MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE ARTS COMMISSION

Monday, August 26, 2019
12:30 p.m.
401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 125

Minutes
 

President Ordeñana called the meeting to order at 12:38 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present
   Roberto Ordeñana, President
   Kimberlee Stryker, Vice President
   JD Beltran
   Charles Collins
   Mary Jung
    
   Commissioners Absent
   None
    
2. General Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
    
3. Director’s Report
   Mr. DeCaigny reminded the Committee of the upcoming grants convening on September 12 at the Herbst Theater from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
    
   Reminding the Committee that the agency had several vacant positions, he announced that the hiring process was continuing, that a contingent offer had been made for the Deputy Director of Programs position, an offer made to a candidate for the Senior Data and Racial Equity Analyst position and that two new people had started in the 1840 positions in the Community Investments team; they will be introduced at the September 9 meeting of the full Commission.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported that City department heads had been requested to submit goals and accomplishments in advance of the annual performance review. Mr. DeCaigny requested President Ordeñana to schedule a closed session meeting of the Executive Committee in September or October for his review.
    
   Turning to grants, Mr. DeCaigny expected that new Requests for Proposals, including those for the addback grant allocations from the Board of Supervisors, would be announced in September. He reported that the agency was now using a new grants management system through Salesforce, in partnership with Grants for the Arts, providing a single system for arts funding in the City. He added that technical assistance workshops are being offered to the public in September and October, and that most of the application deadlines are in November, staggered so the applications aren’t all due at once.
    
   Finally, he congratulated the Public Art team on the many significant installations in the newly-opened Harvey Milk Terminal 1. He explained that work on the Airport Hyatt Hotel and the AirTrain are still ongoing, and he thanked Commissioners who attended the public opening of the terminal. Commissioner Beltran added that the hotel dedication is scheduled for Monday, September 30, at 10:00 a.m.
    
   There was no public comment.
    
4. Amendment of Bylaws
   Mr. DeCaigny reminded the Committee that amended bylaws were approved by the full Commission in January 2019, after a thorough review. The current proposal is for a minor change in regard to the committee structure, which will allow the Commission to be more responsive to the Art Vendor program. After consultation with the City Attorney to assure close adherence to the Police Code governing the program, the Street Artists Program Committee would be composed of at least three members appointed by the President, rather than all seven of the Community Investments Committee members. This smaller body could be more nimble; President Ordeñana agreed that the change will allow greater efficiency and facilitate scheduling meetings. Mr. DeCaigny noted that the business of the Street Artists Program Committee primarily concerns the Embarcadero Plaza market. Commissioners endorsed the change.
    
   There was no public comment and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to adopt amended Arts Commission bylaws.
    
5. Public Artwork Trust Memorandum of Understanding with Mid-Market Center
   Mr. DeCaigny briefy explained how the Public Artwork Trust works, under Planning Code Section 429, allowing developers to contribute their required one percent for public art to the Trust in lieu of placing artwork onsite. Trust funds can be used for other arts uses, including grants to arts organizations or for artworks not immediately on the development site.
    
   The memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with this developer was previously approved by the Commission, but the developer has now requested a change of grantee, although the funds will be used for the original purpose.
    
   The Committee discussed the question of long-term versus short-term impact for the various Trust projects. Mr. DeCaigny pointed out that the developer has an option to donate to the Trust, or may simply spend the same funds on onsite artwork. The Committee expressed interest in having a policy discussion at a future meeting regarding possible amendments to the legislation that could consistently address the Commission’s equity goals and values while also recognizing the developer’s wishes and interests. The Committee also discussed whether the amount of the administrative fee was appropriate. Mr. DeCaigny replied that the size of the grant had very little impact on the costs to the agency of administering it; a small grant requires pretty much the same process and the same amount of staff time as a large one. He proposed including this topic in the future policy discussion.
    
   The Committee noted the variety of projects completed under the Trust, some very permanent and visible, while others are more in the nature of temporary activation.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny agreed to present information on total funds used to date as a starting point for the policy conversation.
    
   There was no public comment, and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to rescind Resolution No. 0807-17-213 as to the distribution by grant of $72,500 to Tenderloin Equitable Development Project from funds contributed by Mid-Market Center LLC (“MMC”) to the Public Artwork Trust; and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Mid-Market Center LLC (“MMC”) regarding MMC’s contribution of $525,000 to the Public Artwork Trust Fund for distribution by grant to the following recipients: Counterpulse: $97,500, Magic Theater: $147,500, Wildflowers Institute: $197,500 and Michael Warr (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $72,500.
    
6. Contract Modification for San Francisco Airport Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Artwork
   Mr. DeCaigny explained that this motion was not able to be heard by the Visual Arts Committee, and so was before this Committee. Public Art Program Director Susan Pontious explained that the artwork in question, a monumental project by Liz Glynn at Harvey Milk Terminal 1, required a technical modification which, on the City Attorney’s advice, requires this modification of the contract. Ms. Pontious explained that the airport had to bring the sprinkler system through the artwork with substantial hanging rods, and that the artist could not have foreseen this cost.
    
   Commissioner Beltran praised the artwork as amazing, and encouraged staff to enter it into the national public art competition administered by Americans for the Arts. She joked that passengers might need to be reminded to keep an eye on their luggage because they won’t want to look away from the artwork.
    
   There was no public comment, and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to modify the agreement with Liz Glynn Studios, Inc. for the TSA Security Checkpoint project at San Francisco Airport Harvey Milk Terminal 1 to increase the contract amount from $1,219,628 by $42,872 for an amount not to exceed $1,262,500 for custom hanging rods and for a site survey.
    
7. New Business and Announcements
   President Ordeñana announced that he will be appointing a nominating committee shortly and will be contacting Commissioners to determine their availability to serve.
    
   Commissioner Collins described wonderful art shows he had recently seen in the United Kingdom, including work by Zak Ové, whose Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness was displayed in 2018 in San Francisco’s Civic Center. Ové curated a show at Somerset House in London, featuring Black British and immigrant artists; and Tate Britain mounted a show of work by Guyanese-born Frank Bowling. Commissioner Collins encouraged everyone to look online at the shows.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny announced that preliminary planning has begun for the Americans for the Arts triennial Arts and Economic Impact study. The new Senior Data and Racial Equity Analyst will take the lead on this for the Arts Commission, and a lot of data will be requested from grantees. He briefly discussed what will be involved in the study, and explained that Grants for the Arts and San Francisco Travel will be local partners. While Americans for the Arts focuses specifically on the nonprofit arts sector, San Francisco is interested in looking more holistically at the larger arts ecosystem, including commercial and for-profit organizations, and how arts and culture drive the economy in San Francisco. Later, he expects to come back to this Committee with a formal request for funding to take part in the study.
    
   Commissioners discussed the recent announcement from the Mayor’s office regarding the allocation of funds from Grants for the Arts through Proposition E.
    
   Commissioner Beltran announced that she would not be able to attend the September 9 meeting of the full Commission, because she and her partner Scott Minneman will be in Austria at Ars Electronica, and will be part of the Global Museum at San Francisco State University.
    
   Commissioner Jung said that she was very impressed with Commissioner Beltran’s recent talk, and she congratulated Commissioner Collins on his Silver Spur award. Commissioner Collins thanked her, and noted that his father and his wife had both previously received the honor.
    
   There was no public comment.
    
8. Adjournment
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:23 p.m.
    

posted 9/5/19, 4:00 p.m. spr
approved 9/9/19

 

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2256, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。如需協助，Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2256, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2256, sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.