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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts Commission - 05/14/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 14, 2007 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD PRAIRIE ROOM COMMISSION MEMBERS: Ann Rorem, Chair; Heather Olson, Vice Chair: Kelly Brandon, Karen Busack, Farida Kathawalla, Steve Mosow COMMISSION STAFF: Sandy Werts, Staff Liaison Peggy Rasmussen, Recording Secretary STUDENT MEMBERS: Sarah Ericson, Kristy Shillock, Colin O'Donnell SUPPORT STAFF: Laurie Obiazor, Manager of Recreation Services I. ROLL CALL Rorem called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Commissioners Olson and Kathawalla were excused. Student Members Ericson and Shillock were absent. Shannon Elsenpeter was in attendance to report on the Community Band. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A report on the Community Education Partnership Breakfast was added as item H. under V., Reports of Staff and Commissioners. MOTION: Busack moved, seconded by Mosow, to approve the agenda as revised. Motion carried 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 9, 2007 MEETING On page 2, in the fourth paragraph under IV.A., the second sentence should read "The Advisory Committee is looking for another location to hold the summer show in 2008, since Staring Lake Amphitheatre will be closed . . ." The next sentence should read "alerts said the top priority amphitheatre improvement for the Eden Prairie Players would be replacing the stage." The sentence under W.B. should read "alerts said the Community Band is going to be playing with the Central Middle School Concert Band on the first Thursday in May." On page 3, in the third paragraph under V.A., the second sentence should read " . . . other cultures will be invited to be featured next year." On page 4, the first two sentences were changed to read " . . . conjunction with Bloomington for a place to hold the musical. The cost of the musical, as well as the income, . . . " Under VLB., the last sentence was deleted. On page 6, under VLD., the fourth sentence in the second paragraph was changed to read "The starting time for Kidstock, a ten-week series of music for children, was changed from . . ." ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2007 Page 2 MOTION: Mosow moved, seconded by Busack, to approve the minutes of the Arts and Culture Commission meeting held on April 9, 2007, as published and amended. Motion carried 4-0. IV. EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS and COMMUNITY BAND UPDATE A. UPDATE ON CURRENT PROJECTS OF THE EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS Werts said the Eden Prairie Players are in rehearsal for "South Pacific" and will begin rehearsing at the amphitheatre on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. B. UPDATE ON CURRENT PROJECTS OF COMMUNITY BAND Elsenpeter reported that the band had a joint concert with Central Middle School on May 3, and performed the premier of "Streets of Honor", a piece of music commissioned by the town of Appleton, Minnesota. Elsenpeter said a pit band has been assembled for performances of "South Pacific." A full listing of their June concert schedule can be found on their Web site, epcommunityband.org. Werts said the Community Band received a grant of$1,400 from the Eden Prairie Foundation for band uniforms, primarily for the jazz band, but also to supplement the concert band's uniforms. Elsenpeter said the band would be sending the current band chair as a representative to future meetings of the Arts and Culture Commission. V. REPORTS OF STAFF AND COMMISSIONERS A. OPENINGS ON COMMISSION—RECRUITMENT Werts said she had not received an application from a person she thought might be interested in serving on the Commission. Rorem said she would find out if someone she knows is interested. B. REPORT ON POETRY OPEN MIC Werts said she went to the Poetry Open Mic on April 16 at the Eden Prairie Library. About 18 people attended, and approximately six read their poetry. C. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Werts reported there was a meeting of the International Festival Committee on May 3. They are moving forward with selecting entertainment. It was decided to hold a button design contest through the schools. The next meeting of the committee is on May 23. The International Festival is on Sunday, August 12, from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2007 Page 3 D. COMMISSION ROSTERS —PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DATA Werts distributed new rosters with public and private data. The lines highlighted in yellow are those that the Commissioners indicated could be made public when they filled out their Private Data Release Forms. Werts said they could make changes and corrections on the official forms. She will bring them to the next meeting. E. MRAC WORKSHOP ON ARTS ADVOCACY On April 18 Werts attended the workshop on Arts Advocacy, put on by the Minnesota Regional Arts Council (MRAC), and found it to be very interesting. She had included information about the workshop in the packet of material sent to the Commissioners. Werts said she hoped the Commissioners would read through the PowerPoint presentation on the value of art. The Commission could use it at some future time in a presentation to the City Council. Werts referenced slides on the 2006 "Meander", the Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl, which