Arts and Culture Commission - October 21, 2020 Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held virtually at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 21, 2020.
The Arts and Culture Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Deb Williams, Jon Offutt, Tracy Walvatne, Joe Williams, Monika Browne-Ecker, Ann Arbor Miller, Brad Bachmeier, Denise Kolpack
Absent: Tracy Jordre
Chair D. Williams called the meeting to order and welcomed Members to the meeting.
Item 1: Order of Agenda
Member Offutt moved to approve the Order of Agenda. Second by Member Kolpack. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 2: Minutes: Regular Meeting of September 16, 2020
Member Browne-Ecker moved the Minutes of the September 16, 2020 Arts and Culture Commission meeting be approved. Second by Member Bachmeier. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 3: Appointment of Chair and Vice Chair
Member Offutt moved to reappoint Chair D. Williams as Chair of the Arts and Culture Commission. Second by Member Ecker-Browne. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Member Offutt moved to reappoint Member Jordre as Vice Chair of the Arts and Culture Commission. Second by Member J. Williams. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 4: Fargo Community Water Tower Presentation and Recommendation
Chair D. Williams introduced Rachel Asleson of Reach Partners and Eric Vincent Allen of Black Ink Creative Partners, who are members of the creative team designing artwork for the proposed water tower project in North Fargo.
Ms. Asleson provided an overview of the creative design process, including information on how the team facilitated community engagement opportunities. Two designs were presented to the Arts and Culture Commission for review and comment. Mr. Vincent Allen provided a brief description of the meaning behind each design.
Discussion on the two designs included the following topics:
- Appreciation for the work done by the members of the creative team.
- Concern about small details in the designs translating on a larger scale.
- Interest in seeing clear depictions of the BIPOC community incorporated into the final design.
- Preference for design option B, which felt more representative of the community.
Following discussion, Member Arbor Miller moved to recommend design option B to the Mayor for approval and placement on the water tower. Second by Member Walvatne. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried. The motion was later amended to include the dark blue color pallet in the recommendation of option B to the Mayor for selection.
Item 5: Other Business and Public Comment
Chair D. Williams introduced the idea of creating subcommittees for the Arts and Culture Commission, which will be discussed at the next Arts and Culture Commission meeting. Member Ecker-Browne expressed interest in incorporating diverse voices in future discussions about art in Fargo.
Item 5a: Next Meeting—November 18, 2020
The time at adjournment was 6:00 p.m.