Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved 02-08-2024 City Arts Commission Meeting MinutesCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES Newport Beach Public Library 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Thursday, February 8, 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 Study Session to order at 5:00P.M. II.ROLL CALL Commissioners Present:Chair Maureen Flanagan Commissioner John Blom Commissioner Marie Little Commissioner Wayan Kaufman Commissioner Melissa Kandel Secretary Barbara George Commissioners Absent: Vice Chair Leonard Simon (excused) Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Camille Escareal-Garcia, Cultural Arts Assistant III.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Flanagan lead the Pledge of Allegiance. IV.NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC V.PUBLIC COMMENTS None City Arts Commission Meeting February 8, 2024 Page 2 VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the January 11, 2024, City Arts Commission Meeting 1. Draft of 1/11/24 Minutes Chair Flanagan requested edits, changes or deletions of the minutes. Commissioner Marie Little referenced Agenda Packet pg. 7, paragraph 3 and noted “Commissioner Little expressed interest in the reasons submitted…” was not her. Motion made by Secretary Barbara George, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Vice Chair Simon absent) to approve the minutes of 1/11/24 as amended. B. Consent Calendar Items 2. Financial Report Review of financial information. Library Services Director Melissa Hartson said there had been limited movement in the financial department, payments are starting to post towards Phase IX of The Sculpture Exhibition, which was the most significant change in the financial report for January. 3. 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 the call for entries opened in January for the Student Art Exhibition, it’s been fun to see the art come in from various age groups and Lucie Galvin’s art is still being displayed in the Central Library lobby due to the previously scheduled artist dropping out. There will be a small gap between her exhibit dates and the artist scheduled for April. Chair Flanagan opened the floor to public comments, there were none. Motion made by Secretary Barbara George, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Vice Chair Simon absent) to approve Consent Calendar. VII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review and Possible Action 4. Curatorial Panel Assessment of Submitted Works – Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park, Phase IX Richard Stein with Arts Orange County will present the curatorial panel’s score results from the Sculpture Exhibition Phase IX entries. The City Arts Commission will discuss the results and approve works for inclusion in Phase IX of the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park Public Online Survey. City Arts Commission Meeting February 8, 2024 Page 3 Library Services Director Hartson introduced Richard Stein with Arts Orange County (Arts OC) who provided an update of the curatorial panel’s score results from the Phase IX entries. The curatorial panel discussed their choices for inclusion of the Public Online Survey for Phase IX of the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park. Richard Stein, Chief Executive Officer of Arts OC, explained the timetable of this year’s selection along with the criteria process for Phase IX selection of artists; and introduced two of the outside jurors: Tram Le, City of Santa Ana Arts and Culture Specialist and Alejandro Poli Jr., also known as artist “Man One.” There were seventy-one eligible submissions after the preliminary review, which was a significant increase from the prior two phases. Mr. Stein presented a slide show of each of the entries with pictures of the sculptures, and requested the Commission choose twenty-five to participate in the online survey. The Commission provided their opinions on the different works and discussed the appropriate number of entries in the survey, public engagement with the pieces and potential safety concerns, durability, weight constraints, maintenance requirements, and potential alternates. Chair Flanagan opened the item for Public Comment. Truly Boring, Newport Beach resident, found the discussion very interesting and commented that every park in the city has benches, the liability should not be a concern on pieces that the public can sit on. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, commented that he believes this process is going in the wrong direction of letting the public determine what they want to see in Civic Center Park. He stated the final selection should reflect the popular choices, not professional choices, and explained the history of why the public was allowed to participate in the selection of sculptures. Whittling down the number of options in the survey is not a step in the right direction. A point scale or allowing the public to choose more than three favorites would make the process easier and more inviting. Commissioner Blom advocated allowing the public to choose more than just three choices in the survey voting platform. Nicholas Thurkettle with Arts OC stated he would have to confirm if it would be possible to edit the online survey at this late date, although it appeared in the settings that variable could be changed. Ultimately, the City Arts Commission determined the following entries would be listed in the online public survey: 1. Depth of Form by Jacob Burmood 2. Millefolium by Catherine Daley 3. Big Puffa (The Generator) by Missy Douglass and Kim Rask (a.k.a. uckiood) 4. Natural Wonders by Michele Moushey Dale 5. Trillium Bus Stop Bench by Matt Cartwright 6. Glee by Cindy Debold 7. Convergence III by Brian Schader 8. Heavy Landing by Vojtech Blazejovsky 9. Shout It to the Wind by Joyce Dallal City Arts Commission Meeting February 8, 2024 Page 4 10. Cubescape by David Kizziar 11. Frutti de Mare by Adrian Susnea Litman 12. Caught Up II by Chris Rench 13. Hypersonic by Joe Forrest Sackett 14. Mind the Gap by J. Aaron Alderman 15. Interplay by Peter Ambrosio 16. Growing Wings by Hilde DeBruyne 17. Days Catch by Shohini Ghosh 18. Cycles 3: Frogs, Bees, Birds by Peter Hassen 19. Dream Portal by Mary Lai 20. Duality by Giuseppe Palumbo 21. Gecko by Doug Snider 22. Rybafish by Sergey Gornushkin 23. Ligeia by Heath Satow 24. Reaching Man by Ron Whitacre 25. Time and Awareness by D. Yoshikawa Wright 26. Expressions 3 by Reno Carollo 27. Catalyst Compass by Catherine Worsham 28. Nature’s Theater by Paul Saviskas Motion made by Commissioner John Blom, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Vice Chair Simon absent) to approve the above selection to be included in the online public survey for potential Phase IX exhibits and that the public be allowed to select more than three sculptures providing Arts Orange County is able to implement and test that change. 5. Fiscal Year 2023-24 Cultural Arts Grants Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission review grant applications and approve the recipients for recommendation to City Council for the FY 2023-24 Cultural Arts Grants in accordance with City Council Policy I-10 – Financial Support for Culture and Arts. Library Services Director Hartson provided a summary of the grant funds available approved by City Council for $30,000 and introduced the subcommittee’s choices for the recipients of the grant awards based on the seven organizations that applied for the grant. Commissioner Wayan Kaufman, Chair of the Cultural Arts Grants Ad Hoc Subcommittee, explained the amounts for the recipients based on the subcommittee’s recommendations and noted that all of the organizations are repeat applicants. The subcommittee also noted that Laguna Playhouse and South Coast Repertory stated in their applications that the focus of their programs are intended for Title 1 Elementary schools. Since Newport Beach does not have any Title 1 elementary schools, she questioned if they would have to return the grant funds if they were unable to service Newport Beach schools. Library Services Director Hartson stated she would look into that. Pacific Symphony was awarded a less amount because they were recipients of a CAC grant five years prior, and their participation numbers have since dwindled due to cancellation of field trips to the concert hall since the pandemic. Commissioner Kandel questioned the lesser amount for Baroque Music Festival and how the grants are being advertised to the community, as it seemed the same City Arts Commission Meeting February 8, 2024 Page 5 participants are resubmitting applications and there are other organizations who might benefit from the grants. Commissioner Blom responded that Baroque Music Festival was offering tickets at their full price and the grants are not intended to subsidize the cost of tickets. Commissioner Kandel commented that it would be a shame for the two highest recipients of the grants to not service Newport Beach schools. Commissioner Little commented that recipients do not have to be based in Newport Beach, only provide programming for Newport Beach residents. Library Services Director Hartson explained that the grant is offered and promoted via the City’s website and Cultural Arts Assistant Camille Escareal-Garcia provides a letter to the subcommittee to send to local organizations that may be interested in applying for the grants. Commissioner Kandel suggested possibly thinking about a communication strategy for next year’s grant process to hopefully reach more organizations. Commissioner Blom noted that the grant funding comes from City Council and questioned why it’s through the CAC budget when the funds stay in the General Fund if they aren’t awarded. Commissioner Little recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic the funds were held back for programming purposes that didn’t take place, they gave the funds instead to South Coast Repertory for an online program. Chair Flanagan called for Public comments. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, commented that his recollection was during the pandemic some of the grant funding was utilized by the CAC’s art programming and he shared the concern about all of the applicants being previous applicants. He suggested using ArtsOC as potential advertising throughout the County for the grants. Motion made by Secretary Barbara George, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Vice Chair Simon absent) to approve the following organizations to be recommended to receive grants: 1. Backhausdance 2. Balboa Island Improvement Association 3. Baroque Music Festival, CdM 4. Laguna Playhouse 5. Pacific Chorale 6. Pacific Symphony 7. South Coast Repertory Substitute Motion made by Commissioner Kandel, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (with Vice Chair Simon absent) to approve the above organizations to be recommended to receive grants providing Laguna Playhouse and South Coast Repertory programs will serve Newport Beach elementary and/or middle schools. City Arts Commission Meeting February 8, 2024 Page 6 6. 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: Shant Beudjekian, Liberty Dickinson, Christopher Evans, Dorothy Grettenberg Handy, Faro Mojahedi and Tianyi Wang. Library Services Director Hartson reported the subcommittee met to review applications and recommended that the following artists be approved to display work in the Library Gallery in the upcoming months: • Shant Beudjekian • Liberty Dickenson • Christopher Evans • Dorothy Grettenberg Handy • Faro Mohajedi • Tianyi Wang Commissioner Little noted that the photos seen in the staff report do not represent all of the artist’s works that will be on display, but it does show good examples of pieces they will exhibit. Chair Flanagan opened the item for public comment, hearing none she requested a motion. Motion made by Commissioner Melissa Kandel, seconded by Commissioner Marie Little, and carried 6-0-0-1 (Vice Chair Simon absent) to approve the following artists be approved for exhibiting at the Central Library Gallery: Shant Beudjekian, Liberty Dickinson, Christopher Evans, Dorothy Grettenberg Handy, Faro Mojahedi and Tianyi Wang. B. Monthly Reports 7. Newport Beach Arts Foundation Liaison Secretary Barbara George, Chair Maureen Flanagan, Vice Chair Leonard Simon Chair Flanagan reported she went to the recent Newport Beach Arts Foundation meeting. They held an Art Walk on January 25; she was unable to attend but heard from the Foundation Chair that it was very successful. The tentative date for Art in the Park is scheduled for September 14, 2024. As of the meeting the treasurer has $36,700 in their treasury. VIII. CITY ARTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Commissioner Blom requested a discussion about putting permanent City-owned sculptures in other parks be placed on a future agenda, along with receiving an estimate from the City on what that would cost. City Arts Commission Meeting February 8, 2024 Page 7 Library Services Director Hartson noted there was a recent City Council discussion about asking CAC to find options and alternatives to help support the existing sculptures already in town, which includes the Sculpture Garden. The direction from City Council was for them to determine how to fund the existing programs before looking into additional programs. Chair Flanagan requested a discussion regarding the upcoming budget on the agenda. Library Services Director Hartson reminded everyone that the Sculpture Exhibition public online poll begins next week and asked that Commissioners please encourage participation. Chair Flanagan suggested posting on social media sites. Commissioner Little suggested putting fliers out at the libraries and possibly a banner somewhere to encourage participation in the polling. Commissioner Kandal suggested looking into a QR code to put on Arts OC’s website. Cultural Arts Assistant Escareal-Garcia explained they use both the Library and City’s email blast list, as well as a news story that posts in the Weekly Review by the City Manager, and that gets picked up by Stu-News and other media outlets. There will also be a digital signage on the Library’s website, as well as fliers throughout City Hall and all Library branches. IX. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Truly Boring, Newport Beach resident, commented that she’s the president of Newport Beach’s Sister City Association which falls under the Newport Beach City Arts Commission. This is their fortieth anniversary, and they have their sister city in Japan who will host them for a visit in July and will visit California in May. They want to put an art piece in Newport Beach, Ms. Boring is looking for information on how to get this approved through the CAC and City Council. She provided pictures of the artwork and stated they will be attending a City Council meeting while in town. She will continue attending the CAC meeting as a delegate. More information about the Sister City Association can be found by visiting www.nbsca.net. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, commented that it was good to hear something different about culture and mentioned that the City Council had their annual planning session last Saturday with a focus on the City budget. It’s available both on the City’s website and YouTube and he suggested the Commission view it, as he didn’t want to misrepresent what was said regarding the City’s art budget. It was a robust discussion that would be worth the Commission’s time to watch the meeting. X. ADJOURNMENT – 7:07 P.M. The next meeting for the City Art Commission is scheduled for Thursday March 14, 2024. Approved by: Maureen Flanagan