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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/21/2026 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY Affis Salt Lake City Arts Council Board Meeting Minutes January 21st, 2026 5:30—7:00 P.M. 54 Finch Lane— SLC, Utah 84102 ATTENDANCE: Board Members in Attendance: • Matthew Coles • Cuauhtemoc"C-moc" Sandoval • Eugenie Hero Jaffe • Denise Begue • Nick Pedersen • Ryan Canter • Lana Taylor • Caitlin Tursic • Anthony Wright • Sabrina Martinez • Travis English Board Members in Attendance Online: • Hannah Nielsen • Kathy Davis • Gabriella Huggins • Pablo Cruz-Ayala Board Members Excused: • Jeff Driggs • Ignacio Rosenberg Board Members Not In Attendance, Unexcused: N/A Council/City Staff/Public in Attendance: • Felicia Baca,Arts Council Executive Director • Laurel Cannon Alder,Arts Council Deputy Director • Lindsey Day,Art Council Office Facilitator • Susan Campbell, Community Investment and Development Manager • Sylvia Richards, Public Policy Analyst • Bahaa Chmait,Team Building Activity Facilitator MINUTES MISSION: To promote,present and support artists and arts organizations in order to facilitate the development of the arts and expand awareness, access, and engagement. SALT LAKE CITY AffS COU C I L I. Call to Order and Welcome Guests o Mr. Coles called the meeting to order, and we welcomed Ms. Baca back after her short leave. o The board discussed the latest arts&culture events they have attended around the city and look forward to attending in the future. Some events mentioned included the recent UMOCA opening event and Sundance, and Ms. Begue lauded Mr. Pederson's MCing of a recent"smart start" panel for the University of Utah arts program. I. Approve Board Meeting Minutes o Ms. Davis motioned to approve the December board minutes. Ms.Taylor seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously,with Ms. Martinez abstaining. II. Management General Program Management Updates o Ms. Baca provided updates about recent and upcoming council activities. o She noted that the location and date for the signature Wake the Great Salt Lake commission was announced.The activation will occur in Memory Grove from March 26th to April 4th.The team is currently working on logistics with a plan to test the sphere in February.The ticket sign-up is live, and though not required,it helps the team plan for how many attendees will be present and allows them to communicate with them.The plan is to host a VIP reception on the 26th and a public lecture on the 25th. o The recent Finch Lane Gallery opening drew-230 people(artists Ben Bloch and Carol Sogard), which is great for an opening, and Ben's work got write-ups in 15Bytes and City Weekly. o Fundraising for Living Traditions is on track with Foundation and Private donations,but we are still waiting to hear about the federal NEA grant. o We anticipate the Mayor to announce the Poet Laureate program at the State of the City on the 27th. o The Mayor's Artists Awards will move away from being held at the Utah Arts Festival and instead be presented at the Art Barn as part of a dedicated ceremony. The goal is to build more community around this recognition,including with past winners. o Regarding the legislature and state activity, it was noted that Vicki Bourns,the Director of Utah Arts and Museums,is retiring.There also isn't too much the team is following in terms of specific legislation or bills,but they are staying close to discussions around culture and the funding for the culture division. Funding for POPS looks brighter than earlier concerns about funding being eliminated. The City is focused on transportation and local control issues. Team Building Activity o The board participated in a team-building activity led by Mr. Chmait that included splitting up into groups, coming up with words that then needed to be spelled using the groups'physical bodies, and then`acted out'to get the other group to guess the word.These words, engaged, innovation, and generosity, spoke to the intention the group wanted to bring to the work in the new year. MISSION: To promote,present and support artists and arts organizations in order to facilitate the development of the arts and expand awareness, access, and engagement. SALT LAKE CITY AffS COU C I L III. Budget/Financial Review of Financials o Ms.Tursic provided an overview of the December financials.Activity of note included $23K of interest for the year,which was moved to the cash fund.The balance sheet shows unrestricted net assets at$1.9M,but about a million of that is related to the Wake the Great Salt Lake,which will be drawn down in two payments. One will be for the production company, and the other will be the remaining fees for the signature artist. Project Support Grants, Round II o Ms.Nielsen presented the recommendations for the next round of project support grants.The committee is recommending 21 applications for funding,which are at the $2K or $4K level. She noted the $4K level grants required matching funds. o This recommendation comes from a total of 36 eligible applications, 14 of which were new applications(of which 6 new applicants are getting recommended).Total funding is $76K with projects in all 7 city council districts. o It was noted that the team coordinates with the City's ACE grants to ensure understanding/visibility into all funded projects. o Ms.Taylor motioned to approve the grant committee's recommendations,and Ms. Martinez seconded.The motion passed unanimously. IV. Board o Mr. Coles reminded the board to sign up for a committee assignment and to sign up to read grant applications. V. Public Comment o None. VI.Other Business o None. Ms.Tursic motioned to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Hero Jaffe seconded. The meeting was adjourned. MISSION: To promote,present and support artists and arts organizations in order to facilitate the development of the arts and expand awareness, access, and engagement.