Arts and Culture Commission Meeting Date: January 13th, 2025
To: Commission Members
From: Natalie Draper, Library Director
Title
Staff Update.
Body
Action Requested:
The ACC receives an update on current projects.
Summary Report:
• Mark Daehlin has installed his City Hall exhibit, “Freedom Road”, which features 16 vibrant portraits of Civil Rights figures. We are asking folks to join us at 5 pm on February 18th for a reception with remarks by the artist.
• We are exploring the possibility of having the Living Treasure Award event near the end of April at the Grand Theater. I will share a date as soon as we land on one.
• I sent the following feedback (summarized) to Community Development Director, Jake Reilly:
1. Consider adding under strategy 2: strengthen Northfield's downtown core on page 76: Prioritize investment in future of downtown cultural institutions (Guild, History Center, Library)
We can't have the downtown we have without the guild, the library and the history center. There is a halo effect around us that would be missed if we were not downtown because our growth or ability to thrive is hemmed in by development that does not take our value and needs into consideration: "Proximity to a public library means greater revenue for retailers. Patrons who stop at the library while completing a list of errands report “halo” spending at establishments close to the library. Conversely, shoppers who might not otherwise stop by the library benefit from free access to entertainment, enrichment and education." This extends to other institutions like museums and arts and cultural centers.
2. On page 75: Strategy 1: Evaluate and Reorganize the Community Development Department Consider adding: “A successful public art/placemaking program” under "create a department that can fully realize:" This makes sense because the plan refers to public art and placemaking elsewhere but doesn't call out any provision for the sustainability of that work.
3. The table of city plans and what to do with them (page 96) omits the Arts Plan 06 (formed the ACC) and Cultural plan 19-24 (prioritized 1% for arts, rebranding, and arts-centered development, among other things--partial incorporation).
Commissioner Johnson also provided input on the draft.
From December:
• Staff is working to draft an agreement that could lead to a formal partnership with the Arts Guild to manage all or portions of Percent for the Arts projects. Up to a 15% commission for local arts agencies is permitted within the ordinance, and it is a common practice in many cities to work with a local arts agency to manage their public art commissions. Commissioner Johnson and Director Draper have had some preliminary conversations about this and look forward to bringing something more concrete to the commission soon.
• Library staff met with Carleton faculty and CCCE staff about working with an Academic Civic Engagement course titled Art and Democracy. The class will host a participatory art engagement at the library in March.
Other projects/programs:
• Poet Laureate
o Recent newsletters attached to this agenda item.
Alternative Options:
N/A
Financial Impacts:
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Tentative Timelines: