[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
IT IS JULY 15TH, 2024 TO SIGN UP.LET ME GO AHEAD AND GET THIS GOING.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
OUR FIRST, WE'RE GONNA START WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.WE HAVE BETH BURNS FROM HIDDEN ROOM THEATER, MS. BETH HERE.
AND WE HAVE 25 PEOPLE SPEAKING, SO WE WILL NEED TO KEEP IT AT THREE MINUTES.
I USUALLY LET PEOPLE SPEAK UNTIL THEY FEEL THEY'VE BEEN HEARD.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE WILL NEED TO BE PRETTY RIGID WITH TIME TODAY AS WE HAVE A DENSE, UH, AGENDA WITH PRESENTERS AS WELL.
BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
LET'S GET THIS MIC GOING SO THAT OUR PEOPLE ON SCREEN.
AND ACTUALLY LET'S DO ROLL WHILE WE'RE HERE AND MAKING SURE WE CAN HEAR BETH.
UM, COMMISSIONER SMBA PRESENT, COMMISSIONER KY PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER MALDONADO AND WELCOME, COMMISSIONER KEYS.
YOU WILL NEED TO BE ON SCREEN IN ORDER TO BE COUNTED AS PRESENT AND IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE MEETING.
AND I THINK WITH THAT WE ARE READY TO GO.
ALL BETH, LET'S TRY THAT MIC ONE MORE TIME.
COMING AFTER I CAN MAKE THIS WORK.
I KNOW, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE IN TV LAND CAN HEAR YOU.
SO LET'S JUST GIVE US ONE SEC.
THEY CAN GET US HOOKED UP HERE.
HI, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
I'M BETH BURNS FROM THE HIDDEN ROOM THEATER, UH, PROUDLY FOUNDED HERE IN AUSTIN IN 2010 AND SUPPORTED BY THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION FOR ABOUT HALF OF THOSE 14 YEARS.
UM, I WANNA START OFF BY SAYING HOW GRATEFUL I AM FOR THE CITY'S SUPPORT OF THE ARTS AND ITS RECENT PUSH TO UPLIFT HISTORICALLY UNDERFUNDED ARTISTS, INCLUDING ORGANIZATIONS WITH FEMALE IDENTIFYING LEADERSHIP AND THOSE CENTERING PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO AUSTIN CONTINUING TO INCREASE ITS VISION OF DIVERSITY TO INCLUDE DIFFERENTLY ABLED PEOPLE, UM, GENDER IDENTITY, AGE SIZE, AND MORE.
UH, THIS IS ONGOING WORK FOR ALL OF US TO DO, AND, UM, AND IT'S CRUCIAL FOR FOSTERING A VIBRANT AND WELCOMING ARTS COMMUNITY FOR EVERYONE.
UM, AS PART OF AUSTIN'S CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM, THE HIDDEN ROOM IS COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH OUR FELLOW ARTISTS TO GROW THE CITY'S ARTISTIC LANDSCAPE.
AND THROUGH THAT WORK, WE HAVE BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION AND, UH, TOURISM TO TOWN MEETING AN IMPORTANT CITY DIRECTIVE.
SO HERE'S JUST A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT THE HIDDEN ROOM HAS ACHIEVED WITH COA SUPPORT.
UH, OUR DIGITAL WORK GAINED THE ATTENTION OF THE US STATE DEPARTMENT, DON'T WORRY.
NOT NOT IN A BAD WAY, IN A GOOD WAY.
UH, AND WAS FEATURED ON P-B-S-B-B-C AND PR LONDON'S CHANNEL FOUR AND WAS HAILED AS QUOTE, THE FUTURE OF THEATER BY THE GUARDIAN.
OUR WORK IN EARLY MODERN THEATER MADE US ONE OF THE VERY FEW AMERICAN COMPANIES TO PERFORM AT SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE IN LONDON, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, AND THE SHAKESPEARE INSTITUTE AT STRATFORD.
UPON AVON, UH, WE'VE PLAYED THE AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER, UH, UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE US AND WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSED IN COUNTLESS ACADEMIC PAPERS WORLDWIDE.
HERE AT HOME, WE WERE AUSTIN'S CREATIVE AMBASSADORS FOR THEATER.
IN 2019, WE'VE PROVIDED FREE WORKSHOPS ON COMMUNICATION AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THEATER AND POETRY TO AUSTIN SCHOOLS.
FROM ELEMENTARY UP, WE'VE GIVEN HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF FREE COACHING AND PAID INTERNSHIPS TO LOCAL THEATER STUDENTS.
AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN MADE THIS WORK POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING THAT NEVER EXCEEDED 19 KA YEAR.
IN FACT, OUR AVERAGE FUNDING WAS UNDER 11 K, BUT STARTED AS LOW AS 2K AS THE CITY CHOSE TO INVEST IN US SLOWLY.
IN 2021, WE RECEIVED OUR LAST COA GRANT OF SEVEN K AND WE'VE NOT BEEN OFFERED FUNDING SINCE.
UM, MORE CHALLENGING, AS YOU KNOW, FUNDING BEGETS FUNDING.
AND WITHOUT THAT LIFELINE OF COA SUPPORT, WE STRUGGLE TO SECURE MATCHING FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES ALREADY.
HARD HIT WITH COVID, TAKING OUR ABILITY TO PERFORM LIVE SAFELY FOR YEARS.
LOSING OUR CITY FUNDING, UH, HAS MADE FOR A VERY DIFFICULT PUNCH AND WITHOUT SOME FORM OF SUPPORT, HIDDEN ROOM WILL BE FORCED TO MAKE THE DECISION TO RELOCATE OR CLOSE OUR DOORS IN 2025.
BUT IN CLOSING, I DO WANNA FOCUS BACK WHERE I STARTED, WHICH IS THE PUSH FOR MORE VOICES HELPS FOSTER A HEALTHY ARTS ATMOSPHERE AND CREATES AN AUSTIN SCENE THAT REFLECTS AUSTIN ITSELF.
UM, SO I JUST ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER FUNDING AS MANY ARTISTS AS POSSIBLE AND AS MANY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE WE DO NEED AS MANY VOICES AS WE CAN GET.
JUST THE POINT OF CLARIFICATION FOR THOSE.
SPEAKING TO ITEM 10, YOU WILL SPEAK WHEN WE GET TO THAT ITEM.
SO IF I'M SKIPPING OVER YOUR NAME, DON'T WORRY.
[00:05:01]
BARFIELD.YEAH, I, UH, SIGNED UP OVER THERE TOO, SO YOU CAN CROSS MY NAME OUT FOR A SECOND TIME.
UM, AND I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE AUSTIN ARTS COMMUNITY THEATER COMMUNITY SINCE I WAS ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD ACTUALLY.
AND I AM HERE, UM, IN FRONT OF THE ARTS COMMISSION TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY, MANY YEARS BECAUSE I'M HEARING A LOT OF GRUMBLINGS FROM THE COMMUNITY, UH, VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT HAS ME CONCERNED AS BOTH A CITIZEN AND AS A THEATER DIRECTOR, UM, AN ARTS ADVOCATE AND A PROFESSOR OF DRAMA AT, UM, AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT THERE IS FUNDING FOR THE ARTS IN AUSTIN.
I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT THE ARTS COMMISSION, UM, LEADS THROUGH THEIR VOLUNTEERISM, THEIR ACTIVISM, THEIR LEADERSHIP.
UM, AND I DON'T WANT TO ALLOW WHAT'S GOING ON POLITICALLY TO NECESSARILY NATIONAL, NATIONAL POLITICAL SCALE TO AFFECT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH US HERE LOCALLY.
BUT I DO HAVE CONCERNS AND FEARS THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE SOME MORE DIVISION WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY DUE TO LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CERTAIN PRACTICES THAT ARE INHERENT IN THE, THE REDESIGN OF THE FUNDING PROCESS.
AND, UM, I'M NEW TO THE, TO THIS SORT OF ACTIVISM MYSELF RIGHT NOW, AND I'M CATCHING UP.
I'M REALLY CATCHING UP TO WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SPEAK TO INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE ARTS COMMISSION AND OTHER PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY SO I CAN HAVE A BETTER GRASP ON WHAT'S GOING ON, BOTH FROM AN EQUITABLE LENS AND ALSO FROM, UM, SORT OF AN OUT ON THE GROUNDS PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES.
UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF DISCREPANCY AND A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDING AND EVEN SOME MISCOMMUNICATION AND MISINFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT GROUPS ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW TO BE TRUE AND WHAT THEY KNOW TO POSSIBLY BE, UM, UNTRUE OR, UM, BARE MINIMUM, UM, UNCLEAR.
AND I KNOW EVERYBODY IS DOING THE BEST THAT THEY CAN DO.
I UNDERSTAND THIS AND THAT EVERYBODY IS WORKING REALLY HARD TO MAKE EVERYBODY HAPPY IN THIS PROCESS, OR AT LEAST I'D LOVE TO GIVE PEOPLE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT ON THAT.
AND, UM, I'M MOSTLY HERE JUST AS A VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY.
I'M NOT APPLYING FOR ANY FUNDING, BUT TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW MY CONCERNS OF WHERE WE ARE NOW, SO THAT A YEAR FROM NOW SOME OF THESE ISSUES ARE VERY, ARE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY AND ADDRESSED IN AN EQUITABLE, UH, TRANSPARENT AND A FAIR MANNER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, HEATHER.
NEXT WE HAVE KAYLA MOORE FROM BRAVE COMMUNITIES.
ARE YOU GONNA BE SPEAKING TOGETHER? ARE THERE TWO OF YOU SIGNED UP? JUST MAKE SURE YOU USE THE MICROPHONE.
WE WERE SIGNED UP SEPARATELY, BUT WE'RE GONNA TALK TOGETHER.
IS THAT OKAY? GIVE US ONE SECOND, HUN.
UH, WE WERE SIGNED UP SEPARATELY, BUT IS IT OKAY IF WE TALK TOGETHER? YES.
JUST MAKE SURE YOU'RE AMPLIFYING I'M STILL HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE HEARING YOU THROUGH THE MIC.
UM, WE'RE FROM BRAVE COMMUNITIES AND WE JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU.
UM, WE WANTED TO THANK YOU BECAUSE FOR THE PAST YEAR YOU GAVE US A GRANT AND THAT BECAUSE OF THAT GRANT WE WERE ABLE TO FIND BRAVE YOUNG LEADERS AND ALL THE EVENTS THAT WE, UM, WERE ABLE TO HO HOLD FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, I ONLY CAME INTO THIS GROUP BECAUSE OF BRAVE YOUNG LEADERS AND BECAUSE OF THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO LEARN SO MUCH FROM IT.
AND I'VE EVEN THOUGHT OF MAKING MY OWN BUSINESS AND BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR.
SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, IT WAS REALLY AWESOME THAT YOU GUYS DID THAT FOR US.
YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING ELSE? THIS ONE'S AWESOME FROM BRAVE YOUNG
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LEADERS AND INTERNSHIP, SO WE JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT.THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE.
IT'S NOT EASY TO GET UP IN FRONT OF ALL THESE PEOPLE AND ON SCREEN.
IT MEANS A LOT TO US TO HEAR THAT WE'RE HAVING A GOOD IMPACT AND WE CAN'T TAKE ALL THE, UM, GRATITUDE JUST FOR US.
WE HAVE TO THANK STAFF AND EVERYBODY THAT'S PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS, BUT THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT WAS MARGARET AS WELL, MAYBE.
SO JESSE LUCAS FROM BRAVE COMMUNITIES.
MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE, THEY, I'M 20 YEARS OLD, USED TO GO TO SCHOOL IN AUSTIN, ISD, BUT NOW I ATTEND TEXAS WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY IN DENTON AS A MUSIC THERAPY STUDENT, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH BRAVE SINCE 2020, HAVING BEEN A BRAVE MAKER, AMBASSADOR, YOUTH PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, YOUNG LEADER, PERFORMER, AND MODERATOR.
BRAVE PROGRAMMING HAS NO DOUBT EQUIPPED ME TO BE MORE ENGAGED, AWARE, AND CONNECTED WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE COMMUNITY BY EXPOSING ME TO PEOPLE OF ALL WALKS OF LIFE, FROM ALL OF WHOM I CAN LEARN MORE THAN I EVER WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO WITHOUT BRAVE AS A MUSIC THERAPY STUDENT.
SOMETHING I'VE LEARNED ABOUT IN SCHOOL FROM MY MAJOR IS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO UPLIFT ALL VOICES, SPECIFICALLY THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY SILENCED, OPPRESSED, OR IGNORED.
BRAVE HAS HELPED ME UNDERSTAND JUST HOW MUCH ACTIVE LISTENING TO OUR ARTISTIC BROTHERS, SISTERS, AND SIBLINGS ALONE CAN MEAN WE ARE NO STRANGER TO POLARIZATION AS AUSTINITES, TEXANS AND AMERICANS.
AND WHAT BRAVE DOES TO COMBAT THIS IS UNITE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS ACROSS ALL GENERATIONS, ALL WHILE AMPLIFYING THE ARTS.
FUNDING THE ARTS PROVIDES MORE RESOURCES CONDUCIVE TO ENCOURAGING LISTENING AND TO MAKE IT MORE, MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL.
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S CULTURAL ART DIVISION AND THE FUNDING THEY PUT BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH GRANTS TO HELP SUPPORT BRAVE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND BRAVE YOUNG LEADERS.
NEXT WE HAVE LAURA ESPARZA WITH A THREE AUSTIN ART ALLIANCE, OR I'M SORRY, ART ALLIANCE AUSTIN'S LOTS OF A'S, LET ME FIX THAT, I TAKE IT ALL BACK.
UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR TIME.
UH, MY NAME IS LAURA ASPAR, AS I RECENTLY RETIRED FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT TODAY I AM REPRESENTING, UM, MYSELF AS, UM, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A THREE ART ALLIANCE, A NEW NONPROFIT LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, UM, THAT IS, UH, REBRANDING TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO VISUAL ARTISTS, MUSICIANS AND PERFORMERS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SHARE THEIR WORK ON CITY PROPERTIES.
WE'RE JUST BEGINNING OUR WORK.
WE PLAN TO KICK OFF, UM, THE NEW, UM, ITERATION OF A THREE AUSTIN IRELAND ALLIANCE ON SEPTEMBER 12TH.
AND SO THIS IS YOUR, UM, INVITATION.
UM, AT CANOPY WE'LL BE KICKING OFF AT CANOPY ON, UM, SEPTEMBER 12TH.
UM, BUT, UM, WE'RE SPECIFICALLY, UH, FOCUSED ON, UH, SUPPORTING ARTISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE UMOFF.
AND SO, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT UMOFF IS LATER, I HAD THREE THINGS TO TALK WITH YOU.
AND ONE OF THEM WAS, WAS ABOUT THE UMOFF.
UM, WHEN I WAS DIVISION MANAGER OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, THE UMOFF CONTRACT WAS MY CONTRACT.
AND SO I WORKED DIRECTLY WITH THEM FOR MANY YEARS TO, UM, QUEUE UP THE VISION PLAN THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALKING WITH YOU ABOUT TODAY.
UM, ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, WE GOT THE PERFECT CONSTELLATION OF STAFF, BOARD AND RESOURCES TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN THAT I BELIEVE IS VISIONARY.
UM, THE PLAN, THE KEY WORD FOR THIS PLAN IS ACCESSIBILITY.
ACCESSIBILITY NOT ONLY OF THE GROUNDS AND THE RESTROOMS, BUT ACCESSIBILITY TO NEW AUDIENCES, UM, TO KIDS, UH, IN TITLE ONE SCHOOLS WHO WILL HAVE PROPER CLASSROOMS FOR THEIR PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXHIBITION.
I THINK IT ALSO HAS A LIGHT TOUCH IN TERMS OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, SO IT DOESN'T DETRACT FROM THE MOF GARDEN THAT WE'VE ALL COME TO LOVE AND KNOW.
UM, SO I ENCOURAGE YOUR SUPPORT OF THE PLAN.
UM, FINALLY, UM, I'VE ASKED STAFF TO DISTRIBUTE A FLYER PREPARED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE DOHERTY AND OTHER GROUP THAT I'M WORKING WITH.
UH, LAST SPRING WE LEARNED THAT THE DOHERTY ARTS CENTER WAS SLATED TO BE REDUCED TO JUST AN EDUCATION PROGRAM AND THAT THE GALLERY AND THEATER WOULD BE CLOSED, UH, IN ORDER TO BUILD A BUILDING WITH
[00:15:01]
THE REMAINING FUNDS AFTER WE'VE ALREADY GONE ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UH, DESIGN.IN FACT, WE HAD COMPLETED, UM, UH, THE, UM, THE, UH, BUILDING DOCUMENTS, THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, CDS WERE COMPLETE.
UM, AND SO THE PROJECT HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN.
UM, AND, UM, THE ACTING CITY MANAGER HAD ASKED US TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WITH A NEW COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND ANOTHER DESIGN.
AND THIS IS, UH, REALLY THROWING AWAY THOU MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SIGN OUR PETITION, SEND A MESSAGE TO CONS.
WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE SEPTEMBER OPENING.
NEXT WE HAVE, UH, AN FROM TRO.
I AM HERE REPRESENTING A GROUP OF OVER 40 ARTISTS.
I AM ALSO A BUSINESS OWNER AND I'M A MEMBER OF THE LATINX COMMUNITY.
AND I'M HERE BECAUSE I HAVE HAD PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE DIFFICULTIES OF TRYING TO ACCESS FUNDS AS A MEMBER OF THE MEXICAN LATINX COMMUNITY TO FUND ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS.
WE HAD A MEETING IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, 2023, IN WHICH WE ASKED THE COMMUNITY TO GIVE US THEIR FEEDBACK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES.
THERE IS EQUITY AND THERE IS EQUALITY.
AND IN THIS PROCESS, WE ARE NOT GIVING EQUITY.
WE ARE GIVING OUR COMMUNITIES THE SAME RESOURCES THAT WE GIVE EVERYBODY, WHICH IS WE POST INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE, WE DO A GOOGLE TRANSLATE, AT LEAST I HOPE IT'S A GOOGLE TRANSLATE, BECAUSE IF IT IS A PERSON THAT YOU'RE PAYING TO DO THE TRANSLATION, THEY'RE DOING AN AWFUL JOB.
AND WE EXPECT PEOPLE TO COME AND KNOW WHAT THEY NEED TO ASK FOR, HOW TO ASK FOR IT, AND WHAT EVERYTHING MEANS.
ESPECIALLY FOR EMERGENCE ARTISTS.
WE DO NOT KNOW THAT THOSE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE.
WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FILL OUT THOSE FORMS. WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE ASKING.
AND I KNOW THAT THE CITY HAS WANTED TO DO A STRONGER EFFORT TO REACH OUT TO BI BIPOC COMMUNITIES.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE ONLY PERCEPTION THAT WE HAVE IS THAT YOU HAVE PAID ADS IN UNIVISION AND A FEW SOCIAL MEDIA ADS.
I HAVE TO SAY, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PUBLICITY AND OUTREACH.
THE WORD OUTREACH IMPLIES THAT YOU GO TO THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY ARE, THAT YOU NOT ONLY SPEAK TO THEM IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, BUT WITH THEIR OWN CULTURE.
AND THAT MEANS THAT WE NEED, AND WE REQUEST ORIENTATION SESSIONS IN OUR LANGUAGE BY PEOPLE WHO ARE ARTISTS LIKE OURSELVES, WHOSE PRIMARY LANGUAGE IS SPANISH OR VIETNAMESE OR CHINESE OR ARAB.
AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS NOT ENOUGH JUST TO HAVE A TRANSLATOR BECAUSE IF THE TRANSLATOR DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE STRUGGLES AND THE CHALLENGES OF AN ARTIST, IT IT'S, THE TRANSLATOR HAS NEVER GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE DON'T NEED SOMEONE TO READ TO US, WE SOMEONE TO ACCOMPANY US AND TO PROVIDE US WITH THAT INFORMATION.
WE'RE ASKING YOU FOR AN EXTENSION FOR THIS ROUND OF FUNDING AND FOR ACTUAL ORIENTATION PROVIDED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO WE CAN ACTUALLY ACCESS THOSE FUNDS AND OUR EMERGING ARTISTS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN REPRESENTED IN THE LAST 20 YEARS CAN BE PART OF THE CULTURAL FABRIC OF THIS COMMUNITY.
NEXT WE HAVE LUIS, OR, AND VE.
[00:20:09]
OKAY.UM, DOVETAILING WHAT? ANGENETTE GUTTIER.
UM, DOVETAILING ON WHAT, UM, ANGENETTE JUST SHARED.
ULTIMATELY, MANY OF THE SPEAKERS HERE TODAY ARE ASKING THE ARTS COMMISSION TO POLICE ADVOCATE FOR BIPOC COMMUNITIES HERE IN AUSTIN, SPECIFICALLY SPANISH LANGUAGE AND LATINO, CHICANO MEXICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE OUTREACH PIECE OF THIS FUNDING ROLLOUT THAT WAS JUST, UM, OPENED UP IN JUNE.
THESE ISSUES WERE INTRODUCED BY US, THE COMMUNITY LAST FALL, THIS SPRING, COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
THESE ISSUES OF LACK OF PROPER TRANSLATIONS.
THERE ARE ERRONEOUS TRANSLATIONS IN THE APPLICATION.
NONE OF OUR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE KNOW ABOUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
NONE OF OUR ADVISORY QUALITY OF LIFE BOARDS KNOW ABOUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
WHO IS GETTING INTO THE COMMUNITY.
I CANNOT REINFORCE WHAT ANGENETTE SHARED ABOUT EQUITY, EQUITY AND EQUALITY.
WE JUST WANT A CHANCE TO APPLY.
WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR A DIFFERENTIAL IN POINTS OR SCORES OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE.
ALL WE'RE ASKING FOR IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LET OUR COMMUNITIES KNOW.
AND THIS SADLY ALSO TRANSLATES TO OTHER BIPOC ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS.
AND I WANT TO CLOSE WITH ONE OF THE GUIDELINES IS WHO IS THE PRIORITY OF THESE PROGRAMS? BECAUSE WE LIVED THROUGH 50 YEARS PLUS OF RACIALLY INEQUITABLE FUNDING STRUCTURES THAT LEFT THE MOST VULNERABLE ARTISTS OUT FOR OVER 50 YEARS, RECEIVING 6% OF THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT ARE WHITE COUNTERPARTS RECEIVED.
THE GUIDELINE SAYS THAT PRIORITY WILL BE GIVING TO APPLICANTS THAT REPRESENT, SERVE, AND ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO COMMUNITIES THAT ARE IN THE IMMEDIATE RISK OF CULTURAL ERASURE AND DISPLACEMENT WITHIN AUSTIN, AND HAVE BEEN INSTITUTIONALLY MARGINALIZED AND UNDERFUNDED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S CULTURAL ART DIVISION.
THIS INCLUDES AND MAY INCLUDE BLACK, AFRICAN AMERICAN, NATIVE AMERICAN, ASIAN, HISPANIC, LATINO, MIDDLE EASTERN PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITIES, AND LGBTQIA PLUS WHAT OUTREACH HAS BEEN DONE FOR THESE COMMUNITIES.
IF WE ARE THE PRIORITY IN THE YEAR THAT WE'RE HISTORICALLY DISTRIBUTING THE MOST AMOUNT THAT THE CITY HAS EVER DISTRIBUTED FOR ARTS AND CULTURE, IT IS DISRESPECTFUL THAT WE ARE LISTED IN THE PRIORITY AND OUR APPLICATIONS ARE ILL TRANSLATED.
WE DON'T EVEN HAVE ONE WORKSHOP IN OUR OWN NATIVE LANGUAGE WHEN WE ARE THE PRIORITY FOR THESE FUNDS.
NEXT WE HAVE, UH, FROM TRO CAN I ALSO GET, UH, MARI LUISA, RAQUEL RIVERA, AND MICKEY GONZALEZ UP TO THE FRONT.
'CAUSE YOU GUYS WILL BE FOLLOWING
I'M WITH PREDICT DERO, ALSO A MEMBER OF THE AUSTIN ARTS COMMUNITY.
[00:25:01]
UH, 1992.AND I'M HERE JUST TO ADVOCATE ONCE AGAIN FOR, UM, THE LANGUAGE AND THE VERBIAGE THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE EXPRESSED.
LUIS, UH, AN JEANETTE AS WELL.
UM, AND ALL THE OTHER ONES THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT HERE.
UM, AS STATED BEFORE, UH, THE ITEMS AND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE BRING TO LIGHT AND WE BRING HERE ARE ITEMS THAT WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING AND BEING, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DIALOGUE AND ACTUALLY JUST DIALOGUE, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH WITH FOLKS AT THE, UH, AT THE DECISION MAKING TABLES FOR, YOU KNOW, YEARS BACK.
UM, AND TO THIS DATE, NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE.
UM, I WON'T GO INTO, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAID.
UM, I'LL JUST MAKE A PERFECT CLEAR EXAMPLE.
SO THE FIRST SPEAKER TODAY, BETH, I BELIEVE WAS HER NAME FROM HIDDEN ROOM THEATER.
AND WE HEARD ALL OF HER ACCOLADES THAT AC COMPANY IS ABLE TO ACHIEVE, AND THAT MAKES HER AT LEAST ONE ORGANIZATION OUT OF THE MANY HERE IN AUSTIN THAT HAVE THOSE ACCOLADES.
