Arts and Culture Commission Meeting Date: November 10, 2025
To: Commission Members
From: Natalie Draper, Library Director
Title
Staff Update.
Body
Action Requested:
The ACC receives an update from staff.
Summary Report:
• The Art in Public Places Policy has been amended and passed by Council on the consent agenda in November. The updated policy is attached. The revised policy language includes the option to designate a Local Arts Agency (LAA) to support the City’s Art in Public Places Program.
• In accordance with the Art in Public Places Policy, the City has entered into a year-to-year agreement, effective January 1, 2026, with the Northfield Arts Guild to support the Art in Public Places Program as an LAA.
• Art in City Hall: We will be installing work by Aramis Wells in City Hall in early December.
• The construction facing along Division St. (around Archer house site) will be concealed by temporary artwork just in time for Winter Walk. Rocky Casillas was available on short notice to create a large concept that can attach to the fencing and be reused or otherwise repurposed in the future. This will be installed in early December.
• Trying to summarize five years with this commission proved a lot harder than I thought it would be. Thank you to the commissioners, past and present, who have contributed time and talent to making sure the arts are celebrated and central to Northfield’s identity. Here is a brief and not at all inclusive list of accomplishments:
o 1 Percent for Art ordinance passed by council (2021)
o Many Art in City Hall installations coordinated
o 3 Living Treasures were honored*
o 1 interim and 1 new poets laureate appointed*
o 13 public art projects completed
Other projects/programs:
• Poet Laureate
o Recent newsletters attached to this agenda item.
Alternative Options:
N/A
Financial Impacts:
N/A
Tentative Timelines: