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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-13-2024 City Arts Commission Approved Meeting MinutesCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Newport Beach Civic Center – Council Chambers 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Thursday, June 13, 2024 – Regular Meeting City Arts Commission Members: Maureen Flanagan, Chair Leonard Simon, Vice Chair Barbara George, Secretary John Blom, Commissioner Melissa Kandel, Commissioner Wayan Kaufman, Commissioner Marie Little, Commissioner Staff Members: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chair Maureen Flanagan called the City Arts Commission Regular Monthly Meeting to order at 5:02 P.M. II. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chair Maureen Flanagan Vice Chair Leonard Simon (arrived late) Commissioner Marie Little Commissioner John Blom Secretary Barbara George Commissioner Melissa Kandel (arrived late) Commissioners Absent: Commissioner Wayan Kaufman (Excused) Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Rebecca Lightfoot, Library Services Manager Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Flanagan led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. PRESENTATION of the 2024 Student Art Exhibition Awards Chair Flanagan and the City Arts Commission presented the 2024 Student Art Exhibition awards to the following winners: Pre-K through 3rd City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 2 • Elaine Ma (1st place) for Koi Pond in Fashion Island • Erica Barinova (2nd place) for Foxy Moons • Ian Jang, (2nd place) for We Love Reading • Hannah Hong (3rd place) for A Summer Vacation to Korea • Alexa Frot (Honorable Mention) for Mermaid Sisters (was not able to attend) 4th through 7th • Yun Jeon (1st place) for The Entrance Way to Hope (was not able to attend) • Quinn Kelley (2nd place) for Winter Bird • Oli Beamish (3rd place) for Behind the Page • Esther Jung (Honorable Mention) for Hope 8th through 12th • Reese Holladay (1st place) for Staples Street • Sean Murphy (2nd place) for Bavarian Castle • Helen Zhang (3rd place) for CA Flashback (was not able to attend) • Beckett Gladstone-Lamas (Honorable Mention) for Untitled The City Arts Commission took photographs with the Commission and recipients. V. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC - Waived VI. PUBLIC COMMENTS None VII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the May 9, 2024, City Arts Commission Meeting 1. Draft of 5/9/24 Minutes Chair Flanagan requested edits, changes, or deletions of the minutes. Hearing none, she opened the item for public comments. There were none. Motion made by Secretary Barbara George, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 5-0-0-2 (with Vice Chair Simon and Commissioner Kaufman absent) to approve the minutes of the City Arts Commission 5/9/24 monthly meeting as written. B. Consent Calendar Items 3. Financial Report Review of financial information. City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 3 Commissioner Melissa Kandel inquired about the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Cultural Arts Grant applicants South Coast Repertory and Laguna Playhouse and if staff had received confirmation that their programs served the citizens of Newport Beach. Cultural Arts Assistant Camille Escareal-Garcia indicated that they had reached out to both organizations, South Coast Repertory was approved as a grantee as their programs service Newport Beach schools, however the Laguna Playhouse’s programs do not serve Newport Beach schools and were not accepted as grantees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24. Library Services Director Melissa Hartson stated that the grant goes to serving Newport Beach schools; however, some grants are specific towards Newport Beach while others serve cities in Orange County including Newport Beach schools. Each grant and programs are different and said she would happily meet with Commissioner Kandel outside of the meeting once she had the information in front of her. Chair Flanagan opened the item for public comments and there were none. 4. Cultural Arts Activities Monthly review of cultural arts activities from the Library Administrative Office for upcoming Library and City arts events and services. Library Services Director Hartson reported that May wrapped up Laura Green’s paintings in the Central Library Gallery Exhibits and have transitioned to Dorothy Handy’s needlework. Her art will be on display through July 26. There are pieces hanging on the wall as well as exhibited in the display cabinets. Vendor Gerard Basil Studios provided routine annual maintenance that catered to each sculpture’s needs for three City Art public sculptures: Marine 1/1, Sunset Years, and Ronald Reagan. Upcoming activities include the July CAC meeting on Thursday July 11, and the Newport Beach Art Exhibition is scheduled on Saturday June 29, in conjunction with the Sculpture Exhibition Phase IX Grand Opening. Concerts on the Green begin July 21 with Radio Rebels from 6 – 7:30 p.m., Wilbury Super Group is scheduled for August 11, AbSOULute will wrap up the Concert on the Greens series on September 22. Chair Flanagan opened the floor to public comments, there were none. Motion made by Secretary Barbara George, seconded by Vice Chair Leonard Simon, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to accept the Consent Calendar. VIII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review and Possible Action 5. Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park Staff will present the Sculpture Exhibition Ad Hoc Subcommittee’s recommendations for future phases of the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park. Commissioner John Blom requested the item be moved to the July meeting. He explained that was to allow staff the opportunity to include the costs involved prior to the City Arts Commission making a recommendation to City Council. City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 4 Library Services Director Hartson recommended if there were other options that the Commission wanted staff to research, tonight’s meeting would be the time to have that discussion. Commissioner Marie Little commented that even though there hasn’t been much success with the Newport Beach Arts Foundation for the Newport Beach art programming, the CAC should approach the Arts Foundation and remind them what their purpose is and begin dialogue on what else the CAC can do to help them raise funds for events. After speaking with City Council, she suggested sitting with Rick Stein with Arts Orange County (ArtsOC) and create a detailed line-item cost sheet related to the Sculpture Exhibition to present to City Council with another request for an increase in the program’s budget. Commissioner Barbara George agreed with Commissioner Little about approaching the Arts Foundation for additional funding and stated their funding event is coming up in September. Commissioner Little stated that is usually their only event for fundraising. Commissioner Blom believed the Sculpture Exhibition is no longer financially feasible as it currently stands. Commissioner Little believed the Sculpture Exhibition is well planned out, having the funds to support it has become the biggest challenge. There are ways in which the event can be promoted that would help gain the support of the Foundation. Vice Chair Simon commented that financing the event is definitely the issue, particularly since the City’s budget has not changed; the lack of funding from both the private and public sectors continues to be a challenge that leaves the CAC having to take funds from other programs. The cost of labor also continues to increase. Commissioner Kandel stated that the CAC needs to resolve the issues with new ideas that would enable them to continue the program. Chair Flanagan opened the item for Public Comment. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, agreed that this type of dialogue with the City Council couldn’t hurt, particularly if they add in a list of pros and cons, and which programming the CAC prefers and why. Additionally, there had been a Sculpture Exhibition Ad Hoc Subcommittee discussion to recommend the exhibition be extended to run three years for the phases instead of two, and decrease the sculptures from ten to eight, but he wasn’t clear on the specific changes discussed. Another option would be to run the exhibition for two years and make the change on all sculptures concurrently rather than the rotation of 10 pieces every year, which would save on installation for the second year. Commissioner Little noted that if they increase the number of years to three, it could increase the amount of money the artists want. Rick Stein with ArtsOC provided a brief history of the Sculpture Exhibition prior to recruiting ArtsOC to help manage the event. Those Commissioners did a great deal of research and envisioned the program running over a period of two years and designed it specifically to exhibit ten pieces that would rotate in and out. They looked at the market, nearby city programs, and designed the program geared to large sculptures. They established what City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 5 the fees would be to the artists. This isn’t a source of income for ArtsOC, they would happily work up a proposal for a new Request for Quote (RFQ) and recalled that City Council denied decreasing the number of pieces in the Exhibition last fall. Another factor would be maintenance on all of the pieces if they were to extend the artwork to three years running. Mr. Stein gave alternate options for approaching City Council and requesting more funds. Motion made by Commissioner John Blom, seconded by Vice Chair Leonard Simon, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to move the item to the July 11, 2024 City Arts Commission Regular Monthly Meeting agenda. 6. Donation of Art Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission approve a recommendation from the Art in Public Spaces Ad Hoc Subcommittee for the acceptance of donation by the Newport Beach Sister City Association for the piece, Indivisible. Library Services Director Hartson reported the Art in Public Places Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Subcommittee) met to review the Application for Review and Consideration of Art from the Newport Beach Sister City Association (NBSCA) to accept a donation of mixed media art. The piece is titled Indivisible by artist Pierce Meehan. In honor of the 40th anniversary celebrating the Sister City friendship with Okazaki, Japan, Artist Meehan has created two companion pieces of artwork. One will reside in Newport Beach and the other in Okazaki, Japan. According to the NBSCA, each piece of artwork measures 40” x 40”. They are white and red representing both the American flag and the Japanese flag seen together in unity. These two Sister City pieces are the only ones with this design and color way. The NBSCA delegation and Council Members Robyn Grant and Erik Weigand visited Okazaki to meet with members of the Okazaki City Council and Mayor, where they presented their gift of art to Okazaki city representatives. Upon City Arts Commission approval, the companion art piece will be presented to City Council by the NBSCA at the Tuesday, July 9 City Council meeting when the Okazaki delegation visits Newport Beach. In its initial review, the Subcommittee expressed concerns that the piece being offered as a donation to the City of Newport Beach is not “an original creation or limited edition.” This is a criterion for accepting an offer to convey art to the City per City Council Policy I-11, Acquisition of Art by the City of Newport Beach. The Subcommittee recognizes that the gift bears special symbolic meaning to the Newport Beach Sister City Association as the dual pieces commemorate 40 years of the Sister City friendship between Okazaki and Newport Beach. In light of the Newport Beach Sister City Association’s long-time dedication to the City as a non-profit, volunteer organization promoting international communication, understanding, education and friendship between the people of Newport Beach and the people of foreign cities, the Art in Public Places Ad Hoc Subcommittee recommends the City Arts Commission support the request to City Council to consider accepting the Indivisible artwork into the City’s art inventory as a gift from the NBSCA by way of special exception waiver of City Council Policy I-11, Acquisition of Art by the City of Newport Beach. The Subcommittee also recommends the City Arts Commission approve the Central Library’s Passport Office for placement of Indivisible. Commissioner Little reported that even though it is not an original or limited edition, the piece is quite special in the relationship it represents; and is already scheduled for City Council’s approval. City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 6 Commissioner Blom stated that several City Council members already accepted the piece. Chair Flanagan opened the item to Public Comment. Truly Boring, NBSCA President, commented she was one of the representatives who went to Japan and shared pictures of them presenting Okazaki, Japan with their portion of the piece and the event in Japan. The unveiling of the piece is scheduled for July 9 at 4 p.m., directly before the City Council meeting. Motion made by Commissioner John Blom, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to approve the Ad Hoc Subcommittee’s recommendation for the acceptance of donation by the Newport Beach Sister City Association for the piece, Indivisible, and recommend that the piece be displayed in the Central Library passport office. 