AT LEAST ONE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THERE ISN'T ONE THAT EVEN COMES CLOSE TO THOSE ACCOLADES.
AND I KNOW SHE MENTIONED SHE'S DONE IT WITHOUT CITY FUNDING, BUT THEREIN LIES THE INEQUALITY AND THE FLAWED SYSTEM THAT EXISTS.
WE'VE BEEN DOING EVERYTHING AS WELL, OUR COMMUNITIES WITHOUT FUNDING, WITHOUT APPROPRIATE FUNDING.
BUT THEN WE HAVE ONE MORE CHALLENGE THAT ALWAYS EXPRESS, AND THAT ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE IS OUR CULTURE AND OUR LANGUAGE.
SO EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE ROADBLOCKS AND CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME, YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT, BUT WE HAVE TO START WITH TWO ADDITIONAL OR THREE ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME BECAUSE WE ARE FOR DIFFERENT COLOR, WE SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE AND WE'RE FROM A DIFFERENT CULTURE.
NOW, QUICK NUMBERS HERE, AND AS YOU GUYS CAN GO INTO ALL THESE DATA METRICS AND DATA NUMBERS AND SETS AND WHATEVER, WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITIES MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION IN LET ALONE IN TEXAS, BUT IN CENTRAL TEXAS, NOWHERE IN THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, AS WE KEEP CALLING IT THIS DIVERSE FABRIC THAT EXISTS IN AUSTIN, NOWHERE IS THAT REFLECTED.
SO IF YOU WANNA SAY AT LEAST 40% OF OUR COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, EXIST IN CENTRAL TEXAS, THAT NUMBER DOESN'T TRANSLATE TO THE NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE FUNDED, THE NUMBER OF OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT EXIST.
AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT THERE, BUT IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE REPEATEDLY, THEY'VE BEGIN, THEY'VE BEEN GETTING PUSHED, MARGINALIZED, AS LOUISE MENTIONED, IN PART OF WHAT THE, WHAT THE FOCUS IS.
YOU KNOW, THE MAIN OBJECTIVE, YOU KNOW, IS CULTURAL ERASURE, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMUNITIES THAT ARE IN DANGER OF CULTURAL ERASURE.
SO AS I'VE ALWAYS VOICED, WHATEVER WE DO, LET'S MAKE IT RIGHT.
I, I KEEP GETTING TIRED OF THIS AND PERHAPS YOU GUYS ARE TIRED OF ME SAYING THIS, BUT WHATEVER WE DO, LET'S JUST MAKE IT RIGHT.
I KNOW PART OF THE DISCUSSION ITEM AS WELL IS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE'RE GONNA INCREASE THE FUNDING OR INCREASE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, WHATEVER WE DO, LET'S MAKE IT RIGHT.
LIKE LET'S HAVE A PROPER PROCESS SO THAT WE, THE ARTISTS, WE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED CAN HAVE A VOICE, YOU KNOW, CAN BE AT THE TABLE OF THIS DECISION MAKING PROCESSES THAT IMPACT NOT JUST WHAT WE DO, BUT OUR LIVELIHOOD, LIKE OUR HEALTH, OUR WELLNESS, OUR MENTAL SANITY, LIKE JUST EVERYTHING.
[00:33:07]
RAQUEL RIVERA AND THEN MICKEY GONZALEZ.MY NAME IS RAQUEL RIVERA AND I AM HERE WITH MY PEERS SPEAKING AS A MEMBER OF RETO TRO AND A MEMBER OF A GROWING SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN.
AS A YOUNG AND RELATIVELY NEW AND NOT SO NEW ARTIST TO AUSTIN, I CAN ATTEST THAT THE PROCESS TO APPLY FOR FUNDING HAS STILL BEEN EXCRUCIATINGLY DIFFICULT AND STILL HAS NO PRESENCE IN OUR HISPANIC COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN.
I WAS HERE LAST YEAR ALONGSIDE MY PEERS TO ASK FOR MORE SUPPORT AND MORE OUTREACH TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I AM HERE AGAIN ASKING FOR MORE SUPPORT AND OUTREACH TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AS THIS FAIRLY NEW ARTIST ASKING FOR FUNDING TO THIS COMMUNITY, I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY COMMUNICATION ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS THE ENTIRE YEAR.
THIS YEAR I HAVE BEEN GRATEFUL TO HAVE PARTNERED WITH ACADEMIA
MANY OF MY FELLOW ARTISTS AND COLLEAGUES THAT I WORK WITH IN THESE ORGANIZATIONS ALSO DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
I ALSO HAVE COLLEAGUES WHO ARE GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE AND ENTERING THE ARTISTIC WORLD AS ARTISTS AND AS DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND LIVE AND CREATE HERE IN AUSTIN.
THE ONLY ORGANIZATION THAT I HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES HAS BEEN THROUGH BEING A MEMBER OF RO AS A MEMBER OF THIS ORGANIZATION, I HAVE BEEN A PART OF HELPING OUR FELLOW ARTISTS, SPANISH SPEAKING ARTISTS AND IMMIGRANT ARTISTS KNOW ABOUT AND FILL OUT THESE APPLICATIONS.
WE HELP OUR COMMUNITY AS A VOLUNTEER AND OUT OUT OF THE LOVE OF OUR CULTURE AND OUR PEOPLE TO TRANSLATE AND UNDERSTAND.
BUT IT'S DIFFICULT WHEN WE OURSELVES DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE APPLICATION IS ASKING FOR AND WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE PROPER SPACES, RESOURCES, OR FUNDING TO HELP THEM AT THE FULL
[00:35:01]
CAPACITY THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE TO HELP.I DID THIS LAST YEAR AS A VOLUNTEER, AND I'M CURRENTLY DOING THIS AGAIN AS A VOLUNTEER.
I HOPE AND ASK THAT YOU WILL GIVE US AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY THROUGH FUNDING, RESOURCES AND SPACING.
AND NEXT WE'LL HAVE, UH, MAURICIO AND WHATEVER, UM, INTERPRET.
OKAY, WE'VE GOT MAURICIO SAY, GOOD AFTERNOON.
I'M A SINGER SONG WRITER, UH, IN AUSTIN, AND I'M ALSO THE PRODUCER OF CENTRAL AMERICA TO FEST.
I'VE BEEN, UM, I I'VE APPLIED AND I, I'M A PREVIOUS RECIPIENT OF THE, THE CULTURAL FUNDS.
SO I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT, BUT I, I'M COMING HERE TO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT THE FUNDS ARE NOT BEING PROMOTED OR THE OUTREACH IS NOT GETTING TO THE, TO, TO OUR PEOPLE.
SO, UH, ALTHOUGH I'M A RECIPIENT OF THE FUNDS, UH, AND I'M IN THE SYSTEM, IT'S EVEN FOR ME THAT, THAT I'VE BEEN APPLYING AND I KNOW THE SYSTEM, UH, IT'S SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON AND CHANGES EVERY, EVERY YEAR.
UH, SO I WAS THINKING THE, THE TITLE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IF YOU SEE, UH, A TITLE ON, ON A WEBPAGE SAYING THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR FERAL OLOGISTS, PEOPLE WILL SAY, WE'LL PASS, WE'LL PASS.
WE'LL, WE'LL NOT BE INTERESTED, BUT IF YOU SAY WE'RE LOOKING FOR COLLECTORS OF TRAINS, IT WILL CLICK WITH THOSE THAT COLLECT TRAINS.
SO THE SAME HERE, THE THE FUNDS WERE TRANSLATED AS, UH,
[00:40:01]
IN ESPANOL.THAT'S, THAT'S A, A REALLY FANCY WORD FOR A GRANT.
UH, SO JUST BECAUSE OF THE TITLE, IT DIDN'T CATCH MY EYE.
UH, AND I'M SURE OTHER COLLEAGUES, THEY, THEY'RE NOT GETTING THE SAME EXCITEMENT TO KNOW THAT THE CITY HAS FOUND FOR THE ARTS.
SO, SO YEAH, I'M, I'M SUPPORTING THAT IDEA.
AND IN THE SAME LINE, BECAUSE, UM, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS OUR FESTIVAL THIS YEAR, I'M FINDING, AND THIS IS PROBABLY A DIFFERENT TOPIC, BUT IT'S RELATED THAT VENUES, THEATERS ARE EXPONENTIALLY MORE EXPENSIVE.
AND I DON'T KNOW, IT'S LIKE PIE SOMALIA.
I THINK
SO IT'S JUST A, A WARNING THAT THAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING IN THE CITY.
UH, THESE VENUES ARE NOT ONLY CHARGING MORE, BUT THEY'RE CHARGING FOR PARKING.
EVEN FOR THE PRODUCER THAT IS PAYING TO RENT THAT VENUE, WE HAVE TO PAY OUR PARKING, WE HAVE TO PAY, UH, FOR OTHER THINGS THAT THEY DIDN'T USE TO CHARGE.
SO, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S, MAYBE IT'S RELATED.
IT COULD BE, UH, THE, NOT ONLY THE THE RENTAL FEE, BUT THERE'S A LOT MORE.
THEY ARE, THEY ARE ACTUALLY, THEY ARE CHARGING US FOR HAVE PARKING ATTENDANTS TO CHARGE US TO PARK OUR CARS.
SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO, TO RAISE THAT FLAG.
BONNIE COL AND THEN OLIVIE RODRIGUEZ AND EBONY LANGSFORD WILL BE NEXT.
GOOD EVENING ARTS COMMISSIONERS.
UH, THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR SUPPORT OF THE ARTS.
I'M THE CO-FOUNDER AND PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE VORTEX.
WE ARE A 32 YEAR CULTURAL CONTRACTOR.
THOSE OF US WITH ARTS VENUES HAVE NO SUPPORT FROM THE CITY.
NO CSAP FUNDING IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCESS BOND DOLLARS FROM THE CULTURAL TRUST, SKYROCKETING PROPERTY TAXES, RENTS AND UTILITIES, COST OF GOODS SWELTERING HEAT WITH THE REQUIRED INSURANCE RATES SOARING.
WE ARE PAYING MORE THAN OUR THRIVE FUNDING JUST TO PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH AN ART SPACE.
THE VORTEX, SCRUM FLOOR, HYDE PARK, CRASH BOX, AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE ARE ALL HOMES, VITAL HOMES FOR THE ARTS, AND NONE OF THEM ARE RECEIVING MONEY AND SUPPORT FROM THE CITY THAT WE REALLY NEED TO STAY IN BUSINESS.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THRIVE, WHICH, UH, HAS SUPPORTED THE VORTEX OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF.
THIS FUNDING ASPIRATIONALLY SUPPORTS OUR GROWTH AS A DIVERSE CULTURAL INSTITUTION.
I'M SAD TO SAY THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT THAT THIS HAS MADE ON OUR ORGANIZATION.
AND IF IT HAS IN FACT IMPROVED EQUITY, THE PROCESS IS NOW MIRED IN LAYERS OF ADMINISTRATION WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH AND REDEVELOPMENT AND THE LONG CENTER.
WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO APPLY FOR FUNDING RELIEF FOR MUSICIANS WHO HAVE BEEN LAID OFF.
BECAUSE WE HAVE THRIVE FUNDING.
CREATIVE BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO SERVE ONE KIND OF ARTIST.
I SAT THROUGH THE WHOLE COMMISSION MEETING A FEW MONTHS AGO AND I WATCHED YOU ALL TAKE STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND I DID NOT SEE YOU TAKING ACTION TO ADDRESS THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN AUSTIN.
AUSTIN IS FAILING OUR ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.
I'M HERE ONCE AGAIN TO ASK YOU TO TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN FUNDING AND SUPPORTING THE ARTS AND IN THE WAY THAT WE ARE ROLLING THESE THINGS OUT.
THE ARTS COMMISSION USED TO HAVE TEETH, AND I BELIEVE YOU CAN, AGAIN, PLEASE TAKE ACTION.
WE NEED SUPPLEMENTS FOR VENUES AND RENT.
WE NEED TIMELY ASSESSMENT OF THESE PILOT PROGRAMS. WE NEED STABILITY IN ARTS FUNDING.
WE NEED ACCESS AND TRANSLATION.
LIKE WHAT PROTO SAID, WE HAVE GREAT ART THAT WE WANNA CREATE AND WE'RE A VIBRANT PART OF AUSTIN'S CULTURE AND WE NEED YOUR LEADERSHIP.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO HEAR US.
I COME TO YOU AS A CITIZEN OF AUSTIN, UM, MEXICAN AMERICAN FIRST GENERATION HERE.
I'M A MOTHER, WIFE AND PROUD ARTISTS TO BE A PART OF THIS AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
I JUMPED BACK IN THE ART COMMUNITY, UM, ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
[00:45:01]
TRO AND BEING A WITNESS AND SEEING ALL THAT WENT ON BEHIND THE SCENES, IT GAVE ME SO MUCH, UM, PASSION AND WARMTH AND EXCITEMENT, THOUGH EQUALLY VERY FRUSTRATED BECAUSE YOU HAVE A FAMILY THAT'S BEEN DOING THEIR BEST TO KEEP THEIR ART, THEIR CRAFT.AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT EXTENDED TO THE COMMUNITY.
THOSE WHO WANT TO JOIN IN AND PARTICIPATE, THEY DON'T WEAR FIVE OR SIX HATS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE A CLOSET FULL OF HATS AND SHOES AND BOOTS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT NEED TO GET A SHOW DONE.
NOW I CAN GIVE YOU STORIES AS TO WHAT I WITNESSED, UM, HARDSHIPS, UM, KNOWING THAT SOME OF THEM DIDN'T EVEN MAYBE SLEEP AT NIGHT BEFORE THE SHOW BEGAN BECAUSE THEY HAD TO PUT OUT SO MANY FIRES.
UM, AND EVERYONE JUMPING IN AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE ARE TO GET THIS DONE.
OUR LAST SHOW WAS AT THE VORTEX WITH KA.
WE HAD PEOPLE COME FROM ONE, TWO, AND THREE.
AND WHAT THEY SAW ON STAGE, THEY LEFT WITH SO MUCH ADMIRATION, INSPIRATION, UM, FUELED TO SOMEHOW PARTICIPATE IN OUR BIPOC COMMUNITY.
AND THAT WAS JUST WHAT THEY SAW ON STAGE FROM MY PERSPECTIVE.
THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS TO PUT ON THOSE SHOWS.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE DISORGANIZATION THAT IS GOING ON ON YOUR END, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE IS SOME, YOU HAVE A COMMUNITY HERE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP.
TIME AND TIME AGAIN, I'M NEW TO AUSTIN.
AND TO HAVE THIS RICHNESS SLOWLY FADE AWAY BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST CANNOT, TO HAVE THIS GROUP TRO CONTINUE ON, IT SAYS, AND IT SPEAKS IN VOLUMES THAT I WOULD HATE FOR THEM TO CLOSE DOORS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE PROPER SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO THEY ARE REPRESENTING.
NOT ONLY SPANISH SPEAKING, BUT ALSO PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO, UM, CAME IN AND TO AUSTIN WITH KNOWING BOTH LANGUAGES.
AND I CALL MYSELF A
AND COMING TO THEM AND HAVING THEM SUPPORT AND REPRESENT ME TO BRING ME BACK TO MY ROOTS, UM, IS A FORCE THAT IS NEEDED.
AND I REALLY DO HOPE THAT, UM, Y'ALL CAN REALLY HEAR THEM AND TAKE THIS BECAUSE I THINK THEY'VE BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR 25 YEARS NOW.
UM, SO I'VE HEARD, AND TO HEAR THEM HEAR PLEAD FOR YOUR HELP, UM, AS A MEMBER OF YOUR COMMUNITY TAX PAYING CITIZEN, I ASK YOU, BEG YOU PLEASE HELP AND SUPPORT THEM.
THEY'RE DOING THE WORK THAT SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD BE DOING TO SUPPORT THEIR CRAFT.
EBONY LUDFORD AND THEN VANESSA OLSON.
VANESSA, YOU'RE PRESENTING TO US, RIGHT? SO YOU PROBABLY DON'T WANNA BE ON PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.
UH, I'M HERE, UH, ACTUALLY IN A FEW DIFFERENT ROLES.
I'LL SAY IDENTIFY MYSELF AS THE BOARD PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS OF TEXAS, A FORMER PROFESSOR AT UT AUSTIN IN THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK.
A FORMER EMPLOYEE AS A SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORKER IN AUSTIN, ISD AND AUSTIN CITIZEN FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
UM, AFTER LIFE IN THE MILITARY.
UM, I'M HERE ACTUALLY TONIGHT REPRESENTING MYSELF AS A COMMUNITY CITIZEN AND AN ARDENT SUPPORTER OF PROTO TRO.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I HOPE THAT YOU DO HEAR THE REQUEST FOR AN EXTENSION ON THE DEADLINE FOR THESE GRANTS IN THE NAME OF EQUITY.
UM, AS SOMEBODY WHO IS A SOCIAL WORKER AND HAS WORKED IN THE COMMUNITY AMONGST THESE COMMUNITIES, I HAVE BEEN AN INVITED PERSON.
UM, I'M HERE AS SOMEBODY WHO IS BLACK AND NATIVE.
ONE GROUP THAT DOESN'T EXIST HARDLY IN TEXAS AND ANOTHER GROUP THAT IS QUICKLY DISAPPEARING IN THE ONLY URBAN CITY IN THE US THAT IS LOSING BLACK PEOPLE.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT OUR ART IS SEEN.
I WORK IN HEALTHCARE, I WORK IN GOVERNMENT, I WORK IN POLICY, I WORK IN EDUCATION.
ART IS OUR EXPRESSION AND OUR ESCAPE.
THIS IS MEANINGFUL TO PEOPLE'S LIVES AND LIVELIHOOD.
THE GRANT FUNDING IS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE, AND IT IS WHAT I HATE TO EVEN REFER TO AS A MICRO EXAMPLE OF THE EQUITY ISSUES THAT WE ARE HAVING HERE IN
[00:50:01]
AUSTIN.IT ISN'T JUST A PROBLEM OF TRANSLATION.
IT IS A PROBLEM OF CULTURE, OF ACCEPTANCE, OF RESPECT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO EXTEND THIS DEADLINE TO ALLOW PROPER VETTING OF THIS PROCESS, BUT ALSO TO REACH OUT TO THESE WONDERFUL COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN LEADERS FOR 20 PLUS YEARS TO HELP THEM MENTOR OTHERS IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT ARE NEW TO THIS PROCESS, TO OUR PRODUCTS IN AUSTIN, WHO CAN ALSO ADD TO OUR ROBUST SCENE.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE MOVE FROM A MODEL OF THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO A MODEL OF.
HERE'S MENTORSHIP, HERE IS LEADERSHIP, HERE'S WISDOM, HERE'S PRACTICE WISDOM.
HERE'S WHERE WE OPEN THE DOORS TO OTHERS TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY THE DIVERSE FABRIC THAT WE CONSTANTLY CLAIM THAT IT IS.
AND I SAY THAT TO YOU AS A SOCIAL WORKER WITH MANY HOURS OF GRANT WRITING, TRANSLATION WORK, AND WORKING WITHIN THE LATINO COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.
I APPRECIATE YOUR CONSIDERATION AND YOUR TIME.
AND THIS IS ON BEHALF OF PROTO TRO.
THE REMAINDER OF THE SPEAKERS ARE FOR ITEM 10, SO WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO THEM THEN.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR OUR REGULAR MEETING ON JUNE 17TH.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION? SO, MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SMALL BOX, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER CHENEY, UM, WHO JOINED US ON THE DIOCESE, PROBABLY ABOUT, UM, WHAT TIME DID YOU JOIN? I'M SORRY, WE HAD JUST A NOTE IT FOR ATTENDANCE.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR OUR JUNE MEETING.
COMMISSIONER CHARLA, ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN THIS VOTE? COMMISSIONER GARZA, ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN THE VOTE? NO.
UM, SO WE HAVE GOT SEVEN OF US, UH, PASSING AND TWO ABSTAINING.
DO WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER GARZA AND COMMISSIONER, UH, KEYS WHO WERE NOT PRESENT? NEXT, WE HAVE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE ARTS COMMISSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON JUNE 25TH.
THAT WAS OUR ARTS COMMISSION RETREAT.
I JUST NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE.
SO, MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CHENEY AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HOUSTON.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
COMMISSIONER CHARLA, UH, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
SO SAME BREAKDOWN AS THE LAST APPROVAL.
[3. Discussion of Chair’s Report on Arts Commission Retreat Recap by Chair Zisman ]
UH, DISCUSSION OF THE CHAIR'S REPORT ON THE ARTS COMMISSIONER RETREAT BY CHAIR ZIMAN.I'M THE PERSON OF COLOR WEARING A WHITE SHIRT AND SHORT DARK HAIR.
MY PRONOUNS ARE THEY, SHE, UM, I WAS GONNA TAKE THIS MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE ARTS RETREAT, BUT I REALLY JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU AND EXPRESS GRATITUDE TO EVERYBODY THAT HAS SHOWN UP TODAY AND PRESENTED AND, UM, DONE A REALLY BRAVE THING TO SPEAK OUT.
IT'S NOT EASY TO GET UP IN FRONT OF ALL THESE PEOPLE AND LIGHTS, UM, AND SHARE WHERE YOU'RE AT AND THE VULNERABILITY, UM, THAT YOU GUYS ARE EXPERIENCING.
I KNOW THAT WORDS COME ACROSS AS PLATITUDES, BUT WE HEAR YOU.
THIS, YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THE ADVOCACY THAT YOU WERE TAKING.
UM, I KNOW ON BEHALF OF MYSELF, THE VICE CHAIR AND MANY OF THE, UH, MANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH COUNCIL, UM, WE'VE MET WITH OVER HALF OF EITHER COUNCIL DIRECTLY OR THEIR STAFF SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE SAYING.
SO WHILE IT MAY SEEM TO THOSE THAT ARE NEWER TO THIS, UM, PROTOCOLS AND BUREAUCRACY, UM, THAT IT MAY BE FEELING FALLING ON DEAF EARS, IT'S NOT, WE ARE TAKING THESE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS DOOR TO DOOR TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND I JUST WANNA APPLAUD YOU FOR SHOWING UP HERE AND TELL YOU NOT TO STOP.
KEEP BANGING DOWN YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER'S DOORS.
'CAUSE IT IS GONNA TAKE ALL OF US.
WE ARE A VOLUNTEER BODY WHO CARE JUST AS MUCH AS YOU DO, WHO ARE EXPERIENCING DISPLACEMENT, UM, WHO ARE EXPERIENCING SHORTFALLS IN BUDGETS, WHO ARE EXPERIENCING A LACK, UM, IN SUPPORT AND FRANKLY, RESPECT.
I THINK THAT WAS A PERFECT WORD FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE'RE HERE TO ADVOCATE AND SCREAM RIGHT ALONGSIDE YOU.
SO GENUINELY FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS, PLEASE KEEP DOING THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AND WE WILL DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU.
UM, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO MOVE
[4. Report of the Art in Public Places Liaison concerning actions taking during the July 1, 2024 meeting of the Art in Public Places Panel by Commissioner Maldonado ]
ON TO OUR REPORT OF THE PUBLIC PLACE, ART IN PUBLIC PLACES.LIAISON, CONCERNING ACTIONS, TAKING THE JULY 1ST MEETING WITH OUR LIAISON, COMMISSIONER MALDONADO.
SO FOR A IPP AS THE LIAISON, JUST WANNA SHARE WITH Y'ALL, WE HAD OUR LAST MEETING JULY 1ST, AND CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE ARE FOCUSED ON FILLING TWO A-I-A-I-P-P
[00:55:02]
PANEL POSITIONS.SO, UH, OR SEATS, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
AND FOR THOSE SEATS IN THAT ROLE, UM, THEY FACILITATE A LOT OF THE FEEDBACK THAT HAPPENS WITH THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES, UM, DESIGNS.
SO IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, ROLE AS FAR AS PROVIDING THAT FEEDBACK.
AND THERE ARE LOTS OF PROJECTS GOING ON RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
UM, DEFINITELY WANNA ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SIT IN AND LISTEN TO THOSE CALLS.
UH, ONE OF THE BIGGER PROJECTS THAT'S COMING ALONG IS GONNA BE AT THE WALTER ELONG AND JOHN TREVINO.
THAT PROJECT IS OVER A $600,000 PROJECT, AND THERE WILL BE AN OPEN CALL FOR THAT FOR LOCAL ARTISTS.
SO, UH, DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE, UH, THAT IS LISTENING TO CHECK OUT A IPP AND THOSE OPEN CALLS.
COMMISSIONER SMOCK, CAN YOU JUST REMIND US OF THE TIMELINE FOR THE, AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS FOR THE A A PP PANELISTS? YES.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, SEVEN, UH, APPLICANTS.
THOSE INTERVIEWS ACTUALLY START THIS WEEK.
SO HALF OF THOSE APPLICANTS WILL, UM, BE INTERVIEWED BY A PANEL OF US AND THEN THE SECOND HALF NEXT WEEK.
SO WE SHOULD HAVE, UM, WE SHOULD HAVE IT NARROWED DOWN BY THE END OF THIS MONTH.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER MULLO? OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WHERE IS COMMISSIONER MOCK UPDATE ON ACTIONS TAKEN ON THE MAY 15TH DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING BY COMMISSIONER MOCK WHO IS NOT PRESENT? SO WE WILL GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE.
