HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts & Culture - 2015-03-17
ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES
MARCH 17, 2015CITY OF KITCHENER
PRESENT:Danielle Deveau
Shirley Madill
Shantal Myers
D. Morton
Eric Rumble
Dave Schnider
Kristy Smith
Kate Swift
Sam Varteniuk
Linda Zensner
REGRETS:Wayne Addison
Judy Allred
Mark Derro
Dayna Walls
STAFF:Silvia DiDonato, Manager, Arts/Culture
Krista Blake, Coordinator, Arts/Culture
Jeff Young, Manager, Special Events
Carrie Kozlowski, Recording Secretary
GUEST:Khadija Hamidzai, Youth Representative from eyeGO to the Arts
CALL TO ORDER: Danielle Deveau
1.0Acceptance of agenda
Agenda accepted as circulated
2.0Declaration of conflict of interest
None
DISCUSSION ITEMS
3.0eyeGO to the Arts: Sam Varteniuk and Khadija
Launched in Kitchener 10 years ago. Now operates across the country, and one location in
Austin, Texas.
Atwo-pronged program focused on engaging youth ages 14-29 in the arts.
1.Original concept:offer high-school students $5 tickets to music, danceand theatre
performances to encourage youth attendance and build audiences. EyeGO does not
deliver programming directly. It engages with venues to secure participation in the
program ($5 tickets), and provides access for youth to the tickets. Win/winprospect:
venues fill seats that might otherwise remain empty, youth have access to performances
they might not otherwise be able to attend, and new audiencesare developed.
Challenge: although the program is straightforward to run, it can be difficult to access
grants, as it doesn’t fit into regular funding buckets.
2.Youth Council:eyeGO secured 3years of funding through a Trillium grant to launch a
Youth Council. Council members (‘ambassadors’, up to 10 serve) produce an annual
‘extracurricular’ event to raiseawareness about the program and further engage youth in
art, music, performance. Ambassador tasks: promotingperformances via social media,
Facebook, Twitter, web site and blogging(where performances are previewedand
reviewed).The Youth Council provides real-world training andexperience producing and
promoting events and writing reviews.
EyeGO is becoming a promotional toolto access youth marketsthrough its following.
This year’s extracurricular event takes place May 9.
1
March 2015-ACAC Minutes
ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES
MARCH 17, 2015CITY OF KITCHENER
Youth Council members and event volunteers can earn volunteer hoursthrough
participation.
Major partners: Registry Theatre, Centre in the Square, River Run Centre. Also work
informally with high schools and other youth organizations.
Long-term goal: offer young people interested in in the arts and producing events access to
a low-cost space to meet, collaborate, exchange ideas, engage in critical discourse, and
rehearse.
4.0Event in a box: Jeff Young
Annually, the City’s Special Events department produces/assists with over 100 events.
600,000 people attend from within our community and beyond.
City’s events typically take place in Zehr Square, King Street, Victoria Park, as these
locations accommodate large numbers and provide easy access to transportation.
There is a grassroots movement and growing community interest in organizing events
throughout the city.
To facilitate this, Special Events is building an online ‘event in a box’ resource/toolkit to
provide guidance to community members/groups interested in producing events.
Toolkit will provide information about all the things that must be addressed when organizing
events, including insurancerequirements, road closures, selling food and alcohol, hosting
vendors, fire plans, etc.
Goal is to inform people so that they understand what’s involved in having an eventand can
determine if they can realistically meet the requirements.
Requirements for hosting events depend on the complexity of the event. Small events
without food/alcohol sales held in indoor city of Kitchener venues are potentially the least
complicated, with fewer requirements.
April 2015 is tentative launch dateof the toolkit.
Event insurance can be one of the most onerous and an expensive component of event
organization, but it’scritical to have adequate coverage in place to protect the event
organizer from personal liability.
INFORMATION ITEMS
5.0Reports to Council: Silvia DiDonato
Staff presented two arts/culture reports tocommittee of Council on March 9: one
recommending the acceptance of the 2014 Artist in Residence (Dwight Storring’s)
commissioned artwork, and the other recommending the appointment of the 2015 Artist in
Residence, Janice Lee. ACAC supported these reports at previous meetings.
On March 30, a report presenting two options for a City mandate for Centre in the Square
will be considered by committee of council. This report follows successful stakeholder and
community consultation. Over 8,000 responses to the on-line survey were received. Surveys
were also conducted in hard copy format at community centres and in-person at events.
Our community feels passionately about Centre in the Square and is proud of this cultural
asset.
6.0Music Works & Media update: Silvia DiDonato
The Music Industry workshopseries has been well attended (30-35 per session). Kitchener
collaborated with Creative Enterprise Initiative to deliver sessions on a variety of topics.
2
March 2015-ACAC Minutes
ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES
MARCH 17, 2015CITY OF KITCHENER
7.0Public Art Working Group update: Shirley Madill
No report, PAWG meeting cancelled, as staff presented reports about 2014 Artist in
Residence Commission and 2015 Artist in Residence Appointment to committee of council
that day, instead.
8.0Downtown Action and Advisory Committee update: Linda Zensner
Received a presentation about the downtown brand strategy.
Considered how to change the public’s perception of the downtown by creating events,
telling stories and changing the landscape.
Setting up working groups to tackle various issues including events, business attraction,
economic development, beautification.
9.0Economic Development Advisory Committee update: Shantal Myers
No report, meeting cancelled.
10.0Council Report: Councillor Dave Schnider
Council unanimously supported the reports on Artist in Residence 2014 Commission and the
Artist in Residence 2015 Appointment.
Council looking forward to the report on March 30 about recommended mandate options for
Centre in the Square.
11.0Members’ updates
THEMUSEUM: now accepting applications for participants (ages 14-19) in the youth Brushoff
painting competition on April 25.
KW Art Gallery:The Foot Made by multi-disciplinary artist Brandon Fernandes opens on
Friday, March 20. Artist talk at 7pm.
Registry Theatre:Betty and the Beast opens on Wednesday, March 18 with shows at 10am
and 1pm.
Save the date:May 7 Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies to present in the Rotunda on culture
workers and creative industries in our region. Open to the public.
CultureDays:September 25 -37. Anannualthree-day national celebration of art and
culture. Organizations offering related programming can take advantage of promotional
opportunities through CultureDays.
Canada 150: Federal funds will be available for groups and organizations to undertake
programming to celebrate Canada’s Sesquicentennial in 2017. Projects must support the
themes: Proud, Strong or Free. Watch for announcements in April. Applications will be due
inMay, Funds distributed in August.
ADJOURNMENT: The chair adjourned the meeting at 5:20pm
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, April 21, 4-6pm, Conestoga Room, ground floor, Kitchener city hall
3
March 2015-ACAC Minutes