Public Arts and Culture Advisory Council

PUBLIC ARTS & CULTURE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING SUMMARY August 8, 2016 5:00 p.m. Members present: Chair Lindsay Brubaker – Niles Park District Janet Spector Bishop – School District 63 Michael Crisci – Niles Historical Society Mary Dowd Demas – Artist Debi Gajewski – Artist Staff present: Village Manager and Project Manager Steven Vinezeano Mayor Andrew Przybylo Staff Liaison Cathy Spadoni Members absent: Dr. John Kosirog – School District 71 James Kozak – VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Susan Lempke – Niles Public Library Carol Luc – Artist Rossana Macejak – Niles Sister Cities Katie Schneider – Niles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ericka Stoor-Burning – Artist Staff absent: Trustee George D. Alpogianis I. Call to Order Because a quorum was not present, the meeting was not called to order. At 5:10 p.m., however, Chair Lindsay Brubaker opened the floor to discussion with those present on Monday, August 8, 2016 at the Niles Historical and Cultural Center, 8970 N. Milwaukee Avenue. II. Approval of Meeting Summary Approval of the summaries of the July 11, 2016 and August 3, 2016 meetings is postponed until the next regular Council meeting. Cory Hance, a Niles resident and free-lance writer and musician, introduced himself. He will be appointed to the Council by Mayor Przybylo at the August 23, 2016 Board meeting.  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council August 8, 2016 III. Old Business a. Review of Proposed Logo Designs with Lisa Sallwasser of LS+Team Ms. Sallwasser presented five logo design concepts based on the direction determined at the last meeting: clean, bold, abstract, community and simple. Concept 1 – pointing the way to the arts, your ticket to cultural events, red dots on event maps Concept 2 – build on star icon Concept 3 – the bold ticket to wrapping the Village around arts and culture Concept 4 – optimistic, abstract objects, conveying the breadth of arts and culture in Niles Concept 5 – a kaleidoscope of global arts, music and culture Included in each design were options to incorporate the words Council, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Cultural Arts and Literary Arts into the logo. Another option is to create a tag line to go along with the logo. The members discussed the features of each design and expressed their preferences. However, no final decision could be made as a quorum was not present. The designs will be discussed again at the next meeting. Secretary Spadoni will email them to the members for their review. b. Review of Master Plan Proposal Interviews and Selection of Firm to Recommend to Village Board On August 3, the Master Plan Proposal subcommittee interviewed the two top candidates: Solomon Cordwell Buenz and The Lakota Group. The subcommittee overwhelmingly favored The Lakota Group, citing their cohesive plan, their approach to polling people and the diverse backgrounds of the principals. The Lakota Group is very familiar with Niles, as they are doing the land plan for the Arts and Culture Corridor and the signage project. It is believed that The Lakota Group, who has a good reputation in the area, will take the story of Niles and build on it artistically. The consensus of the members present was to move forward with The Lakota Group for the creation of the Arts and Culture Master Plan. c. Upcoming Projects – Snow Plow Art & Farm on Franks (Community Garden) Grant One plow of the Snow Plow Art project has been completed by students from School District 63 Summer Learning Program. Niles Public Services Department is in the process of finding a location to display it until winter. Other plows are available for painting. Farm on Franks Community Garden is receiving an $8,000 grant from ComEd at a ceremony at Brookfield Zoo on Monday, August 15, 2016. Debi Gajewski reported that the Farm on Franks is looking for volunteers to paint the rocks at the site. She has been in contact with Katy Darr, Farm on Franks coordinator, regarding this project. IV. New Business a. Determination of Whether Advisory Council Artists May Apply for Niles Arts and Culture Project Grant 2  Public Arts & Culture Advisory Council August 8, 2016 It was discussed that artists who are members of the Council may apply for the Niles Arts and Culture Project grant but must then recuse themselves from the selection process to avoid any conflict of interest. V. Organization Representative Reports None VI. Open Discussion The new Rain Garden sign looks great and will be helpful in identifying what that property is. It was noted that the Rain Garden is underutilized and could be an ideal location for group outings. Secretary Spadoni asked all Council members to complete and return the Disclosure Statement, as required by the Village. It was brought to the Council’s attention that a number of Council members rarely attend the meetings. The Mayor will contact these people and ask if they still wish to be on the Council. It was suggested that perhaps meeting every month is too much. Perhaps if meetings were scheduled for every other month it would be easier for more members to attend regularly. It was also suggested that the Council prepare agendas a year in advance so that the members know which meetings are important to attend. The Niles Arts and Culture Project application is on our website and has been sent to the press. Two points of view were expressed regarding the yet-to-be-planned Call to Artists event. One was to let The Lakota Group organize it as it is part of the Master Plan. The other was to let the Council host the meet-and-greet and combine it with the first Lakota Group meeting to investigate bringing art to the Village. The Lakota Group can make this determination. VII. Public Comment None VIII. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held on Monday, September 12, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. at the Niles Historical & Cultural Center. IX. Adjournment The discussion concluded at 6:10 p.m. 3