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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArts & Culture - 2018-01-16 Minutes ARTS ANDCULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES JANUARY 16, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER PRESENT: Michelle Gnutzman Shirley Madill Dave Schnider Julie Soulis Lori Thompson Sam Varteniuk Lydia Workman Linda Zensner (till 5pm) Aaron Francis Judy Allred REGRETS: Danielle Deveau Pam Patel STAFF: Silvia DiDonato, manager, arts/creative industries (till 5pm) Emily Robson, coordinator, arts/creative industries Hilary Abel, manager, downtown community development Karoline Varin, recording secretary CALL TO ORDER: Sam Varteniuk 1.0 Acceptance of agenda: agenda amended to change order of items, accepted as amended. 2.0 Declaration of conflict of interest: none. DELEGATION 3.0 Downtown Entertainment: Hilary Abel Hilary gave a brief introduction of herself and her background She noted that three priorities were identified in the Strategic Plan for downtown Kitchener: one of them was igniting arts, culture and creative industries The current focus is activating the after 5pm and weekend programming Thus Downtown Community Development is looking for feedback on how to retain talent in the city, help to foster and create opportunities for a vibrant after hours/night scene entertainment industry and its relationship with the City of Amsterdam, was shown to start the conversation Each ACAC member was asked to write down cultural assets located in downtown Kitchener These were posted and shared; some of the ideas included: restaurants, festivals, galleries, public art, theatres, parks Members then wrote down ideas on what they would like to see next in order to cultivate a successful nighttime entertainment scene; some of the ideas included: inviting spaces, well-lit spaces, outdoor cafes, place to dance, comedy club, innovative spaces, free transportation with events, parking, restaurants within walking distance of cultural organizations such as The Registry Theatre The need to attract youth back to Kitchener downtown was highlighted The Rangers Express was noted as an example of a successful partnership in an entertainment service More retail business was also identified as a positive draw to downtown January 2018 - ACAC Minutes 1 ARTS ANDCULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES JANUARY 16, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER Hilary noted that successful retail spaces in downtown, have a good mix and balance of online presence, retail and service A need for active support of reciprocal business was identified marketing an opportunity to businesses to connect with entertainment venues to offer mutually beneficial Hilary acknowledged that the BIA has an ongoing conversation with its members about possible partnerships in events and festivals DISCUSSION ITEMS 4.0 2018 Artist in Residence: Lydia Workman On a motion made by Shirley Madill, seconded by Dave Schnider: That Sumaira Tazeen Shiekh be ap Artist in Residence MOTION CARRIED ACTION: That Sumaira Tazeen comes to the April ACAC meeting to introduce herself. INFORMATION ITEMS 5.0 City Updates: Silvia DiDonato The Film, Music and Media report has been delayed as discussion is carried out and input collected for collaboration and partnerships th Presenting on Feb. 20th and plan to take report to Council March 5 ACTION: notifications will be sent to ACAC 6.0 Downtown Action and Advisory Committee: Aaron Francis No updates 7.0 Economic Development Advisory Committee: Shirley Madill There were two presentations recently made on the community energy strategy Focus of discussion in the presentations, was on how buildings can be made more energy efficient 8.0 Public Art Working Group: Lydia Workman No updates 9.0 Council Report: Councilor Schnider Council went through last review of financial budget the previous night There is discussion on how maintenance of sidewalks by the City would affect the tax levy: currently it is set at $19 per month per citizen as opposed to $26 per month per citizen if the City took the responsibility of sidewalk snow maintenance Received public input on Queen Street revitalization plan concentrating on the strip between The makeover will include redevelopment of the American Hotel and development opportunities for a better streetscape i.e. wider sidewalks, bike amenities, unique lighting, re design of Vogelsang Green the BIA is supportive and is increasing the live entertainment budget Heritage Advisory Committee is part of the planning January 2018 - ACAC Minutes 2 ARTS ANDCULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES JANUARY 16, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER ACTION: update ACAC members on the Queen St. revitalization plan as there is a lot of interest 10.0 Member updates: Sam: next meeting Michelle: after six weeks, the strike at Conestoga College has ended with the semester th ending January 8 Three new programs will be introduces in the School of Media and Design in the Fall: Game Design, Broadcasting Performance and Interaction Design Linda: would like to include updates on neighborhood grants in the February agenda ADJOURNMENT: The chair adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 20, 4:00 p.m., Conestoga Room January 2018 - ACAC Minutes 3