[6. Presentation by Shea Little from Big Medium on the future of the Austin Studio Tour]
PRESENTATION BY SHAY LITTLE FROM BIG MEDIUM ON THE FUTURE OF THE AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR.THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
LET'S MAKE SURE THAT MIGHT GOTTA JUST, THEY DON'T MAKE IT TALL ENOUGH FOR YOU.
AND THANK YOU TO THE COMMISSIONERS AND TO STAFF.
UM, I'M SHAY LITTLE, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BIG MEDIUM.
I'M A FOUNDER AND I AM THE OUTGOING DIRECTOR, UM, AT SOME POINT, HOPEFULLY SOON TO BE REPLACED.
AND I AM HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE STUDIO TOUR, ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT BIG MEDIUM DOES, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE STUDIO TOUR, WE DO THE TEXAS BIENNIAL.
WE HAVE AN EXHIBITION SPACE THAT PRESENTS ABOUT SIX EXHIBITIONS PER YEAR.
WE PRODUCE THE TITO'S PRIZE, A 15,000 AWARD FOR AN ARTIST ANNUALLY.
UM, THE LINE RESIDENCY, THE OLIVER FRANKLIN AWARD.
WE ALSO HAVE A BRAND NEW SPACE, WELL, IT'S PRETTY BRAND NEW, UH, 14,000 SQUARE FOOT ARTS COMPLEX THAT HAS EIGHT STUDIOS AND FOUR GALLERIES AND LOTS OF SPACE FOR ARTISTS.
AND WE HAVE THANKFULLY LEFT A GOOD TRAIL OF ART SPACES, BM STUDIOS, OUR ORIGINAL HOME IN CANOPY.
AND NOW THIS NEW PLACE CALLED CULTURE COMPLEX DOWN IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
UH, I'M HERE JUST TO GIVE Y'ALL AN UPDATE ON BIG MEDIUM AND WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE STUDIO TOUR.
I'M NOT COMING TO ASK FOR ANYTHING OR TELL Y'ALL ANYTHING YOU DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND THE STUDIO TOUR AND THESE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, I'LL GET TO THOSE IN A MOMENT.
BUT THE STUDIO TOUR IS IN TROUBLE.
UM, BIG GAME'S IN TROUBLE, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL, WE'VE HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE HERE AND HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING SINCE THE PANDEMIC.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW WE HAD TALKED ABOUT, OR WE, THE ROYAL THE ROYAL WE OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE TALKED ABOUT WITH THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE, UM, THE FUNDING SYSTEM IS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE BIG MEDIUM COULD AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO HIRE DEVELOPMENT STAFF.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE STRUGGLED WITH, LIKE THAT WE COULD AND SHOULD HAVE HIRED, DEVELOP DEVELOPMENT STAFF, BUT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO, SINCE OUR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT LEFT EARLY PANDEMIC, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HIRE BACK UP AND THE ORGANIZATION HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO STAFF BACK UP.
WE'RE CURRENTLY AT TWO LONELY SOULS AT BIG MEDIUM AND WE SHOULD BE AT ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN.
UM, AND NOT HAVING THOSE KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF OVER THOSE MANY YEARS HAS LED TO, UM, THE FINANCIAL STRUGGLES THAT WE'RE IN NOW
[01:00:01]
IN COMBINATION WITH CREATING NEW SPACE AND INVESTING INTO THAT SPACE AND TRYING TO CREATE, UM, A SPACE FOR BIG MEDIUM AND FOR OTHER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS.SO I GUESS REAL QUICKLY, THE STUDIO TOUR IN A NUTSHELL, UH, IT STARTED IN 2003.
MYSELF AND TWO OTHER ARTISTS WERE ARTISTS AND WANTED TO SHOW OUR WORK AND EXPOSE WHAT WE DO TO MORE PEOPLE.
WE GOT TOGETHER WITH A HANDFUL OF OTHER ARTISTS THAT WE MET, UM, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND WE JUST STARTED THE STUDIO TOUR.
UM, WE WERE, WE CONTINUED TO BE ARTISTS ON THE TOUR FOR A FEW YEARS UNTIL 2007.
AND THAT'S WHEN BIG MEDIUM ACTUALLY FORMED AS A NONPROFIT.
UM, AND WAY BACK IN THOSE EARLY DAYS, WE WERE A SPONSORED PROJECT RECEIVING CORE FUNDING.
UM, AND AS WE, YOU KNOW, IN 2007 WE FORMED AS BIG MEDIUM, WE CALL OURSELVES BIG MEDIUM BECAUSE WE HAD GROWN FROM JUST DOING STUDIO TOURS TO HAVING STUDIO SPACE AND GALLERY SPACE, AND THOUGHT THAT SOMEDAY WE WOULD MOVE ON TO SOMEWHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING BEYOND JUST THE STUDIO TOUR AS WHAT BIG MEDIUM IS DOING TODAY.
BUT THE STUDIO TOUR REMAINS THE CORE OF WHAT BIG MEDIUM IS AND IS WHAT ULTIMATELY IS WHAT CREATED BIG MEDIUM.
UM, SO FROM THAT FIRST TIME OF IN 2003 WITH 28 STU, UH, ARTISTS ON THE TOUR JUMPED FORWARD IN 2012 WHEN WE, THAT WAS THE EAST AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR IN 2012, WE STARTED THE WEST AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR.
AND AT THAT POINT IN 2012, WE STARTED TO ENCOMPASS THE WHOLE CITY.
UM, WE DID THE WEST AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR IN MAY OR APRIL.
UM, THE EAST AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR MAINTAINED ITS NOVEMBER DATES, AND WE DID THAT THROUGH ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE PANDEMIC HIT.
UM, WE HAD, WE HAD HAD SOME STRATEGIC VISION AND IDEA OF MERGING THE TOURS AT SOME POINT, UM, BUT WE NEVER GOT THERE.
AND THE PANDEMIC FORCED OUR HAND.
SO IN 2020 WE SHIFTED GEARS, WE DID A VIRTUAL TOUR, AND THEN SINCE THEN WE HAD THE TOURS COMBINED.
AND SO NOW IT IS THE AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR IN NOVEMBER.
UM, IT WAS THREE WEEKENDS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, AND THIS YEAR WE'RE GONNA DO TWO WEEKENDS.
SIMILAR STRUCTURE, SAME BASIC THING.
UM, WE'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 22 YEARS.
IF YOU COMBINE BOTH EAST AND WEST OVER THOSE 22 YEARS, WE HAVE DONE, THIS YEAR WILL BE OUR 31ST STUDIO TOUR TO PRODUCE THAT WE HAVE PRODUCED.
UM, AND ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS OF THE STUDIO TOUR, BEYOND WHAT IT DOES TO, YOU KNOW, CONNECT ARTISTS, CONNECT AUDIENCE, BRING PEOPLE OUT TOGETHER AND DO A REALLY COOL UNIQUE THING IN AUSTIN, UM, IT GENERATES OUR SALES.
SO HERE WE ARE LOOKING AT THE SPREADSHEET OF TONS OF NUMBERS, UM, JUST SUPER QUICKLY TO GIVE A SENSE, LIKE THERE'S A NUMBER OF, FOR THE ARTISTS WHO PARTICIPATE, THE NUMBER OF ARTISTS WHO RESPOND TO OUR SURVEYS, WHICH IS SADLY LOW, YOU CAN SEE BY THE PERCENTAGE RATES IN THE NEXT COLUMN.
AND THEN THE REPORTED TOTAL AMOUNT OF ART SALE ART SOLD IS THE ACTUAL AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO BY OUR ARTISTS SAYING WE SOLD X AMOUNT.
SO THOSE TALLIES ARE THAT ACTUAL NUMBER.
AND THEN WE'VE EXTRAPOLATED AND CREATED, I THINK, A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER TO SHOW WHAT THE ASSUMED TOTAL OF ART SOLD DURING THE STUDIO TOURS IS.
SO OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS OF US RECORDING THIS DATA, ASKING ARTISTS TO, TO REPORT THROUGH SURVEYS, IT'S OVER $11 MILLION OF ART SOLD.
AND THIS, THESE SALES, FOR THE MOST PART, ALL GO DIRECTLY TO ARTISTS, UM, WITHOUT COMMISSION.
SO IT'S MONEY IN ARTIST POCKETS.
SO, UM, AND ONE THING TO CONSIDER ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT THE CONSERVATIVE ASSUMPTION IS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2019, WE REPORT, UH, WE HAD, UM, 521 ARTISTS THAT YEAR.
WE ALSO COUNTED EVERY ARTIST WHO PARTICIPATED IN UNOFFICIAL WAYS.
SO THEY HAD THEIR NAMES LISTED, THEY WERE SHOWING WITH OTHER ARTISTS.
OFFICIAL PARTICIPANTS ARE PEOPLE WHO PAY INTO THE CO-MARKETING PLATFORM OF THE STUDIO TOUR, WHICH HELPS PAY FOR SALARIES AND STAFF AND THE CATALOG WE PRODUCE AND THE APP AND THE WEBSITE AND ALL THAT STUFF.
UM, NOT EVERY ARTIST PARTICIPATES OFFICIALLY AND PAYS FEES.
AND WE'RE, WE ARE OKAY WITH THAT.
WE SUPPORT THE ARTISTS TO BE ON THE TOUR IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER.
UM, SO IN 2019, WE HAD 830 ARTISTS ACTUALLY PARTICIPATING.
SO THAT'S THE 521 OFFICIALLY PLUS THE REMAINING TO ADD UP TO 830.
AND THOSE ARTISTS DO NOT REPORT TO US THROUGH SURVEYS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS, IT DOESN'T ACCOUNT LIKE, THIS ISN'T AN ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY, THIS IS JUST NUMBER OF THIS IS JUST DOLLARS SOLD TO ARTISTS.
AND IT ALSO DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR, UM,
[01:05:01]
COMMISSION WORKS THAT ARTISTS RECEIVE DURING THE TOUR, BUT DON'T REPORT TO US.SO WE THINK IT'S A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER, IT'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER IN OUR OPINION.
I MEAN, IT'S A PIECE OF THE PIE, JUST LIKE THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING, JUST LIKE EVERY BIT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AUSTIN.
THESE ARE ALL LITTLE PIECES OF THE PIE.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE STUDIO TOUR.
WE, WE ARE SORT OF ON LIFE SUPPORT AT THE MOMENT.
UM, WE BELIEVE WE WILL PULL OFF THE STUDIO TOUR THIS YEAR.
UM, BUT WE JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE OF IT.
AND A LOT OF IT COMES DOWN TO JUST HUMANS DOING WORK.
AND THE TWO OF US ON STAFF JUST CANNOT DO ANOTHER STUDIO TOUR BY THE TWO OF US.
UM, AND THAT JUST COMES DOWN TO MONEY AND THE NEED TO, TO SUPPORT WHAT WE DO AND SPEAKS TO WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING, UM, TONIGHT AND FOR THE LONGEST TIME EVER.
AND I THINK THERE'S ONE GREAT, GREAT QUOTE, AUSTIN IS FAILING.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE, I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, WE ALL KNOW THIS AND WE ALL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN.
BUT, UM, I'M JUST HERE TO SAY THAT IS THE SITUATION.
WE'VE APPRECIATED ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT FROM THE COMMISSION AND FROM STAFF, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO OUR BEST TO CONTINUE THE STUDIO TOUR IF IT MAKES SENSE FOR AUSTIN AND THE COMMUNITY.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR SHAY WHILE WE HAVE HIM REGARDING THE STUDIO TOUR AND THE FUTURE? BIG MEDIUM COMMENTS.
WELL, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR 31 YEARS OF THE STUDIO TOUR, AND I'M NOT GONNA ADMIT DEFEAT FOR YOU YET.
YOU'RE NOT GETTING OFF THAT EASY.
AND, UM, YEAH, IT'S A PRETTY SAD DAY.
IT'LL BE A SAD YEAR WHEN THERE IS NOT AN AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR TO ATTEND IN THE FALL.
I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A REALLY HEAVILY ATTENDED, LOOKED FORWARD TO, UH, INSTITUTION IN THIS TOWN.
UM, AND TO SEE IT GONE WOULD BE TEARS TOO LATE, I THINK FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO REALIZE, UM, WHAT IT MEANS TO ACTUALLY SHOW UP AND SUPPORT AUSTIN ARTS INSTITUTIONS LIKE YOURSELF.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE FIGHTING AND ADVOCATING AND TELL US WHAT YOU NEED AND BESIDES THE OBVIOUS MONEY.
AND, UM, YEAH, THIS IS JUST ANOTHER REALLY TRAGIC EXAMPLE OF WHAT'S BEING LOST, UM, IF THINGS STAY THE WAY THEY ARE.
UM, SO I WANNA THANK YOU, SHAY FOR SHARING THOSE NUMBERS.
I I DO THINK THOSE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY CONSERVATIVE.
UM, BEING SOMEBODY THAT HAS PARTICIPATED IN AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR FOR, SINCE LIKE 2011, YOU KNOW, LIKE A, A PRETTY LONG TIME.
AND I THINK SOMETHING MY DOG MIGHT CRY IN THE BACKGROUND, SORRY, EVERYONE, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT SOMETHING, UM, TO BE AMPLIFIED IN THIS PRESENTATION IS THAT AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR IS FREE.
SO IF YOU'RE AN ATTENDEE IN AUSTIN AND YOU WANT TO GO AND YOU WANT TO SEE GALLERY WORK, YOU CAN DO SO FOR FREE.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT BECAUSE YES, IT DOES COST A FEE AS AN ARTIST OR AN ARTS ORGANIZATION TO APPLY, BUT I THINK LIKE 99% OF THOSE APPLICATIONS GET TO PARTICIPATE.
AND WE ALL KNOW AS ARTISTS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT, UM, THERE'S, UH, AN INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEM WITH A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, GALLERIES JUST NATIONWIDE, GLOBALLY, ON GATEKEEPING ACCESS, RIGHT? AND SO THIS CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS THAT MAY HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SHOW THEIR WORK IN A GALLERY, TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SOMETHING SO BIG IN A CITY THAT CONTINUES TO PRICE OUT ARTISTS AND JUST EXPERIENCES FOR INDEPENDENT ARTS IN AUSTIN.
SO I JUST WANNA THANK YOU AND I AGREE WITH SELENA, OR SORRY, COMMISSIONER, LISTEN, UM, THAT, UH, THAT, UH, DON'T THROW IN THE TOWEL YET.
WE'RE, I KNOW THIS IS LIKE SO CHEESY TO SAY, BUT WE TRULY ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
WE'RE ALL WORKING CLASS ARTISTS AND WE ALL HAVE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.
AND THAT GOES FOR EVERYBODY THAT SPOKE TONIGHT.
LIKE, WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN.
THIS CAN'T KEEP, WE CAN'T KEEP HEARING THE SAME STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND, AND NOT DO SOMETHING.
AND JUST THANK YOU ALL SHAY AND ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS FOR SHARING BECAUSE I, I TRULY DO VERY PERSONALLY FEEL ALL OF THE HEAT THAT YOU'RE FEELING.
[01:10:01]
YOU COMMISSIONERS.ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY, NOW YOU MAY GO.
[7. Presentation by Raasin McIntosh, Vice President, Active Urbanism and Vanessa Olson, Vice President, Communication + Marketing on the Downtown Austin Alliance's DASA (Downtown Austin's Space Activation) program. ]
A PRESENTATION BY RAISIN MACINTOSH, VICE PRESIDENT ACTIVE URBANISM, AND VANESSA OLSON, VICE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCES, DASA, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN SPACE ACTIVATION PROGRAM.IT LOOKS LIKE WE JUST HAVE VANESSA HERE TODAY.
YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT COAT IS ENOUGH FOR ALL OF US
I HAD TO, TO COME WITH SOMETHING BRIGHT FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT.
MY NAME IS VANESSA OLSON AND I SERVE AS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION FOR THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.
OUR MISSION IS TO CREATE, ENHANCE AND PRESERVE THE VIBE, VITALITY, AND VALUE OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
WE DO SO THROUGH DIRECT SERVICES, PLACEMAKING, ADVOCACY, RESEARCH, AND PLANNING FOR STRATEGIC GROWTH.
I'D LIKE TO THANK THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT.
COMMISSIONER ISMAN, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT.
I'M EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU A NEW INNOVATIVE WAY THAT WE'RE SERVING DOWNTOWN THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN SPACE ACTIVATION PROGRAM.
AND THE INDIVIDUALS THAT PRESENTED TONIGHT, UM, MADE A PRETTY GOOD CASE FOR THIS PROGRAM, I WOULD SAY.
UM, WE LAUNCHED THIS PROGRAM OFFICIALLY IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
AND THROUGH THE DASA INITIATIVE, WE ARE REVITALIZING VACANT STOREFRONTS AND UNDERUTILIZED SPACES DOWNTOWN, TRANSFORMING THEM INTO AFFORDABLE, FLEXIBLE, AND VIBRANT PLACES FOR ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES.
LACK OF ATTENTION, UM, TO THE ARTS, UM, LACK OF VISIBILITY, SPENDING, FUNDING SPACE, LACK OF INVESTMENT.
UH, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ALL THESE, UM, THAT ALL THESE ISSUES EXIST, AND WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ARTS BRING VALUE AND TREMENDOUSLY STRENGTHENED THE DOWNTOWN ECOSYSTEM.
AND LONG BEFORE THE PANDEMIC HAPPENED, WE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS ARTS COMMUNITY WAS THREATENED IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE, UM, CREATING CULTURE AND ECONOMIC VIABILITY FOR THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY IN DOWNTOWN.
WE ALSO CREATED A MARKETING CAMPAIGN IN ORDER TO DRIVE ATTENTION TO THIS PROGRAM AND SPACE LOVE AND FOR DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, AS WE UNDERSTAND THAT WITH THE GROWTH, SOME OF THAT, UH, LOVE FOR OUR VERY UNIQUE CITY IS DWINDLING.
HOPEFULLY YOU'LL SEE MORE OF OUR XOXO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN CAMPAIGN POPPING UP VERY SOON.
AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE TRANSFORMING UNDERUTILIZED SPACES INTO A PLATFORM FOR SOCIAL IMPACT, COMMUNITY, AND, UM, INCLUSIVE PROSPERITY.
WE HAVE FOUR GOALS OF THE PROGRAM.
NUMBER ONE IS REVITALIZED DOWNTOWN.
SO IT'S NO SECRET THAT DURING THE PANDEMIC PEOPLE WERE DRIVEN AWAY FROM OUR DENSE CITY CENTERS.
IT CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE WORK.
AND OF COURSE, THE SUPPORTING BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT ALL THE EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS DOWNTOWN WERE MADE LESS VIABLE.
SO THE FIRST GOAL OF OUR PROGRAM IS TO BRING CULTURE BACK TO DOWNTOWN.
UM, THE PEOPLE WHO, WHO BUILT THE CULTURE DOWNTOWN DESERVE TO HAVE A PIECE OF THIS, UM, PIE OF THE, UM, OF SOME OF THE, UM, WHAT DO WE WANNA SAY, SUCCESS THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO AUSTIN.
WE WANT IT TO BE DISTRIBUTED A LITTLE BIT MORE EQU EQUITABLY TO SUPPORT LOCAL, PROVIDE AFFORDABLE AND FLEXIBLE SPACES FOR ENTREPRENEURS, STARTUP VENDORS, ARTISTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES TO HELP FOLKS ESTABLISH A PRESIDENTS PRESENCE DOWNTOWN, ESPECIALLY, UM, COMMUNITIES THAT ARE TYPICALLY UNDERSERVED OR WHO HAVE A HIGH BARRIER TO ENTRY TO SPACE DOWNTOWN.
WE'RE CATALYZING GROWTH BY BRINGING PEOPLE DOWNTOWN, UM, BY STIMULATING SPENDING IN OUR LOCAL ECONOMY, BY BRINGING ATTENTION BACK TO THE CULTURAL ARTS THAT ARE DOWNTOWN, THE PARKS, THE BEAUTIFUL SPACES, THE RESTAURANTS, WHAT HAVE YOU, AND TO FOSTER COMMUNITY.
THERE IS A LACK OF GATHERING SPACES DOWNTOWN.
THERE'S A LACK OF PLACES TO CREATE AND PROMOTE COMMUNITY IN A, IN A WAY WHERE PEOPLE FEEL WELCOMED AND INCLUDED, WHERE THERE'S NOT A, A FEAR OF SOME SORT OF BARRIER TO ENTRY.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO STRENGTHEN PEOPLE'S SENSE OF BELONGING IN DOWNTOWN AND CONNECTION TO THE SPACES.
YOU CAN SEE SOME SHOTS OF OUR 5 0 6 DASA SPACE HERE, WHICH IS RIGHT ON CONGRESS AVENUE IN OUR LAUNCH.
PARTY, UH, WHICH HAPPENED IN JUNE
SO WE WILL BE HAVING DEEP DIVE PROGRAMMING, UM, WHERE ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR THE PROGRAM CAN LEARN MONTHLY ABOUT HOW TO APPLY.
[01:15:01]
I DID HEAR ALL THE FOLKS WHO SPOKE TONIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.WE WILL BE MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE SPANISH TRANSLATORS ON THAT CALL AS WELL.
UH, WE ARE LAUNCHING A PARTNERSHIP WITH FUTURE FRONT THROUGH A COMMUNITY VIBE DINNER, UM, WHERE WE ARE HOPEFULLY GOING TO BE, UM, SEEDING A NEW, UH, FESTIVAL DOWNTOWN WHERE SMALL BUSINESSES CAN, UM, SHOWCASE THEIR CRAFTS.
WE'LL HAVE A CREATIVE COMMU CREATIVE ACTION COMMUNITY ART SOMEDAY POP UP, AND OF COURSE, A MINDFUL BRIDGES MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE.
WE WILL BE OFFERING NEW PROGRAMMING EACH MONTH THROUGHOUT, UM, THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM.
AND WE'RE DOING THIS THROUGH A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE HAVE PARTNERS SUCH AS DINK, WHO IS AN INCUBATOR PROGRAM FOR BIPOC COMMUNITIES AND WOMEN.
WE HAVE, UM, THE DECA CHAMBERS, SO THE DIVERSE AND ETHNIC CHAMBERS.
WE'LL BE WORKING TO CREATE PROGRAMMING AND ENSURE THAT AS WE HAVE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES, THAT THOSE ARE SHARED THROUGH THE, UM, THROUGH THE CHAMBERS.
AND WE ALSO HAVE WAYS TO APPLY.
SO THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY ACTIVATOR PROGRAM, ANY ARTIST SMALL BUSINESS CAN APPLY, UM, ENTREPRENEURS TO SUBMIT AN IDEA THAT THEY'D LIKE TO BRING TO LIFE IN ONE OF THE SPACES DOWNTOWN.
OUR PROGRAMS WILL RANGE FROM POP-UP RETAIL ARTIST RESIDENCIES, NETWORKING EVENT WORKSHOPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS, AND MORE.
I'M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE A FEW CALLS FOR ARTISTS THAT WE RECENTLY RELEASED.
THE XOXO PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWSHIP WILL SUPPORT THE XOXO MARKETING CAMPAIGN AND LEAD PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DASA PROGRAM.
IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO REALLY REPRESENT THE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MARKET THROUGH THIS PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWSHIP.
SO INSTEAD OF GOING TO, UM, PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT SORT OF ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, WE ARE ASKING PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO ARE UP AND COMING TO APPLY.
AND WE'RE SUPPORTING THIS WITH A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
SO ESTABLISHED PHOTOGRAPHERS WILL MENTOR THE FELLOWS THROUGH, UM, SHOOTING AND ALSO THROUGH, UM, EDITING, UM, AND ANY OTHER SUPPORT THEY NEED THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME GREAT PHOTOGRAPHERS ON STAFF WHO WILL ENSURE THAT THE FELLOWS ARE SUPPORTED THROUGHOUT THE SIX WEEKS PROGRAM.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRI BEZA APPLICATIONS ARE DUE AUGUST 1ST.
THERE WILL BE, UH, FOUR COHORTS OF ARTISTS THAT ARE WELCOMED INTO THE PROGRAM WITH A TOTAL OF 16 ARTISTS BEING WELCOMED INTO THE PROGRAM.
RESIDENTS WILL BE PROVIDED A SPACE AND A DOWNTOWN SPACE WITH A, UM, WITH A OFFICE TO OFFICE.
SOUNDS LIKE A TERRIBLE WORD FOR ARTISTS.
UM, BUT THEY'LL HAVE THEIR OWN SPACE WHERE THEY HAVE ROOM TO GROW IN COHORT WITH OTHER ARTISTS WHO ARE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
THEY'LL ALSO BE SUPPORTED BY OUR STAFF BY RAI MCINTOSH, WHO IS AN INCREDIBLE LOCAL ARTIST, UM, AND WILL HAVE RESOURCES THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THE BEAUTY OF THE ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM IS AFTER THE FIVE WEEKS OF CREATIVE TIME, ARTISTS WILL GET TO SHOWCASE AND SELL THEIR WORK IN SPACE.
AND THEN I MENTIONED OUR DEEP DIVE.
SO EACH MONTH, UH, WE KNOW IT'S SCARY TO GET ONLINE AND FILL OUT AN APPLICATION TO A PROGRAM THAT YOU MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH.
SO WE ARE OFFERING A HOUR LONG SESSION, UM, WITH OUR STAFF TO TALK THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND TO JUST GET TO KNOW THE PROGRAM A LITTLE BIT MORE.
