Full Commission - June 2, 2014

MEETING OF THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION
Monday, June 2, 2014
3:00 p.m.
City Hall Room 416
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

Minutes

Commission Vice President Abby Sadin Schnair called the meeting to order at 3:13 p.m.

Roll Call
Commissioners Present
Abby Sadin Schnair, Vice President
Gregory Chew
Charles Collins
Simon Frankel
Dorka Keehn
Roberto Ordeñana
Janine Shiota
Kimberlee Stryker

Commissioners Absent
JD Beltran, President
Leo Chow
Sherene Melania
Marcus Shelby
Jessica Silverman
Barbara Sklar
Cass Calder Smith
Gwyneth Borden, ex officio
Approval of Minutes
There was no public comment, and the minutes were unanimously approved as follows.

RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-141: Motion to approve May 5, 2014 Minutes.
Director’s Report
Mr. DeCaigny reported on the recent reopening ceremony at Coit Tower, with Mayor Lee, Fire Chief Hayes-White, Supervisor Chiu, Commissioners Schnair and Ordeñana and other officials. Mr. DeCaigny showed several photos of the event, and of the restored artworks in the tower; he commended the conservation team led by Anne Rosenthal and Architectural Resources Group, as well as Civic Art Collections Senior Registrar Allison Cummings, Communications Director Kate Patterson-Murphy and other Arts Commission staff.

Mr. DeCaigny announced the new Galleries show on the ground floor of City Hall, The Valley/El Valle, featuring photos from the Central Valley, opening June 17. He reported on the end of another successful school year for WritersCorps, and displayed their publications. He thanked two WritersCorps teachers, harold terezón and Roseli Ilano, departing after three years of service to the program. Mr. DeCaigny reported on the seventeenth year of the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s United States of Asian America Festival.

He reported on the Mayor’s presentation earlier in the day of a balanced two-year budget for the City. He mentioned some of the highlights, including a focus on affordable housing for families, artists and working people, and a 1.5% “cost of doing business” increase for nonprofits contracting with the City. Mr. DeCaigny reviewed the schedule for budget hearings and approval by the Board of Supervisors.

Commisioner Collins echoed the praise for WritersCorps as an extraordinarily important voice for youth, transforming pain with creativity. He encouraged everyone to read their excellent publications.

There was no public comment.
Consent Calendar
There was no public comment, and the Consent Calendar was unanimously approved as follows.
RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-142:
Approval: RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby adopt the following items on the Consent Calendar and their related Resolutions:

Approval of Committee Minutes
1. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-143: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of February 10, 2014.
2. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-144: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2014.
3. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-145: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of April 21, 2014.
4. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-146: Motion to approve the Street Artists Committee Meeting Minutes of May 14, 2014.
5. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-147: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of May 19, 2014.
6. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-148: Motion to approve the Visual Arts Committee Meeting Minutes of May 21, 2014.
  
  Civic Design Review Committee Recommendations (May 19, 2014)
7. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-149: Motion to approve Phase 1 of the Exterior Treatments to Southeast Community Facility, contingent upon: (1) exploring extending the sunshades to cover the entire wall continuously rather than in three tiers, to effectively become the façade; (2) simplifying the fins; (3) eliminating or covering the diagonal brace on the Phelps Street side; (4) completing further study to determine the correct angle for the sunshades; (5) simplifying the complex geometry of the corner including simplifying the upper opening, eliminating the small triangular vertical element and considering eliminating the canopy; (6) bringing a strong color element to the corner; (7) considering the exact placement for the storefront; (8) considering opening the wall next to the ramp to create a stairway; (9) for the plaza, using a more contemporary and geometric design based on “Scheme A.”
8. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-150: Motion to approve Phase 1 of the Guy Place Mini Park Project, contingent upon (1) eliminating the “ears” at the opening of each interior room, extending the rooms across the space; (2) aligning the columns across from each other; (3) moving the fence inside a bit and planting in front of it; (4) considering a lighter-colored paving; (5) adding a green strip on the bulbout to create a fourth room; (6) presenting a three-dimensional rendering for Phase 2 review.
9. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-151: Motion to approve Phase 1 of the Chinatown Station Plaza, Central Subway Project, contingent upon (1) protecting the baguettes; (2) considering planting the green wall at the back of the space as a living wall with a planter in front; (3) using movable furniture and allocating space for storage; (4) simplifying and reducing the number of separate elements; (5) encasing the elevator in the wall and (6) considering removing the sign.
  
