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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-13-2016 - City Arts Commission - Approved MinutesNewport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes Thursday, October 13, 2016 Regular Meeting – 5:00 PM City Council Chambers 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660 I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 5:03 PM II. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Lynn Selich, Chair Michael Kerr, Vice Chair Jennifer Van Bergh Michelle Bendetti Arlene Greer Caroline Logan Commissioners Absent: Judy Chang Staff Present: Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director Francine Jacome, Administrative Support Technician III. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS Dana Yarger reported on the success of the Elephant Parade world tour. The objective of his next project, Cowlifornia, was to use public art to call attention to the need to support children's health, strong communities and education. The "Got Milk?" brand supported the project by funding 32 sculptures and commissioning artists to interpret the history and icons of California. The sculptures would be offered for sale with 100% of income being donated to Camp Ronald McDonald operations. Commissioner Van Bergh arrived at 5:10 p.m. Chair Selich suggested moving forward Item 4, Cows4Camp Exhibit, in the agenda to accommodate Mr. Yarger. 1 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 2 V. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the September 8, 2016 City Arts Commission Meeting Motion made by Commissioner Logan, seconded by Commissioner Greer, and carried (6-0-0-1), to approve the draft Minutes for the meeting of September 8, 2016 as presented. AYES: Selich, Kerr, Greer, Logan, Bendetti, Van Bergh NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Chang B. Consent Calendar Items 1. Financial Report - Review of financial information. Library Services Director Hetherton advised that pertinent information was contained in the staff report. Items remained under budget. 2. Cultural Arts Activities - Monthly review of cultural arts activities from the Library Administrative Office for upcoming Library and City arts events and services. Chair Selich noted September activities of Concerts on the Green, maintenance of the Ben Carlson statute, the Lila Crespin art lecture, Fernando Del Rosario artist reception, and the Balboa Island Centennial. She lauded Commissioners for their efforts on these and other activities. Motion made by Commissioner Logan, seconded by Commissioner Greer, and carried (6-0-0-1) to approve the Consent Calendar. AYES: Selich, Kerr, Greer, Logan, Bendetti, Van Bergh NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Chang VI. CURRENT BUSINESS Chair Selich moved Item 4 ahead of Item 3 on the agenda. A. Items for Review and Possible Action 4. Cows4Camp Exhibit - Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission approve a public art display in Civic Center Park, Central Library, Balboa Branch Library, Mariners Library, OASIS, Marina Park, 16th Street Recreation Center and the Newport Coast Recreation Center featuring 20 cow sculptures celebrating California’s cultural heritage. 2 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 3 Library Services Director Hetherton reported regarding the programming gap in Civic Center Park because of de-installation of sculptures from the first phase. The Chair received an idea for a temporary exhibit in the park consisting of cows. Ten or 12 cow sculptures would be placed in the park, community centers and library locations. Sale of the cow sculptures would benefit Camp Ronald McDonald and the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. Installation could be accomplished easily with shipping and installation costing no more than $9,000. He suggested an opening event of some kind. The program would end in June with a final auction event incorporated into the juried art show. This exhibit would be a nice public art amenity while waiting for the next phase of sculptures. The temporary exhibit would raise the profile of the City Arts Commission and raise money for deserving causes. Chair Selich advised that the cow sculptures were currently located at Dana Point, where many people had seen them. The temporary exhibit would fill the gap until Sculpture Exhibition pieces were replaced. This exhibit was a fundraiser for Camp Ronald McDonald. McDonald's was contacting their public relations firm to determine whether it would assist with outreach. There would be a webpage for the exhibit and for the auction of sculptures, possibly with online bidding. She suggested obtaining corporate sponsorship for sculptures. In response to Vice Chair Kerr's question, Library Services Director Hetherton indicated the budget contained funds to pay for expenses. Chair