Full_Commission
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 MEETING OF THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION
Monday, January 7, 2008
3:00 p.m.
City Hall Room 416
Minutes
President Johnston called the meeting to order at 3:07 p.m.
- Roll Call
Commissioners Present
P.J. Johnston
Maya Draisin
John Kriken
Alexander Lloyd
Beverly Prior
Jeannene Przyblyski
Lawrence Rinder
Sherri Young
Pop Zhao
Commissioners Absent
Leonard Hunter
Sherene Melania
Janice Mirikitani
Dede Wilsey
Dwight Alexander
- Approval of Minutes
The following Resolution was moved, seconded, and unanimously adopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-001: APPROVAL OF MINUTES ADOPTED
RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby approve the Minutes of the Meeting of December 3, 2007.
NOTE: ALL ADOPTIONS ARE UNANIMOUS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
- President’s Report
President Johnston announced that the Commission would go into closed session later to consider the appointment of a new Director of Cultural Affairs. Observing that this first meeting of 2008 fell one day before the inauguration of Mayor Newsom to his second term as Mayor, President Johnston noted that the Mayor’s promised changes were still in the air, and advised that there may be more changes over the next several weeks.
President Johnston said that last summer’s retreat had come at a good time, with intense and serious discussions. He suggested that the changes of the past year are beginning to take root and will bear fruit for the agency and for the city as a whole. President Johnston said that the Commission and the agency have gone through a challenging, yet productive year. To general applause, he thanked Nancy Gonchar for her many months of dedicated service as Interim Director. She replied that she could not have done the job without the support of the staff, and thanked Catherine Direen for her work as Interim Deputy Director.
- Interim Director’s Report
Interim Director of Cultural Affairs Nancy Gonchar gave a brief report of recent highlights. She noted that a number of Cultural Equity Individual Artist Commission grants, totalling $202,500, are being recommended for approval. The Cultural Equity Grants (“CEG”) program will soon be reviewing applications in one more category, Organizational Project Grants, budgeted at $500,000, for a total of $2.3 million by the end of the fiscal year. She noted that the Arts and Communities: Innovative Partnerships review process has been very positive, adding that CEG Program Director San San Wong would give a report on the program in March or April.
Ms. Gonchar reported that WritersCorps was beginning a reading series at the Park Branch Library. She added that WritersCorps students would be reading at the Martin Luther King Day celebration that the City holds at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
Ms. Gonchar also noted that the Gallery developed an interesting partnership with the Mission Greenbelt project for November and December with the Arts Education program. She added that the Gallery’s new exhibition, Reconciling America, would open on January 18.
She reported that Community Arts and Education Program Director Judy Nemzoff will be meeting with the founders of the Neighborhood Arts Program to plan for the celebration of its fortieth anniversary this coming spring.
Ms. Gonchar reported that the Public Art Program staff has been holding community meetings on the Central Subway. She announced that the Collections Program is now part of Public Art, and that Allison Cummings has been hired as the new Collections Registrar. Public Art recently hired Mary Chou as a new Program Associate.
Ms. Gonchar encouraged the Commissioners to view the redesigned Street Artists Program website which now includes maps of the designated areas and a downloadable application form; it will soon have the program’s guidebook posted as well.
She reported that the agency had submitted an application to the California Arts Council for arts education and to the Mayor’s Office of Community Development for $340,000 for upgrades to the Bayview Opera House.
Ms. Gonchar reported that the budget is due to the Mayor’s Office on February 1, and will be submitted to the Executive Committee for its approval at its January 15, 2008 meeting. She explained that the Mayor’s office is projecting a budget deficit and requesting a reduction of 8% from all departments.
- Consent Calendar
Agenda item 5 was severed from the Consent Calendar because the minutes of the Visual Arts Committee meeting of December 6, 2007 had not been distributed.