showed the average dollar amount added to the local economy by each person who attended. Other slides in the PowerPoint presentation were Arts in Education (promoting a stronger role for the arts in educating our youth), and 3 Keys to a Creative Community (Cultural Literacy, Participatory Arts, and Professional Arts). The next part of the workshop covered "Advocacy 101", showing ways to successfully advocate for the arts. It lists the keys to successful advocacy, which are to "Simplify your message", "Target your efforts", "Unite your coalition", and be "Nice to each other and to decision-makers." Werts distributed copies of two booklets. One was "The Arts: A Driving Force in the Seven-County Metro Area's Economy", with statistics on the impact of nonprofit arts organizations on the economy in the seven-county metro area. The other booklet was "Artists Count: the Economic Impact of Artists in the Community." F. CONGRATULATION CARDS Werts reported that Olson sent out congratulation cards to the instructors of Eden Prairie High School Fine and Performing Arts students for participation in the Lake Conference Arts Exhibit/Freshwater Institute competition, and for the Annual Pasta and Pops End-of-Year Showcase. G. SPONTANEOUS STOREFRONTS Olson had provided a flyer to the Commissioners about Spontaneous Storefronts, which showed windows painted by artists in downtown Minneapolis. Funding was provided by several foundations and businesses listed on the flyer. Werts ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2007 Page 4 said Olson wondered if this is something the Commission would like to do in Eden Prairie. It might be necessary to pay someone to create the paintings, or it might be possible to get artists to do the work for free. Busack suggested asking the winner of the button design contest to paint the design in a storefront location to advertise the International Festival. Several locations in Eden Prairie were suggested. Werts offered to contact the name on the flyer, Forecast Public Art in St. Paul, and ask how they handle funding for artists, materials and other costs. H. COMMUNITY EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP BREAKFAST. DIVERSITY IN EDEN PRAIRIE: JOIN A DEEPER CONVERSATION ON RACIAL EQUITY GAPS Busack reported on the partnership breakfast meeting, which was held on Friday, April 20. She said it was very successful, with good conversations. The Community Education Commission is in the process of assimilating the feedback and comments that were received. Werts inquired if there is a plan to do anything with this information. Busack replied there really is no way to take any action forward unless someone offers to do that. At the follow-up meeting, they talked about different ways to engage people throughout the year rather than just at this event. They also talked about increasing communications, so she was hopeful something might be done along those lines. Brandon said she also went to the partnership breakfast. She believes that just talking with others about racial equity and raising awareness of the subject would be effective. Busack replied perhaps the Community Education Commission could take that suggestion and ask people to share with two other people and tell what they learned. Busack said the people at each table were asked to talk about four different questions, and the feedback on those discussions is being condensed. Werts asked Busack to send her a copy of the results when she gets them, and she would include them in the Commissioners' packets for the next meeting. Mosow wondered if the Commission could suggest an avenue for using art to capitalize on one or two themes in the discussions. Busack replied that a lot of people at the breakfast said they would like more opportunities to share information about cultures. Mosow said art could become a way to capture that theme and portray it. Werts said she was trying to get murals painted to hang backstage at the International Festival. Busack said the murals could be about improving the community or addressing an issue. Mosow added that perhaps the Commission should find various avenues to portray that theme before the International Festival is held. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2007 Page 5 VI. OLD BUSINESS A. REVIEW OF ANNUAL REPORT Werts distributed copies of the 2006 Annual Report and looked at the sections on arts and cultural programming. She asked if there was further discussion the Commissioners would like to have about the report. Mosow asked what conclusions could be drawn from the amount of revenue, expenditure and subsidy that is listed for each program. Werts replied one conclusion is that the City is not getting enough sponsors for the programs. Mosow inquired if they should look at the programs that cost much more than the revenue they bring in, and consider doing some of them every other year and plugging in a different program on alternate years. Werts responded that whenever she does a program that takes a lot of planning, or when she starts a new program, after the first year the program gains more momentum each year, so she would not want to discontinue it. Also, she believes there are some people who would miss certain programs if they were discontinued. Busack wondered if the Commission should promote some of these ideas to the City Council and perhaps they could get some members of the Chamber of Commerce interested in promoting the programs. Werts said she would use the spreadsheet Busack developed last year and add the information from the 2006 Annual Report. Mosow said the information could be used to show the City Council all the people who are not being reached as evidence that more investment is needed, because there is economic and community benefit to these programs. Werts said the Commission could point out how these programs meet its mission goals and responsibilities. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. 2008-2009 BUDGET PREPARATION Werts said she has to turn in her budget for 2008 and 2009 on May 25. If the Commission wants to add new programs they need to make that decision now. She would have to add anything new on a separate request form and turn it in for review. They are limited to a 3.5% increase in the 2008 budget and 3% over that for the 2009 budget. She has to show revenue in the same increments. Werts said a possible new program to consider would be an art crawl or studio open house. Art crawls have been successful in other parts of the state. Rorem was asked if she had a studio. Rorem said she has a work area that could be set up for an open house, and she knows some artists who have studios or a separate collection set up in their homes. Also, some businesses may have space to include artwork if the artists don't have a proper studio. Brandon added that the artwork could even be set up in a parking lot. ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2007 Page 6 Werts said this could be done in conjunction with Art on City Walls. It is unfortunate that there are no stands on which to display sculptures. An individual could bring his or her own stands but they could not be left unattended at night. Rorem suggested using one of the Heritage Rooms where artists could have their sculptures placed around the perimeter of the room. Werts said she didn't know how often all four Heritage Rooms are used. Rorem referred to an idea that the Commission had discussed at previous meetings of having sculptures displayed on a rotating basis. She wondered if they could have a display like that in the Purgatory Creek Recreation Area or somewhere else. The cost would basically be providing bases for the sculptures, and they might be able to get sponsors to pay for those. Werts said there would be two years in which to do the planning and establish the cost, and then include that request in the budget for 2010-2011. Mosow said an art crawl might be a good idea for this budget year. He asked what would be needed in terms of funding. Werts said the biggest cost is the promotion, which she estimated might be $3,500. Right now, the City's communications department is paying for all design work connected with promotional items. Rorem said an attractive brochure should include a picture from each artist. There would be a set fee for the artists who participate. Fall was suggested as a good time to have the art crawl. Werts said Plymouth puts on an art program called Primavera that runs for a few days, where they invite people to come in and display their artwork. She offered to call and find out what their budget is for that program. Busack asked if people could provide contact information through the arts link on the City's Web site. Werts distributed cards that are available to pick up at the Parks and Recreation desk, inviting people to sign up on the Web site for eNewsletters on classes, special events, concerts, etc. Werts said she would include the art crawl under Arts Promotion in the budget, but sponsors would be needed to help pay for it. The Commissioners suggested businesses might be willing to sponsor it. Some fund-raising ideas were also discussed. With regard to the 2008-2009 budget, Werts reported the City needs new sound equipment over the next couple of years for use at outdoor events. The City put in an application to the Eden Prairie Foundation for $2,500 for the purchase of sound equipment and received $1,300 from them. The new Parks and Recreation Department director told her to include the rest of the money needed into the budget process. VIII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2007 Page 7 A. EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY ADVOCACY NETWORK On April 18 Werts said she went to the second meeting of EP CAN, a new organization led by Jan Mosman. Mosman had people break up into different groups to discuss what the mission and goals of the organization should be. B. UPCOMING EVENTS • Riley-Jacques Twilight Special—Bluesrass Night with "Drive Time" This event is on Saturday, May 19 at the Riley-Jacques Barn. • Arts and Antiques in the Garden This annual event is scheduled for June 9 at the Cummins House. C. ART ON CITY WALLS —PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF HARROWAY Jeff Harroway's photography is on display downstairs through May. Werts said it includes a number of photos he took in China. He has also done a series of photos of Eden Prairie High School sports teams that include action shots placed around them in the pictures. IX. ADJOURNMENT This was Student Member Colin O'Donnell's last meeting. He was thanked for his commitment of time in attending the Commission meetings. He was asked to make the motion to adjourn. MOTION: O'Donnell moved, seconded by Mosow, to adjourn the meeting. Rorem adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m.