THIS IS A NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL PROGRAM.
THIS IS A VERY UNIQUE AND CUSTOMIZABLE PROGRAM.
AS WE HAVE MORE SPACES THAT ENTER THE, UM, DASA PROGRAM, WE WILL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES TO THRIVE THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
SO WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO APPLY BECAUSE OUR STAFF IS TRULY WORKING TO MATCH EACH OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES WITH A SPACE THAT FITS THE ARTISTS IN OUR SMALL BUSINESS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE SPACES IN THE PROGRAM.
ONE IS 5 0 6 CONGRESS, WHICH IS A STOREFRONT SPACE ON CONGRESS AVENUE.
YOU CAN SEE NONE OF THIS HAPPENS WITHOUT PARTNERSHIP.
AND IKEA ACTUALLY OUTFITTED OUR SPACE FOR US.
AND THIS REALLY, THIS IS THE SPACE WHERE THE ARTIST RESIDENCY WILL TAKE PLACE.
YOU CAN SEE THE WORKING SPACE BEHIND, UM, THE RECEPTION AREA.
AND WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO WELCOME ARTISTS INTO THIS BEAUTIFUL SPACE TO CREATE, COLLABORATE, AND BE IN COMMUNITY.
WE ALSO HAVE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
THIS IS A FUNCTIONING CHURCH THAT IS VERY OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY'VE SAID WE WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL SANCTUARY OUTDOOR SPACE FOR, UM, PROGRAMMING.
AND SO CENTRAL PREEZ HAS COME INTO
[01:20:01]
THE PROGRAM.LASTLY, WE HAVE 3 0 1 CONGRESS, WHICH IS NOT PICTURED, BUT WE ARE, IT'S A POCKET PATIO, UH, WHICH A BUILDING APPROACHED US TO REVITALIZE THROUGH A MURAL THROUGH, UM, PLANTS AND PICNIC BENCHES AND SPACES.
AND WE HAVE BEEN HOSTING THE FOX TONES, WHICH IS A LOCAL BAND THERE, UM, ABOUT SIX TIMES THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE SPRING, AND HOPE TO HAVE MORE POP-UP MUSIC AT THAT SPACE IN THE FUTURE.
THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM.
UM, ANYONE WHO WANTS TO TAKE UP A SPACE CAN APPLY ON OUR WEBSITE TO BE A COMMUNITY ACTIVATOR.
THE WEBSITE IS XO XO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.COM.
ANYONE WITH A UNDERUTILIZED SPACE DOWNTOWN CAN APPLY TO BE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
THIS CAN RANGE FROM A POCKET PATIO, A PARK OF STOREFRONT, ANYTHING.
AND WE ARE ALSO HOPING TO BRING FOOT TRAFFIC TO YOUR SPACE, AND WE DO NEED SUPPORT.
THIS, UH, PROGRAM IS ENTIRELY FUNDED BY THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION.
EVERY DOLLAR THAT IS RAISED THROUGH THE FUND, UH, FOUNDATION GOES DIRECTLY BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY TO, UM, SUPPORT ARTISTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES AND LOWER THAT BARRIER TO ENTRY DOWNTOWN.
AND OUR WEBSITE, AS I SAID, IS XO XO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.COM.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL PARTNERS WHO WOULD WANT TO BE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
AS I SAID, THIS IS NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
SO WE'RE REALLY HOPING TO TALK TO FOLKS WHO HAVE IDEAS TO BRING INTO THE PROGRAM AND TO GET ADDITIONAL PARTNERS, UM, GOING AS WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS PROGRAM IS, UH, ESPECIALLY TO BRING ARTISTS AND CREATIVES BACK DOWNTOWN.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
ARTIST OFFICES, STUDIOS, STUDIOS.
THAT'S WHY RAISIN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTER? COMMISSIONER HOUSTON? YES, MA'AM.
SHE'S NOT, WE HEARD YOU BRIEFLY.
I THINK SHE'S GONNA TRY AND CALL AND I KNOW WE'VE DONE THAT BEFORE.
WELL, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON GETS, GETS SET UP IF NEED BE.
COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME THE QUESTION AND I CAN ASK IT.
IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT HAS QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTER? COMMISSIONER KY? YEAH.
AND I'M CURIOUS, IS THE PROGRAM GEARED TOWARDS VISUAL ARTISTS OR CAN IT ALSO ACCOMMODATE FOR OTHER TYPES OF ARTISTS LIKE AUDIO, VISUAL, DIGITAL ARTS, MUSIC, ET CETERA? YES.
WE DO NOT WANT TO BE EXCLUSIVE ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF ARTISTS CAN APPLY.
THERE IS ACTUALLY A STUDIO SPACE IN THE, UH, 5 0 6 CONGRESS SPACE THAT WOULD BE VERY ACCOMMODATING TO AN AUDIO ARTIST.
AND SO WE'RE SORT OF HOPING THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE A FIT THERE.
UM, BUT WE'RE, UM, OPEN TO ANY, ANY CREATOR, INCLUDING ENTREPRENEURS BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, INNOVATION HAPPENS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
SO, UM, THIS IS REALLY OPEN TO ANYONE WHO HAS SOMETHING TO CREATE.
YEAH, IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY EXCITING, UH, PROGRAM.
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HOW IT UNFOLDS.
THE QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER HOUSTON WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWSHIP, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO LOCATE IT ON THE WEBSITE.
WOULD THAT BE ON THE XO XO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.COM SITE? OR WOULD THAT BE SEPARATE? THE PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWSHIP WAS JUST LAUNCHED TODAY.
AND SO IT IS NOT UP ON THE WEBSITE YET.
THE, UH, EMAIL CAME OUT PROBABLY A COUPLE HOURS AGO.
UM, PLEASE SEND US ALL OF THE CALLS AND PUT US ON YOUR, UM, MARKETING LIST, OR I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT, THE JARGON FOR THAT WOULD BE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL AMPLIFIERS, WE'RE ALL CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IN THE WORDS OF OUR, UM, OUR GUEST SPEAKERS TODAY, YOU KNOW, OUTREACH IS DIFFERENT THAN JUST SORT OF BLANKET MARKETING.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M USE US, BUT I'M, I'M CURIOUS, MY QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE OUTREACH THAT YOU'RE DOING TO GET THIS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE DO HAVE OVER A THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ON OUR DASA EMAILING LIST, AND THOSE ARE INDIVIDUALS.
SO, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROGRAMMING AT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.
WE STARTED THE WOW PROGRAM, THE WRITING ON THE WALLS PROGRAM IN 2020.
AND SO THAT'S A PROGRAM WHERE WE TAKE CALLS FROM ARTISTS AROUND THE COMMUNITY TO DO MURAL PROJECTS DOWNTOWN.
AND WE HAVE DONE, I DON'T WANNA SAY A NUMBER 'CAUSE I'LL GET IT WRONG, BUT WE'VE DONE UPWARDS OF 10 MURAL PROJECTS DOWNTOWN WITH INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY SINCE 2020.
SO WE ALREADY HAVE A FAIRLY ROBUST LIST OF, UM, ARTISTS AND CREATORS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN BEING PART OF OUR PROGRAMMING BEFORE.
UH, WE ALSO HAD A NUMBER OF FOLKS SIGN UP WHEN WE FIRST LAUNCHED THE PROGRAM.
[01:25:01]
HELPFUL.WE'VE, UH, ANNOUNCED THE PROGRAM.
AND SO THE EMAIL LIST IS, IS RIPE WITH CREATIVES WHO WANNA BE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
WE, UM, ALSO ARE DOING SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISEMENTS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME REALLY WONDERFUL CREATIVES WHO ARE PART OF OUR, UM, ACTIVE URBANISM COMMITTEE.
THAT'S HOW I MADE IT HERE TONIGHT.
AND SO WE ARE AMPLIFYING PERSONALLY THROUGH THOSE INDIVIDUALS AS WELL, UM, THROUGH OUR, IT'S CALLED SUBMITTABLE, IT'S PLATFORM CALLED SUBMITTABLE, WHERE WE TAKE OUR CALLS.
WE HAVE HAD OVER 500 PEOPLE APPLY TO BE A CREATIVE OF SOME SORT THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
AND AS WE ARE JUST LAUNCHING, WE ARE, UH, EXPERIENCING SOME TRAFFIC.
SO WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO GET BACK TO EVERYONE, BUT ALSO TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, STAY WITH IT.
BECAUSE AS WE HAVE MORE SPACES THAT ENTER THE PROGRAM, HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
UNLESS COMMISSIONER MULLO, I'M CURIOUS FOR THE, UM, THE BUILDING OWNERS, UM, ARE THEY BEING COMPENSATED OR WHAT'S KIND OF THE BENEFIT OF THEM, UH, ALLOWING YOU ALL TO USE THE SPACE FOR CREATIVES? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, FOR THE 5 0 6 CON, FOR THE 5 0 6 CONGRESS AVENUE SPACE, THERE IS SOME COMPENSATION.
IT'S A MUCH LOWER RATE THAN A TRADITIONAL LEASE.
UM, AND WE ALSO, UH, ARE ABLE TO VACATE.
SO WE ARE HOPING TO FIND THEM A TENANT.
UH, WE'RE HOPING THAT THE RIGHT PERSON COMES ALONG AND THEN WE CAN ACTIVATE A NEW BEAUTIFUL SPACE DOWNTOWN AND BRING ATTENTION TO THAT SPACE TO HOPEFULLY FIND A LONG-TERM TENANT AS WELL.
YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, SO YOU HAVE APPLICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS TO, UM, APPLY FOR, UM, KIND OF PROGRAMS THAT YOU MENTIONED, AND THEN YOU HAVE, UM, APPLICATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS WHETHER FOR PROFIT OR NONPROFIT TO APPLY TO ACTIVATE A SPACE.
UM, IS THAT A CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT, YES.
AND I SAW ON THE WEBSITE, UM, THE, UH, RATES.
SO FOR ORGANIZATIONS, UM, CAN YOU JUST KIND OF EXPLAIN THE RATES FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS SINCE THERE ARE A LOT OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE AUDIENCE AND KIND OF ARE THOSE SHORT-TERM ACTIVATIONS? SO A COUPLE OF DAYS, ARE THEY LONGER TERM, UM, ACTIVATION, SO LIKE ONE WEEK, TWO WEEKS, THREE WEEKS, FOUR WEEKS? UM, LIKE WHAT ARE THE STIPULATIONS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO THERE ARE NO STIPULATIONS BECAUSE WE ARE REALLY HOPING TO PARTNER WITH INDIVIDUALS TO, AND, UM, ORGANIZATIONS TO BRING THEM INTO THE PROGRAM.
SO THE RATES ONLINE ARE FOR A ONE DAY ACTIVATION.
SO LET'S SAY A DJ WANTS TO HAVE A DJ SET, AND SO THAT'S A ONE DAY ACTIVATION.
HOWEVER, UM, EACH PARTNERSHIP IS TAILORED A LITTLE BIT INDIVIDUALLY.
SO FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH DINK AND THEY'LL BE ACTIVATING A SPACE, UM, ONCE A MONTH WITH A WONDERFUL PANEL, SOMETHING TO HELP ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND SO THAT IS A CUSTOM AGREEMENT.
AND SO IF, UH, SOMEONE HAD AN IDEA FOR A LITTLE BIT OF A LONGER TERM ACTIVATION, WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SPACE TO SUPPORT LONGER TERM ACTIVATIONS.
HOWEVER, WE ARE COMPLETELY OPEN TO HAVING A DISCUSSION AND NEGOTIATING HOW THAT MAY LOOK EVEN, UM, SUPPORTING IT.
UM, HOWEVER, THE RATES JUST SORT OF AS A WAY TO PROVIDE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN ON THE WEBSITE.
WE DO HAVE ONE IN TWO DAY RATES AVAILABLE.
AND JUST SO THAT EVERYBODY, MAYBE THEY'RE NOT ON THE WEBSITE, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THOSE RATES ARE? I WOULD LOVE TO, AND I DON'T HAVE THEM IN FRONT OF ME.
I THINK THEY'RE ABOUT $150 FOR A DAY.
I DON'T WANNA MISQUOTE, I'M SORRY, I DON'T HAVE THEM IN FRONT OF ME PHASES.
SO LIKE UNDER, UNDER 500 SO THAT, THAT'S YES, ABSOLUTELY UNDER 500.
AND WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO BE ANNOUNCING A MICRO GRANT PROGRAM AS WELL.
THAT ANNOUNCEMENT WILL COME OUT LATER THIS MONTH.
SO AS WE CONTINUE TO ROLL OUT THE PROGRAM, WE HOPE TO HAVE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT THESE TYPES OF ACTIVATIONS AS WELL.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE AROUND $200 IS STILL PRETTY AFFORDABLE.
SO THAT'S A TWO 50 PER DAY, TWO 50 PER DAY COMMISSIONER SCHMUCK FOUND.
AND I THINK THERE IS LIKE REBATE,
[01:30:01]
A REBATE, RIGHT? THERE'S A, THAT'S A DEPOSIT THAT THEN COMES BACK.I FEEL LIKE I READ SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
UM, AND RATES, DIFFERENT RATE TIERED RATES FOR ORGANIZATIONS VERSUS INDIVIDUALS.
SO YES, DEFINITELY EVERYBODY CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE AND FIND THAT INFO.
AND THEN AGAIN, PLEASE FORWARD MICRO GRANT UNITIES ABSOLUTELY WILL, UM, MENTORSHIPS FELLOWSHIPS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, COMMISSIONERS ALL.
[8. Staff briefing regarding an update on the Hotel Occupancy Tax by Laura Odegaard, Cultural Investment Program Manager]
WE'RE GOING ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS.WE HAVE A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX BY LAURA ODEGAARD, CULTURAL INVESTMENT PROGRAM MANAGER.
UH, I'M LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER.
I AM A WHITE WOMAN WITH BROWN HAIR WEARING A BLACK DRESS AND A CREAM SWEATER.
UH, BEFORE I JUMP INTO THIS DECK, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A QUICK POINT OF PRIVILEGE TO INTRODUCE OUR NEW ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM MANAGER, JAIME CASTILLO, STRANGER, STRANGER IN THE ROOM.
VERY, VERY EXCITED, UH, FOR STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE JAIME ON BOARD.
AND BACK TO HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION NUMBERS FOR JUNE.
SO THE TOTAL HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION NUMBERS FOR JUNE OF THIS YEAR WERE $1,358,850.
SO THIS MEANS OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX CULTURAL ARTS FUND COLLECTION NUMBERS FOR JUNE WERE $128,998.
AND SO WITH THESE JUNE NUMBERS, WE ARE NOW 78% TOWARDS OUR FY 24 APPROVED BUDGET, AND WE STILL HAVE THREE MONTHS TO GO.
AS A REMINDER, THERE'S A, A DELAY IN HOW HOT REPORTING HAPPENS.
I KNOW I SAY THIS EVERY MONTH.
I WILL CONTINUE SAYING THIS EVERY MONTH.
THIS PRESENTATION IN JULY SHOWS FUNDS THAT WERE COLLECTED IN JUNE FOR HOTEL STAYS IN MAY.
SO THIS GRAPH CONTINUES TO SHOW OUR MONTHLY PROGRESS TOWARDS THE APPROVED BUDGET FOR FY 24.
SO OUR HOT CULTURAL ARTS FUND ACTUALS FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR SO FAR ARE $11,387,746.
AS A REMINDER, THE FUNDS COLLECTED IN FY 24 WILL BE USED FOR PROGRAMS IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2025.
SO I ALSO INCLUDE OUR CULTURAL ARTS FUND HOT COLLECTION NUMBERS BY QUARTER FOR THE PAST FEW FISCAL YEARS.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE ARE AS WE CLOSE OUT QUARTER THREE FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
WE ARE CURRENTLY $292,000 BELOW WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
COMMISSIONER SCHMO BACH, THIS IS SORT OF RELATED TO THE PRESENTATION YOU JUST MADE, SO APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE, BUT HAVE YOU OR EDD HEARD ANY UPDATES ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND SHORT TERM RENTAL HAWK COLLECTION FROM THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE FROM TOURISM, MUSIC AND ARTS? NOT THAT I KNOW OF, NO.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR LAURA REGARDING HOT LEVELS? I KNOW WE'RE BELOW WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR, BUT WE'RE STILL WELL ON OUR WAY YES.
I BELIEVE THE ESTIMATES THAT THE BUDGET OFFICE GAVE US, UM, ARE OVER WHAT OUR APPROVED BUDGET WAS BY AT LEAST HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.
[9. Staff update on the Cultural Arts Funding Programs by Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor ]
A STEP UPDATE ON THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROBLEMS, I'M SORRY, PROGRAMS BY JESUS PENTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.I AM A LATINO WITH LONG GRAY HAIR, UH, SALT AND PEPPER BEARD.
I'M WEARING A BLACK SHIRT WITH A GRAY, UH, MARKINGS ON IT.
UM, AND MY PRONOUNS ARE HE, HIM AND I WILL BE GIVING AN UPDATE ON THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAMS IN JUST A SECOND HERE.
UM, AND SO I WILL BE SPEAKING, UH, THIS
[01:35:01]
EVENING PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE VARIOUS CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS LETTING YOU ALL KNOW SOME OF THE GRANT FUNDED ACTIVITIES HAPPENING, UH, BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT ARTS COMMISSION MEETING.UH, SO FIRST, UH, CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS, UM, IN THE, UM, INTEREST OF TIME, I'M NOT GOING TO GO EVERY SINGLE OVER EVERY SINGLE ITEM ON HERE, BUT I THINK THE, UH, BIGGEST THINGS, UH, TO, UH, KNOW HERE, UM, IS FOR ELEVATE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, 22, UH, FINAL REPORTS, UM, HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED OUT IN PAYMENTS ISSUED.
UH, SO THAT'S 11% OF THE TOTAL.
UM, NEXUS, UH, YOU CAN SEE WE'VE ADDED, UM, A SPRING SUMMER COLUMN IN ADDITION TO THE FALL WINTER SINCE, UH, SPRING, SUMMER HAS, UH, RECENTLY, UM, AWARDS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED.
SO, UM, FOR FALL WINTER, THE, UH, PREVIOUS ROUND, UM, MOST OF THOSE, UH, FINAL REPORTS, SO PAYMENT TWO, THERE'S ONLY TWO PAYMENTS IN NEXUS, UM, HAVE BEEN, UM, DISTRIBUTED, UH, FOR NEXUS SPRING, SUMMER, UH, 50 OF THE 51, UH, TEST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND VERIFIED.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT, UM, ALL, UH, 49 OF THE 51 HAVE HAD THEIR FIRST PAYMENT ISSUED, UH, FOR THRIVE YEAR TWO.
THERE'S NOT REALLY GONNA BE ANY UPDATES ON THRIVE UNTIL, UH, REALLY JANUARY, UH, WHEN THEIR FINAL REPORTS ARE DUE.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE ARTS ED RELIEF GRANT, UH, WE HAVE A, THOSE ARE COMING DUE.
I THINK THEIR FINAL REPORTS ARE DUE IN, UH, OR THEIR ACTIVITIES, UM, WENT THROUGH JULY.
SO MOST OF THE FINAL REPORTS WE SHOULD HAVE, UH, LARGER NUMBERS ON, UH, THE FINAL PAYMENTS GOING OUT, UM, HOPEFULLY AT NEXT MONTH'S ARTS COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, SO AT THAT BEING SAID, I WILL TALK ABOUT OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS. ALRIGHT.
AND, UM, FIRST WITH THE FUNDING PROGRAMS, I DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE LAUNCHES OF THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS, UM, THAT HAVE EITHER RECENTLY HAPPENED, UM, ARE, ARE OR ARE COMING UP.
AND I HAVE LIVE MUSIC FUND ON HERE, EVEN THOUGH IT, UH, CLOSED ON JUNE 18TH, UM, BECAUSE I BELIEVE I'VE MENTIONED THIS AT A PREVIOUS ARTS COMMISSION MEETING.
BUT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING THIS YEAR IS THERE IS A UNIVERSAL PROGRAM ACCEPTANCE STATE.
SO THOSE WHO RECEIVE FUNDING AND THRIVE ELEVATE, AS WELL AS THOSE, UM, WHO MIGHT ALSO RECEIVE FUNDING IN LIVE MUSIC FUND, UH, THEY WILL HAVE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 27TH TO DECIDE WHICH AWARD, UH, THEY WANT TO REQUEST.
UM, THRIVE ELEVATE IS, UH, CURRENTLY OPEN.
UM, IT IS SCHEDULED TO CLOSE NEXT WEEK, UH, JULY 23RD, UM, AND THEN A WEEK OR SO AFTER THAT.
NEXT IS FALL, WINTER WILL BE OPENING UP AND I WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, UM, IN A SECOND HERE.
UM, HERITAGE PRESERVATION, UH, WHICH USED TO BE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND NOW OVERS IN PART, UM, THEY WILL BE LAUNCHING, UH, SEPTEMBER 10TH.
AND THEN WE HAVE A WHOLE, UH, HOST OF A IPP OPEN CALLS, UM, HAPPENING IN LATE SEPTEMBER.
UM, AND SO I WANTED TO, UH, SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON NEXUS FALL WINTER, UH, BECAUSE IT WILL BE, UM, UH, LAUNCHING AGAIN A WEEK AFTER THRIVE ELEVATE CLOSES.
AND, UH, BASICALLY AT THE, BY THE TIME WE COME TO THE NEXT ARTS COMMISSION MEETING, IT'LL BE A WEEK BEFORE THE NEXUS APPLICATIONS ARE DUE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT FOR NEXUS FALL WINTER, IT IS FOUR ACTIVITIES THAT OCCUR BETWEEN OCTOBER 1ST, 2024 AND MARCH 30TH, UM, EXCUSE ME, MARCH 31ST, 2025.
UH, SO A REMINDER AGAIN, THAT NEXUS IS A SIX MONTH, UH, PROGRAM.
WE HAVE, UH, TWO CALLS, UH, PER YEAR.
UM, AND YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE, UM, UM, FOR NEXUS, IF YOU ACCEPTED A LIVE MUSIC FUND OR A THRIVE ELEVATE AWARD.
SO IF YOU WERE AWARDED AND ACCEPTED EITHER LIVE MUSIC FUND OR THRIVE ELEVATE, YOU ARE NOT, UM, ELIGIBLE FOR NEXUS FALL WINTER.
UM, THERE WERE VERY MINOR CHANGES, UM, MADE, UH, TO THIS PROGRAM.
UM, BASICALLY REVISING FOR CLARITY AND SIMPLIFIED LANGUAGE.
UH, WE DID ELIMINATE THE COMMUNITY COLLABORATOR QUESTION, UM, AND REVISED THE SCORING RUBRIC TO REALLOCATE POINTS, UM, APPROPRIATELY.
UM, AND YOU CAN APPLY, UH, FOR THAT AT WWW.AUSTINTEXAS.GOV/NEXUS.
UM, FOR THRIVE ELEVATE, AGAIN, THOSE ARE DUE TUESDAY, JULY 23RD BY 7:00 PM UM, AND I WANTED TO REITERATE, UM, AS WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, UM, SOME ITEMS, UH, THAT MAY BE HELPFUL, UH, WITH THE APPLICATION.
UM, AGAIN, THRIVE ELEVATE WILL BE A JOINT APPLICATION SPECIFICALLY FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, IF THAT NONPROFIT HAS A FIVE YEAR OPERATING HISTORY, THEN THEY ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY IN THRIVE.
UM, OTHERWISE, UH, IF THEY DON'T HAVE A FIVE YEAR OPERATING HISTORY IN AUSTIN, UH, THEY WILL NEED TO APPLY IN ELEVATE.
AND PLEASE NOTE, UM, THAT THE NONPROFIT
[01:40:01]
STATUS NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE AT APPLICATION TIME, SO THEY DON'T NEED TO HAVE BEEN A NONPROFIT, UH, FOR THE FIVE YEARS OF THAT OPERATING HISTORY.SO FOR EXAMPLE, SAY THEY WERE A DANCER OR A CHOREOGRAPHER AND THEN THEY START A DANCE COMPANY, THEY CAN TAKE THAT PERSONAL HISTORY, UH, TO, UM, BECOMING THAT 5 0 1 C ORGANIZATION, UM, AND BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY IN THRIVE.
UM, THRIVE ACTIVITIES ARE FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2025 THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2026.
SO IT IS A TWO YEAR CONTRACT OR A TWO YEAR, UH, GRANT, AND YOU CAN APPLY AT WWW.AUSTINTEXAS.GOV/THRIVE.
UM, AND IN THIS PRESENTATION, UM, THAT WILL BE POSTED, UM, TO THE ARTS COMMISSION, UM, BOARDS AND COMMISSION, UH, WEBPAGE.
UH, THESE LINKS ARE INTERACTIVE, SO ANYBODY WHO'S, UH, LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION LATER, UH, CAN GO TO THE PDF AND CLICK ON THESE LINKS, UH, TO GO THERE.
UM, SO THRIVE IS A TWO YEAR, UM, UH, PROGRAM JANUARY 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 1ST, UH, 31ST, 2026.
UM, ELEVATE IS A ONE YEAR, AND THIS, UH, THIS GO ROUND WILL BE A ONE YEAR AND THREE MONTH FOR ACTIVITIES FROM OCTOBER 1ST, 2024 THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2025.
