FLORIDA ARTS COUNCIL MINUTES Tallahassee March 18, 2004

Transcription

1 FLORIDA ARTS COUNCIL MINUTES Tallahassee In Attendance: Florida Arts Council Staff Margo Bindhardt, Chairman JuDee Pettijohn, Deputy Secretary Sibille Pritchard, Vice Chairman Linda Downey, Director Christopher Larmoyeux, Secretary Dianne Alborn Alejandro Aguirre Don Blancett David Bear Dana DeMartino Patricia Caswell Bert Furbee Katharine Dickenson Erin Long Todd Farha Lee Modica Roy Hunt Gaylen Phillips I. Stanley Levine Melissa Ray Suzanne Teate Sandy Shaughnessy Margaret Wise I. Call to Order Chairman Bindhardt called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. at the R.A. Gray Building in Tallahassee. II. Introduction of Council, Staff and Guests Chairman Bindhardt asked the Florida Arts Council, department staff and audience members to introduce themselves. III. Adoption of Agenda Roy Hunt moved approval of the agenda with Sibille Pritchard seconding. The motion carried. IV. Chairman s Comments Chairman Bindhardt reported that she had appeared before the Commerce and Appropriations Committees in support of HB 427 and attended the Florida Heritage Month proclamation presentation before the Florida Cabinet with Secretary Hood and other Department advisory council chairmen. She thanked Sherron Long, Florida Cultural Alliance, for her hard work on the planning and execution of Arts Day, and also thanked Patricia Caswell and others for organizing the buses that transported cultural constituents to Tallahassee. The Chairman also thanked Russell Daws for hosting the Council at the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science. She welcomed Todd Farha from Tampa as the newest member of the Florida Arts Council. V. Department of State Update JuDee Pettijohn began her comments by recognizing the new R. A. Gray Building Heritage Gallery and announced plans to upgrade the equipment and ambiance of the Museum of Florida History. Ms. Pettijohn also touched on the Tallahassee Capitol Downtown Cultural District and reminded the Council of the Florida Heritage Gala, March 24. Linda Downey reported that the Division has begun its grant panel season with International Cultural Exchange and will continue with the Cultural Support Grants Program panels. The first out-of-town panel meetings will take place this year by holding three panels in Orlando. This is in response to constituent concerns over accessibility to panel meetings. Ms. Downey also announced staff changes within the Division.

2 Page 2 of 2 VI. Approval of Minutes from September 2003 Meeting Christopher Larmoyeux moved approval of the minutes from the November 6, 2003, Florida Arts Council meeting. Alejandro Aguirre seconded the motion. The motion was approved. VII. Guest Speaker(s) on Agenda by Special Request The Honorable John Marks, Mayor of Tallahassee, spoke to the Council about the importance of cultural funding, the new cultural initiatives taking place in Tallahassee, as well as the new Capitol Downtown Cultural District established in partnership with the Department of State. The Honorable Johnnie Byrd and his wife, Melane, greeted the Council and thanked them for their assistance with HB 427. He also commented on his hopes for success regarding legislative issues affecting the cultural community. Mrs. Linda King welcomed the Council and spoke about the Legislative Spouses Art Program. VIII. Business Items A. Review of Florida Arts Council Meeting Calendar - Chairman Bindhardt reviewed the schedule of upcoming meetings. The September meeting will take place in Miami and the November meeting will take place in Orlando in conjunction with the NASAA Fall Leadership Institute. B. Governmental Affairs Discussion Secretary of State Glenda Hood addressed the Council regarding legislative and budget issues impacting the cultural community. She thanked the Council for their diligence, but cautioned that there is much work still to be done. Secretary Hood spoke about her trip to Pensacola to participate in the NEA press conference and grant workshop on the federal grant opportunities available to Florida organizations. She also congratulated the Council on the progress of the Visioning Project and the accomplishments achieved so far with Partners for Livable Communities. Rivers Buford, Legislative Affairs Director, gave an update on the progress of the Department s legislative budget request and several legislative bills moving through the Senate and House of Representatives. C Grants Program Budget Update Don Blancett updated the Council on the status of the current-year budget. D. Arts in Education Program Update Dana DeMartino reviewed the report as follows: The Arts in Education Program received a total of 92 eligible grant applications for a total funding request of $1,116,420. Panels will convene in Tallahassee, April 29-30, 2004, to review four Artist Residency Level I, 16 Artist Residency Level II, 15 School- Based Arts in Education, three Partnership Level I, and 54 Partnership Level II grants. ACE Coalition Training on how to build and strengthen arts education coalitions will take place in Broward County March 1, 2004, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Leading the training is Dana Kyle DeMartino and Gary Margolis. Topics will include identifying the critical work of coalitions, identifying and recruiting members, developing strategies, and building resources.

