Meeting Information

Full_Commission

MEETING OF THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION
Monday, February 4, 2008
3:00 p.m.
City Hall Room 416

Minutes

President Johnston called the meeting to order at 3:09 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present
   P.J. Johnston
   Maya Draisin
   Leonard Hunter
   John Kriken
   Alexander Lloyd
   Jeannene Przyblyski
   Lawrence Rinder
   Dede Wilsey
   Dwight Alexander
   
   Commissioners Absent
   Sherene Melania
   Sherri Young
   Pop Zhao
   
   
2. Approval of Minutes
   The following Resolution was moved, seconded, and unanimously adopted:
   
   RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-023 : APPROVAL OF MINUTES ADOPTED
   RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby approve the Minutes of the Meeting of January 7, 2008.
   
   NOTE: ALL ADOPTIONS ARE UNANIMOUS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
   
   
3. President’s Report
   President Johnston reminded the Commission that he had spoken at some length at their January meeting about Mr. Cancel’s extensive background in the arts, administration and business. He welcomed Mr. Cancel with great excitement, enthusiasm and hope to his first Commission meeting. President Johnston said that the Executive Committee and search firm Ralph Andersen & Associates had produced an incredible array of talented and highly qualified applicants, and had done a great job of selecting the most outstanding candidate. He introduced Mr. Cancel.
   
   
4. Director’s Report
   Director of Cultural Affairs Luis Cancel thanked President Johnston, and the Executive Committee, for the great opportunity to join so many passionate advocates for the arts in San Francisco. He recalled that on his first visit to San Francisco some twenty-five years ago, he said to himself, “I could live here.” He added that for a native New Yorker, this was a “big deal.” From the outset, he felt a connection with the city, and has visited many times, participating in the cultural life of the city. He has been a staunch fan of San Francisco, remembering the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art before its grand new facility was built, and appreciating the de Young Museum in its extraordinary new home. Now he will be able to enjoy the city as a resident, and he is very grateful to the Commission for giving him this opportunity to serve the people of San Francisco.
   
   He reported that as he told people in New York that he was coming to San Francisco as Director of Cultural Affairs, they said “Wow!” Over and over, they expressed a deep feeling of goodwill and appreciation for the city; he said that the reaction wouldn’t have been the same if he were going to, for example, St. Petersburg. He believes that the community can feel pride in that success, and that the Arts Commission is charged with continuing to support and build the city’s reputation. He looks forward to spreading that goodwill and reputation, along with his colleagues in the Office of Economic Development and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, ensuring that the City is investing properly. At the end of the day, he said, the Hotel Tax investments in the arts help to provide funds that enable the City to meet its obligations for public safety, education and many other needs.
   
   In his first meeting with the Mayor and all the department heads, he said to them that he looked forward to working with them in a collegial way to be sure that the arts agenda is being addressed in economic development and in all areas of City government. Citing the research of Americans for the Arts, he explained to them that although San Francisco is fourteenth in the nation in population, the city is fifth in the concentration of arts businesses, second in arts businesses per capita, and fourth in the number of arts jobs per capita. He added that the arts are an important driver for other employment in the city, as well. He pledged to continue to seek out this kind of information to share with his colleagues in government, to reinforce for them why the arts are important to all of the City’s business.
   
   Mr. Cancel said that he was honored to join a fantastic staff at the Arts Commission, and he has been very impressed with their enthusiasm, skill and dedication. He wanted to particularly single out Deputy Director Nancy Gonchar who did double duty for nine months, serving as Interim Director of Cultural Affairs. He looks forward to working with all of the staff in the months and years ahead.
   
   Mr. Cancel noted that the City’s public art is very strong. He reported that the Public Art Program is holding public meetings and events on several projects, including Central Subway on Tuesday, February 16 at Yerba Buena; and a panel discussion on Art on Market Street with artists Packard Jennings and Steve Lambert on February 4. He added that the Commission will be hearing a great deal about other major initiatives, including the Transbay Terminal and the San Francisco Airport.
   