Agenda item 18 was severed from the Consent Calendar at the request of President Johnston and referred back to the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee for further discussion. He gave a little background information, noting that there were very strong feelings about the Native American Cultural Center (“NACC”), the subject of this item, which had had significant problems. He explained that at least two organizations were interested in administering the program for this “virtual” Center, and a great deal of community interest. He added that this question has implications not only for who runs this program, but also how this Center relates to the Cultural Center program as a whole, the enabling legislation, and the Commission’s relations with the Centers. He said that it was important that the communities deserve to see that the available funds are spent wisely and not lost. Finally, he said that it was important to discuss the issue at much greater length, and to hear from the community, so that in solving one problem, the Commission doesn’t create another with a hasty decision.
The remaining items were approved as follows.
RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-002:
Approval: RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby adopt the following items on the Consent Calendar and their related Resolutions:
Approval of Committee Minutes
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-003: Motion to approve the Visual Arts Committee Meeting Minutes of November 7, 2007.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-004: Motion to approve the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee Meeting Minutes of November 13, 2007.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-005: Motion to approve the Street Artists Committee Meeting Minutes of November 14, 2007.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-006: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of November 19, 2007.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-007: Motion to approve the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee Meeting Minutes of December 11, 2007.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-008: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of December 17, 2007.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-009: Motion to approve the Executive Committee Meeting Minutes of December 18, 2007.
Visual Arts Committee Recommendations (December 6, 2007)
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-010: Motion to approve the Interim Director of Cultural affairs to provide an artist honorarium of $700 to Tucker Nichols, for the completion of artwork to be installed at SFAC Gallery at 401 Van Ness Ave. and the window installation site at 155 Grove St. for the January 2008 SFAC Gallery exhibition.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-011: Motion to approve the Interim Director of Cultural Affairs to provide an artist honorarium of $500 to Zefrey Throwell for his participation as a co-curator of and for the completion of artwork to be installed in the January 2008 SFAC Gallery exhibition.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-012: Motion to approve the Interim Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into an agreement with Diana Pumpelly Bates for $100,000 to design and fabricate sixteen waterjet-cut stainless steel panels for the entry gate to Laguna Honda Hospital.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-013: Motion to approve the Interim Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into an agreement with the artist team of Peter Richards and Susan Schwartzenberg for an amount not to exceed $142,000 to design, fabricate and install a public art project at McLaren Park.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-014: Motion to authorize the Interim Director of Cultural Affairs to invite one of the Moscone Recreation Center finalists, artist Kent Roberts, to develop a new proposal for the Moscone Recreation Center and to award him an honorarium in the amount of $1,000 for the submission of a proposal board.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-015: Motion to approve the completion and installation of Solar Sight, six painted steel fence panels for Sunnyside Playground.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-016: Motion to accept into the Civic Art Collection Solar Sight, six painted stainless steel fence panels by artist Deborah Kennedy permanently installed above the children’s playground and at the courtyard ramp at Sunnyside Playground.
Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee Recommendations (December 11, 2007)
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-017: Motion to approve recommendations to award twenty-one grants totaling $202,500 in the 2007-2008 cycle of Individual Artist Commissions grants to the following individuals, and to authorize the Interim Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each for the amounts listed:
Florante Aguilar, $10,000
Sia Amma, $7,500
Brenda Aoki, $10,000
Sean Dorsey, $10,000
Kim Epifano, $10,000
Cris Forster, $10,000
Guillermo Gomez-Pena, $10,000
Frederick Harris, $10,000
Mark Izu, $10,000
Rocco Kayiatos, $10,000
Jenny Jo Kristan, $10,000
Carla Lucero, $10,000
Devorah Major, $7,500
Sara Shelton Mann, $10,000
Maxine Moerman, $10,000
Alleluia Panis, $10,000
Kirk Read, $7,500
Gang Situ, $10,000
Matthew Graham Smith, $10,000
Melody Takata, $10,000
Erling Wold, $10,000
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-018: Motion to approve the following individuals as application review panelists for the Cultural Equity Grants Program:
Idris Ackamoor, Executive Director/Co-Artistic Director, Cultural Odyssey
Eloise Burrell, Vocalist, Percussionist, Event Producer, Cultural Heritage Choir
Gina Gemello, Projects Director, Aunt Lute Books
Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, Associate Director, Curator, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Dr. Anne Huang, former Executive Director, Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Connie Hwong, Grants Manager Bay Area Video Coalition, former Managing Director, Kearny Street Workshop
Jo Kreiter, Artistic Director, Flyaway Productions
Yesenia Sanchez, Fiscal Sponsorship Coordinator, Intersection for the Arts
Melanie Smith, Executive Director, San Francisco Girls Chorus
Charles Wilmoth, Associate Director of Development, California Institute of Integral Studies
Civic Design Review Committee Recommendations (December 17, 2007)
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-019: Motion to approve Phase 1 Parkside Branch Library.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-020: Motion to approve Phase 3 Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-021: Motion to approve Phase 3 SEWPCP Building 915 Modular Office Facility.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0107-08-022: Motion to approve document “Design Concerns” as modified at the December 17, 2007 Civic Design Review meeting.
