MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE ARTS COMMISSION

Monday, March 26, 2018
12:30 p.m.
401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 125

Minutes
 

President Beltran called the meeting to order at 12:37 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present
   JD Beltran, President
   Roberto Ordeñana, Vice President
   Charles Collins
   Mary Jung
    
   Commissioners Absent
   Simon Frankel
    
2. General Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
    
3. Director’s Report
   Mr. DeCaigny announced the April 9 Mayor's Art Award event, sponsored by ArtCare, in the Rotunda of City Hall. The award will be presented to San Francisco Ballet's Yuan Yuan Tan, who was selected by the late Mayor Lee, and the Lifetime Achievement Award will go to gallerist Rena Bransten. He added that tickets are available from ArtCare.
    
   He announced that an appeal had been filed against the Historic Preservation Commission's approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for removal of the “Early Days” portion of the Pioneer Monument. Mr. DeCaigny explained the process and timeline for the appeal, which will be heard at a public meeting of the Board of Appeals on April 18. After a ten-day window when the appellant can request rehearing, the earliest date for removal of the statue would be April 28. The Committee discussed the appeal process and its potential outcomes.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported on planning for the World Cities Culture Summit, which will be held in San Francisco November 14-16. He added that the public events of the summit will be held on Friday, November 16, at the War Memorial Veterans Building. He thanked Director of Public and Private Partnerships Rachelle Axel for her work on this event, in partnership with SF Travel. The Committee discussed the event and some of the venues, and possible issues for discussion by the representatives of the 37 global cities. The Committee encouraged awareness of intersectionality in the summit's discussions.
    
   There was no public comment.
    
4. World Cities Culture Summit
   Mr. DeCaigny presented the following motion, explaining that SF Travel was the Arts Commission's partner in hosting the World Cities Culture Summit, under a similar structure to last year's Americans for the Arts conference. He noted that for the summit, translation is a major issue because of the global participation. He added that private funds are also being sought to support the summit, along with a California Arts Council grant.
    
   There was no public comment, and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement with SF Travel for an amount not to exceed $275,000 to support artist presenters, keynote speakers, translation services, cultural venue fees and associated costs of the World Cities Culture Summit in San Francisco in November 2018 as part of local co-host obligations.
    
5. Proposed Allocation of $1,000,000 from Public Art Trust
   In the absence of Public Art Trust and Special Projects Director Jill Manton, Mr. DeCaigny briefly discussed the history of the Public Art Trust created as part of Planning Code Section 429, which allows private developers to contribute all or part of the one-percent public art requirement to the Trust in lieu of placing an artwork at the site. He explained that while several developers have specified restricted uses for their contributions, the Trust has recently surpassed the $1 million mark in unrestricted funds. He explained that funds from the Trust could be used within one-half mile of the C-3 district, and directed the Committee's attention to the map and to Ms. Manton's explanatory memo. He explained that, in accord with the Trust legislation, this motion proposed using $500,000 for a capital project, $200,000 for grants within the City's cultural districts and $300,000 for temporary projects in the Civic Center.
    
   Commissioner Jung left the meeting at 12:55 p.m., to participate in a Public Art review panel.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny pointed out that all of the funds would be awarded through a competitive open process, and that all of the projects would come to the Commission for its approval. He requested comments from the Committee about the proposals. The Committee discussed the motion, including the timing and the process of the awarding of the funds, the locations of the relevant cultural districts and the motivations of the developers in contributing funds to the Trust in support of the vibrancy of the neighborhoods where their projects are located. The Committee suggested that while a single large grant to an organization for a capital project could have a major impact, splitting those funds among two or more organizations might leverage other funds and have a significant impact for more organizations. Mr. DeCaigny agreed, and the Committee amended the motion accordingly.
    
   There was no public comment. The amended motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to approve the proposed allocation of $1,000,000 from the Public Art Trust for the following purposes pursuant to Section 429 of the Planning Code, not to exceed the amounts listed for each:
   $500,000 to be awarded to one or more San Francisco-based arts organizations for capital improvement projects;
   $200,000 to be used for multiple grants to artists and/or nonprofit arts organizations within the City’s established cultural districts for artistic projects that celebrate and honor longstanding communities in imaginative and meaningful ways, and which are free and accessible to the general public;
   $300,000 to be used for temporary public art projects in the Civic Center Commons and other sites as recommended by staff and approved by the Commission.
    
6. New Business and Announcements
   Mr. DeCaigny announced a special reception on Thursday, March 29, sponsored by Commissioners Collins and Shelby for Kenyatta A. C. Hinkle, whose work is the subject of the Galleries solo show The Retrieval. He announced that the event would begin at 5:00 , with an appearance by the artist at 6:00. President Beltran encouraged everyone to attend, praising the artist as brilliant.
    
   President Beltran announced that she will have an immersive work at the art and technology exhibition, If So, What? at the Palace of Fine Arts, April 26-29. She added that she would also be speaking at the event.
    
   There was no further new business or announcements, and no public comment.
    
7. Adjournment
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:14 p.m.
    

posted 4/9/18, 3:00 p.m. spr
approved 5/7/18


 

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.