HomeMy WebLinkAbout7. July 18, 2023 ACAC Minutes
ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES
JULY 18, 2023 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee met at city hall on July 18, 2023, commencing at 4:00 p.m.
PRESENT: All members present, except C. Altinkas, M. Melo, A. McWebb, J. Paquette, A. Girard, and
Councilor Schneider
STAFF: E. Robson, Manager, Arts & Creative Industries
E. Rumble, Coordinator, Arts & Creative Industries
K. Varin, Program Administrator, Arts & Creative Industries
GUESTS: none
1. Acceptance of agenda Carried
2. Approval of minutes Carried
3. Declaration of conflict of interest
None
DELEGATION/PRESENTATIONS:
4. None
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
5. KPL Southwest Public Art selection: E. Rumble
E. Rumble summarized how the call for proposals was developed, advertised, the review process,
jury membership, and timelines. He highlighted that there were over 40 proposals, which jurors
narrowed down to 10, and subsequently to three to move to stage two. Short-listed artists
presented to the jury further details in May, and jurors chose the finalist artist team of Isaac
Murdoch and Nyle Miigizi Johnston, with their proposal Wintertime Stories. One of the key factors
in the decision was prioritizing Indigenous and immigrant experience as stated in the call. This
would be the first artwork by Indigenous artists to be included in the city’s public art collection.
E. Rumble shared information about the artists and the details and imagery of the proposal. The
artist team proposed two versions of the installation, and E. Rumble invited members to share their
thoughts on both options. Members inquired about accessibility considerations for viewers with
vision impairments. Once installed, the library is planning programming around the interpretation of
the piece, and at that time there will be opportunity to determine accommodation for various
needs. ACAC members suggested incorporating considerations for broader accessibility of public
art in future proposals.
On a motion made by M. Lam, seconded by I. Bhattacharjee, the committee recommended:
“That ACAC endorse the jury selection of Isaac Murdoch’s & Nyle Miigizi Johnston’s
proposed artwork titled Wintertime Stories, for KPL Southwest Community Library.”
Carried
Action: since membership at the meeting was not at quorum, members not present will
need to reconvene to also vote on this motion.
A draft motion on accessibility was also proposed by E. Wainaina:
July 2023 - ACAC Minutes 1
ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MINUTES
JULY 18, 2023 CITY OF KITCHENER
“That the staff bring up the issue of accessibility of public art installation at Southwest
Community Library, consider developing a plan for its accessibility, and to bring the issue
back to ACAC for further discussion during the execution process.”
Action: since membership at the meeting was not at quorum, further discussion on this
motion will be on the September meeting agenda.
6. Motion to Council – artist fees, city programs: all members
Member discussion continued and centered around the types of questions to ask city staff to
understand if and how they pay for artist contributions for their work. Members talked about
reaching a balance between including enough detail in the questions to receive relevant
information and not having the length impact participation. I. Stefanescu and M. Lam are working
on finalizing the questions which will be shared with the rest of the committee members.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
7. Standing items city updates: E. Robson
Environics is finalizing data from the online survey distributed to the community.
Comprehensive review of city owned facilities continues. The reviewer aims to propose a new
model to support affordable and easily accessible performance space. Staff is hoping to take a
report with a recommendation at the end of the year.
8. Downtown Action and Advisory Committee: A. Girard
Not present to update. Minutes shared.
9. Economic Development Advisory Committee: E. Robson
Region of Waterloo facilitated the Charles Street Terminal visioning. Minutes shared.
10. Public Art Working Group: K. Varin
E. Rumble presented the final proposal for the KPL Southwest and preliminary revisions to the
Public Art Policy.
11. Council report: Councillor D. Schnider
Not present to update.
12. Member updates: C. Anjaria and I. Bhattacharjee gave updates.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:33 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, August 15 at 4 p.m., virtual.
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