- Committee Reports
- Executive Committee—P.J. Johnston, Chair
- President Johnston made no report, noting that most of the Committee’s current business dealt with the appointment of a new Director, which the full Commission would take up in its closed session. He added that the Commission would discuss the budget later.
- Civic Design Committee—Beverly Prior, Acting Chair
- Commissioner Prior reported that the Committee had reviewed several branch library projects, including Parkside, Eureka and Bernal Heights, as well as several small utility buildings. She said that the Committee was most excited about the design standards document originally drafted by Commissioner Kriken and revised by the Committee; the document is currently under review by the City Attorney’s office. Commissioner Prior said that the Committee hopes to increase its focus on sustainability and green design, in line with the Mayor’s commitment to these issues.
Commissioner Kriken added that the impetus for the creation of the document was the request of agencies that come to Civic Design Review for a more thorough statement of what the Committee’s concerns are in reviewing their projects. Commissioner Prior said that the Committee wants to establish more of a relationship with those agencies to ensure that their senior leadership understands the concerns of the Committee.
President Johnston added that most of the Committees are short at least one person, noting wryly that it is generally faster to accept a resignation than to swear in a new Commissioner. He reported that he has advised the Mayor’s Office that he is particularly concerned that the Civic Design Review Committee seats need to be filled. City building projects cannot move forward, and important City business is stalled, if this Committee doesn’t have enough people to operate, and to make the required reviews. Commissioner Prior added that without a landscape architect in the designated seat vacated by Andrea Cochran, the other Committee members do not have the expertise to properly evaluate landscape questions.
- Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee
- Commissioner Draisin reported that the Consent Calendar reflected the Committee’s discussions, and referred Commissioners to Ms. Gonchar’s report on grants approved. She said that most of the Committee’s last meeting was focused on the AIM-West proposal withdrawn from today’s Consent Calendar.
President Johnston noted that several members of the public had just joined the meeting, and for their benefit he repeated that he had severed the AIM-West motion from the Consent Calendar and that the Commission would not be acting on this question at this meeting. He reiterated that the matter was being sent back to the Committee, which would meet on January 8 at 4:30 p.m. at 25 Van Ness Ave., for discussion there and likely in future Committee meetings.
- Street Artists Committee—Alexander Lloyd, Chair
- Commissioner Lloyd reported that the Committee had not met in December and had no motions.
- Visual Arts Committee—Jeannene Przyblyski, Chair
- Commissioner Przyblyski reported briefly that the Committee had discussed a great number of projects, as reflected in the Consent Calendar, and was looking forward to working hard on two big projects in 2008, the Central Subway and the Transbay Terminal.
- Public Comment
President Johnston called for public comment.
Tony Gonzalez spoke in support of AIM-West, saying that the Committee had approved its proposal. He said that the Native community had not had any representation from this Commission since last year. Noting that he himself is a Vietnam war veteran, he said that AIM-West is a reputable organization, unlike the person who previously directed the Center. He would like to see AIM-West operate the Center through the current fiscal year, and hopes to include the entire Indian community. He said that their proposal focuses on “micro-representation,” and that there are over 15,000 Mayan Indians alone in the Mission. He wants to work with the entire community and bring forth their talents.
