MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE ARTS COMMISSION

Monday, July 25, 2016
12:30 p.m.
401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 125

Minutes
 

President Beltran called the meeting to order at 12:33 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present 
   JD Beltran, President
   Roberto Ordeñana, Vice President
   Charles Collins
   Simon Frankel
   Abby Sadin Schnair
    
   Commissioners Absent 
   None
    
   President Beltran announced that, as a courtesy to the presenter, the Committee would take agenda item 6, regarding the Moscone Parking Garage, out of order immediately following General Public Comment.
    
2. General Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
    
3. Moscone Parking Garage
   President Beltran explained that this project had been reviewed earlier at the Visual Arts Committee, and she briefly discussed its site and scope. Mr. DeCaigny added that the full Commission had already approved the project’s concept through its resolution. The motion before this Committee would approve final modifications to the project.
   Mr. DeCaigny introduced Jessica Shaefer of Sites Unseen, Inc., the organization sponsoring the project. Ms. Shaefer presented an overview of the project to date and discussed the changes since the Visual Arts Committee’s last review.
    
   The Executive Committee discussed the project, including concerns about durability, maintenance, graffiti abatement and other matters. President Beltran noted that the project was designed not to interfere with the permanent public artwork already installed at the site.
    
   Ms. Shaefer described the project as “semi-permanent,” designed with durable materials to remain in place for five or more years as long as the garage stands. She added that some panels of the artwork are designed to be removed for potential reuse elsewhere if and when the garage is demolished. Staff confirmed that the artwork will not be accessioned into the Civic Art Collection.
    
   Senior Registrar Allison Cummings also confirmed that, as is standard practice, the artist has signed a waiver explicitly giving up his rights to the artwork under the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA”) and the California Art Preservation Act (“CAPA”), so that the Arts Commission will have the right to remove or destroy the artwork when the time comes.
    
   There was no public comment, and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to approve modifications to the previously approved untitled mural designs by artist Barry McGee, to be painted and installed on seven locations (under Resolution No. 0404-16-100) at the Moscone Parking Garage located at 255 Third Street. Modifications include the addition of mural designs at the top and lower portions of the Third Street side of the tower at Third and Clementina streets.
    
4. Director’s Report
   Mr. DeCaigny began his report by thanking everyone who attended the ribbon-cutting at Bayview Opera House, with its outdoor plaza designed by Walter Hood. Mr. DeCaigny named several of the officials (including Mayor Lee, Acting Police Chief Toney Chaplin, Supervisors Cohen, Chiu and Wiener, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi), notables and community members in attendance, and thanked Communications Director Kate Patterson-Murphy, Community Investments Director Judy Nemzoff, Program Officer Robynn Takayama and other staff for their work on the event, and on the Opera House. He added that the extensive press coverage included reports from three television stations as well as the San Francisco Chronicle.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported that the interior work is near completion, and the nonprofit managing organization will soon be able to resume its operations there. He announced an opening weekend community celebration on September 17. He thanked the many City partners and private partners, and acknowledged Ms. Nemzoff as a champion of the project since its inception.
    
   President Beltran added that there was a great turnout, and that she was very moved by Supervisor Cohen’s remarks recalling how important the Opera House had been as she was growing up, serving as an essential hub in her community.
    
   Mr. DeCagny reported that he and several staff members had attended the annual Americans for the Arts meeting in Boston in June, and announced that San Francisco will host the next meeting, June 15-18, 2017. The host partnership includes the Exploratorium, the Fine Arts Museums, Grants for the Arts and SF Travel. He reported that Americans for the Arts members seem very excited to come to San Francisco, and they expect a very large turnout in 2017.
    
   Mr. DeCaigny reported that the final vote by the Board of Supervisors on the City’s budget was expected by the end of the week.
    
   Turning to the Strategic Plan, he reported on the work of the three staff working groups formed to focus on cultural equity, individual artists and communications, noting that these groups replaced the “verticals” which had the unfortunate effect of reinforcing siloing within the staff.
    
   Commissioner Collins expressed concern that theater and performing artists were not given as much consideration as visual artists in the discussion of individual artists, and he would like to see San Francisco become more of a center for the backstage and technical positions. He suggested a possible relationship with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to foster jobs in this area, noting that he saw very few people of color in the back-of-house roles. Mr. DeCaigny agreed that these were good points, and he noted that the Individual Artists Working Group is looking at how to advance career paths in all disciplines, including visual and performing arts, at resources for technical assistance, and at a variety of potential partner organizations and departments.
    
   The Committee asked about the Communications Working Group’s project, the revamped website, and how jobs and other opportunities might be posted on the site. Mr. DeCaigny explained that any organization will be able to post an opportunity and tag it so that it will feed into the Arts Commission’s website; this will eliminate the problem of not being able to dedicate staff time to managing these posts, and the bottleneck that would result.
    
   The Committee also discussed how the arts can be connected with other kinds of work and professional and technical skills and opportunities; and how these opportunities can be more widely available, addressing cultural equity.
    
   Finally, Mr. DeCaigny reported that the artist housing group has begun meeting with community partners, and looking for strategies the Arts Commission can take to address housing for artists.
    
   There was no public comment.
    
5. Water and Wastewater Systems Documentary Grant
   Mr. DeCaigny reported that this grant was a partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (“SFPUC”), which is putting a significant capital investment into redeveloping the City’s water and wastewater systems. They are work-ordering funds to the Arts Commission for this grant to fund a film showcasing the history and forthcoming efforts of the SFPUC. He noted that, as an “enterprise department,” they were not required to work with the Arts Commission to manage the 2%-for-art funds generated by the construction, but have agreed to do so.
    
   The Committee discussed the grant, and Mr. DeCaigny explained the panel review process. The Committee commented on the excellence of Hetch Hetchy water.
    
   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 for fiscal years 2016-2018 with Booker T. Washington Community Service Center for a grant not to exceed $440,000 to produce a documentary film on San Francisco’s water and wastewater systems in collaboration with filmmaker Jim Yager, pending receipt of funds from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
    
6. SFAC Strategic Plan Update and Amended Objectives
   Mr. DeCaigny began by pointing out that the Strategic Plan was always meant to be a living document, and that at the time it was drafted, it was not entirely clear how the Galleries’ programming fit into the document. Since then, with meetings with the Galleries’ board and other stakeholders, Galleries Director Meg Shiffler has developed the written guidelines presented to this Committee.
    
   Ms. Shiffler discussed the guidelines, which have been presented to the Visual Arts Committee. She reviewed them individually. Mr. DeCaigny added that the numbering of the goals presented reflected the numbering in the overall Strategic Plan, and that its goals three and five had to do more with policy and internal agency processes, respectively, and thus were not specifically addressed by the Galleries’ goals.
    
   The Committee discussed the goals, and found them well-stated. They emphasized the importance of the civic dialogue, and Ms. Shiffler reported that this was echoed in meetings with stakeholders. Mr. DeCaigny also discussed the Galleries’ unique civic role in showcasing the Civic Art Collection, and the relationship with the veterans who are co-tenants at 401 Van Ness.
    
   The Committee discussed other ideas, including how the relationship with the Cultural Centers might be leveraged, how the Galleries’ visibility might be increased with the new website, and how the relationship with schools might be strengthened. Ms. Shiffler discussed how she and Galleries staff are working to develop curriculum and increase attendance, and pointed to the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek as a model for its very active education programming.
    
   There was no public comment, and the motion was unanimously approved as follows.
    
   Motion to approve new program objectives for the SFAC Galleries for the strategic plan.
    
7. New Business and Announcements
   Vice President Ordeñana left the meeting at 1:47 p.m.
    
   President Beltran recommended the show at the Fraenkel Gallery of photographs curated by writer Hanya Yanagihara.
    
   There was no further new business or announcements, and no public comment.
    
8. Adjournment 
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:48 p.m.
    

posted 8/5/16, 3:00 p.m. spr
approved 12/5/16
 

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.