Selich stated 17 cow sculptures would be moved from Dana Point on November 9 and displayed at Civic Center Park, libraries and community centers. More cow sculptures would be placed online for sale. In response to Commissioner Logan, Dana Yarger reported he had not contacted Kobe Bryant directly about signing a sculpture. He did not believe Mr. Bryant was aware of or had rejected the invitation. Motion made by Commissioner Logan, seconded by Commissioner Greer, and carried (6-0-0-1) to approve the exhibit. AYES: Selich, Kerr, Greer, Logan, Bendetti, Van Bergh NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Chang 3. Cultural Arts Grants FY 2016/17 - Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission review the grant applications and approve the recipients for recommendation to City Council for FY 2016/17 Cultural Arts Grants in accordance with City Council Policy I-10 – Financial Support for Culture and the Arts. Library Services Director Hetherton suggested Commissioners first consider applications they wanted to approve. A few applications did not meet criteria. 3 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 4 Chair Selich noted grant requests totaled nearly $130,000, while the total amount of funds available was $40,000. She preferred to award larger grants for larger outcomes. In response to Commissioner Logan, Library Services Director Hetherton advised that Commissioners should consider granting less than an applicant requested only if they felt the program could be modified to accommodate a lesser amount of funds. Previous grants of less than $1,000 had not allowed applicants to do the program as proposed. Commissioners discussed the best way to narrow the list of applications including eliminating those they would not consider, selecting those they felt were best, and voting on each without discussion. Commissioners would need to recuse themselves from a vote if they had a conflict of interest with the applicant. The following applications received a minimum of three votes in support and were selected for discussion: Backhausdance Balboa Island Improvement Association Balboa Island Museum Baroque Music Festival Festival Ballet Newport Beach Film Festival Orange County Museum of Art Pacific Symphony South Coast Repertory. Commissioners next discussed criteria for discussing the applications and chose to utilize Vice Chair Kerr's matrix of whether the proposed program occurs in Newport Beach; the number of people served; aesthetic quality; reflection on Newport Beach; bang for the buck; Newport Beach residents in the organization; and any matching funds With respect to Backhausdance, Commissioners noted the applicant proposed one to four workshops and one live performance; other proposals for dance were more robust than Backhausdance; the requested amount of $3,000-$10,000; outreach at $7.69 per person; the likelihood of a dance performance attracting 700 people; whether ballet programs were more appealing to residents; reducing the amount to support workshops or a live performance; a performance on the Green could attract a larger audience; and a performance could be part of the Summer Concert Series. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $4,000. With respect to Balboa Island Improvement Association, Commissioners considered reducing the amount requested; concerts at the chapel were high caliber but limited by capacity; a prior donation of $200 for a concert; six concerts were produced at a cost of $1,500 each, the proposal for four concerts in the chapel and five in the park for 2016/17; park concerts had a low production value; and chapel concerts appeared to be self-funded by an admission fee of $10. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $1,000. 4 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 5 With respect to Balboa Island Museum, Commissioners discussed funds were proposed for a lecture series rather than for the museum itself; a high percentage of money would support things other than the program, the high cost of special lectures; good attendance at these types of lectures; a lecture at the library enhancing the fine arts exhibitions in the lobby; and the applicant was collecting oral histories. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $1,500. With respect to Baroque Musical Festival, Commissioners commented regarding the applicant being a longtime partner, one of the oldest arts organizations, well run, and providing unique presentations; attendance at programs; a prior grant of $3,500; the applicant's ability to provide a variety of instrumentation not seen elsewhere; level of community support for baroque music; a signature program that reflected well on the community and had high artistic value; and the applicant's receipt of donations and corporate sponsorships. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $2,500. With respect to Festival Ballet Theater, Commissioners considered high attendance at events; high community support; potential attendance of 1,500 to 2,000 at an outdoor event with a wooden floor; and quality of performances. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $5,500. With respect to Newport Beach Film Festival, Commissioners discussed international attention; high attendance; future speaker event featuring filmmakers; possibly focusing programming in a specific area; and an earlier seminar series with high visibility and attendance. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $10,000. With respect to Orange County Museum of Art, Commissioners remarked regarding other financial support for the museum; Family Art Days and other programming; application did not propose a specific program; partnering with the museum to provide docents for the Sculpture Garden; the museum's future move from Newport Beach; and the only application concerning visual arts. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $10,000 and proposed a stipulation that the City Arts Commission receive recognition for underwriting the Free Fridays program. With respect to Pacific Symphony, Commissioners noted the success of the concert; service to Newport Harbor schools; cost of the concert; details of the school program; music programs for all elementary schools; and funding three schools this year and the remaining three schools next year. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $5,000. With respect to South Coast Repertory, Commissioners discussed quality of performances; number of Newport Beach children attending performances; and cost to transport children to performances. Commissioners set a tentative amount of $4,000. Chair Selich noted the tentative grant amounts totaled $43,500. Commissioners reduced the grant amount for Newport Beach Film Festival to $8,000, for Pacific Symphony to $4,500, and for South Coast Repertory to $3,000. Final grant amounts were: Backhausdance $4,000 5 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 6 Balboa Island Improvement Association $1,000 Balboa Island Museum $1,500 Baroque Music Festival $2,500 Festival Ballet $5,500 Newport Beach Film Festival $8,000 Orange County Museum of Art $10,000 Pacific Symphony $4,500 South Coast Repertory $3,000 Chair Selich suggested the grant program grow as the City Arts Commission raised private funds. Motion made by Commissioner Logan, seconded by Commissioner Greer, and carried (6-0-0-1) to approve the stated grant applications in the stated amounts. AYES: Selich, Kerr, Greer, Logan, Bendetti, Van Bergh NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Chang 5. "A Walk in Her Shoes" Exhibit – Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission approve the interactive public art display, “A Walk in Her Shoes” in the Central Library lobby. Library Services Director Tim Hetherton reported the exhibition theme was human trafficking. Shoes belonged to victims of trafficking. The exhibit was not graphic but probably not appropriate for all ages and sensibilities. The exhibit would be placed on the second floor, away from the Children's Room. Installation costs were negligible. Deputy Chief McGill proposed the idea. Chair Selich stated Vanguard University had a significant program regarding human trafficking and suggested issuing a press release regarding the exhibit. Commissioner Van Bergh suggested notifying schools about the exhibit. Motion made by Commissioner Logan, seconded by Commissioner Greer, and carried (6-0-0-1) to accept the "A Walk in Her Shoes" exhibit to be shown in January 2017. AYES: Selich, Kerr, Greer, Logan, Bendetti, Van Bergh NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Chang B. Monthly Reports 6. Visual Arts Ad Hoc Subcommittee – Commissioner Arlene Greer, Commissioner Caroline Logan, Commissioner Jennifer Van Bergh 6 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 7 Commissioner Logan requested the subcommittee name be changed from Visual Arts to Art in Public Places. The subcommittee discussed designing a tentative location planned to bring civic pride and worldwide Newport Beach recognition through the visual arts. They were researching the City in terms of its seven Districts as well as future self-guided cultural arts tours with a potential for high visibility and personal enjoyment. The subcommittee developed three categories of sculpture: (1) permanent, original, iconic sculpture unique to the City of Newport Beach; (2) borrowed, temporary, rotating sculpture from emerging artists; and (3) high-end, longer-term sculpture from highly esteemed artists and from museum and private collectors' storage. For permanent sculpture, the subcommittee discussed a triangle of three related sculptures in Districts 1, 5 and 6. Specific locations were the entrance to the Harbor on the Corona del Mar jetty side, the Back Bay View Park at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Jamboree, and Marina Park. The subcommittee was considering a piece in View Park next to Newport Theatre Arts Center in honor of Rae Cohen and a piece celebrating the unique Back Bay environment in District 4. Commissioner Greer noted the exhibit of aerial photography was on display. Chair Selich loved the idea of placing pieces at locations unique to Newport Beach. Further discussion of finding pieces and funding would occur. 