MEETING OF THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION
Monday, October 7, 2019
2:00 p.m.
City Hall Room 416
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

Minutes

President Ordeñana called the meeting to order at 2:07 p.m.

1. Roll Call
    
   Commissioners Present
   Roberto Ordeñana, President
   Kimberlee Stryker, Vice President
   JD Beltran
   Charles Collins
   Suzanne Ferras
   Mary Jung
   Dorka Keehn
   Nabiel Musleh
   Linda Parker Pennington
   Abby Sadin Schnair
   Janine Shiota
   Barbara Sklar
   Paul Woolford
    
   Commissioners Absent
   Marcus Shelby
   Myrna Melgar, ex officio
    
    
2. Approval of Minutes
   There was no public comment, and the minutes were unanimously approved as follows.
    
   RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-232: Motion to approve September 9, 2019 Minutes.
    
3. General Public Comment
   John Goldsmith explained that he lives near the Castro station and has been involved in many cleanup and enhancement projects there. He said that he supported the changes for the Americans with Disabilities ("ADA") renovations, but preferred darker materials, and he described other design preferences.
   
   Alan Burradell said that he has lived in the neighborhood for twenty years, and echoed some of Mr. Goldsmith's ideas. He said that the plaza needs renovation, not demolition, and that the plaza should be decoupled from the ADA renovations. He said that the designers don't live in the neighborhood and don't understand the local concerns.
   
   David Cannon, architect, said that he had lived in the Castro for 45 years and had started a Facebook group regarding the plaza and station. He was sickened by the filth and degradation of the neighborhood, and attended public meetings. He urged the Commission not to go ahead with the renovations without more public hearings. He said that the nearby Jane Warner Plaza was dimly lit and unsafe, and that people were lying in the street.
    
   There was no further public comment.
    
4. Director’s Report
   Mr. DeCaigny thanked Lydia So for her recently ended service on the Arts Commission; she has just been appointed to the Historic Preservation Commission. Commissioners praised her for her dedication, her enthusiasm, and the intelligence and knowledge she brought to her work on the Arts Commission and expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to work with her. They also praised the importance of her work with the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. Commissioner So thanked fellow Commissioners for their kind words and for their generosity and support during her tenure. She said that she looked forward to strengthening the partnership between the two Commissions. She also thanked staff, including Director of Special Initiatives Jill Manton and former Civic Design Review Program Associate Aleta Lee. Finally, she thanked Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors for the opportunity to serve in this new capacity.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny introduced Joanne Lee, newly appointed as Deputy Director of Programs. He reported on activities of the agency, including an update on grantmaking.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported on the first American Indian Initiative events: the recent opening of The Continuous Thread exhibition at the Galleries, with a reception, and the temporary projection project Reclaiming Space: Project Portraits of the American Indian Community, funded by the Public Art Trust. He thanked Commissioner Musleh and his partners at Immersive for their generous in-kind donation, with no compensation, of projection services. He announced upcoming Indigenous People's Day events.
   
   He announced the opening of several Community Investment grant windows, including Cultural Equity Initiatives, Creative Space, Individual Artist Commissions and Organizational Project Grants, along with technical assistance workshops to help potential grantees with the application process. He explained that information about the deadlines and the workshops was on the Arts Commission's website. Individual Artist Commissions this year are for music, dance and theater artists, and he was pleased to announce that thanks to the Proposition E funding, these grants could now rise to $20,000, the largest allocation to date.
   
   Public Art Program Director Susan Pontious presented a detailed overview of the major installations at San Francisco Airport ("SFO") as part of the rebuilding of Harvey Milk Terminal 1.
   
   Commissioners congratulated staff on this huge and complicated program's success, and discussed the importance of this highly visble work. Ms. Pontious reviewed a few highlights of the budget. Mr. DeCaigny pointed out that several of the artists have shown in the Arts Commission's Galleries or received grants from the Commission, and that this is the most diverse pool of artists yet in a Public Art project. Mr. DeCaigny, Ms. Pontious and the Commission noted the importance of the partnership with the Airport Museum and the Airport Art Committee, including Blake Summers and the rest of the Airport staff.
    
   Public Comment:
   Mr. Cannon was delighted to see the diversity in the artwork, and he does watercolors himself. He said that Harvey Milk was a man of the people, community-based, warmhearted and loving. As a gay person, Mr. Cannon was a little offended at the representation of gay people by disco balls. He noted that gay people were homeless, or looking for cures for HIV, and he felt that disco balls were an anachronism.
   
