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Meeting Information



Executive_Committee

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 

MEETING of the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Monday, March 23, 2009
4:00 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70


Minutes

Commission President P.J. Johnston called the meeting to order at 4:08 p.m.

  1. Roll Call
    Commissioners Present
    P.J. Johnston
    Maya Draisin
    Sherri Young

    Commissioners Absent
    Jeannene Przyblyski
    Cass Calder Smith

    Staff Present
    Director of Cultural Affairs Luis R. Cancel
    Cultural Equity Grants Program Director San San Wong
    Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie

  2. President’s Report
    President Johnston made no report.

  3. Director’s Report
    Mr. Cancel reported that the agency is applying for federal stimulus funds, including some of the $50 million allocated to the National Endowment for the Arts. He described a program for local agencies to regrant up to $250,000 to arts organizations with the goal of job retention; part of the grant would remain with the Arts Commission for administration. He noted that the track record and practices of the Cultural Equity Grants program provide a good basis for the agency to meet the stringent federal rules for accountability and transparency.

    Mr. Cancel reported that he and staff are working with other City departments to pursue other stimulus funds, including funding for education, transportation and energy. He named Kyri McClellan, the Mayor’s liaison, and Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez, the City’s lobbying coordinator. Community Arts and Education Program Director Judy Nemzoff and he are working with Hydra Mendoza, also of the Mayor’s office, on funding for arts education, and Development Director Rachelle Axel is working with Wade Crowfoot of the Mayor’s office on capital funding for energy improvements, including possible upgrades for the Cultural Centers. Finally, Mr. Cancel reported that Community Development Block Grant funds are available for the City, and he is working with the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to see if some of those funds can be disbursed to the cultural sector.

    Mr. Cancel reported that the agency-wide database project was moving along, and that the data was currently being verified; the database was on schedule to go live at the end of the current fiscal year. He added that the exact implementation for tracking contracts with grantees was still being developed.

    Mr. Cancel reported that the Mayor had announced that artists would be chosen to use vacant storefronts for exhibition space. Ms. Nemzoff is working with Mike Farrah and Amy Cohen of the Mayor’s office to identify the appropriate storefronts; the Tenderloin, Divisadero and Third Street are potential areas. He hoped to announce details of the program shortly.

    Mr. Cancel reported that Collections staff have compiled a list of all two-dimensional works, including prints, paintings, photographs, etc.), some 350 objects, that could be lent to other City agencies, on condition that they pay for framing and other associated costs. He noted that they are eager for this, and the staff is ready to relaunch the program. President Johnston noted that there were some fantastic artworks in the collection. In response to Commissioner Young’s question, Mr. Cancel explained that the loan period currently contemplated is one year, to allow staff to confirm periodically that the artwork is still in place. He added that they are still working on details of the plan, including investigating the possibility of applying radio-frequency (“RF”) tags to the pieces to aid in tracking, but don’t want to delay implementation.

    Commissioners asked about sometimes using existing artwork from the collection instead of commissioning new works, and about when and whether any pieces should be sold. Mr. Cancel explained that a pdf of the collection is available, that Arts Commission staff would choose the appropriate frame for an artwork to be lent and bill the borrowing agency; the program is designed to be expense-neutral to the Arts Commission.

    Turning to personnel matters, Mr. Cancel reported that the Department of Human Resources has been officially notified of the elimination of the Deputy Director’s position, effective May 1. Formal restructuring or reorganization of the agency will wait until after the agency has held broader discussions. In the meantime, he has appointed Jill Manton as Interim Deputy Director, and has met with her, San San Wong, and Kan Htun to allocate the Deputy Director’s responsibilities among them, as the only realistic way to move forward. He anticipated that the interim status would continue for only a few months.

    Mr. Cancel reported that arts organizations around the country are opening their doors and providing greater access for their streesed communities. He proposed surveying local cultural organizations to see how they might play a similar role, offering free admission or other ways to help the unemployed, young families and others. Commissioner Young concurred, noting that she had said something similar in a recent interview. She noted that the Cultural Centers are a great resource, and that musicians and others are always looking for performance spaces. Mr. Cancel explained that the Arts Commission would reach out to the cultural community to find out what initiatives organizations are already undertaking, and to encourage new initiatives, then disseminate the information.