SO WE ARE PLANNING ON MOVING ELEVATE TO A CALENDAR YEAR, UH, SO FOR THIS YEAR.
UM, IF YOU DO HAVE, UM, ACTIVITIES OR EVENTS THAT, UH, NORMALLY TAKE PLACE IN OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, YOU MAY WANT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR APPLICATION BOTH, UH, THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR, UH, FOR THOSE ACTIVITIES.
UM, AND, UH, SINCE IT IS A JOINT APPLICATION FOR THRIVE AND ELEVATE, UM, YOU WILL WANT TO, UM, WHEN ASKING, WORKING ON YOUR BUDGET AND TALKING ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITIES, UM, IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR BOTH THRIVE AND ELEVATE, YOU WOULD WANT TO, UH, FOCUS ON WHAT THE THRIVE ACTIVITIES ARE.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, IF, UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY, IT'S JUST ONE APPLICATION, ONE EXTRA QUESTION.
IF YOU ARE NOT, UH, SCORED HIGH ENOUGH TO RECEIVE FUNDING AND THRIVE, THEN YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING.
AND ELEVATE DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU WILL NECESSARILY RECEIVE FUNDING AND ELEVATE, UH, BUT YOU WILL BE, UH, CONSIDERED FOR IT WITHOUT HAVING TO FILL OUT ANOTHER APPLICATION.
WE OFFER, UH, VARIOUS APPLICATION ASSISTANCE, UH, THROUGHOUT, UH, THE THRIVE AND ELEVATE.
UH, GRANT, UH, WE HAVE OUR OPEN OFFICE HOURS EVERY TUESDAY FROM 10:00 AM TO NOON.
UH, THOSE ARE VIRTUAL OR IN PERSON.
UH, THE FOLLOWING OR THE ONES COMING UP BEFORE THE THRIVE ELEVATE DEADLINE ARE, UH, TOMORROW AS WELL AS NEXT TUESDAY, JULY 16TH AND JULY 23RD.
UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE BITLY LINK, UH, THAT IS HERE, UM, IN ORDER TO, UH, FIND THE ZOOM LINK IF YOU WANT TO, UH, GO, UH, VIRTUALLY, UH, TO THE OPEN OFFICE HOURS.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BITLY LINK IS CASE SENSITIVE.
SO THE EDD AND THE OPEN OFFICE DOES NEED TO BE CAPITALIZED.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS, UM, AN INTERACTIVE PDF.
SO, UM, IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE PDF LATER, YOU CAN CLICK ON THAT LINK TO, UH, FIND, UH, FIND THOSE.
UH, WE DO HAVE SPANISH TRANSLATORS AT OUR OPEN OFFICE HOURS, AS WELL AS AT ALL OF OUR APPLICATION WORKSHOPS.
UH, THE REMAINING APPLICATION WORKSHOPS WE HAVE, UH, COMING UP, UH, THERE'S ONE IN PERSON AT THE SPICEWOOD SPRINGS LIBRARY, UH, THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 17TH AT 6:00 PM AND THEN ON SATURDAY, JULY 20TH, UH, WE WILL BE AT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE FACILITY FROM NOON TO THREE.
UM, AND SO BOTH OF THOSE, YOU CAN SEE THE DATES ARE HIGHLIGHTED.
SO YOU CAN CLICK ON, UH, THOSE DATES TO GO TO THE EVENTBRITE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND THOSE EVENTS.
UH, FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE FACILITY, UM, UH, ONE-ON-ONE APPLICATION ASSISTANCE ON SATURDAY.
UM, THEY ARE IN 30 MINUTE SLOTS, SO YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING THERE.
WE WILL ALSO BE TAKING WALK-INS.
IT'S JUST THAT THOSE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP, UH, WILL BE, UM, SERVED FIRST.
UM, BUT THEN, UH, ONCE UH, STAFF BECOMES AVAILABLE, WE WILL, UH, UH, TAKE WALK-INS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN, UH, MONDAY AND TUESDAY, JULY 22ND AND JULY 23RD, UH, WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL, UH, DROP IN ASSISTANCE DAYS.
SO WE WILL BE, UM, IN PERSON AT OUR BEN WHITE OFFICE, AS WELL AS, UH, VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM.
UM, WE'RE THERE FROM 10 TO SIX ON TUESDAY IS ALSO OPEN OFFICE HOURS.
SO WE'LL DO OPEN OFFICE HOURS, 10 TO NOON, UM, AND THEN BE AVAILABLE NOON TO SIX, UM, FOR ANY, UH, APPLICATION QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THEN SPANISH ASSISTANCE.
I KNOW THAT HAS, UM, UH, BEEN DISCUSSED, UH, THIS EVENING.
UH, WE DO HAVE, UM, UM, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ASSISTANCE IN SPANISH.
UM, UH, ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS IS A NATIVE SPANISH SPEAKER.
SO THERE IS, UM, UM, YOU CAN CONTACT CATALINA LANDON.
UH, THE INFORMATION IS ON OUR WEBPAGE, UM, WITH INFORMATION ON, UH, ASSISTANCE WITH THE APPLICATION IN SPANISH.
[01:45:01]
UH, THERE ARE TWO SPANISH, UH, SPEAKERS AT THE LONG CENTER, OUR THIRD PARTY, UM, UH, COMMUNITY PROVIDER.UM, AND SO THEY HAVE A SPANISH SPEAKING, UH, STAFF AT THE LONG CENTER THAT CAN HELP, UM, ALL OF THE MATERIALS.
UM, AND THE ONLINE APPLICATION ITSELF ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH SPANISH AND ENGLISH.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT MAY BE HELPFUL IS THIS, UH, LINK TO THE SCORING RUBRIC.
AND WE HAVE THAT BOTH IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
UM, THIS IS, UH, BASICALLY, UH, WHAT WE USE WHEN WE'RE TRAINING THE REVIEW PANELISTS ON HOW TO SCORE THE APPLICATIONS.
SO, AS CAN BE SEEN HERE, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE SCORING RUBRIC, IT'LL HAVE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
I JUST TOOK, UH, THE FIRST, UH, SCORING RUBRIC ITEM, THE KEY CONSTITUENCIES AND CREATIVE MISSION.
YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY POINTS IT'S WORTH.
UM, IT HAS THE QUESTION IDENTIFY YOUR KEY CONSTITUENCIES, ET CETERA.
IT THEN SAYS, ORGANIZATION ANSWER MUST INCLUDE.
SO WE DO HAVE HELPER TEXT WITH A LOT OF THE APPLICATIONS.
UM, MOST OF THEM SAY SHOULD OR COULD INCLUDE.
A FEW OF THEM DO SAY MUST INCLUDE.
SO BE SURE WHEN YOU ARE, UH, RESPONDING, UH, TO THESE QUESTIONS, UH, THAT YOU'RE USING, UM, WHAT MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE RESPONSE.
AND THEN WE GIVE EXAMPLES OF WHAT A 15 POINT, A 10 POINT OR A ONE POINT RESPONSE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND THERE ARE DISCREET SCORES, UM, UM, IN THIS, UH, SCORING RUBRIC.
SO IN THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, EVEN THOUGH IT'S WORTH 15 POINTS, UH, THE REVIEW PANELISTS ARE NOT SCORING ANYWHERE FROM ZERO TO 15.
THEY'RE SCORING THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, EITHER A ONE, A 10, OR A 15.
AND SO WE HAVE GUIDANCE HERE ON WHAT A HIGH, YOU KNOW, SCORING ANSWER WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT A MID-LEVEL ANSWER WOULD LOOK LIKE, AND WHAT A LOW, UH, ANSWER, LOW SCORING ANSWER WOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO YOU CAN TAKE THIS, TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR RESPONSE, SEE IF IT, UH, MATCHES UP WITH WHAT'S HERE.
UM, IN ADDITION, AND I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE ON THIS, UM, IN ADDITION TO THIS DRY, UM, INFORMATION OF WHAT A HIGH, MEDIUM, AND LOW RESPONSE LOOKS LIKE, WE, UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, BASICALLY STORIES.
WE TOOK A HIGH SCORING, MEDIUM SCORING AND LOW SCORING RESPONSES FROM OUR APPLICATIONS FROM LAST YEAR.
UM, ANONYMIZED THEM A BIT AND, UH, PUT THEM IN HERE SO YOU CAN SEE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT A 15 POINT RESPONSE MIGHT LOOK LIKE, A 10 POINT RESPONSE, ET CETERA.
AND THEN, UM, AS OF, AND I DID MENTION EARLIER, BUT UM, AS I NORMALLY MENTION WHEN I'M GOING OVER THE CONTRACT STATUS, UM, THAT INFORMATION WAS AS A FRIDAY.
THIS INFORMATION AS A IS AS OF A FEW HOURS AGO, UH, WE HAD 24 APPLICATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH SO FAR.
331 APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN STARTED IN ENGLISH.
AND THEN THREE APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN STARTED IN SPANISH, UM, BUT NOT SUBMITTED YET.
SO THOSE, SO THAT'S 334 APPLICATIONS TOTAL, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN STARTED BUT NOT SUBMITTED.
AND 24 APPLICATIONS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED, UH, FOR OUR CULTURAL, UH, FUNDED ACTIVITIES.
UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I WILL NOT GO OVER THESE SINCE, UH, IT IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR BACKGROUND OR BACK UP AND WILL BE AVAILABLE, UM, IN THE, UH, ON THE ARTS COMMISSION, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSION WEBPAGE ON THE CITY WEBSITE.
UM, SO, BUT THESE ARE THE VARIOUS, UM, ACTIVITIES COMING UP IN ALL OF OUR THREE FUNDED PROGRAMS. AGAIN, WE TAKE THESE FROM, UH, VISIT AUSTIN.
SO IF YOU DON'T SEE YOUR EVENT ON HERE, PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOU'RE POSTING THERE SO THAT WAY WE CAN FEATURE YOU, UM, AT ONE OF THE ARTS COMMISSION MEETINGS.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS THE COMMISSION MAY HAVE.
THIS IS PROBABLY A BAD QUESTION TO ASK, BUT I'M GONNA ASK IT ANYWAY.
UM, THESE, UM, SLIDESHOWS, RIGHT, THAT YOU SHOW EVERY WEEK, THEY'RE IN OUR DRIVE, RIGHT? THEY'RE IN OUR LIKE, EMAIL DRIVE FOR THE COMMISSION OR NO? YES, THEY'RE, YES, THEY ARE.
FOR SOME REASON I'VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE FINDING THEM, BUT THAT'S PROBABLY ON ME 'CAUSE I'M A MAC PERSON, SO NEVERMIND.
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE IT LIKE WE WE'RE ABLE TO SHARE IT LIKE WITH PEOPLE IF THEY WANT ACCESS TO THE SLIDESHOW.
AND THEN AGAIN, WE DO POST THESE TO THE, THIS IS PUBLIC INFORMATION.
WE DO POST IT TO THE, UM, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSION WEBSITE FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION, UM, AFTER THE MEETING.
I JUST ADDED MYSELF AS NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND THINGS, BUT THANK YOU
SO ALONG WITH LIKE THE DATE AND TIME OF THAT WE'RE MEETING, USUALLY YOU CAN FIND A LINK TO THE BACKUP AS WELL, BUT IT DOES ALL GO TO OUR PUBLIC FACING WEBSITE.
UM, AND I KNOW NOT ALL COMMISSIONS DO THIS, BUT I HAVE ASKED THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE GET PRESENTED, EVERYTHING THAT COMES ACROSS OUR AGENDA IS INCLUDED THERE.
UM, AND THEN OFTENTIMES THINGS
[01:50:01]
WILL BE ADDED IF THERE WERE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSS THAT WEREN'T ORIGINALLY PART OF OUR BACKUP.SO AS A NOTE TO OUR, UM, AUDIENCE AND THE PEOPLE, UM, WATCHING, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND THE PRESENTATIONS AND THE DOCUMENTS ON THE PUBLIC FACING ARTS COMMISSION WEBSITE, AS WELL AS OUR AGENDA IN MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO ASK A FEW QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS SOME OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD, UM, EARLIER THIS EVENING BECAUSE THERE'S AN OBVIOUS DISCONNECT IN THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT THESE WORKSHOPS ARE NOT MAKING THEIR WAY TO, IN PARTICULAR THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY.
THEY, THEY EXIST, THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE SPANISH SPEAKERS.
RIGHT? WE'RE HEARING THAT AVAILABLE INTERPRETATION AVAILABLE, BUT THE INFORMATION IS NOT GETTING WHERE WE NEED IT TO GET TO.
SO THERE ARE TWO WORKSHOPS REMAINING AND TWO ALL DAY SESSIONS RIGHT.
SO HOW DO WE ADDRESS WHAT, AND I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
ONE IS LIKE, HOW DO WE USE THAT INFORMATION? LIKE HOW DO WE ADDRESS SOME OF THE CONCERNS TODAY? UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GREAT REPRESENTATION OF THE COMMUNITY HERE TONIGHT.
LIKE, WHAT DO WE DO TO START TO MEND THE DISCONNECT? AND THE SECOND QUESTION IS THAT WE'VE HEARD A FEW PEOPLE ASK TONIGHT FOR AN EX AN EXTENSION OF THE DEADLINE BECAUSE OF THESE ONGOING CHALLENGES.
SO CAN YOU JUST TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN? LIKE IF WE, IF WE ASKED FOR AN EXTENSION, WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN FOR THE PROCESS? SO TWO, TWO PART QUESTION.
SO FOR THE, UM, UM, FOR THE FIRST PART, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, COME TO THE OPEN OFFICE HOURS, UH, THOSE ARE AVAILABLE 10 TO NOON.
UH, IF YOU CAN'T COME TO ANY OF THOSE, UH, MEETINGS, UH, PLEASE GIVE US A CALL.
WE'RE HAPPY TO, UH, MEET AT OTHER TIMES AS WELL.
UM, UH, AGAIN, ON THE, BOTH ON OUR WEBSITE AND IN THIS PRESENTATION, I DID HAVE LINKS TO THE EVENTBRITE.
THERE IS, UM, SOME INFORMATION IN SPANISH AS WELL AS IN ENGLISH.
SO, UM, FOLKS CAN SIGN UP THAT WAY, UM, IF THEY ARE, UM, INTERESTED, UM, IN ATTENDING.
UM, AND THEN AS FAR AS, UM, ANY POSSIBLE, UM, EXTENSIONS, UM, I WILL LET SOVIA SPEAK TO THAT.
ALL I WILL SAY, WHILE SOVIA IS MAKING HER WAY UP, IS, UM, I DID SHOW THAT DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT ARE SLATED TO LAUNCH, SO WE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT I'LL LET SOVIA SPEAK MORE ON THAT.
SOVIA HOLT RAB, DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
AS, UM, SHOWN EARLIER, WE HAVE A CADENCE IN PLACE, AND SO WE WILL NOT BE EXTENDING THE APPLICATION PERIOD, BUT WE ARE OPEN TO PROVIDING ASSISTANCE.
JESUS HAS MENTIONED, UH, WE WILL HAVE SPANISH SPEAKERS AT OUR WORKSHOPS.
THE LONG CENTER HAS, UH, SPANISH SPEAKERS CALL US, MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
IF YOU CAN'T GET IN, WE'LL, HE, WE'LL MAKE, UH, OURSELVES AVAILABLE.
COMMISSIONER MALANA, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? OH, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
WHAT ARE THE HOURS OF THE WORKSHOPS? UM, WHAT OF DAY ARE THOSE HAPPENING? ARE THEY, WHILE PEOPLE ARE TYPICALLY AT WORK? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
WE HAVE THEM AT A VARIETY OF TIMES.
WE'VE DONE WORKSHOPS ON THE WEEKENDS.
WE'VE DONE WORKSHOPS IN THE EVENINGS.
UH, WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, VIDEO RECORDINGS THAT COVERS, UH, THE MATERIAL IN THE WORKSHOPS ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL, IN BOTH ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
SO, UM, TO, UH, CHAIR MANN'S, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, TO VICE CHAIR SCH SMALL BOX QUESTION EARLIER.
UM, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER WAY IF YOU'RE, UH, NOT ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST GIVE US A CALL, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU, YOU'RE WORKING DURING THE DAY, AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT AVAILABLE DURING DAYTIME HOURS OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
WE DO HAVE, UH, VIDEOS ON OUR WEBSITE IN BOTH, UM, ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UM, THAT HAS INFORMATION IN ABOUT THE PROGRAMS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THE SPECIFIC, UH, TIMES FOR THE, UH, WORKSHOP ON, UH, WEDNESDAY, IT STARTS AT, UH, 6:00 PM IT'S, UH, SCHEDULED, UH, TO GO.
UM, THE LIBRARY CLOSES AT EIGHT, I BELIEVE.
SO WE NEED TO BE OUT OF THERE BY LIKE 7 45.
UM, SO, BUT, UM, USUALLY THESE TAKE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT AN HOUR TO AN HOUR AND A HALF DEPENDING ON HOW MANY, UH, QUESTIONS, UM, THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS HAVE.
UH, SO WE SHOULD BE WRAPPED UP BY THEN.
UM, THE DROP IN, UH, ASSISTANCE STAYS ON THE MONDAY AND TUESDAY, UH, BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE.
AND THE DAY THAT THE APPLICATION ARE DUE, THOSE ARE FROM 10:00 AM TO 6:00 PM UM, AND THEN THE SATURDAY EVENT AT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE FACILITY WILL BE FROM NOON TO THREE.
HEY, THIS IS, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS
[01:55:01]
I HEARD TONIGHT AND I HEARD PREVIOUSLY BEFORE WAS NOT THAT THERE WASN'T SPANISH INTERPRETATIONS AVAILABLE, BUT THE QUALITY OF THE SPANISH INTERPRETATION THAT WAS AVAILABLE.IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S BEING SAID.
UH, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT I SPEAK ESP, I SPEAK ANCIENT SPANISH, UH, NOT CONTEMPORARY SPANISH.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THAT, OF COURSE, IS MY FAMILY'S BEEN HERE IN TEXAS WHEN IT WAS PART OF NEW SPAIN.
SO, UH, YEAH, I'M STUCK WITH THAT ANCIENT SPANISH.
BUT, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT IS THAT IS GOING ON.
BUT, UH, SINCE WE'VE HAD THESE DISCUSSIONS BEFORE AND THEY'RE JUST SORT OF BEING REPEATED, I
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THE TYPE OF SPANISH, UH, INTERPRETATIONS OR TRANSLATIONS THAT ARE BEING PROVIDED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE MORE IN LINE WITH, UH, OUR APPLICANTS? WE'VE GOT APPLICANTS HERE WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FROM CHILE FOR LIKE THREE YEARS.
UH, HOW IS SOMEONE LIKE THAT SUPPOSED TO NAVIGATE A SYSTEM? I WILL DEFER TIL ANOVIA ON THAT.
SO CATALINA, WHO WORKS WITH THE LONG CENTER, IS IN THE, ON THE MONEY, ON THE MONEY IS INDEPENDENT.
THE ONES WE, UM, HIRE ARE PART OF THE CITY'S, UH, CONTRACT.
AND THAT'S WHO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
AND WE HAVE, UH, SHARED THOSE CONCERNS WITH OUR CITY CONTRACTOR.
AND SO WE WILL WORK WITH THEM TO TRY TO, UM, ADD TO IT, BUT WE HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
IT'S NOT JUST EDD, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS TAP INTO THE SAME CONTRACT.
ARE WE, UH, PASSING THOSE APPLICATIONS TO PERHAPS OTHER MUNICIPALITIES? UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE RELYING ON INTERNAL INTERPRETERS TO INTERNALLY INTERPRET THIS.
THEN FOR US AND THOSE OF US WHO DON'T KNOW CONTEMPORARY SPANISH, CAN'T REALLY TELL ONE WAY OR ANOTHER WHAT'S GOING ON.
UH, I KNOW THERE'S OTHER CITIES, SAN ANTONIO, IT ALSO HAS A CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM.
I'M PRETTY SURE THEY'VE GOT SOME SPANISH INTERPRETERS OVER THERE.
HAVE WE EVER PARTNERED WITH ANYBODY ELSE TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A PEER REVIEW KIND OF THING? EXTENSION, UH, FOR AN EXTENSION? AH, AND OF COURSE LAST TIME, UH, THE EXTENSION THING, UH, WHEN YOU FINALLY DID FIX THESE APPLICATIONS, SO IT WAS MORE INTO THE KIND OF SPANISH COULD BE INTERPRETED BY OUR APPLICANTS, UH, LIKE TWO THIRDS OF THE ENTIRE APPLICATION DEADLINE ALREADY PASSED BY.
SO YOU'RE REALLY ASKING SOMEONE TO REDO SPANISH INTERPRETATIONS FASTER THAN THE ENGLISH INTERPRETATIONS AND EXPECT SIMILAR RESULTS.
I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.
I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT PROMOTES EQUITY.
SO WE HAD THE APP, SPANISH APPLICATION TESTED.
WE HAVE HAD, UM, WORKSHOPS IN COMMUNITY IN SPANISH.
UH, I JUST SENT SOME DETAILS OF THE ATTENDANCE.
AND SO IT'S NOT AS IF WE ARE NOT MAKING ATTEMPTS AND EFFORTS TO CORRECT, BUT WE WILL CHECK WITH OUR PEER CITIES, BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE TO OPERATE WITHIN THE PROCUREMENT POLICY OF THE CITY.
SO WE WILL CHECK WITH SAN ANTONIO TO SEE WHAT THEY DO.
BUT WE HAVE AN ENTIRE CORPORATE LANGUAGE ACCESS, UH, AREA THAT WE WORKED THROUGH, THROUGH CPIO, UM, OH, JESUS CORPORATE, OUR CORPORATE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.
I MEAN, IT'S, WE CAN'T REALLY CHANGE IT.
SO IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, IT IS WHAT IT IS AND, UH, WE JUST GOTTA SORT OF DEAL WITH IT AND DEAL WITH IT.
HOPEFULLY WHAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN DO IS, UH, TRY TO NETWORK WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, LA PENA,
I KNOW A FEW YEARS BACK, WE ACTUALLY HAD A GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP THAT WAS PAID FOR BY THE ARTS COMMISSION, BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THAT YEAR, WHEN THE APPLICANTS CAME IN, WE HAD THE GREATEST AMOUNT, GREATEST NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS EVER.
I REALLY DO THINK IT CAN WORK AGAIN.
UH, THERE WAS AN EXTENSION GIVEN LAST YEAR.
AND I'M SORRY THERE NOT ANYTHING, BUT WE'RE NOT OUR NOT BE RESPONDED, IT ALL, NOT BEING, WE HAVE A PLATFORM WITH LEADERSHIP.
SCREENSHOT THE TRANSLATION OF THE ISSUE OF COMMUNITY DEFECT.
WHO DO WE GO TO? WHY ARE WE HAVING TO ACROSS
[02:00:01]
AND NOT BE WOULD'VE SET TABLE LIKE CIVILIZED COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY? WHY ARE WE YELLING TO EACH OTHER AND NOT TALKING? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.LIKE, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DIALOGUE, NOT HAVE A CONVERSATION, TALK EVERYTHING.
WELL, WHAT IS IT ABOUT? NO ONE HAS EVER ASKED US THAT QUESTION.
ARE WE GETTING A TEXT MESSAGE? THE PUBLIC CAN'T HEAR THIS.
SO EITHER YOU BRING US IS HAPPENING.
LUIS, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT WITH, I THINK THERE WAS TROUBLE SOME OF US HEARING, AND I KNOW THE PEOPLE IN THAT ON VIRTUAL CAN'T HEAR YOU.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS HERE BECAUSE OF ROBERT'S RULES.
UM, BUT BASICALLY FOR THOSE THAT ARE ON SCREEN, THIS IS A CONTINUED PROBLEM.
AND WE HAVE APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS THAT THEY'RE DOING ON THEIR BEHALF.
WE HAVE BEEN SOME TIME THAT ARE NOT BEING RESOLVED.
AND WE'RE STILL NOT, I THINK, BUT I THINK WE CAN'T HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE, I'M SORRY, I'M NOT GONNA GO BACK AND FORTH.
I THINK THERE'S A STEP BEFORE GETTING THE LANGUAGE.
DO YOU WANNA COME UP? ALRIGHT, YOU'RE DONE BREAKING PROTOCOL JUST FOR A SECOND HERE.
UH, UH, IT'S JUST, UH, ANOTHER STEP THAT I THINK WE'RE MISSING HERE.
IT'S NOT LANGUAGE, IT'S CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING.
SO THERE SHOULD BE, IF WE WANT TO FIX THIS, WE SHOULD ADD SOME CULTURAL CONSULTING.
HOW TO GET, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT LINKS AND, AND EVENT RIGHTS, AND I KNOW THE ARTISTS, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT THAT.
WE HAVE TO SPEAK IN A DIFFERENT AND A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE.
IT'S NOT ONLY THE TRANSLATION OF THE WORD, IT'S LIKE TO GET TO WHERE THEY ARE, TO TALK ABOUT THEIR NEEDS.
MAYBE OUR COMMUNITY WILL BE AWARE OF WHAT'S BEING OFFERED.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S BASICALLY IT, KNOWING WHAT IS AVAILABLE.
SO JUST BECAUSE I WANNA KEEP US ON TRACK, MALDONADO, I SEE YOUR HAND.
UH, COMMISSIONER SCHWABA AND I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM LUIS
WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO RESPOND, BUT I DID TALK TO HECTOR AND ASSURE THEM THAT WE'RE BOTH INTERESTED IN MEETING.
PERHAPS THIS IS IF, IF TRO IS THE AMBASSADOR FOR THIS COMMUNITY, LET'S MEET, LET'S SIT DOWN, LET'S SOMETHING WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN DOING.
IF THERE'S MULTIPLE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WANT TO BE THERE, LET'S SET IT UP AND LET'S DO IT AND GET THIS ALL 'CAUSE THIS SHOUTING ACROSS WITHIN THIS, IT'S UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE LIMITED, RIGHT? THE BUREAUCRACIES ARE LIMITED AND I THINK ALL OF OUR HANDS ARE TIED.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE ISN'T A WANT OR A DESIRE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE.
I THINK THAT I KNOW THAT THERE ARE PROHIBITIVE THINGS THAT KEEP US FROM BEING ABLE TO FIND THE EASY SOLUTION.
WE KNOW THAT WORKING WITH THE CITY AND A MUNICIPALITY IS NEVER A QUICK FIX.
WE'VE BEEN LISTENING TO YOU GUYS AND HEARING YOU.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN CHAMPIONING THIS AND TRYING TO GO DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL, AND WE'RE HIT WITH SORT OF THE SAME RESPONSES THAT YOU GET.
AND IT'S VERY DISAPPOINTING AND VERY DISHEARTENING.
SO LET'S UNIFY AND LET'S GET THIS DOCUMENTED.
LET'S PUT IT IN WRITING AND WE'LL COME WITH YOU.
WE'LL STAND RIGHT BESIDE YOU AT COUNCIL AND TR CONTINUE TO CHAMPION THIS NEED BECAUSE I GUARANTEE YOU, IF IT'S BEING EXPERIENCED HERE, IT'S BEING EXPERIENCED THROUGHOUT THE CITY, THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS. AND WHAT WE WOULD ONLY DO BY ISOLATING OURSELVES AND ASKING FOR THINGS FOR US IS PERPETUATING THE PROBLEM AND PERPETUATING THE SILOING OF OUR VOICES.
AND NOW, AGAIN, AS WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, COMMISSIONER MACH AND I, COMMISSIONER GARZA, I'M SURE COMMISSIONER MALANO, EVERYBODY THAT'S ON WILL CALL A SPECIAL MEETING IF WE NEED TO.
WE'LL MAKE IT A WORKING GROUP.
WE'RE COMMITTED TO TRYING TO PUT INTO ACTION SOMETHING.
BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE THE CITY AND OUR STAFF AN OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT THESE THINGS FROM WHAT THEY CAN DO.
SO MAYBE IT'S GONNA TAKE THIS SHOTGUN APPROACH AT THIS POINT, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS THAT ARE, FORGIVE THE ANALOGY, I HATE USING FIREARM REFERENCES.
UM, DEEPLY EMBEDDED AS A TEXAN.
BUT WE'VE GOT COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS ON THE MONEY THAT WE HAD, EGBI, THE, UH, ECONOMIC GROWTH BUSINESS INCUBATOR AS A COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR.
I KNOW THEY'RE TAXED 'CAUSE I'VE SENT PEOPLE TO THEM.
AND THE RESPONSE THAT I GET IS WE'RE WE'VE HIT CAPACITY.
SO IS THERE, I KNOW COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS WAS A PILOT PROGRAM, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S SORT OF ONGOING ON THE MONEY.
SO IS THERE LIKE THE MOMENTUM OR IS THE DIRECTION THAT THIS IS GOING,
[02:05:01]
YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TRANSLATORS THAT ARE BEING USED AT THE WORKSHOPS IS THAT SOMEBODY WHO IS JUST A GENERAL TRANSLATOR CONTRACTOR TO THE POINT OF SOME OF THE, UM, CONSTITUENTS THAT WE HAD EARLIER, HAVING SOMEBODY WHO HAS A, A NUANCED UNDERSTANDING OF CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING OR WHAT IT IS EVEN TO BE AN ARTIST OR EVEN TO APPLY TO A GRANT AS OPPOSED TO BEING A COURTROOM TRANSLATOR, RIGHT? LIKE, THESE ARE DIFFERENT, THESE ARE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.THEY'RE, THEY'RE DIFFERENT VOCABULARIES AND THEY'RE DIFFERENT SENSITIVITIES TO SERVING A COMMUNITY.
SO I KNOW WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME THING AND NOTHING EVER MOVES FAST ENOUGH AND IT'S NEVER GONNA BE ENOUGH.
BUT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PUSH FORWARD AND TRY AND FIND SOLUTIONS HERE.
AND I THINK THAT DOES TAKE A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH AND GOING DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL, BECAUSE I KNOW SO NOVIA, YOU'RE DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN, YOU'RE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT'S ASKED OF YOU, WHERE IT'S REQUIRED OF US AS A CITY.
UM, WE CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE A REPORT THAT DOCUMENTS THAT, BUT WE NEED MORE.
AND I THINK YOU, LIKE, IT IS OKAY TO SAY THAT YOU'RE AT YOUR CAPACITY, YOUR HANDS ARE TIED.
AND NOW IT'S ON US TO GO DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL AND TO CONTINUE THESE CONVERSATIONS WHERE WE FEEL LIKE THEY CAN REALLY HAVE AN IMPACT.
AND I KNOW IT'S FRUSTRATING AND WE HEAR YOU, BUT IT, WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP WORKING.
SO LET'S BE COLLABORATIVE AND LET'S PUT OUR NOSE TO THE GRIND WITH THIS.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MALDONADO.
UM, I ACTUALLY WANTED TO SPEAK EXACTLY TO WHAT, UM, THE GENTLEMAN MENTIONED EARLIER.
'CAUSE THIS WAS, WAS CALLING OUT THE LIST OF ALL THE RESOURCES IN SPANISH.
UM, WHAT I WAS THINKING TO MYSELF IS THAT'S JUST NOT ENOUGH.
THERE HAS TO BE CULTURAL COMPETENCY AND SENSITIVITY TO A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY THAT TIME AND TIME AGAIN SHOWS UP, UM, TO SPEAK AND ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES.
AND THE FACT THAT WE ALREADY HAD A FULL GROUND OF A GRANT APPLICATIONS AND AWARDING MONIES THAT WENT OUT AND THAT WE'RE STILL HAVING THE SAME CONVERSATION, THAT THERE'S CHALLENGES WITH THIS APPLICATION, UH, THE TRANSLATION, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
UM, WE, I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS CADENCE OF THE REMAINING APPLICATIONS KNOWING THAT THERE ARE STILL THESE BARRIERS THAT HAVE BEEN UNRESOLVED.
AND AT SOME POINT WE JUST HAVE TO HOLD, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER IT IS THAT, THAT MAKES THESE DECISIONS ACCOUNTABLE.
UM, OTHERWISE WE'RE NOT DOING OTHER COMMUNITY JUSTICE BY SITTING IN THIS ROLE AS OUR COMMISSIONERS.
UM, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO PROPOSE A WORKING GROUP.
CAN WE DO THAT HERE? MAYBE WE NEED TO WAIT TO TAKE ACTION.
I'M PROBABLY BREAKING ALL THE RULES HERE.
UM, WE DO HAVE A MOTION, UH, OR WE WILL HAVE A MOTION TO DISCUSS ANOTHER ITEM AROUND CULTURAL FUNDING.
UM, AND IT'S UNDER ACTION, I BELIEVE.
OR IT'S A, IF WE NEED TO TAKE IT TO AUGUST, WE'LL TAKE IT TO AUGUST.
BUT WE HAVE LATINA COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WE HAVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
YOU KNOW, LET'S NOT JUST GO DOOR TO DOOR, BUT LET'S BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER.
YOU HAVE OUR SUPPORT, WE CAN GO TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
AGAIN, THIS SHOULD BE A UNIFIED FRONT.
UM, AND I'M A STRONG BELIEVER THAT THE MORE OF US THERE ARE, THE HARDER WE'RE TO IGNORE.
SO, UM, I WILL GET SOME DIRECTION FROM STAFF, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S AN APPROPRIATE NEXT MOVE FOR THIS.
AND I THINK THAT THE SIX EXTENDS BEYOND OUR LATINA COMMISSIONERS.
SO ANYBODY THAT'S INTERESTED IN ADVOCATING FOR LANGUAGE ACCESS FOR NOT JUST SPANISH, BUT FOR VIETNAMESE, FOR ALL OF OUR, UM, ARAB LANGUAGES, LIKE WE NEED TO BE REPRESENTED.
SO, UM, JESUS, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
UM, BUT THIS IS RESOUNDINGLY AN ISSUE.
UH, SORRY, MRS. UH, I
SO, I MEAN, WE HAD A LOT OF FEEDBACK LAST YEAR, UM, ON THE APPLICATION ROLLOUT AND, UH, THE OUTCOMES, UH, AFTER THE OUTCOMES.
UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, I I REALLY APPRECIATE THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT CAME IN TODAY TO, UH, SHARE FEEDBACK OR WHILE, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF, UH, PROCESS AND, AND I, I, I CAN SEE HOW THERE ARE SOME ISSUES THAT SEEM, UH, CONCERNING OR, OR, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, PROBLEMATIC ENOUGH THAT YOU WANT TO ADDRESS IT IN THIS ROUND.
UH, I WOULD THINK KIND OF MAYBE THE REQUEST FOR POTENTIALLY, UH, AT LEAST SOME SOMEWHAT OF A DECENT EXTENSION MAY COULD BE ONE OF THOSE.
BUT, BUT THE THING IS, OKAY, SO SOME, SOME WOULD BE IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT
[02:10:01]
THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE.SOME ARE, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY WE HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AND, AND SEE, OKAY, UM, LET'S WAIT FOR THE OUTCOMES, UH, OF THIS ROLLOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SEE AT THE OTHER END OF IT, THEN LET'S MAKE IMPROVEMENTS FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T QUITE GRASP IS, IS LIKE ON, ON THE MUSIC SIDE, IT WAS VERY CLEAR TO ME, UH, WHAT WERE LIKE SOME OF THE KEY CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE, UH, THAT WERE MADE COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
UH, AND I, I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE IF I MISSED THIS, UH, AT SOME POINT OR JUST MY MEMORY FAILS ME, BUT LIKE, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE KEY, UH, UH, INPUTS THAT WERE TAKEN FROM LAST YEAR THAT AND LIKE, OR, OR WHAT WERE THE KEY CHANGES THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED THIS TIME IN THRIVE AND ELEVATE, UH, COMPARED TO LAST YEAR? SURE.
SO I CAN TALK ABOUT BOTH BASED ON THE, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT.
BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT.
YEAH, SO I CAN TALK ABOUT BOTH THRIVE AND ELEVATE GENERALLY AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, LANGUAGE, UM, ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND I HEAR WHAT'S BEING SAID ABOUT THE CULTURAL COMPETENCY.
I WILL SAY WITH, WITH THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, WE DID, YOU KNOW, TRIED TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TRANSLATORS, YOU KNOW, TAKING A LOOK.
AS SOME OF YOU, UH, MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, WE HAD A SPANISH SPEAKING, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT STAFF, UH, TEST OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICATION.
SO, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE, UM, IN THAT ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UM, LOOKING AT THE CULTURAL COMPETENCE, UH, POSSIBLY GOING FORWARD.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF SOME OF YOU WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT BEFORE I ANSWER THE OTHER QUESTION.
UM, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY FOR THRIVE AND ELEVATE, UM, UM, I KNOW I'VE MENTIONED, I FORGET HOW MANY QUESTIONS WE HAD EXACTLY LAST YEAR, BUT WE DID, UM, UM, SIMPLIFY SOME OF THE LANGUAGE.
UM, WE, ESPECIALLY FOR INDIVIDUALS AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES, WE, UH, CHANGED THE LANGUAGE.
SO IT WAS MORE, UH, FRIENDLY TOWARDS INDIVIDUALS.
SO THE QUESTIONS LAST YEAR WERE MORE GEARED TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONS REGARDLESS OF APPLICANT TYPE.
UH, THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS THAT WERE CONFUSING AND REDUNDANT.
WE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEM, SUBMITTABLE, WHICH ONE OF THE PRESENTERS MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, SO THE FEEDBACK WE'VE GOTTEN ON THAT IS THAT IT HAS BEEN AN EASIER, UM, ONLINE APPLICATION PLATFORM, UH, TO USE, UH, WITH OUR REVIEW PANEL PROCESS.
WE ARE NO LONGER USING A READER STAGE, UH, LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR.
UH, WILL BE REVIEWED, UH, BY A FULL SLATE OF, UH, REVIEW PANELISTS AND DISCUSSED, UM, AT A REVIEW PANEL.
UM, SO, UM, THOSE ARE THE MAJOR CHANGES OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
IF I THINK OF ANY MORE, I WILL LET YOU KNOW.
BUT THOSE ARE THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, UM, MADE, UH, BECAUSE OF THE FEEDBACK, UH, THAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR.
AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO SYLVIA.
THE LAST ONE ESPECIALLY, I GUESS MAKES IT PRETTY TRANSPARENT.
IF EVERY APPLICATION IS BEING EVALUATED IN A, IN A PANEL THAT IS AVAILABLE, UH, TO BE VIEWED THROUGH VIDEO, RIGHT? PUBLICLY? YES, IT IS AVAILABLE, UH, PUBLICLY.
UM, SO THEY, UH, WILL BE RECORDED, UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO, UH, MAKE IT, UM, UM, UH, LIVE.
UH, THEY CAN WATCH A RECORDING LATER ON.
UH, THE PANELISTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, UH, REQUIRED TO PROVIDE WRITTEN, UH, SCORES AND COMMENTS.
UM, THOSE CAN CHANGE AT THE REVIEW PANEL MEETING.
SO THEY ARE A STATIC AND, YOU KNOW, A POINT IN TIME.
UH, BUT THOSE ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE APPLICANTS TO GET THEIR WRITTEN, UH, SCORES AND COMMENTS.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, IT IS RECORDED, SO IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT LIVE OR IF THEY WANNA WATCH IT AGAIN OR THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, UH, A COLLEAGUE, UH, WHO WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT, THEN UH, THEY'RE ABLE TO REQUEST THOSE RECORDINGS FROM US.
THERE'S BEEN NO CHANGES IN CRITERIA.
THERE'S BEEN NO CHANGES IN, UH, CRITERIA EITHER FOR THRIVE OR ELEVATE.
IT'S REMAINS EXACTLY THE SAME AS LAST TIME.
THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA? YES.
THE ELIGIBILITY AND, AND IT'S PROJECT BASED.
IT'S, UM, WELL, UH, WE DO, UH, THRIVE IS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILDING SMALL AND, UM, MEDIUM NONPROFITS UP TO INSTITUTION STATUS.
AND ELEVATE IS TECHNICALLY PROJECT BASED, BUT WE DO LOOK AT IT AS A GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT GRANT.
SO YOU CAN LIST ALL OF THE VARIOUS, UM, ACTIVITIES THAT YOU NEED TO DO.
UM, SO WE MODELED IT OFF OF THE OLD, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM IN THE OLD CORE FUNDING PROGRAM.
SO I WANTED TO REMIND, UH, THAT JESUS, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO HAD A POWERPOINT THAT DETAILED ALL OF THE CHANGES IN APRIL.
AND SO FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR, I WANNA JUST, UH, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE MADE MANY STRIDES, UM, SIMPLIFIED THE QUESTIONS, UH, CHANGE THE, THE ONLINE INTAKE TO A SIMPLER, UM, PLATFORM.
AND SO WE HAVE BEEN MAKING STRIDES.
THE EQUITY OFFICE IS ACTUALLY LISTENING IN ON THIS MEETING.
[02:15:01]
SO WE HAVE SENT OUR, UH, REPORT OVER ASKING THEM WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE.SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE ARE NOT SITTING THAT WE DON'T HEAR, WE ARE TRYING, WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR SISTER DEPARTMENTS TO DETERMINE THE NEXT STEPS.
BUT I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE MADE SOME STRIDES AND WE WILL BE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE TO TRY TO SEE HOW WE CAN REMOVE MORE BARRIERS.
BUT I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE MADE MANY STEPS COMPARED TO THE FIRST ROLLOUT.
I'M SO SORRY, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE CLARIFICATION THAT'S GONNA TAKE 10 SECONDS.
THE OFFICE OF EQUITY IS LISTENING ON IN, ON MY REQUEST.
THERE'S A CONSTANT MISINFORMATION OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.
YES, THERE ARE INTERPRETERS, BUT THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE ACTUAL WORKSHOP.
'CAUSE WE HAVE TO REQUEST SUPPORT FROM THE OFFICE OF EQUITY A WEEK AGO.
SO THERE'S A CONSTANT NARRATIVE WHERE WE'RE CHECKING OFF A BOX, BUT IN REALITY, IT'S A VERY DISTORTED REALITY THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS EXPERIENCING.
AND LASTLY, THIS ISN'T ABOUT ME OR
WE'RE PRIVILEGED ENOUGH THAT WE RECEIVE FUNDING.
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO JUST TAKE THAT AND CONTINUE OUR WORK.
THIS IS
I'M HERE TO DIAL DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY OR YOU.
BUT I HAVE BEEN IN CONSTANT CONTACT.
EQUITY HAS BEEN WALKING HAND IN HAND SINCE WE STARTED THE REVIEW THREE YEARS AGO.
AND SO I HAVE CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM ABOUT ALL OF OUR PROCESSES.
AND SO PERCEPTION IS PEOPLE'S REALITY.
BUT I KNOW WHAT I DO ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND I'M HERE, AS I SAID A YEAR AGO, TO THE HISPANIC QUALITY OF LIFE.
I'VE MET WITH THEIR CHAIR, I'VE BEEN HERE WITH YOU.
WE ARE HERE TO MAKE IT BETTER.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR JESUS? OKAY.
UM, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT EVERYBODY IS WORKING EXTREMELY HARD AND THERE ARE SHORTCOMINGS COMING FROM ON HIGH THAT WE ALL NEED TO SPEAK TO AND HIGHLIGHT AND CONTINUE TO WORK TO CLOSE THIS GAP.
AND IT'S UGLY AND IT'S GONNA TAKE SO MUCH MORE MUSCLE AND STRENGTH AND TEARS, UNFORTUNATELY, TO GET THROUGH THIS.
BUT I THINK UNIFICATION IS THE ANSWER.
AND I DON'T THINK PITTING OURSELVES AGAINST ONE ANOTHER IS GONNA GET US WHERE WE WANT TO GO.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING HAND IN HAND, SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THE COMMUNITY, WITH UNITING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS AND OUR CHAMBER, UH, COMMISSIONS, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, AND THIS MAY BE THE THING, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT PULLS US TOGETHER, BUT WE'RE ALL HERE FOR IT.
UM, SO LET'S CONTINUE THIS DIALOGUE.
UM, AND WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF, UM, AGENDA LEFT.
COMMISSIONER SOMETHING? MAY I MAKE A MOTION? MAY I MAKE A MOTION? YES.
[Items 12 - 16]
UM, TO MOTION TO TAKE TWO PART 12 THROUGH 16 ON CONSENT, THE A A PP, RF QS.BUT TO ASK IF WE COULD POTENTIALLY MOVE THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN ON THOSE TO OUR AUGUST PRESENTATION, SINCE I BELIEVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES OPEN IN LATE SEPTEMBER, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THEM ON RECORD.
WE HAVE SUCH A CL TIGHT AGENDA.
WE HAVE A TIGHT AGENDA, AND WE STILL HAVE ABOUT CAN STAFF CONCERNS WITH THAT.
SO IF THERE'S CONCERNS, WE CAN ROLL THROUGH IT.
WE JUST HAVE A LOT STILL TO TALK ABOUT.
WE HAVE SEVEN SPEAKERS THAT WILL BE SPEAKING TO THE UMOFF.
HOW MANY OF Y'ALL ARE STILL IN THE ROOM? ALL OF Y'ALL? FANTASTIC.
UM, A IPP STAFF, THAT QUESTION IS TO TAKE THE ITEMS ON CONSENT, SO THEY WILL PASS, BUT TO SAVE THE PRESENTATION FOR SEPTEMBER OR FOR AUGUST, SINCE, UH, ITEMS ARE OPPORTUNITIES DON'T LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER.
PEOPLE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF TIME TO MAKE SURE.
'CAUSE WE REALLY WANNA SEE THAT PRESENTATION.
IT'S A VERY LOVELY PRESENTATION.
AND LINDSAY, MAYBE YOUR NEW MANAGER CAN EVEN DO THAT FOR YOU.
[02:20:01]
OKAY.WE'RE GONNA DO THAT WHEN WE GET THERE.
OR SHOULD WE JUST DO NOW? OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOTION, WE HAVE A MOTION TO TAKE ITEMS 12 THROUGH 1716.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? WHICH
AND THESE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT WILL BE, UH, OPENING UP IN SEPTEMBER, BUT WE NEED IT FOR THE SAKE OF TIMING, WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND, AND KEEP IT ROLLING.
I HAVE A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER HOUSTON.
ALL IN FAVOR OF TAKING ITEMS 12 THROUGH 69 CONTENT WITH THE PRESENTATION COMING NEXT MONTH IN AUGUST.
COMMISSIONER KEYS, CONGRATULATIONS.
YOU'VE VOTED ON YOUR FIRST ITEM FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION
[10. Discussion and Possible Action on a recommendation to Austin City Council on the UMLAUF Historic Preservation, Expansion, and Unification Plan with presentation by Kim McKnight, Program Manager, Historic Preservation & Tourism Program, Austin Parks and Recreation; Katie Robinson Edwards and Amanda Valbracht, UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum ]
THAT, WE NEED TO MOVE TO OUR SPEAKERS FOR ITEM 10, FIRST OF WHICH IS RAYO ALANIS ALANIS.UM, AND THEN IF EVERYBODY COULD JUST BE STACKED AND READY TO GO SO WE CAN CONTINUE MOVING.
UM, OH, LAURA, I CALLED YOU ALREADY.
DID YOU WANNA SPEAK AGAIN? NO.
UM, MEREDITH WILSON, RICHARD WEISS, FRANCIS THOMPSON, STEFAN FENO, JU AND JANICE BRANCH.
JUST COME ON DOWN AND BE READY.
I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN SINCE 1963 AS A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY.
AND THEN WE STAYED HERE AND, AND WORKED, UM, TILL I RETIRED.
AND, UH, I WANTED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE UMLA AND WHAT IT HAS DONE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT IT'S DONE FOR ME AS AN ARTIST.
UM, UH, AFTER I RETIRED, I GOT MORE SERIOUS ABOUT ART AND I STARTED TO LOOK AROUND FOR PLACES TO LEARN.
AND I WENT TO THE NAY CONSERVATORY, WHICH WAS ON I THINK 35TH STREET.
UH, AT ANY RATE, UH, AND THEN I TOOK SOME CLASSES AT UT.
AND, UH, SO I'VE BEEN DOING MAINLY SCULPTURE.
AND, UH, IN, IN THE EARLY DAYS, 20 YEARS AGO, 24 YEARS AGO, ALL THAT THE SOCIETY OF SCULPTS COULD ACCESS FOR VENUES TO SHOW WORK WAS ONE DAY ON MUSEUM DAY AT THE OOF ON NASAL ROAD.
AND THAT WAS, WE WERE HAPPY TO HAVE THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ART WASN'T VERY POPULAR AROUND, OR THERE WASN'T THE PEOPLE WE HAVE TODAY.
SO, UH, BUT SINCE THEN, UM, I QUIT.
I QUIT DOING SMALL WORK AND I'VE GONE TO DOING LARGER WORK.
I HAVE A WEBSITE, RENADO
AND, UM, SINCE I GOT INTO LARGER WORK AND THE CITY SORT OF CAUGHT UP WITH ALL SORTS OF AWARDS AND GRANTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT FOR, UH, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
AND I CAN GIVE YOU FOUR POINTS THAT I WANT TO LEAVE WITH YOU TODAY AS TO HOW THE MLO HAS IMPACTED ME PERSONALLY.
AND NUMBER ONE WAS, UH, RECENTLY THE, UM, KATIE, THE, THE DIRECTOR AT MOF IN JUNE, JULY OF 2022, SENT OUT A CALL FOR ARTISTS, AND I WAS ONE OF THE ONES ELECTED.
AND THE PROJECT WAS CALLED THE CABINET OAK PROJECT FOR THE LBJ NATIONAL PARK IN, IN JOHNSON CITY.
AND, UH, SO I WAS SELECTED, AND THE ART DIA WAS THAT, UM, THE ARTIST WAS SUPPOSED TO GET A CHUNK OF WOOD OAK FROM THE LBJ, UH, RANCH IN JOHNSON CITY AND CARVED SOMETHING, AND THEN IT WAS GONNA BE AUCTION.
I THINK THERE WERE ABOUT 40 OR 48 ARTISTS, UH, SELECTED OF WHICH I WAS ONE OF THEM.
I CARVED THREE PIECES OUTTA WOOD, AND THEY WERE AUCTIONED OFF ON MAY 6TH, 2023, WHICH WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
AND I DID, WELL, I MADE SOME MONEY.
THE MAJORITY OF THE PROCEEDS, PROCEEDS WENT TO THE LBJ RANCH AT NATIONAL PARK.
SO THAT'S ONE, ONE PROJECT I GOT INVOLVED WITH.