   Before discussing the Arts Commission Gallery, Mr. Cancel interjected that although his own background and training is in the visual arts, he loves all of the arts. His wife, Regina Miranda, is a contemporary dancer and choreographer, and he said that he has been thoroughly indoctrinated into dance. He reported that on January 18, over 300 people had attended the opening of the Gallery’s current exhibit, Reconciling America. He announced the upcoming reception for the current City Hall exhibit of Ann Meredith’s photographs, Tall in the Saddle, on February 13.
   
   An important question for Mr. Cancel is how to find the resources to meet the City’s and the Commission’s responsibilities. He reported that he had met with the heads of the Cultural Centers; these long-occupied City-owned buildings have extensive capital needs. He noted that he and Ms. Gonchar had recently taken it upon themselves to participate in a capital funding hearing at City Hall, where some of the projects under discussion were many millions of dollars, and it might have been easy for the committee to cut the Arts Commission’s comparatively small projects. He vowed to raise the Arts Commission’s capital needs in the discourse of City capital expenditures. He explained that there are ways to structure the Cultural Centers projects under federal tax law to allow for private-sector partnerships encouraged by the sale of tax credits. Arguing that the City and the nonprofits are “leaving money on the table” when they don’t take advantage of such laws, he said that he will be exploring exactly how to do this.
   
   Finally, he said that he knew everyone had seen the gloomy economic news, and heard that every City agency was mandated to find ways to reduce its budget. He is in conversation with the administration to see how the Arts Commission will meet the reduction target, or whether the agency will be able to avoid some of the cuts. Mr. Cancel said that the agency will do its best to cooperate with the overall City budget process, but will strongly make the case that the Arts Commission is a net revenue generator for the City, and it is counterproductive to cut too much from its budget.
   
   President Johnston thanked Mr. Cancel, saying that it was great to have him here and that he looked forward to working together. President Johnston was particularly interested in working on the Cultural Centers, which he cited as just one example of the new ideas and energy Mr. Cancel brings to the Arts Commission.
   
   
5. Consent Calendar
   Agenda item 4 was severed from the Consent Calendar because the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of January 15, 2008 had not been distributed.
   
   Agenda item 12 was severed from the Consent Calendar at the request of President Johnston and referred back to the Street Artists Committee for further discussion.
   
   Agenda item 19 was severed from the Consent Calendar for further clarification.
   
   President Johnston confirmed that the budget was still very much a work in progress, agreeing with Mr. Cancel that the Commission would not quietly accept cuts that are penny-wise and pound-foolish.
   
   Commissioner Rinder asked about the item for funding Bayview Opera House. Ms. Nemzoff explained that the amount approved by the Executive Committee was full funding for the remainder of the current fiscal year. Commissioner Rinder asked whether the presence of the item on the Consent Calendar signified that the Executive Committee was satisfied with the Opera House’s progress. President Johnston replied that the Committee had held a long meeting, and that he was not just satisfied and relieved that the Opera House had made significant progress, but overjoyed at the change in their commitment and focus. He said that the SWA landscape project in October was a watershed moment, in conjunction with the physical upgrades and the work of Cultural Center Facilities Manager Tom Petersen. He explained that the Opera House board and staff matched that effort with greatly increased programming, not just as a center but as a cultural center. He added that he was relieved, and that at the 120-day mark, it was by no means certain that the Opera House would meet its goals.
   
   Commissioner Przyblyski added that many Commissioners and staff had watched the situation with anxiety and concern. She said that the Committee had heard a great deal of public comment at its last meeting, and that the Opera House’s progress was a testament as well to the really hard work done by President Johnston and Ms. Nemzoff; she commended them for it.
   
   Vice President Draisin seconded the favorable opinion of the Opera House’s progress, saying that it was important that the Commissioners know about it. She agreed that there had been an incredible amount of public testimony, and emphasized that the Opera House’s new budget actually moved money from operations to programming.
   
   President Johnston noted that not all of the speakers at the Committee’s meeting were specifically affiliated with the Opera House, but they wanted to speak out. He highlighted the fact that the interim director, Vernon Grigg, moved money from operations into programming, noting that although it was a relatively small amount, it signaled a huge change in direction. President Johnston added that the final speaker at the Committee meeting was a board member who reminded his fellow board members that they would have to continue their work in this new direction. President Johnston explained that Mr. Grigg is a former Deputy District Attorney and board member at the Opera House, who came to a point where he felt he either had to leave the board or do the more difficult thing and step up to change the Center’s direction.
   