3 Page 3 of 3 ACE Day at the Capitol will not take place this year; however, Fran Masse, Executive Director of ACE, will join the Orange County delegation in Tallahassee for Arts Day, March 16, ACE Summer Leadership Conference will be held in Sarasota, June 18-19, 2004, at the Hyatt Hotel. Preceding the Conference will be an ACE Board Meeting on June 17. Ms. DeMartino distributed a recently published guide to arts education opportunities in the No Child Left Behind Act entitled No Subject Left Behind. As a follow up to the last meeting, Ms. DeMartino also distributed a fact sheet on the impact of ACE s legislative priorities in regard to the 18-credit graduation option in SB 364 and research analysis in regard to ACE s long-term goal of requiring fine arts credit for admission to Florida universities and colleges. Eighteen states currently include this language in their graduation requirements. James Perry, Chairman of Government Relations with ACE/FAAE, gave an update to the Council on the status of SB 364, currently on third reading in the Senate. The plan has been revised to require a student seeking to graduate high school within 18 months, to maintain a 3.5 GPA, a minimum of a B average in each class, and limits a student from seeking Valedictorian or Salutatorian status unless they are in a 4-year program. ACE has determined that these changes will significantly lower the numbers of students to the point where it will have a smaller impact than originally anticipated. JuDee Pettijohn asked Dr. Perry for an update on the proposed advisory council at the Department of Education. Dr. Perry reported that ACE is still working on its implementation. June Hinckley, Music and Fine Arts Specialist with the Department of Education, spoke to the Council about the House Murals by Christopher Still and a project developed in cooperation with Mrs. Melane Byrd. The project creates curriculum materials on CDrom and video that will be distributed to all Florida schools to teach students not only about the murals, but exposing them to visual art and state history. Ms. Hinckley also spoke about the concern over the decline of arts education in the State of Florida. She will be working with the Florida Higher Education Arts Network to develop a new direction and strategic plan for arts education in our state. E. International Cultural Exchange Panel Recommendations Panel Chairman Sibille Pritchard reviewed the report as follows: The International Cultural Exchange Grant Review Panel convened in Tallahassee on February 24, 2004, to recommend FY grant awards for eligible program proposals. There were forty-two (42) eligible project applications submitted to the International Cultural Exchange Grant Panel, resulting in a total request of $967,450. Both the number of applications and the total amount of requested funding exceeded the levels thirty-four (34) applications and a total request of $760,825. Thirty-five (35) applications were recommended for funding. See Attachment A for a list of funding recommendations. At the conclusion of her report, Ms. Pritchard moved approval of the funding recommendations with Christopher Larmoyeux seconding. The motion carried.

4 Page 4 of 4 F Panelist Recommendations and Revised Panel Chairman Assignments Gaylen Phillips reviewed the panelist recommendations for the upcoming panel season. Alejandro Aguirre moved approval of the panelist recommendations with Suzanne Teate seconding. The motion passed. Dr. Phillips also reviewed the list of panel chairman appointments and asked that if any Council member anticipates a scheduling conflict, to contact her as soon as possible. G. Art in State Buildings Program Recommendations Lee Modica reviewed the results of selection committee meetings for sites at the Department of Health, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, University of West Florida; Florida International University, Florida Gulf Coast University, University of Florida, and Florida A&M University, for a total acquisition of $606,267. Stanley Levine moved approval of the selection process. David Bear seconded the motion. The motion carried. IX. Committee Reports A. Vision Subcommittee on Individual Artists Stanley Levine reviewed the report as follows: The Services to Individual Artists Subcommittee met on January 29, 2004, at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center to review and discuss the results of the Individual Artist Survey. Division staff analyzed the survey results and identified the need for an Individual Artists program that encompasses more than just the award of fellowships. Accordingly, four key areas of concern were recognized and studied by the Subcommittee: 1) adequate funding to create art; 2) lack of knowledge about the Division s Fellowship program; 3) public access to artists work; and 4) the ability to network with other individual artists. The Subcommittee carefully considered each of these major areas and made the following recommendations: 1. Fellowship Program: The recommendation to resume* the Individual Artist Fellowship Awards having been approved at the September 2003 meeting in Lakeland, the Subcommittee turned discussion to other aspects of the program which yielded the following additional recommendations: a. Eliminate Honorable Mention recognitions. (Applicants scoring high enough to advance to the funding round but not competitive enough to be selected for a monetary award may be recommended for Honorable Mention.) b. Permit the panel to have limited discretion in the amount of monetary Fellowship awards such as being allowed to split one of the budgeted awards between two applicants (1@ $5,000 vs. $2,500 each). c. Revisit allocation of awards made available to the various disciplines.

