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Meeting Information



Community_Arts_and_Education_Committee

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 

COMMUNITY ARTS, EDUCATION, and GRANTS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
4:30 p.m.
SomArts, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco


Special Meeting Minutes

Commissioner Cuellar called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m.

Commissioners Present: José Cuellar, P.J. Johnston, Janice Mirikitani, Ethel Pitts Walker
  1. Community Arts and Education Program Director Report
    Ms. Nemzoff said that holding this meeting at SomArts is an important effort to be accessible to the community. She also thanked Commissioner Walker for her excellent service. She then introduced Jack Davis, the executive director at SomArts.

    Mr. Davis said that his board raises funds to develop the property including improvements like new bathrooms, a disabled-accessible lobby, a new electrical grid, and internet infrastructure. The staff is competent and diverse culturally and artistically and works with the unions and young people.

    Pam Wu, executive director at the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, gave a presentation on the 2006 United States of Asian America Festival and thanked the Commission for their support. She is also part of the Arts Task Force. She explained some of the suggestions from the Task Force including support for the cultural centers.

    Jeff Jones from the Queer Cultural Center talked about the explosive growth of artists in the Queer Arts Festival and the importance of the organization’s website which functions as an art history repository for the queer community. This will be the Festival’s ninth year.

  2. WritersCorps Report
    Ms. Nemzoff announced that filmmaker Lise Swenson will act as WritersCorps program Manager while Janet Heller is on maternity leave.

  3. Arts Education Report
    Commissioner Walker made the following motion:
    Motion to approve a grant to San Francisco School Alliance Foundation (formerly Every Child Can Learn) for the 20th annual San Francisco Youth Arts Festival. The grant will not exceed $1,500 from the Youth Arts Fund.
    The motion passed unanimously.

    Ms. Nemzoff announced the SPUR panel on the Arts Education Master Plan on March 28th from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

  4. Cultural Center Report
    Ms. Nemzoff explained that the work with Ernest Mark, to gain consensus amongst the cultural center directors for funding criteria, is moving ahead in a very positive manner and will be completed by late May.

    Commissioner Johnston made the following motion:
    Motion to pay an honorarium to Ernest Mark to serve as meeting facilitator with the seven cultural centers to review evaluation criteria and develop funding guidelines for the cultural centers program. Honorarium will not exceed $7100 from PAF.
    The motion passed unanimously.

    Ms. Nemzoff offered some historical context for the next motion. In the past two years, the Arts Commission has spent $34,000 on facilities projects at the African American Art and Culture Complex, $87,000 at the Bayview Opera House, Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre, $38,000 at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, and no money on SomArts. The motion is to support and offset some of the expenses of maintaining SomArts.

    Commissioner Walker made the following motion:
    Motion to approve a $10,000 grant to SomArts Cultural Center exclusively to support maintenance and facility repair for the 2005-2006 fiscal year from Facility Maintenance Funds.
    The motion passed unanimously.

    Commissioner Walker made the following motion:
    Motion to increase the 2005-2006 Cultural Center grant agreement to SomArts for the subgrantees (Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, $8,551; Queer Cultural Center, $8,551; and Native American Cultural Center, $8,551) not to exceed grant of $815,297 from the 2004-2005 Hotel Tax Fund.

    Commissioner Cuellar noted that the increase in funding is equal amongst the centers, but the mid-year reporting from Native American Cultural Center (“NACC”) is almost non-existent. Ms. Nemzoff concurred that there is a lack of seriousness in some of the reporting. Commissioner Cuellar asked what can be done.

    Mr. Davis said that the virtual centers have a direct relationship with the Arts Commission and suggested that the outside evaluation may help. Commissioner Johnston said the work with Mr. Mark should yield results for appropriately completing Arts Commission reporting and different results for incomplete reporting. Director of Cultural Affairs Rich Newirth asked if there would be any consequences prior to fiscal year 2007-2008.

    Program Associate Robynn Takayama noted that NACC did not complete their mid-year budget questions because they did not have a bookkeeper on staff, but she has been informed that NACC has now hired a bookkeeper. She also said that the audience information does not follow the standardized form in the mid-year report but is instead a narrative response.

    Commissioner Cuellar said that he appreciates that the organization may have a smaller pool of support and is working with a dispersed community, but he wants to impress on the organization that the reports are important and they should follow the standard format. He would like to insure that the Native community receives the arts programming to which they are entitled.

    Commissioner Johnston said he would like to know if NACC does not participate in the retreats to determine funding criteria.

    Mr. Newirth noted that the Cultural Equity Grants program requires a great deal of accountability from organizations that receive much smaller grants. He said the Arts Commission should be consistent with its requirements. Ms. Nemzoff concurred and said that this is public money and that the Arts Commission has a fiduciary responsibility.
    The motion passed unanimously.

  5. New Business
    Shelley Bradford Bell announced that Diahann Webb has resigned as executive director of the Bayview Opera House, Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre, and that Ms. Bell will resume the position.

  6. Adjournment 5:30 p.m.

RT 3/24/06