City of Lawrence
Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission (LCAC)
Monthly Meeting, September 11, 2013
Members present: Chair: Patrick Kelly, Mandy Enfield, John Hachmeister, Jerry Johnson, Jane Pennington, Grace Peterson, and Kathy Porsch.
Members absent: Christie Dobson, Lois Greene, Richard Renner, and Katherine Simmons
Also present: Diane Stoddard, City Liaison; Walt Ohnesorge-Fick, Percolator representative
MINUTES
Chair Patrick Kelly called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. in the Lawrence City Council Chambers at Lawrence City Hall.
Action Items:
The May 1, 2013 minutes were approved with a typo and a spacing/comma error corrected.
Jane Pennington made the following motion, which was seconded by John Hachmeister and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:
Motion to recommend that the City Council approve Phoenix Awards for 2013 as follows:
· Arts Educator Award: Cathy Ledeker
· Visual Arts Award: Ben Ahlvers
· Exceptional Artistic Achievement Award: Laura Ramberg
· Music Award: John Jervis
· Creative Spaces Award: Theatre Lawrence
Jerry Johnson made the following motion, which was seconded by Patrick Kelly and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:
Motion to recommend that the Mayor send a letter of recognition to Eric Melin to congratulate him on his achievement in winning the world air guitar championship.
Diane Stoddard and Katherine Simmons will meet to explore how CollectiveAccess.org might be implemented to track City-owned artworks and their maintenance needs.
Discussion:
New Business:
Percolator Presentation:
Walt Ohnesorge-Fick extended a thank you for the Lawrence Community Arts Grant of $1000 to support the Caravan Project, a collaborative effort with the Lawrence Community Shelter. He said two mural projects by Shelter residents are underway, led by K. T. Walsh, one outside and one inside, and outlined other events associated with the Caravan Show. An exhibit will premier at the Shelter on Sept. 21st from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the community is invited. Walt also called attention to some specific upcoming events, including the annual Day of the Dead events in October, and provided a handout on upcoming activities scheduled at the Percolator.
In answer to a request for background information on the Percolator, Walt said it is a 501c3 non-profit that was originated by members of the Lawrence Arts Guild. We are really open to all comers for exhibits and activities, he said. As a result, we get shows that include work by people who have not previously exhibited alongside artwork by well-known artists. There is not a lot of art spending in Lawrence, but everyone has fun at the shows. The owner of the building, Patrick Diebold, provides the space for this community exercise in art. Walt said the Percolator offers a lot of exhibits and has many arts activities ongoing, especially with a focus on local artists, even though it operates on a very tight budget. Activities are often collaborative with other arts and culture organizations, he said, and offered the example of a collaboration with Watkins Museum on a Quantrill's raid joint exhibit aimed at expanding audiences for both organizations by bringing Museum patrons to the Percolator and Percolator patrons to the Museum. They do active fund-raising and grant writing throughout the year to fund these efforts.
Discuss Phoenix Award Nominations:
Phoenix Awards Committee Chair Mandy Enfield opened the discussion by reviewing the Phoenix Awards criteria. Given annually, these awards recognize outstanding artistic achievements in the Lawrence community. Members of the public are invited to make nominations and eligible nominees include artists working in the visual, literary, musical, theatrical, media arts, arts educators, administrators, advocates, and volunteers. At the discretion of the LCAC, a nominee may be chosen for a special Exceptional Artistic Achievement award. There is also a "Creative Spaces" Award category, which recognizes outstanding achievement in imaginative and environmentally forward-thinking place-making. Eligible nominees are public or business places that are designed and/or function to advance the artistic environment of the Lawrence community.
The LCAC members reviewed and discussed the nomination materials and determined five to recommend for awards.
This year’s awardees will be recognized at a ceremony to be held on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2012 at 2 pm at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire Street. A reception will follow.
Old Business:
Committee and Liaison Reports:
City Owned Art Maintenance Committee: In Chair Katherine Simmons’ absence, committee member Kathy Porsch asked if the piece by John Havener, which he agreed to repair had been restored. She said she had not received word back from him after initial communications. John Hachmeister volunteered to talk with him about the status of the repair and about the plaques he requested be added to his City-owned works. Kathy asked Diane what the next steps are to begin implementing a CollectiveAccess.org database as previously recommended. Diane said she would sit down with Katherine and look at what it will take to put this in motion; possibly an intern can be called upon to enter the initial information.
Lawrence Community Arts Grants Committee: Chair Kathy Porsch thanked Diane for posting the reports from the 2012 grant recipients. She expressed concern with some of the reports lacking the details requested and pointed out that one applicant fairly dramatically changed the nature of the project, which showed significantly less impact than had been estimated in the grant application. The report did indicate special circumstances in the form of a key personnel change and Diane said the subsequent new project director did contact her to report these issues and ask about going forward. Patrick suggested that the Community Arts Grants guidelines be revised to state in the application process that the final reports are public reports that will appear on the City’s website and to indicate that these reports need to be written with that in mind. Diane suggested that reports might be more detailed if the report requirement is changed to require reports be submitted to the City no longer than 30 days after the event concludes or no later than Aug. 1, whichever comes first. Kathy said she would make those changes and send a new draft of the instructions for Diane to circulate.
Nominating Committee: Chair, no report due to Chair Christi Dobson’s absence.
Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibit Committee: Chair John Hachmeister reported all is well with the sculptures. Committee member Grace Peterson suggested that in the future the QR codes be placed on a different surface as they are quite reflective, which can cause issues with phone apps reading them in bright sunlight.