5 Page 5 of 5 *(Note: The Fellowship Program was on hiatus for FY applications and awards. Restoring the program will introduce rotating application cycles according to discipline with the following deadlines: Application deadline of June 1, 2004 for the January 1, 2005 December 31, 2005 award period for dance, music, folk arts/ traditional arts, literature, theatre, and interdisciplinary. Application deadline of June 1, 2005 (award period January 1, 2006 December 31, 2006) for visual arts and media arts.) Items #1a. and b. would require rule amendments and could not be implemented until the next application cycle. 2. New Funding Opportunity: Create a new funding opportunity for individual artists to support professional/career development and technology assistance. A small minigrant program will be developed for this purpose, and will offer assistance to individual artists with such projects as conference or workshop travel and the acquisition of equipment and materials. This new program would also require rule promulgation for the Division to offer a new funding opportunity. There is not enough time to do this before the end of the fiscal year. If the Council supports creating this new category, it would be necessary to contract with another organization before June 30, 2004 to launch the program. 3. Information Sessions: Division staff will coordinate information sessions throughout the state in April/May 2004; all survey respondents who provided contact information will receive communication on the sessions; and an contact list of individual artists will be created to provide them with ongoing pertinent information from the Division and other organizations. 4. Opportunities: The Division will work with State Service Organizations to identify, publicize, and organize opportunities for artists to display or perform their work; an online bulletin board will be created as a part of the Division s website. In June 2003, a minimum allocation of $25,000 was set-aside by the Council to support Services to Artists. At the Tampa meeting, staff announced a strong possibility of being able to increase this original commitment by as much as $25,000 with funds made available from a number of awards to organizations being declined in the last few months. This would provide about $50,000 for the new funding opportunity. The Subcommittee was also informed about the Division s proposal to the National Endowment for the Arts for state arts agency Challenge America activities during fiscal year Through several new projects included in the proposal, the Division plans to develop an emphasis on the state s literary artists by assisting in formation of a Florida Literary Network, and on the state s touring artists through creation of the Florida Artist and Presenters Network. Moreover, the Division will expand its website to include the promotion of fellowship artists work and increase their visibility; information on such individual artist topics as health and safety, marketing, and contract negotiations; and links to other pertinent organizations and websites. At the conclusion of his report, Mr. Levine asked Todd Warlik, Administer of the Individual Artist Fellowship Program, to address specific issues discussed by the Subcommittee.

6 Page 6 of 6 Mr. Warlik discussed the details of the proposed mini grant program for individual artists that would be initially outsourced to either the South Florida Cultural Consortium or one of the State Service Organizations for administration. Following discussion, Patricia Caswell moved approval with Margaret Wise seconding. The motion carried. Mr. Warlik reported that in order to more effectively communicate with individual artists, an newsletter will be created and distributed to all survey respondents, containing information on the Division and its programs specific to individual artists, as well as information on artist opportunities available throughout the state and nationally. The creation of an online bulletin board has also been investigated and will be posted on the Division s website to create a forum for individual artists, giving them the ability to readily communicate with Division staff as well as other artists in the state. Mr. Warlik also informed the Council members that the results of the survey would be distributed to all survey respondents within the next several weeks. Stanley Levine began discussion on the issue of eliminating the Honorable Mention category from the program. Following discussion, Sibille Pritchard moved approval with Patricia Caswell seconding. The motion was approved. The second program change discussion centered on giving the panelists the discretion to split a fellowship award between two applicants. Roy Hunt moved approval of the program change and Sibille Pritchard seconded. Following lengthy deliberation, Katharine Dickenson recommended that a review of the program change be conducted within one year of implementation to evaluate its effect on the program. The motion and amendment was approved with one negative vote. Finally, Linda Downey reviewed plans for disbursement of funds from the NEA s Challenge America Program. They will be distributed as follows: A $15,000 allocation to the Florida Artists and Presenters Network that will benefit Florida touring artists in two ways: subsidizing attendance costs to either the annual Performing Arts Exchange or the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference and convening a statewide conference (or regional conferences) between those artists and Florida presenters. The conference(s) will establish a mentoring program between those who attended a booking conference and experienced touring artists and between large presenters and small. The conferences(s) will also offer a range of discussion groups or seminars that address touring and presenting issues and establish a dialogue between experienced artists and presenters with those who are not. Possible partners who can provide additional services, benefits, website access, consultants, workshops, materials, and other information are the Southern Arts Federation, APAP, and the Florida Presenters Consortium. A $10,000 allocation to support organization and development of the Florida Literary Network. The network will ultimately serve as a state service organization to literary organizations and individual artists. This project will benefit both literary artists and organizations in three ways. First, participating literary organizations will have the opportunity to collaborate by pooling their resources and knowledge in order to promote literary artists, publications and activities throughout the state. Second, organizations presenting artists from the network will have a new resource for booking literary activities and, in return, expand offerings to local constituents. Finally, the network will provide individual artists with an established statewide touring network to present their work. Participating organizations will provide administrative support for the network. The presenters will pay fees directly to the network. The State of Georgia has a similar program and could serve as a resource as this project is developed.

7 Page 7 of 7 A $9,000 allocation will be used to expand the DCA website to include streaming video samples of State Touring Roster artists, and promotion of Fellowships through display of artists visual work (paintings, sculpture, jewelry, etc.), musical compositions, and poems, short stories, and other literary excerpts. Funds will also provide information and workshops on such artist issues as: safety, health insurance coverage, and contracts, among other topics, available in conjunction with the Network conference(s) mentioned above. B. Vision Steering Committee Report Chris Larmoyeux reviewed the report as follows: Council Chairman Margo Bindhardt called the meeting to order on January 30, 2004 at 10:05 a.m. at the Tampa Museum of Art. Mrs. Bindhardt asked the Florida Arts Council members, staff and audience participants to introduce themselves. Chairman Bindhardt turned the meeting over to Robert McNulty, President of Partners for Livable Communities, serving as a consultant to the Florida Arts Council s Vision Steering Committee. Mr. McNulty began by explaining his background in community and cultural development. He reviewed what the State of Florida and other states have accomplished within the three focus issues of economic diversity, educational opportunity, and strengthening children and families. He also suggested other ideas for forming partnerships with other state agencies. Mr. McNulty reviewed the proposed strategic plan developed by Partners in October The Visioning Process will move forward into Step 3 Meet with Diverse Stakeholders. Meetings would take place with various stakeholders in the three focus groups, acquainting them with examples of how the arts and culture have created resource opportunities in Florida and other states, gathering their ideas on how they could collaborate with the arts in Florida. The suggestions would be documented and Partners would then draft outcomes from these discussions. The process would then move on to Step 4: Engage Local Arts Community. Mr. McNulty cautioned that this is an important step. As the Council moves into new partnership territories, it is important to ensure the current cultural constituency that the services and funding already in place would not be in jeopardy. After reviewing the results with the Florida Arts Council (Step 5) Partners would then complete Step 6: Draft Final Report. Findings could then be shared on a national level. Following lengthy discussion on the formation of the business stakeholder groups, it was decided that the Florida Arts Council should create partnerships and linkages with other state agencies and constituency groups in the following subject areas as well as others to be determined: Recreation and Parks Elder Services and Aging Education (early learning, reading, adult education) Economic Development Tourism Individuals will be identified and requested to meet and discuss how the arts can play a role within the context of each of the following 3 subject areas. (Wording of subject areas is subject to change)

