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Minutes 09-07-05 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ARTS COMMISSION BOARD HELD AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, 129 EAST OCEAN A VENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Debby Coles-Dobay, Chairperson Cheryl Arflin Barbara Lentz Anita Remer Suzette Urs Deborah Nesbit, Alternate Arleen Dennison, Board Liaison Absent: Richard W. Beau Lieu, Vice Chair Angela Budano Also Present: Tracy Stokes, Guest Artist I. Call to Order Chair Coles-Dobay called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. and after a roll call, declared a quorum was present. Ms. Dennison introduced Tracy Stokes, a local artist, who has been working with children in Boynton Beach for years. Mr. Stokes is the artist who created the pen and ink drawing of Blanche Girtman and others at the Schoolhouse Children's Museum. He works with a program called Art in the City through the City's Neighborhood Services Department and while funding runs out at times, the program survives through will and need. Hurricane Katrina Evacuees Ms. Dennison spoke of the 200 persons, including about 30 children, at the equestrian center in West Boynton Beach and what could be done for them. She had been speaking to the United Way about what the Museum could do for them such as open the Museum for a Family Fun Day. Mr. Stokes thought it would be a good idea to display the talents of the artists in the group and introduce them to other artists as well. Ms. Dennison stated that people wanting to help had bombarded the group in West Boynton. They are concentrating on doing a lot of counseling right now. She knew that art therapy and recreation therapy work and she hoped to obtain the phone number of the person heading up the facility to let her know the Museum is ready. If they want to come to the Museum, they can do some things with art, or artists can go to the equestrian center. They could get transportation and bring them to play at the Museum also. She hoped they could make "Memory Boxes" while they were there. The Library can provide books as well. Lion Country Safari and the Dreher Park Zoo were among the many other organizations that had offered to help the evacuees. Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 7, 2005 Chair Coles-Dobay asked Mr. Stokes for his contact information for the database that the board was compiling. He did not have an Email address, but offered his telephone number and address. This pointed up the fact that not everyone has Email capability and the need to include name and address information in addition to Email addresses in the database. When the board's funding mechanism is in place, they plan to establish a greater connection with the local artists. Ms. Lentz offered the services of the art therapist at her facility also. Ms. Dennison will inform Mr. Stokes as soon as the evacuees are ready to receive this kind of help. So far, they had received so many donations of clothes from United Way they had to return them. The point at present was to give them space to help them get back to normalcy. Mr. Stokes expressed an interest in becoming a part of the Arts Commission, an idea that was warmly received. II. Working with the Press Ms. Dennison spoke of interview experiences and methods, saying she hoped to get Wayne Segal to address the board on this topic. One point was that what you say is not necessarily what is going to be printed. Deferring the interview in order to get prepared was another pointer. Preparation was a key ingredient to giving a good interview. Sticking to the facts and not promising more than could be delivered were other pointers. The board thought it was a good idea to come up with some "Arts Commission sound bytes" for this kind of occasion and keep them as ready reference material for impromptu interviews. These "sound bytes" would be one or two liners encompassing the board's position on various matters. All agreed it was hard to think on your feet and that having these reminders would be very useful. The importance of speaking deliberately was also mentioned. Keep it simple - don't elaborate too much. Statements were more likely to be misinterpreted if the speaker used innuendo, too much humor, or irony. Plain, factual speaking was recommended. When a reporter calls Ms. Dennison, she stands up. Somehow, this helps her to keep her concentration at the formal level where it should be. When you are too comfortable, it is easier to get caught off guard. If Ms. Dennison knew a reporter would be calling one of the board members, she would always try to give them advance notice. Press Release by Cheryl Arflin - Wayne Segal has approved this and it is ready to go. Ms. Dennison mentioned the importance of keeping Mr. Segal informed and involved. Ms. Afrlin read the press release and the board critiqued it. Everyone liked the press release and thanked Ms. Arflin for her efforts in preparing it. The reference to "four-year funding" in the third paragraph will be removed. Everyone wanted to get the press release out this week. The statement referring to the plans being adopted some time this summer should be changed from summer to fall. Ms. Lentz asked about including a request for Email and physical addresses from artists in the press release. It seemed premature to some. The Web site was a related