  Visual Arts Committee Recommendations (May 21, 2014)
10. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-152: Motion to approve a StreetSmARTS mural design, Jazz in the Fillmore, by Mel Waters, painted on a mural site located at 1233-1235 Divisadero Street. The San Francisco Arts Commission will fund the mural’s implementation.
11. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-153: Motion to approve a StreetSmARTS mural design, Koi, by Francisco Aquino, painted on a mural site located at 2597–22nd Street. The San Francisco Arts Commission will fund the mural’s implementation.
12. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-154: Motion to approve a StreetSmARTS mural design, Believe and Achieve, by Shawn Bullen, painted on a mural site located at 600 Kearny Street. The San Francisco Arts Commission will fund the mural’s implementation.
13. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-155: Motion to approve Bill Fontana’s artwork Sonic Dreamscape, 2014, as installed along the exterior of the North Beach Branch Library.
14. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-156: Motion to approve Colette Crutcher and Aileen Barr’s mosaic artwork, Flights of Fancy, as installed on the risers of the Arelious Walker Stairway.
15. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-157: Motion to approve the temporary display of a bronze sculpture bust of poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti by Dina-Angel Wing in the Ferlinghetti Reading Room of the North Beach Library from May 10, 2014 until May 30, 2015.
16. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-158: Motion to approve the final poster designs for Anthony Discenza’s Art on Market Kiosk Poster Series, The City as Museum: Highlighting Works from the Civic Art Collection, July 14–October 3, 2014, pending final copy editing review of poster text by staff.
17. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-159: Motion to approve the selected artist collaborative, Wowhaus, for the Unity Plaza Historic Photography Public Art Project as recommended by the Unity Plaza Public Art Selection Panel on May 6, 2014.
18. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-160: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with Wowhaus for an amount not to exceed $15,000 for the design of a public artwork at Unity Plaza.
19. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-161: Motion to approve and increase the licensing agreement, previously approved in Resolution No. 0505-14-128, by $4,500 to reproduce three additional artworks from the Forever in the Sky Series: Bayview, Sutro, The Richmond (for a new total of $9,000 and the licensing of six artworks).
20. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-162: Motion to approve the following finalists and alternate for the Broadway Chinatown Streetscape Improvement Project as recommended by the Broadway Chinatown Streetscape Improvement Project Artist Selection Panel: Michael Arcega, Michael Bartalos, Primitivo Suarez-Wolfe, and alternate Johanna Poethig.
21. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-163: Motion to approve the temporary sculpture installation by Mark Baugh-Sasaki from mid-June, 2014 through May, 2015 pending permit approval from the Recreation and Park Department. The project will be funded privately through the Hayes Valley Coalition at no cost to the City.
22. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-164: Motion to rescind Resolution No. 0407-14-098: Motion to pay an honorarium of $2,000 to artist David Best for the development of a sculpture proposal for Patricia’s Green to be presented to the Arts Commission, the Recreation and Park Commission and the community for FY 2015-2016 in collaboration with the Black Rock Arts Foundation, with the balance of funding to come from the Black Rock Arts Foundation.
23. RESOLUTION NO. 0602-14-165: Motion to pay an honorarium of $2,000 to Black Rock Arts Foundation to be paid to artist David Best for the development of a sculpture proposal for Patricia’s Green to be presented to the Arts Commission, the Recreation and Park Commission and the community for FY 2015-2016 using funding from the Hayes Valley Impact Fee allocation received by the Arts Commission.
Committee Reports and Committee Matters
1. Civic Design Review Committee—Cass Calder Smith, Chair
  1. In the absence of Commissioner Smith, Commissioner Stryker reported that the Committee had reviewed the Southeast Community Facility, a tiny but ambitious mini-park at Guy Place, and a plaza for the Chinatown station on the Central Subway.
    There was no public comment.
2. Street Artists Committee—Barbara Sklar, Chair
  1. In the absence of Commissioner Sklar, Commissioner Chew reported that the Committee had a report from Street Artists Program Director Howard Lazar on the state of the program, and they discussed the recent presentation at the Main Library by four women street artists, which received good press coverage.
    