8 Page 8 of 8 Business Stakeholder Groups Economic Development Enterprise Florida State and Local Chambers of Commerce Florida League of Cities Manufacturers Tourism Hi-tech industry Foundations Agency for Workforce Innovation Marketing agencies Film and Entertainment Publix Scripps Labor Unions Design and Development Community planners Architects Historic Preservation Developers Urbanism (example: Jeff Speck) Habitat for Humanity Smart Growth Public Art Transportation --- AAA Tourism Garden Clubs Environmentalists Rural Development Learning and Wellness United Way Healthcare Florida Alliance for Arts Education/A.C.E. Dept. of Education Libraries Dept. of Elder Affairs Dept. of Juvenile Justice Salvation Army PTA/PTOS Newspapers Mayo Clinic Shands Hospital Community Colleges State and Private Universities Superintendents of Schools AARP Childcare VSA Florida (formerly Very Special Arts) Arts in Medicine/Art Therapy Meetings should be approximately ½ day each and should be grouped to reduce travel costs for the consultant, Council members, and Department staff. It was tentatively agreed upon that three meetings of Business Leaders will meet in a cultural facility location in Tampa. A constituency meeting with Arts Leaders will take place in a business facility location in Orlando. The 12-month Strategic Plan Draft Document should be amended as follows: Step 3: Meetings will be held in May/June, following Legislative Session Step 5A: Add Discuss Findings with Political Policy Makers Chairman Bindhardt and JuDee Pettijohn reviewed upcoming Florida Arts Council events. Linda Downey gave an overview of results from the Services to Individual Artists Vision Subcommittee. Public Comment was received from Nancy Curry with the Florida Aquarium. The meeting was concluded at 2:00 p.m.

9 Page 9 of 9 At the conclusion of his report, Mr. Larmoyeux asked JuDee Pettijohn to detail the next steps in the visioning process. Ms. Pettijohn reported that a sponsor has been located to fund the consultant services of Bob McNulty with Partners for Livable Communities and will be announced at a later date. Ms. Pettijohn asked the Council to review a timeline for the visioning process presented by Partners with a project completion date of November 2004 to coincide with the NASAA Fall Leadership Institute and November Arts Council meeting, allowing national coverage of Florida s new cultural strategic plan. The next step is to hold three business stakeholder meetings in May and June, two meetings in Tampa and one in South Florida. Mr. Larmoyeux has asked that a letter be drafted and sent to all local arts agencies and state service organizations, asking for them for nominations of business individuals to serve in the three group categories Economic Development, Learning & Wellness, and Design & Development. Ms. Pettijohn and Mr. Larmoyeux asked that all Florida Arts Council members submit their stakeholder nominations no later than April 7, 2004, and include the individual s name, contact information and business affiliation. Chairman Bindhardt and Secretary Hood will meet via conference call with Bob McNulty in the very near future to review plans for the stakeholder meetings. Ms. Pettijohn mentioned that more marketing of the visioning process needs to be done with the cultural community to ensure they are aware in what direction the Florida Arts Council is moving. C. Quarterly Assistance/UACAP Committee Report Dr. Gaylen Phillips reviewed the report as follows: The Quarterly Assistance Program Grant Review Committee got underway in Tallahassee on March 17, 2004 at 10:20 a.m. with committee members Stanley Levine, Patricia Caswell and Suzanne Teate, to review applications for the Fourth Quarter. First, funding was considered for five (5) Quarterly Assistance applicant organizations with a total request of $8,600. After detailed discussion on the merits of each, the committee recommended four (4) applications for full funding for the total of $8,600. Second, the Committee reviewed one application for the Local Arts Agency Program Pre-Level 1 from the Hernando County Fine Arts Council at a requested amount of $5,000. The Committee approved the application. The specific funding amount will be determined pending legislative budget appropriation. The meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m. At the conclusion of Dr. Phillip s report, Margaret Wise moved approval with Katharine Dickenson seconding. The motion carried. See Attachment B for a list of funding recommendations. X. Other Business and Open Council Discussion Chairman Bindhardt announced that Katharine Dickenson and Todd Farha would replace alternates David Bear and Patricia Caswell on the Quarterly Assistance Committee. She also thanked Peggy Brady, Executive Director of the Tallahassee/Leon County Cultural Resources Commission, for the hospitality bags presented to the Council members upon their arrival in Tallahassee, and wished departing staff member, Melissa Ray, all the best in her departure from the Division.

10 Page 10 of 10 Patricia Caswell distributed statistics on the number of students taking fine arts credits in the State of Florida. Roy Hunt invited the Council to attend a lecture by Richard Florida in Gainesville on March 31. XI. Public Comment Kay Burk, Brevard Cultural Alliance XII. Conclusion With no further business, the meeting concluded at 4:55 p.m. Margo Bindhardt, Chairman Florida Arts Council Christopher Larmoyeux, Secretary Florida Arts Council Linda Downey, Director Division of Cultural Affairs