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Home My WebLink AboutArts & Culture - 2014-03-18 ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 18, 2014CITY OF KITCHENER PRESENT:Caroline Hissa Earl McCluskie D. Morton Helena Ball Danielle Deveau Allan Hoch Sean Puckett REGRETS:Mark Derro Councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock STAFF:Silvia DiDonato, Manager, Arts/Culture Emily Robson, Coordinator, Arts/Culture Carrie Kozlowski, Recording Secretary GUEST:Shelley Adams, Director, Creative Enterprise Initiative (CEI) CALL TO ORDER: Earl McCluskie, Chair 1.0Acceptance of Agenda Item two(Delegation on Economic Impact of the arts) deferred. To be rescheduled. New item two: A video lecture about creative place-makingby Ann Markusen Agenda accepted as amended. 2.0Creative Place-making video lecture: Ann Markusen Markusen’s report presented by video was commissioned by the U.S. National Endowment for the ArtsMayors' Institute on City Design. There are three key ingredients to arts/culture place-making. 1.Initiators:Often, it’s an individual artist, arts group, non-profit organization, or a champion in a municipality driving successful initiatives. 2.Distinctiveness:Major capital investmentsare not necessarily required. Successful initiatives demonstrate that tourists aren’t always the target audience. Successful endeavours focus on enhancing existing creative spaces, smaller-scale talent-based investments, and creative ways for a community to develop a new identity. 3.Partnerships:Successful project initiators creatively sought unexpected partners. A city hall champion, support from arts/culture organizations, private partners, and partners in housing, health care and various levels of government, etc. are key.Project must also resonate with the public. Partnerships are mostsuccessful when all parties gain something from the partnership. Benefits of art-infused place-making: animates, brings diverse people together, rejuvenates, improves spirit, safety, creates jobs, nurtures creation, nurtures innovators ACAC comments: Successful case studies didn’t try to create something from nothing; rather, they built on existing initiatives. Interesting that projects that don’t target tourists are seen as more successful, yet projects with a tourism focus seem to have better eligibility for grants and funding. Successful projects must relate toand resonate with the community. Often, grassroots initiated projects are more successful, sustainable, and better aligned with community goals. Advantageous for the City to act as a facilitator, not a driver. Could the City provide incentives to encourage grassroots groups to lead place-making initiatives? In the US, there is a different culture of philanthropy, which their tax structure supports. Local challenge: our region is fragmented with many groups with various areas of responsibility, making it difficult to gain consensus. 1 March 2014-ACAC Minutes ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 18, 2014CITY OF KITCHENER Locally, revitalization of St Jacob’s and Elora are examples of successful place-making with arts/culture using the three key ingredients (although they draw tourism). Registry Theatreis a local success story relying on the identified three key ingredients, especially partnerships between JM Drama, the city, diverse performance groups. A framework/process outlining how groups can approach the City to propose projects and what sort ofprojects the City might support could nurture existing and encourage new grassroots activity. Could be worthwhile to do a ‘postmortem’ examination of projects to evaluate success and determine what the missing ingredient might be If we consider the recent unsuccessful ‘Statue Project’ proposal in this context, why did it fail? It didn’t build on existing distinctiveness related to existing community strengths, lacked successful partnerships and broad public support. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3.0Joint Regional Arts and Culture Advisory Committee meeting planning Staff reviewed the notes of the October 2014 joint meeting, and identified three themes: 1.Building connections 2.Building profile for arts and culture in the region 3.Building economic impact and support Arts and culture sustainability funding in the region is a good topic for a joint meeting. It fits with the third themeand is timely, as Kitchener and Waterloo are both reviewing their sustainability funding models. Cambridge has just initiated sustainability funding, so it would be applicable for them, too. Joint committee meeting could address whether or not the approach of funding local pillar arts organizations (rather than smaller grassroots groups) meetsthe needs of the arts community asa whole. If the Region does not have an arts/culture advisory committee like the cities do, then appropriate regional staff should be included. May 2014 could be an appropriate time for the joint meeting. ACTION: Staff to work with the Cities of Waterloo and Cambridge and the Region to find a date and time for a joint meeting from 4-6in May. INFORMATION ITEMS 4.0Public Art Conservation Assessment Report A condition assessment of the public art and industrial artifacts collections was commissioned and completedin late 2013. The assessment demonstrates that our collections need refurbishment, repair and annual maintenance. The report provides specifics about materials, methodology, costs and priorities for the repairs. Will help us develop a maintenance plan and better prepare for future art works. Restoration will begin on industrial artifacts collection first, through a request for quotation process to find an appropriate contractor. 5.0Working Group Updates Music working group: An interest in howCity policies might better serve the local music scene emerged from past Music Works community conversations. A group will convene to explore possibilities will meet in early April. Arts/culture strategy development and culture planning:no update 6.0Public Art Working Group report:Sean Puckett 2 March 2014-ACAC Minutes ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 18, 2014CITY OF KITCHENER PAWG considered the local context for the city’s Artist in Residence program, as a first step in exploring new innovative initiatives for the program to be relevantto our community and engage the public. KPL public art project to be installed in April. Kitchener’s 2014 Artist in Residence, Dwight Storring, is working on the background information for Neighbourhood Voices, his year-long digital storytelling project. Kitchener’s 2013 Artist in Residence, Susan Coolen will have her commissioned art work installed at Forest Heights Community Centre before September 2014. 7.0Downtown Advisory Committee update: DMorton Noreport 8.0Economic Development Advisory Committee update Silvia DiDonato delivered a writtenupdateprovided by Mark Derro. Inbound GO Update:Additional Kitchener to Toronto Go trips will be added. EDAC considered Kitchener’s Innovation District and related presentations for LRT and corridor access. Comparisonsof us (GTA to KW) to Silicon Valley were made, and the strengths of our knowledge economy make this region anideal location for new business. Survey Results –2014 planning: Waterloo Region Economic Strategic Planning initiative is currently undertaking a series of workshops to secure information from regional stakeholders. The initiative builds off levering the region’s competitive advantages and brand to create higher value propositions with respect to creation of a long term sustainability model for economic growth. 9.0Councilreport: Councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock No update in Councillor Galloway-Sealock’s absence. 10.0Members’ news Caroline Hissa:Community Music School of Waterloo Region is holding a fundraising concert and silent auction featuring Kevin Ramessar on March 23 at 2pm at the Button Factory in Uptown Waterloo. Tickets are $25 and can be bought online or from Caroline. Helena Ball:Homer Watson House and Gallery’s exhibit of work by the KW Society of Artists is now on until April 20. D Morton: KW Little Theatre (KWLT) will present the Dover Road. Opens March 26. Allan Hoch:Registry theatre received a Trillium grant to update lighting system. Sean Puckett:Has a part in an upcoming KWLT production: Saucy Jackand the Space Vixens. Runs from mid-May to early June. ADJOURNMENT The chair adjourned the formal portion of the meeting at 5:15pm. NEXT MEETING nd Date: April 29,4:00 p.m., Schmalz Room, 2floor. 3 March 2014-ACAC Minutes