    There was no public comment.
3. Visual Arts Committee—Dorka Keehn, Chair
  1. Commissioner Keehn reported on a couple of artworks approved by the Committee, including a sound piece by Bill Fontana at the North Beach Branch Library, dedicated on May 10, which she praised as fantastic. The Committee also approved the temporary installation of a sculpture by Mark Baugh-Sasaki, pending approval by the Recreation and Park Department, at Patricia’s Green; Commissioner Keehn added that David Best will make another piece for installation there to mark the tenth anniversary of Patricia’s Green.
    There was no public comment.
Nonprofit Displacement Report
Mr. DeCaigny introduced Brian Cheu, Director of Community Development in the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, who had chaired the Nonprofit Displacement Working Group. Mr. Cheu and Mr. DeCaigny presented the same information they had presented to the Board of Supervisors on May 13, and reviewed the Working Group’s report and recommendations. The Board voted to release a total of $4.515 million to address nonprofit displacement: $2.515 million for social services and $2 million for the arts.

Mr. Cheu and Mr. DeCaigny noted that this was a wonderful opportunity for their two departments to work together, and they expect to continue their cooperation in developing the mechanism for disbursing those funds. They explained that they will work on parallel Requests for Proposal (“RFPs”) for one or two intermediary organizations to offer technical assistance and grants to the nonprofits within each of the two sectors. They reviewed the expected timeline, selecting the intermediaries in July, with the programs beginning to operate by the fall, and evaluation of results in the following year. They also described proposed criteria and requirements for nonprofit organizations receiving assistance, including both technical assistance and direct financial assistance.

Mr. DeCaigny reported that both he and some of the Commissioners had received calls from nonprofits asking about the funding. He stressed the need for an open, transparent and equitable process to evaluate the need of various organizations.

Vice President Schnair thanked both Mr. Cheu and Mr. DeCaigny, and staff, for their hard work on the report and its proposals. The Committee discussed the report and its recommendations. Mr. DeCaigny thanked Mr. Cheu for managing and leading the Working Group, and thanked staff. Ms. Patterson-Murphy added that the report and a fact sheet are available on the Arts Commission’s website under “Affordability Programs.”

Public Comment:
A speaker from the Fei Tian Academy of the Arts explained that their lease was expiring, and they hoped to stay in their space through the end of the year. She said this was an urgent challenge and asked what they should do, and added that they were grateful for the opportunity.

Mr. DeCaigny suggested that interested nonprofits contact Ms. Patterson-Murphy to be notified once the intermediary is in place. In the meantime, he recommended the Arts Loan Fund of Northern California Grantmakers as an existing resource, and, for organizations in the Central Market District, or interested in relocating there, the Central Market Partnership through the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

Another speaker from the Fei Tian Academy said that this funding would help his organization tremendously, serving 200 families.

There was no further public comment.
Public Comment
Paula Datesh was sorry to see that Commissioners Sklar and Shelby were absent, and she was hopeful when she went to the Street Artists Committee meeting. She said that she had purchased a permit and went to Justin Herman Plaza to sell. She described an incident there and said she had tried unsuccessfully to talk about it.

There was no further public comment.
New Business and Announcements
Mr. DeCaigny reported that he had had questions from Commissioners about the recent restructuring of the very well-regarded Intersection for the Arts. He reported that he is in touch with their board of directors and will update the Commission at a future meeting. In the meantime, he referred people to the statement on the Intersection’s website regarding the changes.

Public Comment:
Ms. Datesh said that she had spent 100 hours trying to get the money order for her permit returned. She commented on immediate disclosure requessts she had submitted and on minutes. She said that her days working on the street are over, as it takes a toll on her health.

There was no further public comment.
Adjournment
Vice President Schnair noted with sadness the passing of Maya Angelou on May 28. She gave a brief biography of Ms. Angelou, who lived for a time in San Francisco and was, among her many other accomplishments, the first African American female cable car driver in the city. Vice President Schnair said that Ms. Angelou exemplified the power of leadership through art.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:37 p.m. in memory of Maya Angelou.

6/16/14 spr

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。如需協助，Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2591, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

Full Commission - June 2, 2014 - Meeting Minutes