   Mr. DeCaigny pointed out that the current installation is a snapshot, just one piece of what will be a very formal program dedicated to the life of Mr. Milk and all of his struggles. He noted that the current program is a temporary installation, for two years, and the larger permanent installation will be presented with a large dedication ceremony; he was happy to share the full program as currently contemplated
   
   Mr. Goldsmith was very impressed with the art program. He said that he had gone to college with Alicia McCarthy, and was glad to see her artwork here. He said that when the Harvey Milk Station was built in 1976, the opening celebration included disco balls, and he was happy about that. He would like to see more of Mr. Milk's history at the plaza, and appreciated the sensitivity to the art programming at the Airport.
    
    
   There was no further public comment.
    
5. Committee Reports and Committee Matters
   1. Civic Design Review Committee—Kimberlee Stryker, Chair
      1. Vice President Stryker reported on Harvey Milk Plaza, which has been before the Committee. She explained that there are two projects in the same place, sponsored by two separate City departments: the ADA redesign of the elevator by the Municipal Transportation Agency ("MTA"), and the plaza by Public Works. Both, she said, will come to the Civic Design Review Committee. The Committee asked the two departments to be in contact with each other because the two projects are in the same location. She said that it was clear to the Committee that there are strong feelings in the community and she invited them to meet with her discuss their concerns.
         
         Commissioner Woolford reported that the Committee had only one item on its recent agenda, the MTA's elevator project at the Castro Street Station. The Committee discussed mostly technical elements of the project, with the aim of ensuring that public dollars are spent wisely and that work will not havae to be redone for the plaza project.
         
         Mr. DeCaigny pointed out that the Arts Commission's Civic Design Review Committee only reviews projects coming to the Commission through capital projects allocated by City departments, in this case triggered by ADA renovations. He encouraged members of the public interested in the Harvey Milk and Jane Warner plazas to contact the Public Works project lead to discuss the bigger-picture redesign and how the current project connects with the larger redesign.
          
         Public Comment:
         Mr. Goldsmith said that he has been participating in community meetings on the Harvey Milk Plaza project. He said that he was concerned about secrecy surrounding the project and felt that his perspective was not being heard by City officials.
         
         There was no further public comment.
          
   2. Community Investments Committee—Charles Collins, Chair
      1. Commissioner Collins reported that the Committee heard reports from the Cultural Centers and had a thorough discussion about them, including both the facilities and capacity-building for the staff.
         
         Commissioner Musleh added that it was remarkable how much the Centers do with relatively little in the way of resources, and asked how the Commission could advise them to support their growth.
         
         Commissioner Collins noted that new capital funding is improving the stability of the Centers, and praised the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the City Administrator for their efforts to increase the Centers' budgets.
         
         The Commission also discussed the ongoing work on the racial equity initiative, building on Citywide work with Race Forward and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity ("GARE").
         
         There was no public comment.
          
   3. Visual Arts Committee—Dorka Keehn, Chair
      1. Commissioner Keehn thanked Ms. Pontious for an excellent presentation. She reported that the Committee had a light agenda at its recent meeting.
          
         There was no public comment.
          
   4. Consent Calendar
      Public Comment:
      Mr. Goldsmith, Mr. Burradell and Mr. Cannon all asked the Commission to withdraw item 4 below, regarding the Castro Station Elevator Project, to continue the motion to a later date.
       
       
      There was no further public comment.
       
      Commissioners discussed the Civic Design Review process and its purview, noting that the Committee is also required to consider the project budget along with its design. They explained that there are two separate projects, the elevator and the plaza, under the jurisdiction of two separate City departments, and that both projects will come before the Committee several more times. They also invited members of the public to attend the Committee's meetings. Mr. DeCaigny added that MTA, as an enterprise department, is legally entitled to exempt its project from Civic Design Review if the process delays the timeline of the project or significantly increases the cost; Commissioners pointed out that there has been a good working relationship so far between the two departments, and that MTA staff has been receptive to the Committee's comments.
       
      The Commission declined to withdraw the agenda item, and the entire Consent Calendar was approved unanimously as follows.
       
      RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-266:
      Approval: RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby adopt the following items on the Consent Calendar and their related Resolutions:
       
      1. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-267: Motion to approve the Community Investments Committee Meeting Minutes of August 27, 2019.
          
      2. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-268: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2019.
          
      3. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-269: Motion to approve the Visual Arts Committee Meeting Minutes of September 18, 2019.
          
         Civic Design Review Committee Recommendations (September 16, 2019)
      4. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-270: Motion to approve Phase 2 of the Castro Station Elevator Project contingent upon: 1) further investigating the self-cleaning nanotechnology solutions that clean glass; 2) providing supplemental information regarding maintenance and cleaning schedule of the elevator; 3) studying proportion percentages and gradation of the frit pattern on the glass and providing specifications of the frit pattern; and 4) providing elevations and further details of the bridge support.
          
