 to help defray the costs of a community meeting featuring a presentation by Brad Anderson, Executive Director of Salina Arts and Humanities, the City of Salina on the impact of the creative economy in Salina. This public event will take place on April 25 from 6-8 p.m. at the Lawrence Visitor's Bureau Train Depot. Mr. Anderson will address specific questions about how Salina funds arts activities, related economic implications, and community engagement with the arts and artists, followed by a question and answer session. Diane noted that if the Roundtable had made the request earlier and the LCAC approved the request it would have been possible to have the fee waived for the room rental. A Motion was made, seconded, and approved unanimously to approve funding for the $175 request.

 

Diane reported that the City submitted a preliminary interest letter due April 8th to the Kansas Creative Arts Industry as a partner in the coalition of City; Callahan Creek, a public relations and marketing firm; and the Lawrence Art Center. The letter requested $75,000 in the placemaking category to hire a consultant to work with the community to develop a community-wide cultural plan and, as an ancillary, work with the coalition in development of a marketing plan and of specific marketing materials. If the letter results in an invitation to submit a full application, the coalition will need to provide more detailed information to the Kansas Creative Arts Industry. She noted that, if the grant is funded, it should dovetail well with the aims of the recently appointed Cultural District Taskforce.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.