City of Lawrence

Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission (LCAC)

Monthly Meeting, December 11, 2013

Members present:        Vice Chair: Grace Peterson, Christie Dobson, Mandy Enfield, Lois Greene, Jerry Johnson, John Hachmeister, Jane Pennington, Kathy Porsch, and Katherine Simmons.

Members absent:          Patrick Kelly, Richard Renner

Also present:                Diane Stoddard, City Liaison; Jay Wachs, Mary Doveton, and John Doveton, Theatre Lawrence; Sara Shepherd, Lawrence Journal World

MINUTES

Vice Chair Grace Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Lawrence City Council Chambers at Lawrence City Hall

Action Items:

· The November 13, 2013 minutes were approved as presented.

· It was a consensus of the LCAC members present to schedule the annual LCAC retreat from 9-noon on a Saturday in January at Theatre Lawrence. The central topics for consideration will be the mission of the Commission and the percent for art program. Diane will circulate the enabling ordinance and the LCAC bylaws.

· It was a consensus of the members present to invite Bobbi Rahder, Program Coordinator for the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council, to address the February meeting of the LCAC. Kathy will make the request.

John Hachmeister made the following motion, which was seconded by Mandy Enfield and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission slate of officers for 2014 will be Grace Peterson, Chair; Christy Dobson, Vice Chair; and Kathy Porsch, Secretary.

Kathy Porsch made the following motion, which was seconded by Jerry Johnson and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission will send a communication to the Lawrence City Commission requesting that Percent for Art be included in the design of the new Roundabout at Wakarusa and Legends Drive in the spirit of Resolution 6774, which aims at creating an esthetic environment.

Jane Penning made the following motion, which was seconded by John Hachmeister and approved unanimously by the LCAC members present:

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission recommends to the City Commission that any application for a Kansas Creative Industries grant be focused on funding to support development of a comprehensive city-wide cultural plan.

New Business:

Jay Wachs, Theatre Lawrence board member, and Mary Doveton, Theatre Lawrence executive director, were invited to talk about the new theatre. Mary started by congratulating LCAC for putting arts and culture on the front page of the newspaper and the Cultural District Task Force report presented the previous day to the Lawrence City Commission.

As you all know we've made a quantum leap to a 35,000 sq. ft. feet building this past year, Mary said. It has truly been a community adventure. This is the largest fund drive that has been accomplished by an entity in Lawrence outside of KU and the hospital. We have raised in excess of $7 million, which is a reflection of the faith the people of Lawrence have in the arts and in bettering our community. While we've had some large gifts, we've had many small grants, including bags of coins. Families, individuals, businesses, and foundations worked together to raise these funds. The new facility gives us much wider opportunities to serve the people of Lawrence and the area. We foster collaborations with volunteers in order to develop opportunities that will enhance everyone's lives. We work with 500 distinct volunteers each year; it will take us about 275 volunteers just to staff the Shrek performances. We have added the Hiebert concert series, newly funded to feature young artists starting their professional careers. Moving from 156 to just under 300 seats meant doubling our budget and quadrupling our utility bills, but the new location has brought in a lot of new arts members. What we found was that there are lots of people in this community who are hungry for theatre. We've increased our season ticket sales by 40% and increased attendance by at least 100 people per show. This is a lot of people to bring to the arts. We want to offer people something they can come into and have a good time at, bring their families, and not feel intimidated. Eventually more people will have more buy-in.

Mary concluded by saying, "I would encourage you as a commission to remain inclusive as you're looking at the arts and remember that there are lots of communities outside of our city core with young families, people who will be open to arts events, but we kind of have to go to them and find things they're comfortable doing." She said George Woodyard, a long-time Theatre Lawrence supporter, often talked about Lawrence as being like a three-legged stool with KU and downtown as two legs and and west Lawrence as the potential third leg. As the community grows in all directions, we need to include all of the community in order to be successful, she said.

Jay said he has 40 years of experience in theatre and offered his observations as an outsider. Downtown absolutely sells the city, he said, It's one of the reasons I moved here. Shortly after coming on the board I faced the daunting task of fund raising for our first season in the new space after raising the $7 million to construct the facility. We not only raised what we needed, but went beyond our goal. What I've seen is that Lawrence is the cultural hub of the region. Our funding for our first season in the new location came not only from within Kansas, but from Baldwin, Eudora, and further out. We were contacted to do a murder mystery on the Kansas Bell Dinner Train in Baldwin that we thought would be a one time thing and we're now at 52 weeks and still booked solid. That has lead to more people from outside of Lawrence coming to shows in Lawrence, and we've had to add shows. We have a group of retirees called the Vintage Players who go out and do readings with children in the schools and go to the senior theatres. They help keep the theatre alive. It's not unusual to see seniors from Brandon Woods and school children and their parents all coming to the same show. What Theatre Lawrence does well is take theatre and present it to the community in a way that is welcoming and transcends all geographical boundaries. If we are to continue to evolve as a community, we have to be inclusive and encompass the entire geography.