         Visual Arts Committee Recommendations (September 18, 2019)
      5. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-271: Motion to approve Portola Longview, a mural design by artist Arthur Koch. The mural will be installed at Golden State Pizza & Grill, which is located on 2414 San Bruno Ave. at Silver Ave. The painted mural will measure approximately 8 ft. by 50 ft. The project is funded by the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The painted mural will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
          
      6. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-272: Motion to approve Portola, The Garden District, a mural design by artist Charles Dabo. The mural will be installed at Golden State Pizza & Grill, which is located on 2414 San Bruno Ave. at Silver Ave. The painted mural will measure approximately 12 ft. by 11.5 ft. The project is funded by the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The painted mural will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
          
      7. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-273: Motion to approve Campton Place Neon Light Art Project, a neon light installation by artist Meryl Pataky. The neon light installation will be installed at the back of 240 Post St. on Campton Place. The project is funded by the Community Challenge Grant Program which is a division of the City Administrator’s Office and the Union Square Business Improvement District. The neon light installation will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
          
      8. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-274: Motion to rescind Resolution No. 1001-18-326 authorizing the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contracts with the selected artist, HYBYCOZO, for an amount not to exceed $168,500 for design, engineering, fabrication, transportation and installation consultation of a three-dimensional exterior artwork for Mint Plaza.
          
      9. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-275: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with the selected artist, HYBYCOZO (DBA COZO Industries LLC), for an amount not to exceed $168,500 for design, engineering, fabrication, transportation and installation consultation of a three-dimensional exterior artwork for Mint Plaza.
          
      10. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-276: Motion to approve the design of the following artworks to be installed at the Mercy Housing California project to be located at 1064-68 Mission St.: Past Forward, by Michael Arcega; Pasalubong Passage, by Leah Rosenberg; Respect, Justice, Mercy by David Kim; and This Bird, by Rosana Castrillo Diaz. The artworks are funded and will be owned by the project developers, Mercy Housing California and the Episcopal Community Services. They will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
           
      11. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-277: Motion to approve the proposal from the Irish Famine Memorial Committee, a not for profit organization, for a memorial to be located off of El Camino Del Mar in Lincoln Park, commemorating the Irish Famine (1845-1852). The memorial is supported by a Resolution from the Board of Supervisors and will be privately funded. Upon completion, the work will become part of the Civic Art Collection.
           
      12. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-278: Motion to approve artists Sadie Barnette, Justin Hall, Roger Win Mixter and Marcela Pardo Ariza and their conceptual proposals for the 2020 Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series as recommended by the artist selection panel.
           
      13. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-279: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contracts with Sadie Barnette, Justin Hall, Roger Win Mixter and Marcela Pardo Ariza for an amount not to exceed $12,000 each for the 2020 Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series.
           
      14. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-280: Motion to approve the Design Development Phase deliverables (material sample) for Yumei Hou’s artwork for Central Subway Chinatown Station.
           
      15. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-281: Motion to approve the selected artists Sirron Norris and Malik Seneferu for the Southeast Treatment Plant Construction Fencing temporary art program, as recommended by the artist selection panel.
           
      16. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-282: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a contract with the selected artists Sirron Norris and Malik Seneferu for an amount not to exceed $22,000 each for the Southeast Treatment Plant Construction Fencing temporary art program.
           
          Community Investments Committee Recommendations (October 1, 2019)
      17. RESOLUTION NO. 1007-19-283: Motion to approve the Ebony McKinney Arts Leadership Award to Juliana Delgado Lopera and authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement for an amount not to exceed $5,000 at this time.
           
   5. New Business and Announcements
      President Ordeñana announced that he had appointed Commissioners Jung and Ferras to the Nominating Committee for the 2020 officers, with Commissioner Collins to serve as Chair. He also announced the appointment of Commissioner Shiota to chair the Street Artists Program Committee, to serve along with Commissioners Shelby and Musleh. He explained that the bylaws require that this Committee be drawn from the Community Investments Committee. He thanked all of these Commissioners for agreeing to serve.
       
      There was no further news or announcements, and there was no public comment.
       
   6. Adjournment
      There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:42 p.m.
       

   posted 10/21/19, 6:45 p.m. spr
   revised 11/3/19
   approved 11/4/19
   
    

   ---

   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.

   Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Commission Secretary Sharon Page Ritchie, 415-252-2256,sharon.page_ritchie@sfgov.org.