Meeting Information

Community_Arts_and_Education_Committee

COMMUNITY ARTS EDUCATION & GRANTS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
4:30 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue
Suite 70

Minutes

Commissioner Brown called the meeting to order at 4:40.

Commissioners Present
Blanche Brown
Jose Cuellar
Ethel Pitts Walker
P.J. Johnston
Janice Mirikitani

1. Cultural Equity Program Director’s Report
   Ms. Gomez announced two public meetings scheduled for this summer. The first is a meeting with former panelists to discuss possible improvements to the panel selection process, and will take place July 28th at 5:30. The second is to discuss the specific issues of the Cultural Equity Grants dance constituency which has special concerns due to its highly collaborative nature. It will take place on August 11th, also at 5:30.
   
   Commissioner Walker inquired, in reference to applicant John Templeton, about the eligibility requirements in the literature genre. Ms. Gomez described the requirements as they exist in the guidelines and pointed out the missing elements of Mr. Templeton's application, most particularly an adequate work sample.
   
   Commissioner Cuellar commented that the literature panel seemed to score higher than the other panels. Ms. Gomez responded that this panel did seem to score high historically, but assured the Committee that this does not affect the number of recipients in each category.
   
   Commissioner Walker made the following motion:
   Motion to approve the following individuals for the Cultural Equity Grants panel pool:
   Marisa Aroy, media producer
   John Warren, formerly with Intersection, currently member of Untheatre Collective
   Douglas Conrad, production manager, The Marsh
   Elizabeth Greene, administrator, SF Jewish Film Festival
   Karen Kwan, promotion and development, Bay Area Glass Institute
   
   The motion passed unanimously.
   
   Commissioner Brown made the following motion
   Motion to approve recommendations for 21 grants in the 2005 cycle of the Individual Artists Commissions category in Literature, Visual Arts and Media totaling $155,450.
   The motion passed unanimously.
   
   
2. Community Arts and Education Program Director’s Report
   Ms. Nemzoff presented a schedule for holding quarterly committee meetings at each of the cultural centers. The schedule has been adjusted as follows:
   
   September 13, 2005: African American Cultural Center (762 Fulton Street)
   with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center
   
   November 8, 2005: Bayview Opera House, Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre (4705 Third Street)
   with Queer Cultural Center
   
   March 14, 2006: Somarts (934 Brannan Street)
   with Native American Cultural Center
   
   June 13, 2006: Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (2868 Mission Street)
   
   A discussion followed about the issues that prevented Bayview Opera House's Management and Programming Plan and Budget from being approved. Staff is working with the Opera House to finalize the needed changes prior to the August Commission meeting. Ms. Nemzoff also reviewed the current process for issuing leases to the centers. Ms. Nemzoff made two recommendations regarding the cultural facilities and the Commission's role as landlords. The first is that an internal committee be formed to make strategic decisions about the future of the buildings; the committee should include Commissioners with architectural backgrounds. The second is to hire a consultant to develop a strategic plan for the center facilities. Commissioner Mirikitani supported the second recommendation and said the City should invest in our jewels (the cultural centers). Ms. Nemzoff said the cultural center facilities should be on the Mayor's radar for support. No decision was made on either recommendation.
   
   
3. WritersCorps Report
   Ms. Heller reported on recognition for City of One including a silver medal in the anthology category from ForeWord Magazine. WritersCorps is hiring one or two new teachers. The 2005-2006 publication will be on earthquakes and wil be published by Aunt Lute. Finally she reported that the San Francisco Foundation awarded $20,000 towards teacher salaries.
   
   
4. Arts Education Report
   Ms. Axel reported on the upcoming second Annual Arts Education Resource Fair on August 24th which will be expanded to include professional development workshops for teachers prior to the fair for extended learning credits.
   
   
5. Cultural Center Report
   Ms. Nemzoff and the Commissioners applauded London Breed, the executive director at the African American Art and Culture Complex, for the improvements she made to the center.
   
   Commissioner Walker made the following motion:
   Motion to approve the proposed African American Art and Culture Complex 2005-2006 Management and Programming Plan and Budget for a grant not to exceed $307,734 from Cultural Center Line Item Hotel Tax Funds, contingent upon completion of revisions.
   The motions passed unanimously.
   
   
6. Commissioner Johnston reported that on Sunday, July 17th he will be on Channel 5 at 7:50 in the morning to talk about Summer in the City.
   
   Commissioner Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:00.

RT 7/20/05