Grace said one of the missions of the new city staff position in the arts proposed in the Cultural District Task Force report would be to help make these connections. I want to emphasize that this position is about the entire community and getting things going and making connections across the whole community, she said.

Mary said, as representatives of the City, you have a responsibility to check out new things around the community. She offered to host the LCAC. Jane Pennington suggested the LCAC have its January retreat at Theatre Lawrence.

Old Business:

January retreat: Topics for the retreat were discussed. Christy said it is important to get back to LCAC's identity, especially as regards what has been accomplished in the past year and how LCAC's role may change if the recommendations in the Cultural District Task Force Report are accepted and implemented by the Lawrence City Commission. Mandy suggested the Percent for Art program be a topic, as well. The LCAC members agreed to hold its annual retreat from 9 a.m. to noon on a Saturday morning in January, date to be determined by when all the members can be present and to accept the invitation of Theatre Lawrence to hold the retreat there, if possible. This meeting will replace the January regular monthly meeting. LCAC normally meets on the second Wednesday each month at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall.

Committee and Liaison Reports:

City Owned Art Maintenance Committee: Chair Katherine Simmons reported that the Jon Havener piece, "Occurrence" at the Prairie  Park Nature Center, 2730 Harper, which had been vandalized, has been repaired. Committee member Grace Peterson reported that she talked with artist Dave Lowenstein about the mosaic benches piece at the East Lawrence Recreation Center, 1245 E.. 15th, which has been nearly destroyed (see photo), and he wants to repair it. Diane indicated Grace should ask him to provide her with a proposal that includes guarantees that the repaired piece will be less vulnerable to skateboarders and other damage.

Lawrence Community Arts Grants Committee: Chair Kathy Porsch reported that the application form and instructions have been posted online and two email notices have appeared in the City's regular online posts with press releases scheduled.

Nominating Committee: Chair, Christie Dobson reported that Grace Peterson has agreed to serve as Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission Chair for 2014 and she wills serve as Vice Chair. Kathy Porsch agreed to serve a second year as Secretary. Katherine Simmons joined the Percent for Art committee and, as the new LCAC Chair, Grace Peterson will serve as the Lawrence Cultural Arts Liaison in 2014. John Hachmeister moved to accept the slate of candidates, Mandy Enfield seconded and the motion passed unanimously. There was discussion of recruitment as Jane Pennington's second full appointment is ending and there will be an opening on the commission. Diane reported that there have been two applications, which will be considered by the Mayor, who makes the volunteer committee appointments.

Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibit Committee: Chair John Hachmeister reported that the prospectus is out. Post cards major mailing will go out next week. He asked if it was acceptable to ask local well regarded local sculptors to serve as jurors for the competition and suggested potential candidates. No LCAC member had any issue with that strategy. Diane noted that local sculptors have served in the past, for example, three years ago Elden Tefft was the juror.

Percent for Art: Chair Grace Peterson reported she contacted the artist for the Lawrence Library project and he sent an email saying he would submit his final request. She said the model is complete and the frame for the first structure is underway and indicated she would send photos of the sketches for Diane to circulate.

Mandy said she has been thinking that the LCAC does not have a process in place to learn about percent for art opportunities. I think the solution is to keep an ongoing list and observations of potential projects--not just projects that we already know are happening, she said.

Diane said the percent for art policy has been around since 1986 and was last changed and updated in 2008, when the name of this volunteer advisory committee was changed to Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission. If you think of something to make the program better you can make a formal recommendation to the Lawrence City Commission to change the policy, she said.

Maybe during the January retreat we can talk about changing the resolution to require that we be notified of projects and also to broaden the things that are eligible for percent for art, which does not currently include the trails, Mandy said. Would the footbridge and the nature trails [suggested in the Cultural District Task Force Report] be included? Getting requests in early is key, Diane said.

Kathy agreed with Mandy that it can be difficult to know when there are projects with percent  for art indications. In the case of the Library project, we did push and keep asking, she said, but we kept being put off and told that we would be notified when it was time to form the committee, and then the lump sum amount was simply handed to us without any opportunity to discuss the percentage.

Diane said LCAC needs to be proactive and follow up and make calls. The Roundabout design is happening and will be let for bid next year, she said. Mandy asked if, then, we should make a formal motion to request a percent for art consideration. Kathy moved that the LCAC send a communication to the Lawrence City Commission requesting that percent be included in the design of the new Roundabout at Wakarusa and Legends Drive in the spirit of Resolution 6774, which aims at creating an esthetic environment. Jerry seconded, passed unanimously.

