Arts_Task_Force
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 MEETING OF THE ARTS TASK FORCE
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
5:30 p.m.
City Hall Room 201
Revised Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m.
- Roll Call
Voting Members Present
Karen Ames
Jeffrey Ferns
Rick Galbreath
David Gluck
Elaine Katzenberger
Krissy Keefer
Tony Kelly
Pamela Wu Kochiyama
Maria X. Martinez
Anjali Nath
Vinay Patel
Pamela Peniston
Alma Robinson
Laird Rodet
Marc Vogl
Debra Walker
Voting Members Excused
Ken Foster
Richard (Rick) Putz
Voting Members Absent
Tim Gaskin
Virginia (Ginny) Carollo Rubin
Darryl Smith
Nonvoting Members Present
Mike Farrah
Tim Hallman
Renee Hayes
John R. Killacky
Elizabeth Murray
Richard Newirth
Geraldine O’Brien
Nonvoting Members Absent
Bob Davis
Rich Hillis
P.J. Johnston
Carolyn McMillan
Charles Roppel
Gloria Woo
NOTE: ALL VOTES ARE UNANIMOUS UNLESS OTHERWISE RECORDED.
- Announcements by the Chair
The Chair announced the appointment of Laura Rowley to the Film Commission. She gave a general reminder to keep lines of communication open to members’ individual cohorts and advise them of upcoming meetings and progress of the Task Force. She announced the Arts Town Hall meeting on December 14 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
There was no public comment.
- Minutes
The September 21, 2005 minutes were corrected as follows: David Gluck and Marc Vogl should be recorded as present, and Andrew Wood asked that his public comment be amended for clarification.
David Gluck moved to approve the minutes with corrections; the motion was seconded by Maria X. Martinez and passed without objection.
October 19, 2005 minutes were subject to an extensive discussion regarding the content of the remarks of Supervisor Ammiano, and approval was deferred to a future meeting pending revision of the recording of said remarks.
There was no public comment on this item.
- Update on Task Force Report
Revenue Recommendation 4 was revised as follows: Mayor and Board to prioritize long-overdue life-safety upgrades, seismic upgrades, and capital improvements to City-owned arts facilities.
There was no public comment on Revenue Goals.
Binding votes were then taken on the Revenue Recommendations as follows:
a. Accepting Revenue Recommendation #1 of the Task Force: passed 16-0
b. Accepting Revenue Recommendation #2 of the Task Force: passed 16-0
c. Accepting Revenue Recommendation #3 of the Task Force: passed 16-0
d. Accepting Revenue Recommendation #4 of the Task Force: passed 14-2
Draft Recommendations of the Program workgroup and a supporting chart were presented and discussed.
Rich Newirth suggested removing the word “funding” from the text. Members agreed. A further suggestion was to add the agencies involved rather than specific programs (e.g. SFUSD, Redevelopment Agency, and state and federal agencies.)
Maria X. Martinez suggested adding some vision of venues; how to invest in venues and locations of the venues. She also suggested adding resources; the program would be able to refer organizations and artists to appropriate resources.
Vinay Patel clarified facilities issues: all City-owned facilities would have the same access to the same resources for maintenance issues.
General questions and concerns included: How are EDF or WritersCorps considered? What programs are missing that will benefit mid-size organizations? There should be an explicit statement of what new programs should be developed.
Public Comment:
Andrew Wood mentioned that at the last meeting members took a straw poll that Grants for the Arts (“GFTA”) and the Arts Commission should be within the Department of Culture.
An unidentified member of the public commented that without knowing the previous structure it is difficult to utilize the chart.
There was no further public comment on this item.
The straw poll was deferred until after the Structure discussion in order to have a more informed vote.
Beginning the Structure discussion, David Gluck provided an overview that included the statement that GFTA and the Arts Commission function on a spectrum of “politicalness.”
There was a general consensus to add “media arts” to Recommendation 1.
Rich Newirth agreed that the Arts Commission should have someone represent arts education, but said that it is difficult to get people who meet the criteria as it is. He suggested taking an overlay of suggestions to say that the Task Force wants to ensure that these things are accomplished without dictating actual seats.