   Ms. Nemzoff explained that Mr. Grigg was out of town, but that the Opera House was represented by board secretary Felipe Paris and general manager Lark Leet. She briefly mentioned the Opera House’s new collaboration with resident artist Joanna Haigood, the dinner and a movie events, and a summer program in the works. She agreed that the new focus was really pragmatic, with lots of hands-on programming.
   
   The remaining items were approved as follows.
   
   RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-024:
   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. 0204-08-025: Motion to approve the Visual Arts Committee Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2007.
      
      
   2. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-026: Motion to approve the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee Meeting Minutes of January 8, 2008.
      
      
   3. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-027: Motion to approve the Street Artists Committee Meeting Minutes of January 9, 2008.
      
      
   4. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-028: Motion to approve the Visual Arts Committee Meeting Minutes of January 16, 2008.
      
      
      Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee Recommendations (January 8, 2008)
      
   5. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-029: Motion to approve the recommendation to award one grant totaling $100,000 for the 2007-2008 International Arts Festival Grant to the following organization and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement for the amount listed:
      
      World Arts West, $100,000
      
      
   6. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-030: Motion to approve recommendations to award eighteen grants totaling $439,500 in the 2007-2008 cycle of Cultural Equity Initiatives Level One grants to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each for the amounts listed:
      
      3rd I South Asian Independent Film Festival, $25,000
      ABADA Capoeira San Francisco, $25,000
      Asian Improv aRts, $15,000
      Carnaval San Francisco, $25,000
      Children’s Book Press, $25,000
      Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco, $25,000
      Chinese Historical Society of America, $25,000
      Fresh Meat Productions, $25,000
      Galeria de la Raza, $25,000
      Gen Taiko, $25,000
      Melody of China, Inc., $25,000
      Oasis for Girls, $25,000
      Purple Moon Dance Project, $25,000
      Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, $25,000
      Radar Productions, $25,000
      Theatre Rhinoceros, $25,000
      Women’s Audio Mission, $24,500
      World Arts West, $25,000
      
      
      Street Artists Committee Recommendations (January 9, 2008)
      
   7. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-031: Motion to approve (1) finding of violation of Street Artists Ordinance by Sua Far Lee for obtaining a selling space from the Arts Commission’s street artist lottery and selling with an expired certificate, and (2) re-issuance of Ms. Lee’s certificate.
      
      
   8. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-032: Motion to approve amendments of November 14, 2007 Street Artists Committee minutes, Items 1 and 2.
      
      
      Executive Committee Recommendations (January 15, 2008)
      
   9. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-033: Motion to increase the grant agreement with the Bayview Opera House, Inc., for a total grant not to exceed $310,399, contingent upon their revised budget submission.
      
      
   10. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-034: Motion to approve the FY 2008-2009 Arts Commission budget submission to the Mayor’s Office.
       
       
       Visual Arts Committee Recommendations (January 16, 2008)
       
   11. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-035: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to increase, by an amount not to exceed $6,000, contract #DPAR08000046 with artists Packard Jennings and Steve Lambert for their Art on Market Street Program kiosk poster series and auxiliary programming. Additional funds are for the printing of a catalog. The revised total contract amount is not to exceed $17,000.
       
       
   12. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-036: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with curator Patricia Maloney for her curatorial work on the Arts Commission Gallery exhibition Make You Notice, for an amount not to exceed $5,100.
       
       
   13. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-037: Motion to approve the temporary installation of the sculpture Koilos Aeionic by artist Michael Christian on Patricia’s Green, sponsored by the Hayes Valley Art Coalition for a period of six months pending approval from the Recreation and Parks Department.
       
       
   14. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-038: Motion to support the concept of placing a memorial bust of former Mayor Adolph Sutro in City Hall, pending Arts Commission approval of the design, the identification of an appropriate location in City Hall, and the raising of funds for all project costs including the maintenance endowment.
       