Phoenix Awards Committee: Chair Mandy Enfield said she had nothing to report. Jane Pennington said she had received feedback on the Phoenix awards related to the number of nominations and the profile of the awards. It was suggested to her that the LCAC take action to raise the prestige of the awards by seeking input from a committee of people who are active artists from a variety of different disciplines instead of relying just on the community to generate nominations. It was suggested that if such a committee was charged to make recommendations, there might be more input from a bigger variety of people who really know what's going on in the Lawrence art scene. Jane said she was also told that the award itself did not feel very special this year because it looked very temporary and seemed poorly crafted, not the usual quality of a Phoenix Award. I was told that we need to make the artists understand that this is something people will keep for years and years and that it needs to be a high quality piece of art that people would want to display and have visible, Jane said. She indicated that she would be happy to try to organize such a group. Kathy suggested perhaps past Phoenix winners might be asked to serve on such a committee and help encourage nominations, and perhaps help with communications about the stature of this award.

Lawrence Arts Roundtable Liaison: Kathy Porsch reported that the guest speaker was Bobbi Rahder, who recently became Program Coordinator for the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council. She suggested that Ms. Rahder be invited to discuss the Council at a future LCAC meeting because this is a relatively new County-funded organization that provides grant funding for preservation of cultural and natural heritage throughout the County, including in Lawrence. It offers $325,000 in grant funding annually and has provided grants ranging from a few thousand dollars up to $160,000. The program is open to heritage preservation of all kinds, including arts and culture. For example, a $25,000 grant to the Lawrence Arts Center funded new costumes for the Kansas Nutcracker ballet. It was a consensus of the members present that Ms. Rahder should be asked to address the February meeting of the LCAC and Kathy said she would make the request.

Lawrence Arts Center Liaison: Patrick Kelly was absent.

Cultural District Task Force: Members Mandy Enfield and Grace Peterson reported that the Task Force's job concluded with the Dec. 10th presentation of the Task Force Report to the Lawrence City Commission. Katherine asked if The Cultural District Task Force committee would be disbanded now. Diane said the LCAC Task Force subcommittee should continue until there is a final decision on the Task Force's recommendations, including the call for the City to add a position focused on arts and culture.

John said he thinks the LCAC should be involved in developing the position description and should participate in the selection of candidates if the arts and culture position is approved by the City Commission. Diane said the search would be designed within the city organizational structure and would involve all the stakeholders; outside individuals would be involved in the process. The position would not be filled until January 2015 unless it was hired outside of the City's budgeting process, she said.

Mention was made of a statement made by Lawrence Arts Center Director Susan Tate during discussion of the Cultural district Task Force Report at the City Commission meeting. She stated that the Art Center would apply to the Kansas Creative Industries Commission in partnership with the City to fund the position. Kathy indicated said she didn't think the KCIC grant could be used that way and said it didn't seem appropriate for the Lawrence Arts Center to apply for funding for a City staff position. Diane said The KCIC announced its round of grants, deadline Feb. 12, and this year Susan is suggesting that it be used for the position rather than for cultural planning. The city would apply, Diane said, but the agency requires that at least one and maybe several other arts organizations be collaborators. The idea was that this would be a way to tap into Kansas arts funding to get the position started earlier than might be possible with City funding (mid 2014 instead of January 2015), Diane said.

Kathy said she understood the need for partnerships but said she hoped there would be no confusion about the position being a City position and not a Lawrence Arts Center position. John said he agreed completely and said it is dangerous to rely on grant funding for salary for a position like this. Katherine said, I think we're all in agreement, we are concerned about going after a grant that ties the position to another entity. The position should be firmly a City position.

Jane Pennington moved that the LCAC recommend to the City Commission that any application for a Kansas Creative Industries grant be focused on support for a comprehensive city-wide cultural plan. John Hachmeister seconded the motion. There was some discussion about whether efforts to develop a city-wide cultural plan should begin before the City position is approved or hired or be the first item for the new City position to address. Katherine said it would be logical to have the position hired first so the individual was part of the process from the beginning and not coming in after and then have to try to implement it. Grace said it is important that the funding be there to develop the plan by the time the position is hired or the plan may never happen. The two need to come together, she said. After discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

Mandy said the LCAC should acknowledge Jane Pennington's role in the achievement of the Cultural District ask Force, given that Jane launched Final Fridays when she was director of Downtown Lawrence, Inc. There was a round of applause to recognize this. Jane noted that her efforts were funded by the LCAC with a total of $11,000 in grant support.

Commissioner Items: No items.

Staff Liaison: No items.

Chair Items: No items.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.