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Home My WebLink AboutArts & Culture - 2016-03-15 Minutes ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 15, 2016CITY OF KITCHENER PRESENT:Wayne Addison Shirley Madill Shantal Myers Eric Rumble Dave Schnider (to 5:05pm) Kristy Smith Sam Varteniuk Linda Zensner (from 4:13pm) REGRETS:Judy Allred Mark Derro Danielle Deveau D. Morton Kate Swift GUESTS:Don Bourgeois, JM Drama Janice Lee, 2015 Artist in Residence STAFF:Silvia DiDonato, Manager, Arts/Culture Emily Robson, Coordinator, Arts/Culture Carrie Kozlowski, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER: Kristy smith, Vice Chair 1.0Acceptance of agenda: Agenda accepted as circulated. 2.0Declaration of conflict of interest: Sam Varteniuk, concerning J.M.Drama. DELEGATIONS 3.02015 Artist in Residence Project Summary: Janice Lee Lee’s residency project, Folk Myths of Kitchener, involved the collaborative community creation of four video poems and poetry posters. The poems feature the Iron Horse Trail, Kitchener Libraries, the Kitchener Market and Downtown Kitchener. Lee visited these locations and gathered stories from residents, and used the stories to inform her poems. She then developed these poems into short videos, which are now available on YouTube, have been shared on social media, and released as digital files. Through collaboration with local graphic artists and designers, each poem is also presented in a poster format. Over the course of the residency, Lee gathered many stories. While many of these stories are reflected in her poems, many are not. For her commission, she will create a zine (pronounced ‘zeen’) featuring short poems based on these stories and her photographs. The zine will have a DIY aesthetic, with cut and pasted materials from the locations she explored in her residency. This 6-page zine will be available throughout the cityanddistributed at various events. ACAC viewed two of the four video poems. Janice enjoyed the cross-section of peopleshe met, the opportunity to practice the art of oral storytelling, the challenge of creating the videos with members of the public, and the variety of feedback she collected about the four locations her project focused on. 4.0J.M.Drama Strategic Refresh Update: Don Bourgeois As discussed at the July 2015 ACAC meeting, a strategic review of J.M. Drama (operator of the Registry Theatre) was undertaken. ArtsBuild Ontario coordinated the review with City of Kitchener and J.M. Drama. Review considered:ongoing role of J.M. Drama in managing the Registry Theatre;balance of programming and activities at the theatre;potential optimization of the space, and optimal use of the theatre in the context of other facilities owned or influenced by the City. 1 March 2016-ACAC Minutes ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 15, 2016CITY OF KITCHENER Findings outlined in the Strategic Refresh: Arts sector has an immediate need for affordable rehearsal and performance space (i) o proposed addition and renovation at Registry or (ii) interim space and plan for longer term, permanent additional space. Registry is well received and there is strong support for J.M. Drama’s approach to o management of the facility Balance of programming, rentals, and other activities is appropriate, but some areas for o future audience development to be considered. Room to increase rental costs and to include HST in costs. o J.M. Drama is an effective manager of the space and there is confidence in J.M. Drama. o City has a strong role to play alongside J.M. Drama in ensuring the space needs of the o community are met. Consider 740 sq ft addition for office, wing space and piano storage, un-finished o basement for storage, exterior loading dock with ramp. Also potential to renovate the basement: male and female changing rooms, rehearsal space, multipurpose room.Lobby improvements could be accommodated as a result. Missed opportunities in the past 12 months, due to space issues: 150 rental dates and presenting opportunities turned away due to lack of availability o $40K in missed revenue for the Registry Theatre o Missed opportunities for organizations/individuals to invest in arts and culture in o downtown Kitchener Missed opportunities to grow audiences and to diversity audiences to address other public o policy objectives Next steps: J.M. Drama to report back to Council o Incorporate results of the Strategic Refresh into other public policy initiatives being o considered by ACAC and Council Make decisions on how to move forward strategically o Develop an action plan o DISCUSSION ITEMS 5.0Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan:All ACAC members individually identified needs related to arts and culture either expressed in the community, or experienced personally. Then as a group, ACAC organized the needs into the following themes: More affordable space. o A social focal point (for arts/culture community). o A community that values the arts. o Improved promotion/access. o Improved financial support. o Platform for experimentation/art lab. o This list provides a vision for our local arts/culture community for 2020. ACTION: Staff to summarize and distribute the identified needs in advance of the next meeting. ACTION: at a future meeting, ACAC to identify the obstacles to meeting these needs and brainstorm possible solutions. ACAC’s comments and list of needs: Affordable,accessible performance and rehearsal space. Exhibition spaces. Maker spaces. Meetingspaces. Creative spaces. Shared spaces. Incubation spaces. Multi- purpose spaces. 2 March 2016-ACAC Minutes ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 15, 2016CITY OF KITCHENER More paid gigs and fewer requests for donatedservices(requires public education). Increased value of the arts in the community. More jobs in the creative sector. Revised cross-disciplinary funding for arts/culture. More funding with less red tape. Cross-disciplinary support and stewardship.Grant-writing workshops.Assistance understanding, affording and accessing insurance.Strategic plans backing artistic projects. Non-patronizing mentorship opportunities. A structured platform for arts/cultureinformation sharing and promotion (as intended for Grand Social). A place to find out what’s happening. Audience development Existing buildings for cultural uses are insufficient and require upgrades. Cultural facilities have not kept up to the growing community. INFORMATION ITEMS 6.0Community grants: deferred 7.0Creative Enterprise Initiative(CEI): Silvia DiDonato After undergoing an organizational review in 2014/2015, CEI decided to cease operations following one final year of operations (2016).It determined two strategic directions to focus on and transition to other organizations in its final year: 1)Help residents of Waterloo Region find things to do in our community that are engaging and entertaining. 2)Facilitate creative projects that tie the region together with programming that promotes collaboration across sectors and encourages interaction among our community residents. Kitchener is providing $46,000 in funding for CEI in its final year, conditional upon a memo of understanding outlining the actions for the two strategic directions and the regional partners CEI will work with to transition these tasks. ACTION: Staff to circulate Angela Birdsell “Arts Sustainability Funding Review” to ACAC concerning the regional support for the arts. 8.0City updates: none 9.0Public Art Working Group (PAWG) update: Shirley Madill In February, Sarah Granskou, Kitchener’s 2016 Artist in Residence, introduced her project, Our Fibres, Our Forest, Adventures in Felting and Song. Involves the collaborative community creation of a tree marionette. PAWG also reviewed the artist in residence program, in advance of advertising the call forproposals for 2017 Artist in Residence. In February and March, PAWG considered the Arts and Culture strategic action plan (item 5, above). 10.0Downtown Action and Advisory Committee (DAAC) update:Linda Zensner DAAC received same presentation from Janice Lee, 2015 Artist in Residence(item 3, above) 11.0Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) update: Shantal Myers Arts/Culture staff presented information about the value of arts and culturein response to EDAC questions about the arts-related recommendations outlined in the city’s Economic Development strategy. ACTION: ACAC to receive a similar presentation, for information. ACTION: Staff to consider organizing a joint meeting for EDAC andACAC to explore the interrelationships between the community and economic benefits of the arts. 3 March 2016-ACAC Minutes ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES MARCH 15, 2016CITY OF KITCHENER 12.0Council Report:none 13.0Members’ updates: deferred ADJOURNMENT: The chair adjourned the meeting at 6:03 p.m. NEXT MEETING: April 19, 2016,4:00 p.m.,Conestoga Room, ground floor, Kitchener city hall 4 March 2016-ACAC Minutes