Arts and Culture Commission - August 21, 2019 Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held in the Commission Chambers at City Hall at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 21, 2019.
The Arts and Culture Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Arlette Preston, Deb Williams, Jon Offutt, Tracy Walvatne, Mark Johnson, Denese Odegaard, Joe Williams
Absent: Denise Kolpack, Tracy Jordre
Chair D. Williams called the meeting to order and welcomed Members to the meeting.
Item 1: Order of Agenda
Member Walvatne moved to approve the Order of Agenda. Second by Member Offutt. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 2: Minutes: Regular Meeting of June 19, 2019
Member Walvatne moved the Minutes of the June 19, 2019 Arts and Culture Commission meeting be approved. Second by Member Odegaard. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 3: Performance by Gasper’s School of Dance
Lacey Gasper, Director of Design for FMBallet, introduced a solo performance by Dillon Johnson, a member for the FMBallet Company. Ms. Gasper provided a brief update of current happenings and explained auditions for the 2019-2020 FMBallet Company and Second Company will be held on Wednesday, August 28.
Item 4: Restructured Proposal for Fall Grant Round Call to Artists: Public Art Projects
Chair D. Williams introduced the restructured grant proposal form and requested feedback on the updated document before the upcoming fall grant round. All Members present offered suggestions to improve the document, including the following comments:
• Addition of the mission and vision statements from the Public Arts Master Plan
• Addition of a rubric for measuring success of an installation
• Improved online accessibility and auto-fill capabilities of the document
• A discussion of age restriction/requirements
• Addition of non-discriminatory language
• Revision to encourage all applicants to attend an information session
Member Preston moved to approve the document with the discussed revisions. Second by Member Odegaard. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 5: Public Art Survey Results
Member Preston summarized the results of the Public Art Survey conducted by Folkways on behalf of the Arts and Culture Commission. The intent of the survey was to increase public input on future public art installations. The survey addresses the type of art, materials, and placement of public art for the future. Members Odegaard and Offutt suggested sharing the results of the survey with the community through the Arts and Culture Commission webpage.
Item 6: Workplan
Member Preston introduced the work being done by the evaluation subcommittee and remarked that public art was the #3 priority in the Go2030 Comprehensive Plan. Member Odegaard discussed the possibility of evaluating success of public art through quantitative and qualitative measures. Member Offutt shared the idea of a local arts weekend to boost tourism. Member Johnson reported on efforts to engage public and private developers, including the Fargo Parks District. Member J. Williams discussed a framework for a communications plan. Member Walvatne discussed funding and referred to the Public Arts Master Plan.
Item 7: 2020 Budget
Planning and Development Director Nicole Crutchfield reported that the 2020 budget has been proposed, but has not yet been approved by the City Commission. A public hearing on the budget will take place at the September 9 City Commission meeting. Chair D. Williams encouraged Members to attend the meeting to support public art funding.
Item 8: 2019 ACC Budget Update
Planning Coordinator Maegin Elshaug gave an update on the 2019 Arts and Culture Commission budget.
Item 9: Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit
Chair D. Williams announced the opportunity for Members to attend the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio in October.
Item 10: Other Business or Public Comment
No public comments were made at this meeting.
10a. Next regularly Scheduled Meeting September 18, 2019
The time at adjournment was 6:23 p.m.