Kim Shuck, former Interim Director of the NACC, said that she is Navajo, and has lived in the Bay area her whole life. She said the Center serves the population brought here by wars, and by the relocation program. She has heard much discussion about the indigenous and the hemisphere. She said that artists like herself and her wife, poet and artist Niki Reid Gomez, need funding for artist groups. She said that there are lots of opinions on how the Center should move forward, and one is a Native arts alliance, where the huge number of tribes and people of different backgrounds could come together for artists and arts programming. She said that it is important for artists to set the agenda for their own work, and that it is difficult to always address someone else’s agenda.
Natoyiniinastumiik (Holy Old Man Bull) of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, identified himself as Ohlone, and said there was a lack of resources, and that the community is scrambling for resources. He said that he’s observed, as a two-spirit person, that many of the funds come through AIDS agencies and that shouldn’t be. He urged the Commission to fund the arts in the community.
Randy Burns said he is a 33-year resident of the city, and co-founder of Gay American Indians. He spoke in support of two-spirit artists and urged the Commission to support the community, saying many were brought here by force. He said that as a part of the LGBT community, he sees that the Pride parade gets thousands of dollars, and that the community is getting some funds to address health issues. He said that the personal is political, and he supports keeping arts funds for arts programs. He said that he knows it takes money to run an organization, and he is looking for the community’s cultural center. He referred to the City’s Human Rights Commission’s 2006 report on the Native American community and its recommendations on arts and culture. He said that he had come to support the art and culture center and recommended sending the matter back to committee.
- Public Employee Appointment/Hiring: Director of Cultural Affairs of the San Francisco Arts Commission
- Public Employee Appointment/Hiring: Director of Cultural Affairs of the San Francisco Arts Commission
President Johnston explained that the Government Code allowed for this matter to be discussed in closed session. He called for public comment on holding the closed session, and t here was none.
- Vote on Whether to Hold Closed Session to Consider and Interview Candidates for the Position of Director of Cultural Affairs (San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b))
The Committee voted unanimously to hold a closed session for the above purpose. The closed session commenced at 3:50 p.m.
- Closed Session Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b)
Consideration and Interviews of Candidates for the Position of Director of Cultural Affairs of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Classification 0961, Department Head I
The closed session included Commission President P.J. Johnston, Commission Vice President Maya Draisin, Commissioners John Kriken, Alexander Lloyd, Beverly Prior, Jeannene Przyblyski, Lawrence Rinder, Sherri Young and Pop Zhao, and Deputy City Attorney Adine Varah.
- Reconvene in Open Session
- Possible Report on Action Taken in Closed Session (Government Code Section 54957 and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.12(b)(4))
The Committee reconvened in open session at 4:15 p.m. and President Johnston reported that they voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Luis R. Cancel as Director of Cultural Affairs.
President Johnston explained that Mr. Cancel would arrive in San Francisco in mid-January and would begin work at the end of January.
President Johnston described Mr. Cancel as a long-time arts professional with a very distinguished career. Mr. Cancel had served as the director of the New York City arts agency, and was currently the director of the Clemente Soto Velez Center in New York. He was also the director of the Bronx Museum for many years.
President Johnston reported that the Mayor agreed with this decision.
President Johnston thanked the Commission and the Executive Committee for their work in this hiring decision.
- Vote to Elect Whether to Disclose Any or All Discussions Held in Closed Session (San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.12(a))
The Committee voted not to disclose any discussions held in the closed session.
Public Art Program Director Jill Manton proposed holding an event to thank Ms. Gonchar for her service as Interim Director. President Johnston agreed that this was a very good idea, and also recommended a welcome event for Mr. Cancel.
President Johnston also thanked Ms. Manton and Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie for their work on the search.
- New Business
President Johnston appointed Vice President Draisin to chair the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee. There was no further new business.
- Reports and Announcements
There were no other reports or announcements.
- Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:23 p.m.
1/30/08 spr