topic and Chair Coles-Dobay asked about the status of this effort. They had spoken of having an address like info@boyntonbeachart.com. As soon as that was obtained, a special release could be put together. Ms. Dennison asked Ms. Lentz to draft a release about 2 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 7, 2005 getting names from artists in the community and Ms. Dennison would use it to prepare a press release. Ms. Dennison said they were buying the above address as "com" and "org". After Chair Coles-Dobay mentioned that organizations of this type typically had .org addresses, the board decided the Arts Commission's Email address would be info@boyntonbeachart.org. It was determined that since the Raiders of the Lost Art project was a month away, it was time to immediately send out a press release on it. Ms. Dennison felt it would have to wait until the funding mechanism was in place. Mr. Frank Varga was selected to do the art for the Carolyn Sims Memorial and he was given a schedule of the grant application process. There is no contract with Mr. Varga yet because the grant had not yet been awarded. Mr. Varga was chosen from a field of eleven applicants out of 64 total submissions from around the world. The residency requirement was said to be a limiting factor, since the artist must live in Boynton Beach during the program. Raiders of the Lost Art Press Release- Suzette Urs and Deborah Nesbit This program is meant to enlist the cooperation of the area residents to find public art in the city limits of Boynton Beach, photograph it, and/or photograph places where public art would be appropriate. The residents will be given cameras, a bag, a map of the City, water, visors, nametags, pads of paper, and possibly a button with the logo on it. Ms. Urs created a logo that everyone really liked. At the end of the day, the cameras will be turned in along with the nametags with the locations photographed - the film will be developed and the legend on the tags will correspond to the photographs in sequence. O/S is being asked to provide the cameras and the developing. So far, Publix had donated $100. Ms. Dennison will explore the issue of the recipient of donations and acknowledgments for in-kind donations. Ms. Dennison noted the permit for the event was going through the City process and there had not been any obstacles. The board felt it was important to state "public" art in order to avoid people photographing something in their own homes. The art search itself will take place on October 8. At the end of the day, the cameras and nametags will be turned in. The film will be developed, and on October 15, a reception will be held in the Program Room at the Library to announce the winner. The flyer will have the logo created by Ms. Urs and also, located in a separate location on the flyer, the City's seal, to show the Arts Commission was an advisory board to the City Commission. While everyone liked Ms. Urs' logo, there was some concern about copyright infringement issues from the owner of the Raiders of the Lost Ark logo. Ms. Nesbit is gathering "freebies" for the event. The payoff for the winner of this event is the level of recognition the board can provide - media coverage, press releases, and mention on the Web site. The winner will be given a plaque that could be displayed in City Hall for a year, for example. 3 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Bovnton Beach, Florida September 7,2005 Ms. Lentz will send the press release to the area schools and follow up with a telephone call. She asked for a list of phone numbers for this. Mr. Stokes thought it would be great to have the information sent to civic organizations and churches as well as the schools. All agreed that before going ahead with the press release, they had to set a deadline to decide if they had sponsors and could afford the event. If they had not received a donation for 100 cameras and developing, by a week from this meeting, the event would be moved to November. Cheryl Arflin Barbara Lentz offered to make a donation from Art-sea Living and the board thanked her. She needed to know how much money was involved for the cameras and developing, but no one had the answer on the spot. Ms. Arflin will work on the press release in the meantime. She asked for a full list via Email of committed sponsors so they could be included in the release. Ms. Nesbit said these organizations wanted to help but had to forward the request to their corporate offices: CVS, WalMart, Party City, McDonalds, and Winn Dixie. The only committed donors to date were Publix and Art-sea Living. Mr. Stokes offered to go to the schools with a flyer, which Ms. Dennison offered to create. The press release will go to the media and the flyers to the schools. She will let Ms. Lentz know to whom the information had been distributed, so Ms. Lentz could follow up with a telephone call. In a later discussion, the idea was raised to have a "Treasure Map" at the awards ceremony for the winner with thumbnail size pictures placed on the map in the locations in which the art was found or where the winner felt art should be located. The result of this would be that the Arts Commission could determine some priorities about where to place art in the City, over and beyond the projects the developers were undertaking. Program Planning . Public Art Administrator Position . Analysis of Job Criteria to Determine Questions for Interview Ms. Dennison included a Job Classification description for this position in the agenda packets. She also included a sample checklist of questions the Museum was using to recruit a Visitor Services Specialist. Armed with these two pieces of information, the board was to determine the questions for the interview of the Public Art Administrator. Ms. Dennison explained that when the budget was approved on October 1 and the City Manager's office gave her the approval to advertise this position, the board would have to submit the Interview Questions to the Human Resources Department. The board will select a small group to assist Ms. Dennison in comparing the applicant's resumes to the list of minimal qualifications in the job description. The truly qualified individuals would then be invited in for interviews. 4 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 7, 2005 The board brainstormed questions to ask the applicants. They felt it was important for the Public Art Administrator to have excellent listening skills. They would be interfacing with developers and planners and had to be able to listen and participate in the give and take of communication. It was also important for the individual to be flexible, and not dogmatic. They also had to be articulate, with an ability to inform and persuade others on behalf of the Arts Commission and its objectives. It was felt that the applicant's communication skills were more important than an extensive background in art. Knowledge of contracts and funding mechanisms would be useful as well. Ms. Dennison commented that the City had recently undertaken a salary analysis across the board in comparison to the area. When that process was completed, the board would know the salary range for this position. The board members will work on coming up with the interview questions individually and E-mail ideas to Ms. Dennison. The next meeting will have time devoted to building the interview list. If a function seems to be missing, it should be included. Web Site & Sales Materials The board is proceeding to a more in-depth consideration of what the Arts Commission will offer to planners and developers. Once the board reaches agreement on this, the information could be placed on the Web site and serve as a sales or presentation piece to be sent to developers and planners. Chair COles-Dobay asked each board member to come to the next meeting with a bulleted list of points, from which a brochure could be developed. Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Galleries Grant Program, "Picturing Florida" Chair Coles-Dobay remarked that Rod Falls of FAU Galleries had approached Wally Majors, Parks & Recreation Director, about participation in a program that will gather the thoughts and feelings of children and seniors in Boynton Beach with an end view of creating artwork based on their feedback. Chair COles-Dobay thought the Arts Commission could participate by facilitating this. On October 20, 2005, Ellen Harvey from FAU will begin interviewing the seniors at the Senior Center. She will be there from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the lunchroom. From 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, she will meet with members of the Woman's Club and the Historical Society. Mark Dean of FAU will be meeting with the children of Boynton Beach. Ms. Arflin asked if there were any way to negotiate Boynton Beach ownership of some of the art produced as a result of this project, after the FAU exhibit was over. Chair Coles-Dobay will inquire. Art through History, History through Art - Schoolhouse Children's Museum Ms. Dennison drew the board's attention to page 8 of the Schoolhouse Museum's newsletter, The Chalkboard, announcing a new program called Homeschool Enrichment Classes. Based on the principals of the Meet the Master's program, this class 5 Meeting Minutes Arts Commission Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 7,2005 incorporates famous Florida painters, the pioneer history of Florida, and a curriculum of color, line, shape, form, texture and design. Taught by a professional artist/teacher, this class meets state standards in the Visual Arts and Social Studies for K-5. The Schoolhouse Museum's Education Director, Judy Marsh, is an artist working with this program. They hoped the program would be a source of great things. Images of America: Boynton Beach A flyer distributed by Ms. Dennison announced the publication of Images of America: Boynton Beach. This is a local history book by Rev. M. Randall Gill in conjunction with the Boynton Beach City Library, co-authored by Library Associate and Archivist Janet DeVries. The release date was September 1, 2005. The authors will be available at the Library on September 19, 2005 to sign the book. The cost of the book is $21.30 including tax. It is available at the Library, the Museum, Ace Hardware, City Hall, City Hall in the Mall, and local bookstores. If the book is purchased from the Museum or Library, the Museum will get 100% of the profit. All of the proceeds, however, will be returned to the Museum - the authors relinquished all rights to monetary compensation. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ,"\ . , , /') ~ i" //;,,;~/ - /' i. ',/ / . .-" t,;?~ltL lA:it; '. t1LJ Susan Collins Recording Secretary (090805) 6