HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts Commission - 06/08/2009 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSION
MONDAY,JUNE 8, 2009 7:00 P.M., PRAIRIE ROOM
Eden Prairie City Center, 8080 Mitchell Road
COMMISSION MEMBERS: Ann Rorem, Chair; Farida Kathawalla, Vice Chair;
Ana Armstrong, Steve Mosow, Heather Olson,
Elizabeth Petry-Lee, Julia Ramos
CITY STAFF: Sandy Werts, Recreation Coordinator
Lindsey Scott, Art Center Coordinator
RECORDING SECRETARY: Katie Hood
I. ROLL CALL
A. INTRODUCT LAURIE OBIAZOR, NEW COMMISSION LIAISON
Rorem called the meeting to order 7:10 p.m.. Armstrong and Kathawalla were
absent.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Olson moved to approve, as corrected, the Agenda, seconded by Petry-Lee.
Motion carried 5-0.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 11, 2009 MEETING
MOTION: Olson moved to approve the May 11, 2009 minutes, seconded by Petry-Lee.
Motion carried 5-0.
IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL
A. BUDGET REDUCTIONS
Obiazor said six positions within the City of Eden Prairie were eliminated. The
process of reducing the personnel budget started with early retirement being
offered, next hour reductions were offered, and the last step implemented was
involuntary personnel reductions. Obiazor said efficiency of processes will be
looked at during the transition to determine what tasks are necessary. Scott's work
hours have increased from 30 hours to 40 hours per week. Some of Scott's time
will be spent on tasks outside of Art Center duties. Scott has been assigned all
visual and performing arts. When looking at the Arts and Culture programs,
Obiazor said she recommended the Cemetery Tour be discontinued. Possibly the
Historical Society and the Eden Prairie Players could work together on the
Cemetery Tour. When evaluating the programs, the following points will be
considered.
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June 8, 2009
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• How much work does the City have to do?
• Is the program successful?
Some programs are labor intensive and all of the extra costs do matter.
V. EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS and COMMUNITY BAND UPDATE
Obiazor said Peter Pan is schedule for June 18 —21 and June 25 —28. Snow White will
be at the Riley Jacques Barn August 7, 8, and 9. For One Acts the list of potential
directors have been given to Liz Michaelsom. Liz will make a subcommittee to select the
plays.
Obiazor said the Community Band is playing on June 14 at the Jazz Festival. One of the
bands for the Jazz Festival had to cancel and ACME Jazz Company will be playing in its
place.
Obiazor said there are a few corrections to the 2009 Summer Concert Series schedule. On
July 3, Dan Geiger canceled. The Zoomobile will be there, so another kid friendly show
will need to be scheduled. On July 29, Eden Prairie Strings will play at 7:00 p.m.
VI. ART CENTER
A. GRAND OPENING RECAP
Scott said there was a great turnout for the Art Center Grand Opening. There was
a lot of interest in the fabric art activity. There were also glass beads,painting, a
clay demonstration, the Splatter Sisters, the Dixieland Band, and a community
painting being made. The community painting hasn't been hung on the wall yet.
Scott wants the date the painting was made to be added to the bottom of the
painting before hanging it on the wall. Scott said there is still paint on the
sidewalk from when the painting was worked on. Ramos suggested the idea of
adding color to the sidewalk to add color and interest to the front of the building.
Obiazor said the estimated attendance was around 300 people.
B. SPRING/SUMMER PROGRAMMING UPDATE
Scott said there are 80 participants in the spring classes and 237 registered for the
summer classes. There is a clay camp starting on Monday.
C. FALL PROGRAMMING
Scott said for the fall programming there will be the usual children's classes. Ann
Rorem's classes will be expanded. There will also be adult print making, a fused
glass class, a jewelry class, adult clay, and a teen program. The teen program will
be a portrait class and exploring 3-D class. There is also interest in a family clay
class. Rorem said there has been interest in an Art Center 101 class. The
participants could try a variety of art during the classes. Scott said they could have
an open house once per month and have a different type of art for the participants
to try.
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June 8, 2009
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Ramos said at her children's school a pit is dug to fire the clay, instead of using a
kiln. Ramos said she could ask the school about the process. The firing happens
about once every six months.
D. MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
Scott said there are 35 people who have memberships. At least four memberships
are directly from the open house. Obiazor said having 100 members is a good
target for the first year. Obiazor said the savings of being a member should be
highlighted. Scott said email or mailing, previous participants, information about
the Art Center membership is a possibility. Obiazor said there could be a prompt
about becoming a member on the on-line registration system. The Community
Center staff who takes registrations could have a cheat sheet about the benefits of
being an Art Center Member. The instructors could also be coached to talk about
the benefits of membership.
E. FUNDRAISING EVENT
Rorem said the event was at Kinderberry Hill and the children created a piece of
art using stretch canvas. There were 28 children and the event raised $330.
Scott said the role of volunteers at the Art Center is becoming clearer. Scott
would like to have more structured programs. There may not be a need to have a
paid building attendant because there have been such a larger number of people
interested in volunteering. Obiazor said the City does have a paid intern program
that is 12 — 14 weeks. The intern would receive $800 as a stipend for the summer.
VII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
None.
VIII. OLD BUSINESS
A. ARTIST NETWORK
Rorem said there were ten to twelve people at the gathering. An application for
the Eden Prairie Art Crawl was handed out to the attendees. Scott said the staff
liaison for the Human Rights and Diversity Commission will bring up the motion
from the Arts and Culture Commission at their next meeting. Ramos said there
wasn't a strong opinion for having the Art Crawl one day or two days at the Artist
Network gathering. September 15 is the next date for an Artist Network gathering.
Ramos said someone she talked to said the Artist Network wasn't publicized very
well. Scott said there could be a press release and the information could be
included the Life in the Prairie.
Rorem said the Commission should already be working on the Artist Directory.
The directory was worked on in June and July last year. Obiazor said August is
the deadline. Scott said an email could be sent to the people listed in the Art
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June 8, 2009
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Resources Directory. The email could verify accuracy, inform the Commission if
they'd like to be removed from the directory, inform the artists about September
15, and inform the artists of the Eden Prairie Art Crawl.
B. ART CRAWL
Rorem said the meeting was postponed until June 10 at 9:30 a.m..
C. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
Obiazor said the International Festival met last week. The Committee came up
with a work plan. Members involvement needs to be determined. The Committee
is established to provide opinions and it's helpful to have the committee members
at the event helping where needed. June 22 at 5:30 p.m. is the next International
Festival meeting. There are currently four food vendors and an Asian food place
has also expressed interest in being a food vendor. Obiazor said only one stage
will be there this year for simplicity purposes and in order to highlight the newly
remodeled stage at Staring Lake.
IX. NEW BUSINESS
None.
X. REPORTS OF STAFF AND COMMISSIONERS
A. ARTS IN THE GARDEN RECAP
Scott said there was a poor turnout that day due to the rain. Rorem said it closed down
by 2:00 p.m. The band canceled, due to the rain. Despite the rain,people kept
trickling in throughout the day.
B. COMMISSION SUMMER MEETING SCHEDULE
The Commission will meet on July 20 and not meet on July 13 and August 20.
C. ART ON CITY WALL
The Commission discussed the Windsor Sculpture and thought the Commission
would be asked to have a say in the type of art. Obiazor will look into the following.
• Did the Commission miss the review process for the art at Windsor?
• Does the Commission have a say on the art selected for commercial private
property?
• What is the significance of the art at Windsor?
Mosow said in the Agenda on December 8, 2008 there was the discussion of the Art
Plan. In January 2009, there is a whole section on public art in the minutes. Petry-Lee
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June 8, 2009
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said the Commission is pleased there is art. Obiazor said she will bring up the
concerns with her meeting with the City Manager.
Rorem said her students have art up for Art on City Walls. There will be an Open
House on June 17 from 7:00— 8:30 p.m..
FYI: Staring Lake Amphitheatre Ribbon Cutting & MN Festival of Jazz on the
Prairie
FYI: Concert Series "Sounds Around Town"
FYI: Twilight Specials/Arts in the Garden
XI. ADJOURNMERNT
MOTION: Mosow moved, seconded by Olson to adjourn the meeting. Rorem
adjourned the meeting at 9:12 p.m.