7. Performing Arts Ad Hoc Subcommittee – Commissioner Michelle Bendetti, Commissioner Arlene Greer, Commissioner Judy Chang Commissioner Greer advised that the subcommittee was discussing performing arts for 2017, Concerts on the Green, and elevating the quality of music for concerts. Chair Selich recalled that the City Arts Commission committed to City National Bank that it would be the sponsor for the Pacific Symphony concert for two years. A date for the concert was needed. In response to Commissioner Van Bergh, Chair Selich indicated the Council had not committed funds to the Pacific Symphony concert. In response to Commissioner Van Bergh, Library Services Director Hetherton reported the 2017 budget, if it remained at the 2016 level, would be $35,000 total for concerts and the juried art show. Commissioner Greer added that approximately $18,000 was allocated for concerts in the prior year. Library Services Director Hetherton stated the exact budget would not be known until May 2017 for the fiscal year beginning July 1. In response to Commissioner Van Bergh, Library Services Director Hetherton reported the programming budget contained $19,000 after the summer concerts. These funds will be used for the Cows4Camp exhibition and the Newport Beach Art Exhibition. A small portion may remain at the end of the year, but that amount could not be used for events held in the next fiscal year. Chair Selich felt the City Arts Commission needed to determine events and programs in order to solicit sponsors, underwriting and press coverage. 7 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 8 Commissioner Van Bergh expressed concern about planning events without knowing budget amounts. Vice Chair Kerr advised that the Finance Subcommittee met with Mayor Dixon, who recommended the City Arts Commission submit to the Council an interim progress report outlining the wonderful programs and events provided by the City Arts Commission. Mayor Dixon also recommended the City Arts Commission wait for the new Council to be seated before proceeding. Vice Chair Kerr suggested a report to the Council include the long lead times needed to plan events, timeframes for events, fundraising efforts and a request for direction. Chair Selich believed the Pacific Symphony concert and the Cows4Camp Exhibit were good examples of fundraising. The City Arts Commission could have a presentation similar to the one OASIS gave the Council that week. Vice Chair Kerr stated Commissioners needed actual events when discussing sponsorships with businesses. 8. Marketing & Communications Ad Hoc Subcommittee - Commissioner Michelle Bendetti, Commissioner Lynn Selich Chair Selich reported the subcommittee could begin marketing for the Cows4Camp Exhibit. The current social media program and Art in the Park outreach were good. 9. Government Relations Ad Hoc Subcommittee - Commissioner Lynn Selich, Commissioner Michael Kerr, Commissioner Jennifer Van Bergh Chair Selich felt a comprehensive presentation to the City Council could be made in January. 10. Finance Ad Hoc Subcommittee - Commissioner Michael Kerr, Commissioner Jennifer Van Bergh, Commissioner Lynn Selich Vice Chair Kerr advised the main issue was the Newport Beach Arts Foundation. The subcommittee would discuss building a cohesive group of supporters to provide assistance and to form the nucleus of a new Foundation. VII. CITY ARTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Commissioner Greer reported Commissioner Van Bergh and she had met with the Pacific Club. They were supportive of the Pacific Symphony concert and the Sculpture Exhibition at Civic Center Park. Chair Selich wanted to pursue an alliance with the Pacific Club. Vice Chair Kerr volunteered to sponsor Commissioners' attendance at Pacific Club events. For the November agenda: Commissioner Logan requested to add the placement of Sphere 112, Commissioner Greer asked to include the Phil Dyke exhibition of family art; 8 Newport Beach City Arts Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016 Page 9 Chair Selich requested a Cows4Camp update as well as the update to City Council and the budget for the summer concert series. VIII. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None. IX. ADJOURNMENT – 7:01 PM Chair Selich adjourned the meeting in memory of former Commissioner Wendy Brooks. Approved by: Lynn Selich 9