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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-19 Public Arts MIN PUBLIC ART COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING February 19, 2021 I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Andy Stallman called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m. via Zoom. Commissioners Present: Staff Present: Andy Stallman Aaron Anderson, Associate Planner Laura Bloom Sandra Friend APRC Liaison: Jennifer Longshore Jim Lewis, absent Absent Members: Council Liaison: Stanley Smith Stephen Jensen Members of the Public: Cassie Preskenis Johanna Pope Peter Finkle II. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA - None III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES  Public Arts Commission regular meeting of January 15, 2021. Commissioner Friend/Longshore m/s to approve the minutes of January 15, 2021 as corrected. Vote: ALL AYES. Motion passed. Commissioner Friend introduced Johnna Pope who is attending as an invited guest and potential commissioner. IV. PUBLIC FORUM Cassie Preskenis attended and spoke about the Say Their Names memorial and offered a brief update, and stated that the stakeholders continue to seek a BIPOC artist to collaborate with. V. LIAISON REPORTS  Council Liaison – Stephen Jensen Councilor Jensen reported that the TOT allocation is in fact going to be kept at 5% rather than being reduced to 3% as had been proposed. The Total TOT revenue is off by over 60%. Jenson commented on the City Manager recruitment process and the proposed East Main Park, and stated the Community Center and Pioneer Hall rehabilitations are also underway. Finally, Budget season is in process.  Community Development Liaison – Aaron Anderson Contracts with selected artists is almost complete. The City has received 2 of the 3 and hopes to receive the last one this week. Ashland Public Arts Commission February 19, 2021 Page 1 of 3 VI. OTHER BUSINESS/NEWS  Commissioner Recruitment Stallman mentioned that there are two vacancies and hopes that we can recruit new interested parties.  Mural Policy/ Code Compliance Stallman mentioned that there had been an inquiry about the murals on Fordyce and explained that there was not a process to acquire public art after the fact, therefore these are a code compliance issue.  Utility Boxes There had been complaints about graffiti on a number of the utility boxes that had been painted as part of an earlier PAC project. Michael Morrison in the Public Works Dept. sent the concern to the Electrical Dept. who cleaned the graffiti. Friend mentioned that she had been contacted by Grants Pass about a utility box painting program and briefly discussed the interaction  “Welcome to Ashland” sign Stallman mentioned that the relocated Ashland sign was once again hit by a car, and it will be repaired and replaced.  ArtBeyond: Scott Malburn Commissioner Friend discussed Art & Beyond and the potential synergies between PAC and the Schneider museum. The new art experience is being called “Art Beyond” with the goal to bring visitors to Ashland. It is modeled after desert X and will involve five local sites. The event will be between May-July and is a test event. If it goes well the project could be expanded in future years.  Glenn Hill’s Proposed Public Art Project Stallman discussed the proposed ‘silk road’ project and the requested endorsement for help to apply for grants. Smith provided his thoughts via email as he is unable to attend, which Stallman read into the record. For background this is a project that was previously proposed to PAC in 2008 but the artist wasn’t able to move the project forward at that time. Longshore stated that she was not clear on what the effect of the PAC endorsement would be, and that there were a number of potential red flags. There was discussion about the previous endorsement that was drafted in 2008, but unfortunately a copy of that letter has not been able to be found. Bloom stated that she had a number of questions as well. There was general agreement that without additional information the PAC could not provide any endorsement. VII. PAC WORKPLAN  HUB Artwork Stallman provided a summary of a visit with both Suenn Ho and Jennifer Corrio when they visited Ashland. Ms. Corrio had inquired about making a presentation to the PAC when she presents her design concepts. Stallman stated that Ann Seltzer strongly suggested to not allow an in-person presentation because the RFQ did not mention this. Stallman stated that there will need to be a presentation to APRC for final approval of the selected design, followed by Council approval. VIII. PROJECT UPDATES  MAP – Final Revisions & Sub-Committee future Stallman stated that he has communicated with Masterworks the recommendations of the subcommittee and the redesign is in process. With Stallman resigning from the PAC he asked for interest in people who would take this project on. Dale Shostrom has indicated that he would be willing to take over if required.  Expanding the Awareness of Public Art – Jennifer Longshore Longshore described her meeting with Peter Finkle and a number of the ideas to expand the awareness of public art. Peter Finkle recently did an article on the utility boxes. Longshore stated that the utility box project is a ‘lost child’ of the city’s public art inventory. Ashland Public Arts Commission February 19, 2021 Page 2 of 3 Stallman/Friend m/s to formally consider the utility boxes as included in the City’s public art inventory. Vote: ALL AYES. Motion passed. Stallman suggested that someone take on the research to confirm that these the utility boxes had indeed been previously approved by Council. Longshore agreed to look into previous council packets to confirm that these are in fact already part of the City’s public art inventory. Longshore stated that she and Peter Finkle would like to begin using the Power of Public Art presentation to local groups and are interested in presenting a shorter version of it (there was no discussion). There are several other ideas including developing an app that could be leveraged for walking tours or other ways to share the City’s public art.  Power of Public Art (PPA) presentation – Sandy Friend Friend discussed the original intent of the PPA presentation and the background of the work done by Tom Furhmark and Allison Renwick. She feels that the PAC should establish guidelines for its use to ensure that the integrity of the piece is maintained. There are three different versions of the presentation slides (PC and Mac) and Video. The presentation should be considered a PAC marketing tool. Stallman asked where we stand on being able to edit this, and that we need an answer. Stallman said that he would contact Steve Jensen to ensure that he has complete versions of the presentation, upload to the google drive, and resend the link to the commission. The Commission continued their discussion about expanding the awareness of public art. It was proposed to have a future study session to specifically discuss presentation strategies. IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:18 a.m. Ashland Public Arts Commission February 19, 2021 Page 3 of 3