AFTER THAT, UM, UH, KATIE HAD A, A VENUE FOR WHAT SHE CALLED THE APROPOS SCULPTURE EXHIBIT, WHERE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO AS ARTISTS, UM, IF WE WERE SELECTED, UH, MAKE SOMETHING, CARVE SOMETHING OUT OF, UH, WHATEVER, OR ANY MEDIUM REALLY, THAT SORT OF CONNECTED TO THE MOF LEGACY OF HIS WORK AS A SCULPTOR IN AUSTIN.
AND SO WE DID DIFFERENT THINGS THEN THAT WENT VERY WELL.
I THINK THEY COORDINATED IT WITH, UM, A VERY WELL KNOWN SCULPTOR FROM TEXAS, JAMES, UH, JAMES SEARLS.
[02:25:01]
BIRTHDAY, I BELIEVE.AND SO THEY HAD A VERY NICE, YOU KNOW, CELEBRATION AND EXHIBIT.
UM, THE THIRD POINT WAS THAT, UM, LAST YEAR AROUND JUNE, I SAW AN AD FOR A STONES SCULPTOR, WHICH IS WHAT I SORT OF GRAVITATED INTO AS AN ARTIST.
I DO LARGE SCULPTURES AND METAL AND STUFF, BUT, UM, I SAW AN AD FOR THE, THE AUSTIN WALDORF SCHOOL, WHICH IS A PRIVATE SCHOOL IN SOUTH AUSTIN, UM, WAS LOOKING FOR A STONE CARVER.
AND SO I, I APPLIED FOR THE JOB, AND SINCE I HAVEN'T BEEN DOING ANYTHING IN TERMS OF WORK, UH, SINCE I RETIRED, OTHER THAN THE SCULPTURE AND ART, I DIDN'T, I DON'T HAVE A REALLY GOOD RESUME AS FAR AS WORKING, EXCEPT THAT AT ANY RATE, UM, I CALLED KATIE AND I SAID, CAN I PUT YOUR NAME DOWN AS A REFERENCE? AND SHE SAYS, VERY, YEAH, NO PROBLEM.
SO AT ANY RATE, I GOT THAT JOB, WHICH WAS A NICE GIG FOR ME AS AN ARTIST.
AND, UH, AND I HELPED SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH STONE WORK.
AND, UH, NUMBER FOUR, I THINK HAS TO DO WITH, UH, THIS PROJECT THAT THEY'RE EXPANDING TO INCLUDE AND UNIFY THE, UH, THE UMLA STUDIO AND HOME INTO THE, THE OVERALL, UH, YOU KNOW, POSITION OF THE, OF THE MUSEUM AND, AND HAVING VISITED, UM, UH, SCULPTURES, DIFFERENT PLACES OF THE WORLD.
UM, I'VE BEEN TO THE STUDIO THAT HENRY MOORE, A BRITISH SCULPTOR WORKED AT IN ENGLAND, IN LONDON, ACTUALLY OUTSIDE OF LONDON.
AND IT REALLY ATTRACTS, UH, PEOPLE THAT LIKE ART OR THE ARTIST EVEN.
UH, I'VE ALSO BEEN TO THE KUZI, UH, SCULPTURE STUDIO IN PARIS THAT THEY RECREATED OR THEY SORT OF PUT TOGETHER.
AND IT'S ALWAYS INTERESTING TO LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THESE, UM, PLACES.
AND I SEE THAT THAT'S POSSIBLE HERE IN AUSTIN AT THE MOF BECAUSE HIS STUDIO AND HIS HOME ARE DIRECTLY ABOVE THE CURRENT SCULPTURES ON, ON THE GROUNDS, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE A, A GREAT BENEFIT TO EXPAND.
AND I, AND I PARTICIPATED AS AN ARTIST IN SOME OF THESE MEETINGS, AND I REALLY THINK THAT, UH, IT'S WORTHWHILE SUPPORTING BECAUSE, UM, TRADITIONAL SCULPTURE SUCH AS BRONZE AND, AND STONE, UH, IT IS NOT A DYING, UH, MEDIUM OR SKILL.
BUT MORE AND MORE WE'RE GOING TO DIGITAL WORK, UH, LIGHTS AND INSTALLATIONS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
IN FACT, AS FAR AS I KNOW, THE UNIVERSITY, YES, TIME.
I HATE TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT UNFORTUNATELY JUST WITH THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS WE HAVE.
BUT THANK YOU FOR SHARING AND THOSE ARE THE, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN SUPPORT OF YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME.
JUST A REMINDER, WE HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I REALLY HATE TO CUT PEOPLE SHORT, BUT IF WE CAN SPEAK QUICK TO GET EVERYTHING IN THERE, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
UM, NEXT WE HAVE MEREDITH WILSON.
MY NAME IS MEREDITH WILSON AND I'M HERE TO SUPPORT THE UMM LAF SCULPTURE GARDEN AND MUSEUM PLAN.
I'M A DOCENT ART TEACHER AND STORYTIME PRE PRESENTER AT UMM LAF.
UH, SO HOW DOES UMM LAF IMPACT THE COMMUNITY? IN MY EXPERIENCE GUIDING TOURS FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, I'VE SEEN FIRSTHAND THE TRANSFORMATION EVEN ONE VISIT CAN HAVE ON A PERSON WHO ENTERS MLO.
THIS TRANSFORMATION CAN BE EVEN MORE EVIDENT WHEN A VISITOR TAKES PART IN SPECIAL PROGRAMMING, SUCH AS MONTHLY FAMILY DAYS WITH STORY TIME PROMOTING LITERACY AND WORKSHOPS TEACHING ART, FOR EXAMPLE, DURING A SCULPTURE WORKSHOP, TALK TAUGHT USING MODELING CLAY, CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE USED THEIR HANDS TO APPLY CLAY ONTO AN ARM LEARY, OR STAND AND CREATE SCULPTURES OF THEIR OWN DESIGN.
THIS LED VISITORS TO EXCLAIM HOW INSPIRED THEY WERE TO EXPERIENCE A HANDS-ON PROJECT, WHICH EXEMPLIFIED EVERYTHING THEY SAW AND LEARNED IN THE MLA.
MEANWHILE, SMALL CHILDREN PROUDLY SHOWED THEIR PARENTS WHAT THEIR IMAGINATIONS COULD DO WHEN AFFORDED THE APPROPRIATE MATERIALS, OPPORTUNITY AND GUIDANCE.
WHEN PEOPLE OF ALL AGES DISCOVER THEIR OWN INNATE CREATIVE ABILITY, IT ENRICHES OTHER FACETS OF THEIR LIFE, AND THEY TAKE THAT SPARK WITH THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY AND PAY IT FORWARD.
ART APPRECIATION, COMBINED WITH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OPENS THE MIND TO EXCITING POSSIBILITIES.
AND SUDDENLY THE AIR IS CRISPER, THE SKY IS BLUER, AND SOLUTIONS SEEM
[02:30:01]
WITHIN GRASS.SO, FOR INSTANCE, RECENTLY A HIGH SCHOOL TEENAGER NAMED JEREMIAH ARRIVED AT MY TOUR IN THE SUMMER HEAT.
HIS EYES WERE DOWNCAST AS HE HUNCHED AND EXPRESSED HE HAD NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER IN ART, AND THAT HE HAD EVEN BEEN KICKED OUT OF ART CLASS, HIS WORDS FOR LACK OF PARTICIPATION.
HOWEVER, AS THE TOUR EVOLVED, SO DID JEREMIAH, HE STOOD A LITTLE TALLER.
HE STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS, CONNECTING WITH OTHERS AS THE FEATURES OF THE GARDEN, UH, BECAME MORE AND MORE RELATABLE.
BY THE END OF THE TOUR, WHEN WE ENTERED THE GAR, THE GALLERY'S INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION, JEREMIAH CONFIDED THAT HE ACTUALLY WANTED TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT.
HE STARTED ASKING EVEN MORE QUESTIONS, TAKING PHOTOS, AND LATER UPON DEPARTING, HE LOOKED ME IN THE EYE, SHOOK MY HAND HEARTILY, AND SAID, THANK YOU.
WHEN VISITORS LEARN ABOUT UMM LIFE'S UMM LA'S LIFE AND WORK, THEY TAKE HOME A RENEWED SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AND A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD, ALONG WITH A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF ART, NATURE AND THEMSELVES.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DILIGENCE IN PROTECTING OUR CULTURAL ARTS.
NEXT WE HAVE RICHARD, RICHARD WEISS.
I'M RICHARD WEISS, AND IT'S MY GREAT HONOR TO BE THE BOARD PRESIDENT OF THE UMOFF SCULPTURE GARDEN AND MUSEUM, WHICH HAS BEEN A TREASURE TO URBAN OASIS SINCE I MOVED TO AUSTIN OVER 30 YEARS AGO.
WHEN I JOINED UMOFF BOARD IN 2018, THE MAJOR ITEM THAT WE WERE LACKING TO SATISFY OUR CHARTER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TO REALIZE OUR FUTURE GOALS WAS A CLEAR VISION, UH, FOR THE FUTURE OF UMOFF.
LAURA ESPARZA, WHO WAS OUR CITY LIAISON AT THE TIME AND IS HERE TONIGHT, UH, WAS ADAMANT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DOCUMENT, NOT ONLY TO CHECK THE CITY BOX, BUT TO CLEARLY ARTICULATE OUR NEEDS, GOALS, AND HOPES FOR THE FUTURE.
OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE WORKED WITH PAIGE AND THEIR INCREDIBLE CONSULTANTS TO CREATE A PLAN THAT WILL ALLOW UMLA TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY WITH MORE EXHIBITION SPACE AND EVENT SPACE.
PRESERVE CHARLES, UM, LA'S HEALTH AND STUDIO, MAKE SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE GARDEN, AND UNIFY THE ALMOST EIGHT ACRES CAMPUS SO THAT IT'S ACCESSIBLE, UH, FULLY TO THE PUBLIC.
I COULD NOT BE MORE HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS OF THIS, AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE, UH, THESE GOALS ALL REALIZED REGARDING THE, UM, LA'S, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
IN ADDITION TO SHOWCASING ONE OF AUSTIN'S MOST PROMINENT ARTISTS AND PROVIDING EXHIBIT SPACE FOR A DIVERSE GROUP OF ESTABLISHED AND UP AND COMING ARTISTS, UM, MA'S, UH, OUTREACH EXTENDS BE FAR BEYOND THE GARDEN, REACHING OUT TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND KIDS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN TO HELP THEM REALIZE THEIR CREATIVE POTENTIAL.
THE HPEU PROCESS ALSO HELPED TO IDENTIFY AND CATALOG AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION OF OLAF'S WORK THAT HAS NEVER BEEN ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THE PLAN WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO DISPLAY THESE TREASURES TO OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING, UH, ART AND AUSTIN, AND I HOPE THE COMMISSION WILL PROVIDE A MOTION FOR SUPPORT FOR OUR HPU PLAN SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THE OLAF'S FUTURE.
AND SINCE I HAVE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LEFT, I WANNA SAY THAT, UH, I OWN ONE OF, UH, RONALDO ALANIS'S ARTISTIC PIECES, AND HE'S AN INCREDIBLE SCULPTOR AND, UH, I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN ABOUT HIM IF NOT FOR MLO.
ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE FRANCIS THOMPSON.
I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS AS AN ARTS EDUCATOR, VOLUNTEER, AND OTHERWISE I AM AFFILIATED WITH THE MOF SINCE 2016 AS A DOCENT AND THE DOCENT FACILITATOR.
AND THE ONE THING THAT I, I CONSTANTLY MISS STATE, HPEU, I ALWAYS WANNA THROW IN EDUCATION IN THERE BECAUSE SINCE 1991 WHEN THE UMOFF OPENED, IT HAS BEEN AN EDUCATING FORCE IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY, AND I DARE SAY IN THE HUMANITIES COMMUNITY.
AND IT HAS BEEN A CONNECTOR BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND ITS GROWING ARTS COMMUNITY WITH THOSE WHO COME INTO OUR STATE TO VISIT AND TO STUDY AND TO DO RESEARCH AS UNDERGRADUATES AND GRADUATE STUDENTS.
THEY HAPPEN TO FIND THEMSELVES AT THE MOF AND THEY THINK, WOW, THIS IS ALL ABOUT EDUCATION.
IT'S ABOUT ALL ABOUT ART INSTITUTE AND EDUCATION BEING PART OF THAT COMPONENT.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT SINCE 1991, THE MOF HAS DONE AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB OF EDUCATING.
WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN GOOD STEWARDS AS A CITY, AS ENTITIES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED AT THE UMOFF.
WE'VE ALREADY BEEN PART OF THAT SINCE 91 AND SHOWN THAT THE STEWARDSHIP OF CREATING AN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT WITH ART IS SOLID.
IT IS REALLY ONLY THAT WE NEED TO RE INVENT.
WE NEED TO PRESERVE, YES, WE NEED TO HISTORICALLY PRESERVE WHAT ANGIE AND CHARLES UMOFF WANTED BACK IN 1978 BEFORE
[02:35:01]
THEY MADE THE DECISION TO, TO GIVE THEIR ACCUMULATED PROPERTIES AND THEIR ART TO THE CITY.THEY WROTE IT IS OUR DESIRE THAT THIS PLACE IS PRECIOUS PLACE AND ALL THAT IS UPON IT BE USED IN THE FUTURE TO NURTURE THE LOVE OF LEARNING BEAUTY AND TRUTH, AND TO BE A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION TO OTHERS IN ITS CLOSENESS TO NATURE.
AND I WILL SAY HUMANKIND AS IT HAS BEEN TO US.
UM, I THINK THAT AS I TOUR A ISD STUDENTS AND FOR WHOM WE GIVE COMPLIMENTARY TOURS TO EVERY A ISD STUDENT AND EVERY ENTITY THAT WANTS TO COME THROUGH THE A ISD UM, PROGRAMS IS I GIVE TOURS TO THESE YOUNG PEOPLE AND TO THEIR CHAPERONES AND TO THEIR ARTS EDUCATORS.
I SEE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING A CONTINUUM, A PLACE WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE THAT TYPE OF EXPLORATION, THAT TYPE OF INSPIRATION.
AND, AND IS IT GOOD? IT'S A RESOURCE FOR NOT ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD, BUT FOR THOSE WHO ARE, WHO ARE TO COME AND BE PART OF, OF THE PLACE.
SO I HOPE THAT YOU WILL LOOK FORWARD TO KATIE AND AMANDA'S, UM, PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
NEXT WE HAVE, UH, STEVEN F SORRY, I PROBABLY BUTCHERING THAT LAST NAME.
HE HAD TO TAKE OFF BECAUSE HE HAD AN EARLY APPOINTMENT, UM, SURE.
I'M THE IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT AT THE UMLA AND HE EMAILED ME HIS, UH, TALKING POINTS THAT I'D LIKE TO REVIEW.
AND STEVEN IS ONE OF OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, SHAKESPEARE SAID THAT ART IS A MIRROR HELD UP TO NATURE TO SHOWCASE THE OL'S HISTORIC PRESERVATION EXPANSION AND UNIFICATION PAN PLAN.
WE HAVE, UM, THAT WILL HAVE A LOT OF IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY.
WE ALREADY OFFER A LOT OF PROGRAMMING, MONTHLY FAMILY DAYS, UM, ART CLASSES, PERFORMANCES AND SHOWCASE, UH, LOCAL ARTISTS, PUBLIC TOUR AND STORY TIME.
UH, DOCENT LED ENTERTAINING TOURS FOR KIDS AND UMOFF AFTER DARK FOR, UM, ADULTS, TAI CHI IN THE GARDEN, VARIOUS PROGRAMS. UM, NOW WE ALSO, BESIDES SHOWCASING THE WORKS OF CHARLES UMOFF, WE GIVE VOICE TO MANY CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND, UH, ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS AND WHATNOT WITH DIFFERENT, UM, PROGRAMS. THE UNIQUENESS OF THE UMLA TO HAVE THE ARTIST HOME AND THE STUDIO AND THE MUSEUM ON THE SAME LOCATION IS VERY RARE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO HAVE THAT SITUATION.
WE FEEL LIKE BEING ABLE TO UNIFY THEM IN THE PLAN THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING WITH OUR ARCHITECTURAL PLANS, UH, IS REALLY A HUGE OPPORTUNITY, NOT JUST FOR WITHIN THE UMLA BUT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF I WAS NEXT OR IF YOU ARE NEXT BRANCH.
AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
I'M THE IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD AT THE MOFT.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE MOFT SCULPTURE GARDEN AND MUSEUM.
UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO BE HEARD TODAY TO HOPEFULLY PROPEL THE SIGNIFICANT WORK WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR ON OUR VISION PLAN FORWARD, PROVIDING IMPORTANT AND UNIQUE ASSETS TO OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
WORKING WITH AN ARCHITECTURAL TEAM WITH PAIGE ARCHITECTS, WE'VE IDENTIFIED MANY NEEDS THAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEE MOVE AHEAD.
THAT WILL ALLOW US AS AN ORGANIZATION TO OFFER FAR MORE TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AS WE TAKE THESE NEXT STEPS.
THESE WILL ALL REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT FUNDING.
AND WHILE WE LOOK FORWARD TO OUR OWN FUNDRAISING EFFORTS, WE KNOW THAT WE WILL ALSO NEED TO DEPEND ON ADDITIONAL CITY FUNDING TO MEET OUR VARIED GOALS OF FINDING IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS TO RUNOFF ISSUES THAT AFFECT WATER QUALITY IN BARTON CREEK AS WATER FLOWS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD ABOVE THROUGH OUR PROPERTY TO EXPANDED CHILDREN'S ART PROGRAMMING AND VASTLY INCREASED ART, UM, EXHIBITION SPACE FOR CHARLES MLA'S WORK, AS WELL AS THE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WE'VE MENTIONED THAT WE EXHIBIT AMONG MANY OTHER IMPORTANT MUSEUM IMPROVEMENTS.
ITEM 10, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION AND RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON THE UMLA HISTORIC PRESERVATION, EXPANSION AND UNIFICATION PLAN.
WITH PRESENTATION BY KIM MCKNIGHT, PROGRAM MANAGER, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND TOURISM PROGRAM, AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION, KATIE ROBINSON EDWARDS, AND AMANDA RECHT, UMLA, SCULPT GARDEN AND MUSEUM.
[02:40:01]
GOOD, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.MY NAME IS KIM MCKNIGHT AND MY PROGRAM, MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE HER.
I'M GONNA GIVE A VERY BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND TURN IT OVER TO OUR PARTNERS TO PROVIDE THE PRESENTATION.
I SERVE AS THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND TOURISM PROGRAM OF THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
THE DEPARTMENT IS EXCITED TO JOIN OUR PARTNERS AT THE MLO TO PRESENT THE VISION PLAN, WHICH HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
THIS PLAN GUIDES THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION, UNIFICATION, AND EXPANSION OF THIS LONG TIME BELOVED ARTS FACILITY, THE GIFT OF THE MUSEUM SITE AND ART COLLECTION DATES TO 1985, NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO.
THE MUSEUM WAS OPENED IN 1991 AND FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, THE CITY'S PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MOF SERVES AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC PURPOSE AND PROVIDES OUR CITY WITH ACCESSIBLE ARTS, PROGRAMMING, ARTS, EDUCATION, AND EXHIBITS FOR RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS.
THIS FACILITY IS ONE OF SEVERAL TREASURED CITY FACILITIES THAT PROVIDE ARTS, CULTURE, AND HISTORY PROGRAMMING.
THIS LIST INCLUDES THE DOUGHERTY ARTS CENTER, OUR CULTURAL CENTERS, WHICH I THINK YOU KNOW WELL, THE MS BARTOS, MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER, THE CARVER, THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER, AS WELL AS QUITE A FEW HISTORIC MUSEUMS, INCLUDING, UH, THE OAKWOOD CHAPEL, THE ELIZABETH NAY, THE BRUSH SQUARE MUSEUMS, AND THE OLD BAKERY, WHICH I WANTED TO ADD, CELEBRATED THE UNVEILING OF A MURAL BY ARTIST RUBEN ESQUIVEL, WHICH WAS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, UM, ALLIANCE FOUNDATION.
WRITING ON THE WALLS PROGRAM, QUICK BLOOD, THE ART, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORTS THIS PLAN AND GREATLY APPRECIATES THE EFFORTS OF OUR PARTNERS AND DESIGN TEAM FOR THEIR TIME AND EFFORT IN DEVELOPING THIS COMMUNITY-BASED PLAN.
WE'RE SEEKING THE SUPPORT OF THE ARTS COMMISSION AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE BOARD COMMISSION AND COUNCIL PROCESS TO GET THIS VISION PLAN ADOPTED SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD TO PUT IT INTO ACTION.
I'M PLEASED TO INTRODUCE KATIE ROBINSON EDWARDS, WHO IS THE CURATOR, AS WELL AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND AMANDA RACK WHO OVERSEES OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION.
IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO SAY IT'S VERY HUMBLING TO BE HERE TO HEAR WHAT EVERYONE HAS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE UMOFF AND ALSO TO HEAR WHAT ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN THE ARTS HAVE BEEN SAYING AND TO BE HERE ON THIS PARTICULAR EVENING.
WE ARE PRESENTING WHAT HAS BEEN A VERY LONG TIME COMING.
UH, WE CREATED THIS PLAN IN PART AS THE FULFILLMENT OF OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS WITH THE CITY.
ACCORDING TO OUR MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING AGREEMENT, WE PUT OUT AN RFP.
NONE OF US EVEN KNEW HOW TO WRITE AN RFP.
WE PUT IT OUT AND WERE ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED AND, AND BOWLED OVER TO GET 10 VERY, VERY STRONG APPLICATIONS.
AND WE ENDED UP GOING WITH PAGE ARCHITECTURE FIRM ON THIS, UH, LAST YEAR.
UM, AND WHAT STRUCK ME ABOUT WHAT PAIGE SAID, UH, FIRST OF ALL, LARRY SPECK, A PRINCIPAL AT PAIGE, DESIGNED OUR ORIGINAL BUILDING.
AND WHAT HE SAID IS, I WANNA DO A NEW MO FOR THE FUTURE, NOT AN I WAS WITH THE MOF IN THE PAST.
I DO NOT WANNA BE PART OF THAT ANYMORE.
I WANNA DO A MOF FOR THE FUTURE.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THEY ALSO DID A REALLY INCREDIBLE PLAN AND HELPED US OUT CONSIDERABLY AS THEY DID IT.
THE PLAN ITSELF IS A 270 PAGE DOCUMENT, WHICH WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO SUMMARIZE TODAY.
THE FULL PLAN IS AVAILABLE, UH, IN ALL OF THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS THAT WERE PROVIDED TO YOU.
THE UMOFF IS NESTLED WITHIN AUSTIN CENTRAL GREEN NETWORK, ALONGSIDE BARTON SPRINGS, ZILKER PARK, AND LADY BIRD LAKE.
WE ARE A BELOVED 33-YEAR-OLD GARDEN AND MUSEUM WITH A MISSION TO CULTIVATE COMMUNITY CURIOSITY AND CONNECTION THROUGH NATURE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND THE WORK OF CHARLES UMOFF.
WE WELCOME OVER 35,000 VISITORS A YEAR.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE LANDED HERE AND A BIT ABOUT CHARLES UMOFF.
IN CASE YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR, HE WAS VERY MUCH A 20TH CENTURY ARTIST.
HE STUDIED AND MADE HIS CAREER IN CHICAGO.
HE MARRIED ANGELINE ALLEN, WHO WAS ALSO AN ARTIST AND A POET IN 1941.
LONG TIME AGO, UMOFF BECAME THE FIRST PROFESSOR OF LIFE DRAWING AND SCULPTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
HIS MOST RECOGNIZED STUDENT THAT YOU'LL SEE IN THAT TOP CENTRAL IMAGE WAS FARRAH FAUCET, WHO WAS ALSO QUITE A REMARKABLE ARTIST.
BUT HE ALSO, UH, MENTORED THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS OVER THE YEARS.
HE HAS MORE SCULPTURE ON PUBLIC VIEW IN TEXAS THAN ANY OTHER ARTIST AND HIS ARTS IN THE PERMANENT COLLECTIONS IN CHICAGO, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK SMITHSONIAN ART MUSEUM IN, UH, WASHINGTON, DC MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON,
[02:45:01]
AMONG MANY OTHER MUSEUMS AND VIRTUALLY EVERY TEXAS MUSEUM, THEIR ORIGINAL GIFT, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT TO FULFILL.IN 1985, CHARLES AND ANGELINE UMOFF MADE A MAJOR GIFT TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT WAS OF THEIR HOME, HIS STUDIO, THEIR PROPERTY, AND AT THE TIME, 168 SCULPTURES.
THE CURRENT SITE WHERE THE MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDENS SIT WAS ACQUIRED BY THE CITY AFTER THE, THE GIFT WAS MADE.
SO TO EXPLAIN THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE UPPER RIGHT, THE HISTORIC HOMESTEAD IS WHAT THEY ACTUALLY GIFTED TO THE CITY.
AND THEN ROBERTA CRENSHAW INSISTED ON GETTING THAT YELLOW SECTION SO THAT THEY COULD OPEN WHILE THE, UM, LTS WERE STILL ALIVE.
THE SCULPTURE GARDEN AND MUSEUM OPENED ON THAT YELLOW SECTION IN 1991.