Percent for Art: Chair Grace Peterson reported that she intends to meet with the artists before the October LCAC meeting.
Phoenix Awards Committee: Following discussion and designation of recommended awards for 2013, Chair Mandy Enfield urged all LCAC members to attend the Sunday, Nov. 3rd @ 2 p.m., presentation of the 2013 Phoenix Awards and noted that Spencer Art Museum Director Saralyn Reece Hardy, will give the keynote speech.
Lawrence Arts Roundtable Liaison: Kathy Porsch reported there was no outside speaker at the 9/11/13 meeting. Members shared information about their upcoming events and discussed collaborations surrounding the William S. Burroughs birthday celebration in January-February 2014. Patrick asked if LCAC should continue to have a liaison to the Roundtable. Kathy said she would continue to attend.
Lawrence Arts Center Liaison: Patrick Kelly reported that he met with Susan Tate, Director, and learned details about the Center’s activities related to the William S. Burroughs birthday celebration. The Center will host an exhibition in January 2014 and offer a series of of luncheon discussions entitled “Naked Lunches.”
Cultural District Task Force: Member Mandy Enfield reported that the last two meeting went well. Task Force members reviewed and reported on models Cultural District employed by other cities and on different cities' arts and culture events. The direction and the tone of the meetings have changed so the Task Force is longer spinning its wheels, she said. A lot of good information from other cities was considered. At the most recent meeting the members discussed what the structure for City arts and culture support might look like under different scenarios, 1) with a City Administrator being in charge, 2) with a separate organization in charge, or 3) with the LCAC in charge.
Patrick Kelly said he attended both recent meetings and Mandy gave a good explanation of the role of LCAC, indicating its role cannot change without its mandate form the City changing. There was incredibly constructive discussion about what other cities are doing and contrasting that with how Lawrence supports arts and culture, he said. Adding up what the City spends overall on arts and culture was enlightening and raised questions such as: Do we want to pool those funds as other cities have done, or is the model we have actually working by giving arts organizations greater autonomy?
Mandy said the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association (ELNA) has not submitted their report, although it has been emphasized that this is a draft so people should not get sidetracked by language at this point.
Grace Peterson, Task Force member some of the language in the draft made ELNA nervous and the organization is very concerned about how the Cultural District designation and ensuing developments might change their community. She said she suggested that ELNA state what they would like in the report rather than simply saying what they don't like.
Patrick said there seems to be a perception that ELNA is the only entity that has been asked to change for the Cultural District. The Cultural District covers the entire neighborhood, it's the only neighborhood in the Cultural District and the concern is that the quality of life of the residents will be displaced. They are concerned that the neighborhood is being asked to generate income for the city. A problem is that they are concerned about gentrification and it is their responsibility to bring this up.
John Hachmeister suggested there be a drop-dead deadline by which ELNA has to provide its input on the draft. If they're not stepping up, he said, make it clear that the report is being compiled and it is time for ELNA to provide its section. Start writing those sections and let them know that if they want to have input they need to prepare their input and submit it.
Patrick said they've had three extensions. ELNA residents have the most to lose, he said. It is important to take the time as long as it doesn't halt progress. The Cultural District can only succeed with ELNA's help. I would hate to see the LCAC appear to hijack the process; we're just one part of this Task Force.
Grace said she attends the ELNA meetings and they do cover a lot of ground. ELNA had a meeting at Hobbs Park for a couple of hours on a Sunday specifically to try to address these issues and members are taking the time to discuss these things. The question is, how much time needs to be granted? ELNA members want 100% consensus. They may need to accept that this is not going to happen and they may have to focus on bringing great examples to the table.
Diane Stoddard, who takes minutes for the Task Force meetings, said there was an initial desire to have an outline as a guide, which is how there came to be a draft report before the Task Force members did the research. The outline is a placeholder, she said. When the report is complete, the Task Force will vote on it, and there may not be a 100% consensus. Dissenting points may be incorporated at the end of the report.
Mandy said the Task Force probably will pull things from different models to compile three ideal models. The ELNA engagement is what will make this successful. A lot of what they want is recognition that they have a unique neighborhood. I think we have to respect that.
Patrick echoed Mandy’s statement, and said Lawrence is lucky to have a community that is so highly engaged. LCAC members should be aware that there may be suggestions for changes in how the LCAC functions, he said. If the city's relationship with the arts changes, then the role of the LCAC may change.
Commissioner Items: Jerry Johnson asked if, outside of the Phoenix Awards, we ever send congratulatory letters when someone from Lawrence does something great in the arts. Specifically, Lawrence performance artist and musician Eric Melin won the World Air Guitar Championship in Oulu, Finland (http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/sep/01/world-air-guitar-champ-returns-home-rock-star-stat/). Jerry said Melin has played in Ultimate Fakebook and other bands since the late 1980s and also is a movie reviewer. Kathy suggested that he make a motion to that effect and he did so. Diane will pass along the recommendation to the Mayor.
Staff Liaison: Diane Stoddard said she had nothing to report.
Chair Items: Patrick said November 21st is Arts Day for Leadership Lawrence and Mike Logan has put together a panel discussion on leadership challenges in community arts organizations. There will be caricatures of eight people in Lawrence, including someone from the LCAC. The event will be at the Cider Gallery and Patrick has received permission for members of the LCAC to attend the arts-related session. He said he will let members know the time via Diane when the schedule is finalized.
The meeting adjourned at 8:38 p.m.