       
   15. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-039: Motion to approve artist Clare Rojas’ proposal for Boarding Area G gateroom wall.
       
       
   16. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-040: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to relocate the Rabbinoid sculpture by Gerald Heffernon from Stern Grove to Esprit Park pending favorable response from community groups in the surrounding vicinity.
       
       
   17. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-041: Motion to approve the proposal by artist Owen Smith for the Art on Market Street Program in 2008 and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with Owen Smith for the design of six original artworks and the printing of 24 kiosk poster reproductions, with auxiliary programming, for an amount not to exceed $18,000.
       
       
       Civic Design Review Committee Recommendations (January 28, 2008)
       
   18. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-042: Motion to approve Phases 1 and 2 of the Alameda Siphon No. 4 Project—Chemical Injection Control and Electric Shed Buildings.
       
       
   19. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-043: Motion to approve Phases 1 and 2 of the Roselle Crossover Improvements Project—Valve Vault and Generator Buildings.
       
       
6. Committee Reports
   
   1. Executive Committee—P.J. Johnston, Chair
      
      1. President Johnston reported that the previous discussion on the Consent Calendar covered what he had intended to report for the Executive Committee. Additionally, the Committee received a brief report from Ms. Gonchar on the budget. He promised to keep the Commission updated on budget developments. The Committee wanted to wait for Mr. Cancel’s arrival before fleshing out the details of the budget and the requested cuts.
         
         
   2. Civic Design Committee—Jeannene Przyblyski, Interim Chair
      
      1. Emphasizing her interim status as Committee Chair, Commissioner Przyblyski reported that the Committee was in something of a holding pattern, still awaiting Mayoral appointments. She reported that the main building of San Francisco General Hospital will be rebuilt. The Committee had a very productive discussion with the design team on the architectural direction, what the Committee will be looking for in the façade and how it greets people. The project is mandated to be completed by 2013, although it may have to be extended. The Committee also reviewed some small utility buildings.
         
         President Johnston explained that the Commission is waiting for the Mayor to fill three vacancies, and announced that he had appointed Topher Delaney to the landscape architecture seat. President Johnston rejoined the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee, and he was hopeful that the vacancies would be filled soon. He acknowledged the stress caused by not having the full complement of Commissioners.
         
         
   3. Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee—Maya Draisin, Chair
      
      1. Vice President Draisin reported that the Committee continued its discussions on the Native American Cultural Center, hearing quite a bit of public testimony. She said that there was a great deal of interest in funding the Native arts community, more than the general Native community. She reported that Ms. Nemzoff and Cultural Equity Grants Program Director San San Wong were working on a one-time solution to get funding back to the community this fiscal year through the granting process, and then looking at a longer-term solution for future years.
         
         She presented the following motion.
         
         
      2. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-044: Motion to approve the following individuals as grants application review panelists for Cultural Equity Grants:
         
         Wilma Bonet, Independent Playwright, Actor, Director
         Dr. Anthony Brown, Artistic Director, Asian American Orchestra
         Sabina Chen, Executive Director, Chinese Culture Center
         T. Kebo Drew, Development and Events Manager, Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project
         Laura Elaine Ellis, Executive Director, African and African American Performing Arts Coalition
         Joseph Jennings, Music Director, Chanticleer
         Angela Mattox, Associate Performing Arts Curator, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
         Chad Sweeney, Independent Writer and Co-editor, Parthenon West Review
         Michelle Tea, Artistic Director, Radar Productions
         Torange Yeghiazarian, Artistic Director, Golden Thread Productions
         
         
   4. Street Artists Committee—Alexander Lloyd, Chair
      
      1. Commissioner Lloyd offered congratulations on the new Street Artists website, and reported that the “blue book” of the Program’s rules is being revised in preparation for posting on the website.
         
         He reported that he had appeared before the Board of Appeals in the case of a street artist appealing the Committee’s suspension of his license. Commissioner Lloyd explained that the Committee had suspended the artist’s license after giving him a second chance. The Board of Appeals gave the artist a three-month trial period, an outcome better than the Committee had hoped for.
         
         Commissioner Lloyd presented the following motion.
         