7. Central Library Gallery Exhibits The Art in Public Spaces Ad Hoc Subcommittee recommends that the following artists be approved for exhibiting at the Central Library Gallery: Joan Gladstone, Kathy Kehoe Bambeck, and Joe Cladis. Chair Flanagan introduced the item and noted that photos of the art can be found on Handwritten Packet page 31. Commissioner Kandel commented she thought all of the work was great. Chair Flanagan opened the item to Public Comment, seeing none she called for a motion. Motion made by Commissioner Marie Little, seconded by Commissioner Melissa Kandel, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Commissioner Kaufman absent) to approve exhibiting the art of Joan Gladstone, Kathy Kehoe Bambeck, and Joe Cladis at the Central Library Gallery. B. Monthly Reports 8. Newport Beach Art Exhibition Ad Hoc Subcommittee Chair Flanagan, Vice Chair Simon, Commissioner Little Chair Flanagan stated this item had already been covered, and reminded the Commissioners that all members were needed to help with the upcoming Art Exhibition, which will be held on June 29. Library Services Director Hartson added that typically the Arts Commission are expected to be present for both Friday and Saturday. Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia mentioned she will be providing the information on the time slots available for volunteering, what to expect as volunteers, and how the Commission would be working with the Arts Foundation and Youth Council in order to have enough volunteers working the entire event. Delivery of the art will be between 3-6 p.m. on Friday June 28. Volunteers will need to be available at 2:15 p.m. City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 7 Chair Flanagan commented that while it is a long day and weekend, it’s a lot of fun. Commissioner Little noted that if the Commissioners go the morning of June 29 to help out, there will be time to go home and clean up prior to returning for the event. Chair Flanagan inquired if they had reached out to the Art Foundation yet. Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia replied she wanted to provide the Commission with their choice of time slots prior to contacting the Foundation to let them know what times they had left to fill; and responded to Commissioner Blom’s inquiry regarding the juror. Karen Raab, owner of Chemers Gallery in Tustin, had been selected at the guest juror for the 57th Annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition. Chair Flanagan opened the item for Public Comment, seeing none she filed and received the report. 9. Newport Beach Arts Foundation Liaison Secretary Barbara George, Chair Maureen Flanagan, Vice Chair Leonard Simon Chair Flanagan reported the Newport Beach Arts Foundation is focusing on their Art in the Park event on Saturday, September 14. They too will be needing as many volunteers as possible for their event. They have a new website; they talked a lot about that at the Arts Foundation meeting. Chair Flanagan opened the item to Public Comment, seeing none she filed and received the report. IX. CITY ARTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Chair Flanagan announced that this would be the last meeting for Vice Chair Simon and Commissioner Little and thanked them for the many years of service they both provided. Library Services Director Hartson expressed her and staff’s appreciation for the pleasure of working with both Commissioners. Commissioner Little’s institutional knowledge will be missed, as well as Vice Chair Simon’s ability to keep her on her toes! Commissioner Little commented that she thoroughly enjoyed being a Commissioner and working with each of her colleagues and staff. She will continue to support art in the City. She encouraged everyone to keep working through challenging issues and not give up. Vice Chair Simon commented he had really enjoyed being on the Arts Commission and acquiring new friends. It can be a challenge, but there’s a great staff that really supports the Commission. It’s almost a full-time job thinking through the issues and coming up with ideas and participating in ad hoc subcommittees. He really put his whole self into it and got a lot out of it over the years. Commissioner George noted that Commissioner Little was one of the first people she met, she appreciated being taken under her wing, Commissioner Simon was her first buddy in the Arts Commission. She learned so much from both and really appreciated their City Arts Commission Meeting June 13, 2024 Page 8 professionalism and decorum. She hopes to be a shining example of what she learned from both of them. Commissioner Blom requested the Sculpture Exhibition Ad Hoc subcommittee reconvene and meet with Mr. Stein of ArtsOC to go over the recommendations for Phase X of the Sculpture Exhibition. Library Services Director Hartson proposed that if the ad hoc subcommittee wanted to meet again before the end of the month, Commissioner Simon will remain a Commissioner until June 30th. X. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, spoke highly of Vice Chair Simon and Commissioner Little for their work on the City Arts Commission and stated he would miss them both; and shared that City Council was scheduled to announce the nominations for the new Commissioners at their June 25 meeting. XI. ADJOURNMENT – 6:17 P.M. The next meeting for the City Art Commission is scheduled for Thursday July 11, 2024. Approved by: Melissa Kandel