City of Lawrence

Lawrence Arts Commission

Meeting Minutes for February 8, 2006

 

 

Members Present

Marlene Merrill

Elizabeth Hatchett

Sandra Wiechert

Evie Rapport

James Schaeffer

Judi Geer Kellas

Margaret Morris

Dave Lowenstein

Liz Kowalchuk

 

Members Absent

 

Mary Kennedy McCabe

 

Substitute Staff Liaison Present:  Jonathan Douglass

 

A.      The meeting was called to order by Commission Chair Merrill at 6:30 pm. 

 

1.     Commissioner Wiechert gave a report about the Arts and Culture Roundtable. The roundtable was generally supportive of Arts Commission activities and members were particularly interested in the grants workshop.  They recommended the need for more publicity and noted that the grants proposal form was difficult to access on the website.  They would also like to receive a list of Phoenix Award winners that included a brief description of recipients’ accomplishments. 

2.     Commissioner Geer Kellas indicated there had been problems with the Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition prospectus.

3.     Commissioner Morris suggested the creation of another standing committee charged with marketing and communication to address some of the issues raised. 

 

B.    Consent Agenda:

 

1.     Commissioner Geer Kellas motioned to approve the Minutes from the January meeting as changed.  Commissioner Rapport seconded.  Motion passed.

 

C.    Regular Agenda Items

 

1. Announcements from the Chair:

 

a.        Chair Merrill announced selection of new Commissioner Dave Lowenstein and the reappointment of Commissioner Rapport.

b.       Staff Liaison Tubbs is taking a leave of absence due to family illness.

 

2.     Subcommittee updates:

 

a.        Grants Committee (Commissioner Morris):  Postcards were sent announcing the grant program. Some adjustments should be made to the mailing list.  Also, a grant workshop was conducted on February 6th that included a nuts-and-bolts overview of the grant writing process. Although only five people attended, it was a good start. The grant proposal forms have been revised and now conform to the Kansas Arts Commission and NEA grant forms. This makes it easier to apply. Chair Merrill suggested that the workshops be repeated in November or October. Scoring sheets will also be revised and will be included in the packets commissioners will review for our next meeting.

 

b.       Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition (Commissioner Geer Kellas): Brochures were mailed. However, there were problems with the mailing and over 200 returns were received.  Also, the dates posted on the website were different than the dates published in the brochure.  Graphic Designer Flory did not return numerous calls.  The deadline for entries is March 13th.  Commissioner Geer Kellas asked about the possibility of mailing future entry forms via bulk mail. 

 

c.        Percent for Art Committee, Firehouse #5 (Commissioner Schaeffer): Brochures have been printed and RFQs are due March 3rd.  Rating/review sheets are being prepared as well. Chief McSwain resigned from the committee, but it was decided not to replace him at his time because the Fire Department is represented by two other members.  Commissioner Schaeffer gave an overview of the process to date.

 

d.       Percent for Art Committee, Firehouse #4 (Commissioner Kowalchuk):  I met with Fire Chief Bradford to plan the timeline for the selection process and set the calendar for the committee.  Due to concerns about overlapping with the committee working on art for Fire Station #5, it was decided to convene the committee in May and work through the summer.  The goal is to have artwork installed next spring.

 

e.        Phoenix Awards (Commissioner Rapport):  Commissioner Morris will work with Commissioner Rapport about a date for the award presentations in November, 2006.

 

f.         Developmental Workshops (Commissioner Morris):  A brief overview was given about the success of the previous workshop and the advantages of having other Arts Commissioners present. Commissioner Lowenstein asked about holding workshops for applying for the Percent for Art projects.

 

D. Old Business

 

  1. Commissioners Hatchett and Kowalchuk gave a brief report on the recent Arts and Economic Development meeting sponsored by Johnson County and held at Johnson County Community College on January 24th.  Alice Aycock, artist, John Grant, Denver Public Art Program Administrator, and Jack Becker, publisher of Public Art Review presented.  Commissioner Hatchett suggested it would be useful for the commission to subscribe to Public Art Review to increase understanding and awareness of public art issues.  Chair Merrill requested information be sent to her about Public Art Review and other upcoming events and speakers on public art. 

 

  1. Chair Merrill indicated that the committee assignments have been finalized.

 

E. New Business

 

  1. Website development. The website needs to be fine tuned, but we have made a good start.  There’s a problem with getting to the website. Commissioner Rapport indicated she would send some ideas for additional components that could be added to the website.  Commissioner Lowenstein stated that a well designed website will be a great asset to the arts commission.  Chair Merrill recommended we talk to Dave Corliss about legal issues related to the website.

 

  1. Selection of secretary.  The commission decided to rotate the responsibility of taking minutes during meetings.

 

E.     Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Morris, seconded by Commissioner Geer Kellas.

 

F.     The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 pm. 

 

G.    The next meeting will be March 8, 2006, at 6:30 pm. 

 

Respectfully submitted by Liz Kowalchuk