         
      2. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-045: Motion to approve requests by former certificate-holders for priority issuance of certificate with waiver of re-screening of wares: Ravit Maman, Ed Handelman, Aihua Zhang, Ann Garsson, Norma Hanley, Kevin McCarthy.
         
         Commissioner Lloyd presented the following motion, explaining that the honorarium to be paid came from Arts Commission general funds and not from the Street Artists Program budget.
         
         
      3. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-046: Motion to approve honorarium payment of no more than $2,500 to Rick Elizaga Design for design and creation of Street Artists Program website.
         
         Finally, Commissioner Lloyd noted that the Committee would revisit its budget discussion at its next meeting.
         
         In response to a question, he said that the artist who had made the appeal previously discussed was Manuel Loli.
         
         
   5. Visual Arts Committee—Jeannene Przyblyski, Chair
      
      1. Commissioner Przyblyski reported that the Committee had reviewed several projects. She explained that the motion regarding Blueprints (Agenda item 19) had been severed from the Consent Calendar because it was determined that the language needed to be more specific. The two motions below reflect the appropriate language.
         
         Commissioner Przyblyski said that the Central Subway project is at an exciting stage. The Committee had serious discussions with the architect about spaces which may be available for artwork within the project.
         
         She reported that the temporary artwork installations at Patricia’s Green have been so successful that the community would like to have public art there all the time. The Committee is also looking forward to artwork being installed at Lake Merced. She said that the Committee will be working with the Planning Commission on revising the legislation on how public art funds are allocated in the downtown C3 zone.
         
         Commissioner Przyblyski presented the following motions.
         
         
      2. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-047: Motion to approve the installation of Blueprints, an artwork by the artist team of Nobuho Nagasawa and Anita Margrill, consisting of two large graphic curtainwalls installed on the exterior of stair towers on the Municipal Railway Metro East Vehicle Operations and Maintenance Facility at 601 – 25th Street, at Cesar Chavez and Illinois Street.
         
         
      3. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-048: Motion to accept into the Civic Art Collection Blueprints, an artwork by the artist team of Nobuho Nagasawa and Anita Margrill, consisting of two curtainwalls (each 36 feet high and 19 feet wide), and each on the exterior of two stair towers, with each curtainwall comprised of 21 individual insulated glass units, with two laminated tinted blue glass panels on the interior and two clear glass panels on the exterior laminated with a white line mechanical engineering drawing (each curtainwall with a different drawing) extended over the entire surface of each curtainwall, installed at the Municipal Railway Metro East Vehicle Operations and Maintenance Facility, located at 601 – 25th Street at Cesar Chavez and Illinois Street.
         
         President Johnston said that, as a former Muni employee, he was excited about this project.
         
         Before presenting the following motion, Commissioner Przyblyski explained that it was intended to address a temporary artwork by Juri Commons. The community has enjoyed it so much that they want to keep it, but the piece was never designed to be permanent. This motion is intended to allow the community to enjoy the artwork for its natural lifetime, but to explicitly state that the Arts Commission takes no responsibility for maintaining it.
         
         
      4. RESOLUTION NO. 0204-08-049: Motion to approve the indefinite extension of the Flor del Sol mosaic paving installation by artist Jennifer Alexander at Juri Commons subject to the agreement of the Recreation and Park Department with the explicit understanding that the Arts Commission shall have no responsibility for the maintenance of the work.
         
         
7. Public Comment
   There was no further public comment.
   
   
8. New Business
   There was no further new business.
   
   
9. Reports and Announcements
   Saying that his predecessor, Stanlee Gatti, was much superior in his ability to raise money for worthy projects, President Johnston reminded everyone of his invitation to a fundraiser for the Black Film Festival at 1300 Fillmore. He noted that there have been some wonderful changes in the area.
   
   Mr. Lazar thanked Commissioner Lloyd for his remarks at the Board of Appeal hearing. He said that the Arts Commission had been dealing with Mr. Loli’s case for two years, and that without Commissioner Lloyd’s participation, the Board would have given Mr. Loli a “blank check” instead of the probationary license.
   
   
10. Adjournment
    There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:58 p.m.
    
    

2/28/08 spr