    President Johnston noted that John Killacky of the San Francisco Foundation and several arts organization directors had appeared on the Forum radio show that morning, discussing creative ways to cope with the recession. He also mentioned online galleries as a less expensive way to show artwork.

    Mr. Cancel reported that Community Arts and Education staff were working with the Department of Public Works (“DPW”) on a curriculum to try to dissuade young people from tagging; this curriculum should be launched soon. He explained that Ms. Nemzoff and Ms. Manton are working with DPW on creating a site in Hunter’s Point for “urban art,” somewhat like the Writer’s Block site in San Diego. This would be a creative and artistic space for young people to learn and practice urban art. DPW is eager to find a solution to tagging, as the City now spends some $20 million yearly on graffiti removal. The Committee agreed that graffiti abatement was a difficult challenge, and were hopeful that this initiative would be effective.

  4. Arts Commission Strategic Planning Process
    President Johnston thanked Mr. Cancel for his preliminary work on this process. He proposed beginning the discussion by considering the various consultants who had submitted proposals, and the advantages and disadvantages of an accelerated schedule, before discussing costs.

    Mr. Cancel agreed, noting that he was in the fact-finding stage and wanted direction from the Committee. He had solicited recommendations, with a specific focus on consultants with a demonstrated track record of strategic planning with governmental agencies, which, he noted, are quite different from nonprofits. He winnowed down the recommendations and requested proposals from a few consultants, requesting options for both a compressed schedule of three or four months, and the consultant’s normal schedule.

    Of the firms he contacted, Helicon declined because they were too busy to take on the project. All of the consultants said that three or four months was an extremely compressed schedule, and that they would normally take seven to ten months. The costs ranged from $65,000 to $100,000 and up for longer-term proposals. Mr. Cancel reported that he had spoken with the heads of other department who had gone through a strategic planning process; many are larger departments that spent substantially more money. He noted that Muni did their strategic planning in five months. He learned about an in-house person at the Department of Human Resources and planned to explore that possibility. He noted that a critical element will be scheduling the required participants.

    President Johnston pointed out that a great deal of information had been compiled for the Commission and staff retreats held in 2007 and 2008, with a report prepared by Sutherland~Edwards Consulting. He suggested that the current strategic planning process should build on that report, as well as on the report prepared by the search firm during the search that resulted in the hiring of Mr. Cancel, and the Arts Task Force report; to use data already gathered.

    President Johnston also suggested looking at some of the Arts Commission’s natural allies, friends and constituents, including Grants for the Arts, the Department of Children, Youth and Families, and some other City departments, as well as staff who have recently come from other organizations. He expressed some concern about using another City department as a consultant, and also mentioned Miriam Abrams as another possible consultant. Mr. Cancel agreed to continue gathering information.

    The Committee discussed whether and how the question of staff reorganization to accommodate the loss of the Deputy Director should be incorporated into the strategic planning process. The Committee agreed that the responsibilities of the Deputy Director need to be addressed, and divided among the remaining staff, quickly, since the position will be eliminated as of May 1. Commissioners also thought it important that the strategic plan address that division of labor over the longer term. President Johnston acknowledged that, although the decision was made not to cut programs, it is difficult, if not impossible, to do the same work with fewer people, and that the commitment to retain programs must be reconciled with the actual number of people available to do the work.

    The Committee discussed the timeline for the planning process, noting that there is a great deal of anticipation, and some impatience, in the community, and a sense that this discussion has already been going on for some time, so it shouldn’t be extended over more than six to eight months. On the other hand, Mr. Cancel noted that Los Angeles has taken more than a year.

    Cultural Equity Grants Program Director San San Wong pointed out that Los Angeles was drafting a cultural plan for the city, and asked whether the Committee’s intention was to create a cultural plan for the City of San Francisco, or a strategic plan for the Arts Commission. She also asked about the level of community participation, and agreed that it was important to incorporate previous work. Finally, while acknowledging the value of a City consultant, she said that for one of the largest cultural communities in the nation, it was worth seriously considering a well-experienced outside consultant.

    President Johnston expressed concern about expanding the scope of planning too broadly, and Mr. Cancel confirmed that the idea was to develop a strategic plan for the Arts Commission, and not a cultural policy plan for the City. President Johnston requested that Mr. Cancel focus on clarifying the scope and the timeline.

  5. Public Comment
    There was no further public comment.

  6. Adjournment
    There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:12 p.m.


spr 9/4/09