HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/18/2023 - Meeting Minutes Salt Lake City Arts Council
Board Meeting Minutes
January 18, 2023
54 Finch Lane, Salt Lake City, Utah
WebEx Online
Present:
Josanne Glass
Ebay Hamilton
Thomas Kessinger
Sarah Longoria
Torle Nenbee
Cale Newhouse
Katherine Potter
Susan Rickman
Marti Woolford
Not present:
Kathy Davis
Richard Taylor
Excused:
Kate Jarman Gates
Sonali Loomba
Staff:
Felicia Baca, SLAC Director
Susan Campbell, SLAC Staff
Kelsey Ellis, SLAC Staff
Taylor Knuth, SLAC Staff
Cyan Larson, SLAC Staff
Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez, SLAC Staff
I. Call to Order and Welcome
Ms. Susan Rickman, Chair of the Board, called the meeting to order at 5:32pm.
She welcomed new board member Ms. Marti Woolford and asked her to tell the
board about herself. She said she used to work in fiber arts, creating and selling
macrame goods, but closed her business during Covid. Being a part of the Arts
Council is helping her keep that connection to the arts. By day, she works for
refugee resettlement.
II. Approval Board Meeting Minutes
Mr. Josanne Glass moved to approve the December board meeting minutes. Ms.
Torle Nenbee seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously.
III. Arts Event Discussion
A. Ms. Rickman saw the musical "Ain't Too Proud". She said it was fun and that the
singers were amazing. She is planning to attend the Chinese New Year
Celebration on Saturday.
B. Ms. Felicia Baca attended 12 Minutes Max" at the Salt Lake Public Library, in
which there was a youth band performing with their dad, a woman doing witchy
interventions, electronic music, and modern dancers.
C. Ms. Woolford saw an exhibit at the Salt Lake Public Library by artist Bea Hurd
called "For the Love of My Belly".
D. Mr. Ebay Hamilton attended the Glass Art Guild of Utah show at Red Butte
Gardens, and also the Art Adoption event at Signed & Numbered. He also asked
for recommendations for how to find out about more art events. Ms. Baca
recommended NowPlaying Utah and The Blocks. Ms. Rickman recommended an
email newsletter called Hey Salt Lake.And, Ms. Glass recommended 15bytes.
IV. Management
A. Program/Administrative Updates & Presentations
1. Ms. Baca said that they are excited to be working on a million dollar
Bloomberg grant for a temporary art project, on behalf of Salt Lake City.
The theme will be The Great Salt Lake. The application is due on
February 15th.
2. Friday is a gallery stroll, and there is an opening at the Utah Museum of
Contemporary Art for the work of artist Maria del Mar Gonzalez-Gonzalez.
3. The Arts Council is still in the hiring process for seasonal employees for
the Living Traditions Festival. Mr. Cale Newhouse asked if they will also
be hiring for entry-level positions, to help with set-up of the festival. They
will be, when the festival gets closer. Ms. Baca said "Call all of your
seasonal and part-time friends!". The Arts Council will also be launching
the interest form for artists to participate at the festival, on Friday. They
are also in the process of acquiring sponsorships for the festival.
4. There have been four bands secured for this year's Twilight Concert
Series, and we'll be seeing a contract soon.
5. They are continuing to work on the Arts & Economic Prosperity survey.
6. Things are moving along with the Fleet Block (corner of 800 S. and 300
W. in Salt Lake City). The City is planning to develop a park, and the Arts
Council is planning to help with installing public art with a social justice
focus.
7. The Salt Lake Bees baseball team will be moving to Daybreak, so there is
a website called Ballpark Next, encouraging the community to imagine
what they'd like to see happen to the stadium. All ideas are being
considered.
8. Arts Council partners Downtown Alliance are handling art installations,
during the NBAAII-Star Game weekends, at the Gallivan Center,
February 17th-19th.
9. Mr. Renato Olmedo-Gonzales, who oversees the Arts Council's Public Art
Program, gave board members a run-down of the Public Art Program,
where it gets its funding, and where it is generally allocated. "We're
probably seeing about 7-10 active projects at a time." They have
developed a Prequalified Artist Pool, consisting of Utah-based artists and
artist-led teams. The list is available to the public. A recent example of
completed public art is at the 600 South TRAX station. And they recently
did a commission for the Poplar Grove Park tennis courts, which is getting
resurfaced. The Salt Lake City Recycling trucks have public art on them,
from the artist pool, and so does a lot of the art at the Gateway mall. He
said, "It's a really cool resource. Please use it!"
10. Mr. Knuth shared the Arts Council's work plan. Ms. Rickman announced
that Mr. Knuth is currently running for Mayor of Ogden. Mr. Knuth let the
board know about the organization's Strategic Plan, the Organizational
Core Values, the Focal Points, and the Staff Work Plan. Ms. Rickman
said, "I think this is fantastic! How does the staff feel about this?" Ms.
Campbell said "When we get energized by a side project, it keeps us on
track and focused on our goals, so I like it!"
V. Review of Financials
1. Mr. Cale Newhouse gave us a quick budget update, saying that the
organization currently has about $1.55 million, which is about a $50,000
increase, month over month, because of a state grant that came in.
2. Ms. Kelsey Ellis went over the details of the amended budget for the
board. Mr. Newhouse motioned to adopt the amended budget. Ms. Potter
seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.
3. Ms. Baca thanked Mr. Newhouse for helping them work on their 990 tax
forms this year.
VI. Board
A. Ms. Glass let the board know about three new board candidates, from Districts 6
and 7. They are still looking for a board member to represent District 4. The
candidates are Jeff Driggs, Matthew Coals, and Hana Nielson. Ms. Glass made a
motion to approve sending these recommendations to the Mayor. Mr. Hamilton
seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
B. Ms. Baca and Ms. Rickman let the board know that Ms. Andrea Ashdown
resigned from the board, as she was no longer able to handle the time
commitment.
C. Ms. Campbell, Manager of the Arts Grants Program gave the board a
presentation about the Project Support Grants - Round 2. She also introduced
new staff member Cyan Larson who is the Grants Program Coordinator. The
Grants Committee is in need of at least two new members. Ms. Nenbee made a
motion to approve the list of grant recipients for the Project Support Grants -
Round 2. Ms. Potter seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously.
D. Ms. Baca let board members know that the City of Salt Lake is working on
providing some type of board member compensation, the amount of which is still
unknown. Ms. Woolford asked if there would be a way to donate the money back
to the organization, if a board member chose to. Ms. Baca said she'd take that
question to the city. Ms. Potter said "We could make a requirement that we have
to spend it on art!"
VI I. Other Business
Ms. Woolford made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Nenbee seconded the
motion. The meeting was adjourned at 6:49pm.