Renee Hayes said she didn’t see the GFTA Citizens Advisory Committee (“CAC”) on the list. David Gluck clarified that the Arts Planning Council would decide methods. The proposal does not get rid of the current GFTA CAC. Ms. Hayes emphasized the importance of the CAC.
Mike Farrah noted that the recommendation would require a charter amendment and it would be likely that the Mayor would be the one to appoint the Director of the newly formed department.
It was recommended that language supporting GFTA, such as “GFTA has provided invaluable support throughout the years” be included in the recommendations. Further, Karen Ames said she would like it stated that GFTA has done a tremendous job and noted that changing GFTA criteria would not keep funding secure for existing grantees.
Jeffrey Ferns said he would like to see something that illustrates the spirit of the proposed Arts Planning Council, and he pointed out that the point of the recommendations is to better coordinate programming and funding.
Tony Kelly pointed out that there are a lot of gaps: there is no neighborhood arts program anymore, only a few cultural centers, and there is a large underfunded part of the arts industry. He said that trying to figure out what structure will help fill the gaps is one of the Arts Task Force’s primary duties.
Mike Farrah noted that there are political realities to amending the charter. He said that the arts community needs to find consensus as to what it should be, poll San Francisco’s citizenry about it, and there should be no attempt at a ballot measure unless there is some assurance of passage. It should also be considered that that every new entity requires new staffing.
There was a sentiment expressed that if GFTA and the Arts Commission, including Cultural Equity Grants, had the money they are supposed to have, there would essentially be no need for this Task Force, and the easiest recommendation to make would be to make sure that the existing institutions and programs are fully funded. It was also noted that GFTA gives money to parades and neighborhood arts celebrations through the Arts Commission.
It was suggested that the outcome should marry public policymaking with public resources and public accountability. If people feel that these goals can be met through a different structure, participation at Structure workgroup meeting is the ideal place to further these conversations. The function of the Arts Planning Council would be developed in a manner to help direct funding goals of the entire Department of Culture, to enhance the effectiveness of, not to abolish, GFTA.
It was generally felt that:
a. there should be one umbrella entity that does not divide the leadership into fragmented pieces;
b. the War Memorial and Asian Art Museum do not have an advocacy body that supports them but should;
c. there is a need to build a broader constituency for the arts—a body that puts the issues out there;
d. the arts community needs to be more politically effective—there was no arts advocacy at all this year. The Arts Planning Council could be more effective in being the advocacy body.
It was reiterated that Recommendation 1 is intended to create a policymaking body that will address the gaps, which are evidence that current governing structures are not right; and to be a citizens’ body with broad community representation that will decide what funding priorities should be over the long run and how funding should be distributed.
There was no public comment.
Non-binding straw polls were taken on Program and Structure recommendations.
- Outreach Update
It was announced that youth-focused outreach in District 5 is in development. The Task Force is considering conducting outreach meetings in January for Bayview and the African American Arts and Culture Center, and Community Meetings in Districts 1, 7 and 8.
Members were reminded that there will be an Arts Forum meeting at 5:00 p.m. at Intersection for the Arts next week. A listing of remaining scheduled full and committee meetings was distributed.
- Update on Expenditures
Mr. Newirth indicated that staff support to do the creative industries and economic impact report section of the arts survey would likely require $3,200 to $3,600 of staff time to accomplish the tasks necessary to complete it. He said he would bring a more formal proposal to the next meeting for consideration. Mr. Newith also noted that the Arts Commission is providing money to a grantwriter for a Proposition 40 grant application.
Mr. Newirth indicated that staff support for assisting with the Task Force is about $4000 to $5000 so far, and he is considering that support as simply an in-kind expenditure.
There was no public comment on this item.
- New Business
David Gluck requested a cleaned-up roster to know who is eligible to vote based on attendance of voting members.
There was no public comment on this item.
- Public Comment
Maria X. Martinez took the opportunity to announce that the Department of Public Health is doing an impact assessment and is offering a $25 Safeway gift certificate for artists who can participate in a focus group.
There was no further public comment.
- Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Revised 2/28/06 DW/RG/spr