THE LAND AND BUILDINGS ARE OWNED BY THE CITY AND HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UMF SCULPTURE GARDEN AND MUSEUM FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS THROUGH A COUNCIL SUPPORTED AGREEMENT.
HOWEVER, THE ORIGINAL GIFT OF THE HISTORIC HOME AND STUDIO THAT AGAIN, YOU SEE AT THE UPPER RIGHT, IS NOT YET OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DUE TO INACCESSIBILITY CODE COMPLIANCE AND A REQUIRED RESTORATION OF BUILDING SYSTEMS AND FINISHES.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE ABOUT TWO ACRES OF GREEN SPACE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PROPERTY THAT IS SIMPLY NOT ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.
IT'S, IT'S TWO, UM, OVERGROWN IN THERE.
AND THE UMOFF SITE IN WHOLE, AS YOU CAN SEE, IS ACTUALLY ABOUT EIGHT ACRES, BUT LESS THAN HALF OF THAT IS CURRENTLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
WE REFER TO OUR PLAN AS A HISTORIC PRESERVATION, EXPANSION AND UNIFICATION PLAN OR HPEU PLAN.
AND I LIKE HOW FRANCIS THOMPSON SAID EDUCATION.
SHE ALWAYS THINKS EDUCATION BECAUSE THAT IS INDEED WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF ARTS EDUCATION.
THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PIECE, HOWEVER, IS IN AS REF IS IN REFERENCE TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORIC UMOFF HOME AND STUDIO SEEN IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH, AND TO OPENING THE PROPERTY TO THE PUBLIC AS AN EXTENSION OF THE MUSEUM.
ON JUNE 6TH OF THIS YEAR, THE HOME AND STUDIO FINALLY RECEIVED OUR NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES DESIGNATION.
IT IS VERY RARE TO HAVE AN ARTIST STUDIO, HOME AND MUSEUM DEDICATED TO THEIR WORK ON A SINGLE SITE ANYWHERE, BUT WE ARE COMPETING WITH OURSELVES FOR SPACE.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONE SMALL INDOOR GATHERING SPACE THAT CANNOT ACCOMMODATE MOST OF OUR NEEDS.
THE EXPANSION PIECE OF THE PLAN IS IN REFERENCE TO BOTH THE NEED FOR MORE PHYSICAL SPACE, AS WELL AS THE EXPANSION OF THE MANY PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER TO THE COMMUNITY.
JUST A FEW OF THESE INCLUDE OUR SHAPING SPACE PROGRAM, OUR FREE AFTER SCHOOL OUTREACH EDUCATION PROGRAM, IN WHICH WE SEND TRAINED TEACHING ARTISTS TO TITLE ONE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ACROSS AUSTIN.
AND OVER THE YEARS, WE HAVE TAUGHT THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ON THEIR TURF EVERY WEEK.
WE ALSO TRY TO BRING THOSE STUDENTS BACK AND YOU'LL SEE THOSE IN THE TWO MIDDLE SLIDES.
WE TRY TO BRING THEM BACK WITH THEIR FAMILIES TO HAVE A GALLERY CELEBRATION AT THE UMOFF.
WE ALSO OFFER FREE MONTHLY FAMILY DAYS THAT YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT.
AND WE HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS FROM ALL ACROSS THE THE CITY.
AT FAMILY DAY, WE HAVE SUMMER ART CAMP.
WE OFFER SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM.
UMOFF AFTER DARK IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO EVERY OTHER MONTH.
AND WE HAVE, UH, THEMES LIKE LUNAR NEW YEAR, PRIDE, HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
WE DO WELLNESS PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS, TOUCH TOURS FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED, AN UMLA PAID INTERNSHIP, WHICH IS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE INTERN PARTNERSHIPS WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, CITY OF AUSTIN, AND THE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED.
WE ALSO HAVE AN ACTIVE AND VIBRANT EXHIBITION PROGRAM.
IN ADDITION TO CHARLES ZULO, WE EXHIBIT WORK FROM CONTEMPORARY AND EMERGING ARTISTS.
AND CURRENTLY WE ONLY HAVE ONE GALLERY THAT ALSO HOUSES OUR ADMISSIONS AND OUR GIFT SHOP IN, IN THE GALLERY.
THE CITY HAS 225 CHARLES OV ART OBJECTS.
NOW WE HAVE GOTTEN THAT MANY AND THEY'RE IN STORAGE BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE SPACE TO DISPLAY THEM.
WITH THE EXPANSION OF THE MOFT, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SHOWCASE MORE OF CHARLES MLA'S WORK BOTH INDOORS AND OUT, WHILE ALSO CONTINUING WITH OUR ROBUST ROTATING EXHIBITION OF ARTISTS.
WE DO ABOUT BETWEEN FIVE AND EIGHT EXHIBITIONS A YEAR, AND WE FOCUS ON CONTEMPORARY AND EMERGING ARTISTS.
YOU WILL JUST SEE TWO PAST EXHIBITIONS ON TOP ONE WITH MICHAEL RAY CHARLES.
WE HAD HIS FIRST EXHIBITION IN THIS COUNTRY IN 17 YEARS.
AND LUIS JIMENEZ ON THE RIGHT, UH, UM, WHO WE HAVE LOST LUIS OVER QUITE A WHILE AGO.
[02:50:01]
UH, 15 YEARS AGO.HE WAS ACTUALLY A MOF STUDENT, UM, AND PROBABLY ONE OF OUR, OUR BETTER TEXAS SCULPTORS.
WE ALSO HAVE TWO UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS WITH CEDRIC HUCKABEE PLANNED FOR 2025, AND JENNIFER LING DATUK AND TAMMY RUBIN COMING UP.
BUT WE NEED SPACE TO SHOW THEM.
WE WILL BE SHOWING THEM IN OUR SINGLE GALLERY, BUT WE WOULD LOVE TO DO MORE EXHIBITIONS LIKE THAT.
SO WE HAVE MENTIONED PRESERVATION AND EXPANSION, AND THE OTHER MAJOR ENDEAVOR IS A UNIFICATION PIECE OF THE PLAN.
THIS SLIDE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT ILLUSTRATES WHAT A FULLY UNIFIED AND EXPANDED MOFT COULD LOOK LIKE.
THE HPEU PLAN CAREFULLY CONNECTS THE CURRENTLY UNREACHABLE AREAS OF THE SITE WITH THE MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN FOR A SEAMLESS ACCESSIBLE SITE-WIDE USER EXPERIENCE.
THE PLAN SUGGESTS IMPROVEMENTS IN ADDITIONS THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE LARGE GATHERINGS, WORKSHOPS, ART CLASSES, AND EXPANDED EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES TO OFFER PROGRAMS TO EVEN BROADER AND MORE DIVERSE AUDIENCES BY RESPECTING EXISTING STRUCTURES AND ECOSYSTEMS, THE NEW BUILDINGS WOULD AIM TO CO-EXIST WITH THE SITE, ENSURING A HARMONIOUS INTEGRATION WHILE ALSO MAINTAINING THE, UM, L'S UNIQUE LEGACY AND SENSE OF EXPLORATION.
ALRIGHT, SO HOW DID WE COME UP WITH THIS PLAN? THE UMOFF AND PAIGE COMPLETED A ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY.
THIS INCLUDED FOUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP SESSIONS WITH EXPERTS FROM ACROSS CITY DEPARTMENTS, FIVE WORK SESSIONS WITH ARTS AND EDUCATION GROUPS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND NEIGHBORHOOD REPRESENTATIVES, AND FOUR PUBLIC GATHERING SESSIONS.
WE ALSO TABLED AT SEVERAL COMMUNITY EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY, INCLUDING A HILLSIDE CONCERT AT PAN AM HILLSIDE THEATER, A BLACK TO SCHOOL EVENT AT THE CARVER, THE OIDA JAPAN FESTIVAL AT THE AMERICAN ASIAN RESOURCE CENTER, AND VEVA MEKO AT THE PAN AM REC CENTER.
AND WE COMPLETED AN ONLINE SURVEY THAT RESULTED IN 634 COMPLETE RESPONSES FROM THAT PROCESS.
THE COMMUNITY IDENTIFIED SIX CATEGORIES OF, OF PRIORITIES.
THESE INCLUDE HISTORIC PRESERVATION, ACCESSIBILITY, ART, AND EDUCATION, MOBILITY, COMMUNITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
THESE PRIORITIES GUIDED THE STRATEGIES OUTLINED IN THE HBEU PLAN, ALONG WITH THE PRIORITIES FROM THE COMMUNITY.
WE ESTABLISHED DESIGN GUIDELINES TO DETERMINE THE SHAPE OF THE PLAN, RECOGNIZING THE SITE'S ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE ARE CORE PRINCIPLES.
THE COMMUNITY GUIDELINE PRIORITIZES AN ACCESSIBLE AND UNIFIED SITE TO EXPAND THE MFTS REACH AND FOSTER DEEPER CONNECTIONS WITH AUSTINITES.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSIVITY AND BELONGING CONTINUE TO BE ESSENTIAL VALUES OF THIS COMMUNITY GUIDELINE.
AND LASTLY, LEGACY SEEKS NOT ONLY TO PRESERVE THE HISTORIC HOMESTEAD AND TO AMPLIFY CHARLES OLAF'S ARTISTIC HERITAGE, BUT ALSO THE 30 YEAR HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM AND GARDEN, BRINGING ART AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING THAT EXTENDS WELL BEYOND CHARLES MOFS LIFE.
SO WITH THESE GUIDELINES IN MIND, THE PLAN DIVIDES THE MOF SITE INTO FOUR ZONES.
THE FIRST ZONE SEEN HERE IS THE WELCOME ZONE WHERE VISITORS WOULD ENTER THE PROPERTY.
IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE UPDATES AND RELOCATION OF THE CROSSWALK TO ENSURE AND IMPROVED PEDESTRIAN ACCESS AND SAFETY.
REDESIGNING THE PARKING LOT TO ENSURE A DA ACCESSIBILITY AND THE ADDITION OF A NEW BUILDING CALLED THE GATEWAY, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE, UH, SLIDE.
CURRENTLY, AS KATIE MENTIONED, THE MUSEUM ADMISSION AND GIFT SHOP ARE LOCATED WITHIN OUR ONLY INDOOR EXHIBITION SPACE.
SO THERE'S NO SEPARATION BETWEEN THE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING AT THE FRONT DESK AND THE VISITORS VIEWING THE ART IN THE GALLERY.
THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES SHOW A CONCEPTUAL RENDERING OF WHAT THE GATEWAY COULD POTENTIALLY LOOK LIKE.
THIS NEW BUILDING WOULD PROVIDE A PRO A PROPER AND SAFE WELCOME ZONE TO ALLOW VISITORS AND TO, TO ALLOW VISITORS TO ENTER THE PROPERTY AND ALLOW OUR GALLERY TO BE FULLY UTILIZED FOR EXHIBITIONS.
AS OF NOW, WE HAVE ONE INDOOR GALLERY GATHERING SPACE, SERVING MULTIPLE PURPOSES, INCLUDING OUR ONLY STAFF AND BOARD MEETING ROOM, OUR ONLY INDOOR RENTABLE SPACE, AND OUR ONLY PROGRAMMING SPACE.
WE ALSO OFFER FREE TOURS TO AUSTIN SCHOOL CHILDREN, BUT WE HAVE LIMITATIONS DUE TO CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS.
THE GATEWAY WOULD CREATE AN ADDITIONAL INDOOR PROGRAM SPACE AND CLASSROOMS TO WELCOME MORE CHILDREN, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN THIS RENDERING HERE.
AND IN FACT, THE GATEWAY WOULD PROVIDE APPROXIMATELY
[02:55:01]
1500 SQUARE FEET OF INDOOR PROGRAMMING SPACE.TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH, OUR ONE INDOOR ROOM HAS ABOUT 411 SQUARE FEET FOR OUR PROGRAMS. THE SECOND ZONE IS JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE WELCOME ZONE SOUTH OF OUR PARKING LOT.
IT WOULD OPEN UP TWO ACRES SOUTH OF THE WELCOME ZONE AND PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH NATURAL SPACE THAT WOULD INCLUDE A TRAIL IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
OTHERWISE, WE WOULD KEEP IT PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.
THIS WOULD FREE WOULD BE FREE FOR THE PUBLIC TO ACCESS, NO ADMISSION REQUIRED.
AND IT WOULD GIVE TWO ACRES OF PARKLAND BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE THIRD ZONE IS THE GARDEN AND MUSEUM, WHICH IS WHAT IS WE CURRENTLY HAVE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
IT WOULD MOSTLY REMAIN THE SAME WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO ACCESSIBILITY, WATER MANAGEMENT, AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGHOUT THE PROPERTY AND THE EXISTING FACILITIES.
AND AS YOU WALK THROUGH THE EXISTING GARDEN AND HEAD TO THE BACK, YOU WOULD COME ACROSS A ENTRYWAY HIDDEN IN THE TREES, WHICH WOULD LEAD TO THE FOURTH ZONE.
THIS BUILDING NICKNAMED THE TREE HOUSE, WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF GETTING UP THE HILL TO THE HISTORIC PROPERTY.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS RENDERING, THE ENTRYWAY WOULD BE MODEST AND FEATURE AN ADDITIONAL EXHIBITION SPACE.
IT WOULD ALLOW FOR MORE OF THE MOF COLLECTION TO BE TAKEN OUT OF STORAGE AND MADE VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE.
THE BUILDING WILL INCLUDE INDOOR EVENT SPACE ON THE MID-LEVEL.
UM, THE UMOFF ENVISIONS THAT THIS BE USED AS AN EVENT SPACE THAT GENERATES REVENUE TO SUPPORT THE MUSEUM'S OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, AND PROGRAMMING BUDGET, AS WELL AS A COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACE.
WE ENVISION A YEAR ROUND OPPORTUNITY WHERE THE EVENT SPACE COULD SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF OTHER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS AT LOW OR NO COST, INCLUDING THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD REPRESENTED TONIGHT.
AND ON THE UPPER LEVEL, THE TOP LEVEL WILL PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE HISTORIC HOMESTEAD AND SERVE AS A LAUNCHING OFF POINT INTO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES SITE.
THE TREE HOUSE WILL FEATURE AN ELEVATOR AS WELL AS OUTDOOR TRAILS.
TO REACH EACH LEVEL BETWEEN THE THREE LEVELS, IT WOULD OFFER 4,700 SQUARE FEET OF ADDITIONAL INDOOR PROGRAM, EVENT AND EXHIBITION SPACE.
SO, UH, WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS WITH THE HPU PLAN? THE PLAN OUTLINES, UM, SOME PHASING FOR HOW WE WOULD DISSECT ALL OF THESE MINI PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE, THE PHASE ONE OF EXISTING FACILITY PROJECTS.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE ACCESSIBILITY, THE PARKING LOT, UH, WATER MANAGEMENT, PHASE TWO, THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PIECE, AND PHASE THREE, THE EXPANSION AND UNIFICATION PIECE, WHICH INCLUDES THE GATEWAY AND TREE HOUSE BUILDINGS.
UH, WE DO ENVISION THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME OVERLAP BETWEEN THESE PHASES AS WELL.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE, UM, O STAFF BOARD AND VOLUNTEERS.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING US SHARE THIS PLAN AND GIVING US THIS TIME TONIGHT.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST, UH, BOARD AND COMMISSION THAT WE'VE ATTENDED.
WE'RE GONNA BE GOING TO THE, UM, HISTORIC, UH, HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION, THE DESIGN COMMISSION, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, AS WELL AS THE PARKS BOARD.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL BE AT COUNCIL IN THE FALL, UM, AS THE ADVISORY BODY FOR THE ARTS TO COUNCIL.
IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOUR SUPPORT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, ON THIS PROCESS.
WE WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTERS? I HAVE A TINY ONE AND I PROMISE TO MAKE IT QUICK PARKING.
WHAT? AND I, I DON'T WANT ANY OF THE GREEN SPACE FLATTENED FOR CARS, DON'T GET ME WRONG.
BUT I HAVE, UH, WORKED, I'VE DONE A GIG AT THE
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW WITH THIS EXPANSION AND THE CAPACITY, UM, GROWING TO, TO HAVE MANY, MANY MORE PEOPLE SHUTTLING PER LIKE SATELLITE PARKING.
NOT THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ANSWER FOR LIKE THE PERFECT ANSWER FOR THIS, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S A MAJOR ISSUE, UM, FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO ACTUALLY VISIT THE MOFT.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DID TRY TO SOLVE IN SOME WAY WITH THE ZILKER VISION PLAN, WHICH I THINK YOU MAY KNOW IS NOT SUCCESSFUL.
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THE ISSUE WITH PARKING AT THE UMLA IS GONNA BE HANDLED IN A HOLISTIC, COMPREHENSIVE WAY TO ADDRESS PARKING OVERALL FOR THE PARK AND ALL THE OTHER FACILITIES.
WE HAVE THE ZILKER HILLSIDE THEATER, THE NATURE AND SCIENCE CENTER, THE BOTANICAL GARDENS.
UM, SO THE CITY IS LOOKING FOR SOME PARKING SOLUTIONS FOR THE DISTRICT OVERALL.
UM, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S, UM, MANY CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING ON
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MULTIPLE LEVELS.UM, SO REST ASSURED THAT, UH, PARKING IS SOMETHING THAT IS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE FOR ALL OF OUR FACILITIES AND ALL OF THE SOLUTIONS THAT YOU MENTIONED, SHUTTLING, SATELLITE PARKING, ALL OF THOSE JUST ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN ACCESS.
THE PLAN WILL HELP A LOT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A SAFE WAY TO GET KIND OF ALONG AZ MORTON ROAD.
BUT IT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND A MAJOR ONE THAT COMES UP ALL THE TIME.
I WANNA BE THERE ALL THE TIME, BUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT PARKING IS ALWAYS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE.
UM, COMMISSIONER'S, UH, MOTION TO SUPPORT OUR, UH, PRESENT OUR UMOFF, THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION, EXPANSION AND UNIFICATION PLAN.
SO MOVED BY COMMISSIONER, SMALL BUCK.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND BY COMMISSIONER GARZA.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE OF THE UMWA.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR TIME.
[11. Discussion and Possible Action to approve the Prospectus for the Austin Convention Center Expansion AIPP Project with presentation by Riley Triggs, Project Management Supervisor with Capital Delivery Services ]
ARE GOING TO ITEM 11, UM, WHICH IS DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE PROSPECTUS FOR THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION, A IPP PROJECT WITH PRESENTATION BY RILEY TRIGGS, PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUPERVISOR AND CAPITALS DELIVERY SERVICES.SUE LAMB, WE ARE IN A FLASHBACK.
IS THIS THE TWILIGHT ZONE WE GOT? HI, MC CASTILLO HERE.
OH, AND IT'S NOT, YOU'RE NOT DREAMING.
UM, IT'S, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
I'M GONNA INTRODUCE THE PROJECT AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO RILEY.
BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW ME, I'M SUE LAMB.
AND, UM, BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION, I WAS THE A IPP PROGRAM MANAGER FROM 2016 UNTIL RETIRING IN, UM, 2021.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT M CASTILLO IS NOW STEPPING INTO THAT ROLE.
UH, I'M NOW WORKING ON SPECIAL PROJECTS SUCH AS SUPPORTING THIS PROSPECTUS THAT'S COMING TO YOU TONIGHT, HELPING TO BRING PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITIES TO ARTISTS.
WITH ME IS RILEY TRIGGS, UH, THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUPERVISOR WITHIN THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES DEPARTMENT, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER REDEVELOPMENT.
HE'S GOING TO INTRODUCE THE PROJECT TO YOU AND THEN I'LL JUMP IN AFTERWARDS TO TALK ABOUT THE PROSPECTUS.
AND COULD YOU CHANGE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE? SO, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
UM, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS REALLY EXCITING PROGRAM THAT WE'VE GOT, UH, FOR A IPP FOR THE NEW CONVENTION CENTER, UH, REHABIL OR REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
UM, AND I WILL SAY WITH THIS PROJECT, MY GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR HAS BEEN PULLING SUE LAMB OUT OF RETIREMENT, UH, TO WORK ON THIS CAREER PROJECT, WHICH IS GONNA BE, UH, A REALLY GREAT A IPP PROJECT FOR THE CITY.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE PROJECT IS TO GIVE YOU A CONTEXT FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND THEN SUE IS GOING TO, UH, PRESENT THE REST OF THE, OF THE PROGRAM AND OUR PROPOSAL.
UH, BUT THE CONVENTION CENTER, UM, REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT IS, UM, A COMPLETE PROJECT TO REDO THE ENTIRE CONVENTION CENTER AND PROVIDE, UH, INCREASED EXHIBIT SPACE TO KEEP UP WITH THE GROWING NEEDS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, INCLUDED IN THIS PROJECT, UM, IS GOING TO BE MORE EXHIBIT SPACE, UM, MORE BALLROOM SPACE, MORE MEETING ROOMS, UM, MORE EVENT SPACE ALL OVER, UH, TO BETTER SERVE THE CONVENTION NEEDS FOR THE CITY.
A REALLY EXCITING PROJECT FOR US.
UH, JUST A QUICK TIMELINE OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
WE STARTED JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR WITH OUR CONSULTANTS, UM, AND WE'RE IN THE DESIGN PHASE RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE ARE SCHEDULED TO BEGIN DEMO AND EXCAVATION, UM, IN APRIL AND MAY OF NEXT YEAR.
UM, AND THEN CONSTRUCTION FOLLOWING SHORTLY, UH, BEHIND THAT, UM, WE ARE CLOSING RIGHT AFTER SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OF 2025 NEXT YEAR, AND THEN REOPENING BEFORE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OF 2029.
SO WE'VE GOT A VERY AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE, UM, A VERY TIGHT BUDGET.
AND, UM, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS GET OUR ARTISTS, UH, INTO THE FOLD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO START WORKING WITH OUR GREAT CONSULTANTS.
UH, WE HAVE LMN FROM SEATTLE, UM, WHO ONE OF THEIR SPECIALTIES IS CONVENTION CENTERS.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, THE GREAT LOCAL FIRM OF, UH, PAGE ARCHITECTS, UH, WORKING ON THIS AS WELL AS A JOINT VENTURE.
UM, SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANNA BRING ARTISTS INTO THE FOLD AND HAVE, UM, THEM WORK WITH OUR ARCHITECTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
AND SUE'S GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT HOW WE WOULD LIKE TO SET THIS UP AND, UH, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
SO, AS RILEY EXPLAINED, THE CONVENTION CENTER IS GOING THROUGH A REDEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION.
THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IS ELIGIBLE FOR A IPP ORDINANCES REQUIREMENT THAT 2% OF ELIGIBLE CONSTRUCTION
[03:05:01]
BUDGETS BE EXPENDED ON PUBLIC ART.THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET HAS, UH, CREATED A TOTAL A IPP APPROPRIATION FOR THIS PROJECT THAT'S NORTH OF $16 MILLION.
THE A IPP PROGRAM IS WORKING WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER TO FINALIZE THE PRECISE NUMBER.
UM, THE A IPP PROGRAM ALSO EXPECTS TO DIVIDE THE TOTAL APPROPRIATION AMONG MULTIPLE ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, YOU SEE THE BREAKOUT IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, FOR THE CURRENT PROSPECTUS AND THEN FUTURE PROSPECTUSES.
UM, I'D LIKE TO SHARE AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TONIGHT TO EMBED ARTISTS' WORK INTO THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BUILDING AND SITE.
WE'RE REFERRING TO THIS AS ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED ARTWORK OPPORTUNITY.
I'LL HIGHLIGHT THE NEED FOR SPEED FOR THE SPONSOR PROJECT AND THE NEED TO GET ARTISTS ON BOARD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
IDEALLY, THE ARTS COMMISSION WILL BE ASKED TO APPROVE ARTIST AND ALTERNATE FOR EACH ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED ARTWORK OPPORTUNITY IN OCTOBER.
AND AS YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE BEEN ON THE ON THE ARTS COMMISSION FOR A WHILE, THAT IS SUPERSONIC SPEED.
UM, WE ARE COMMITTING TO PROVIDING 10 ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THIS PROSPECTUS POSSIBLE ARTWORK.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ARTISTS COULD INCLUDE CREATING LARGE SCALE PUBLIC ART, UH, UH, INTEGRATED INTO FLOOR TREATMENTS, WALL INSTALLATIONS, THE EXTERIOR BUILDING SKIN, POSSIBLE INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR SCRIMS, LIGHTING AND OTHER POSSIBILITIES.
THESE LARGE SCALE WORKS WILL TAKE THE PLACE OF ARCHITECTURALLY DESIGNED FINISHES AND TREATMENTS, GIVING ARTISTS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO DO HIGHLY VISIBLE WORK WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.
SO HERE YOU SEE FUTURE PROSPECTUSES THAT WILL COME TO YOU SOON WITH POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES.
AS YOU SEE HERE, THESE WILL BE OPEN CALLS TO ARTISTS.
THERE'LL BE CALLS FROM MULTIPLE WORKS OF 3D AND 2D ART AS ENHANCEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE, THE BUILDING AND OR SITE.
THERE WILL BE A PERSPECTIVES DEFINING MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STREET LEVEL ACTIVATION, UM, PUBLIC ART, ENSURING THAT THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE SURROUNDING THE, UH, CONVENTION CENTER IS ENGAGING AND ENJOYABLE WITHOUT ANY BLANK WALLS THAT COULD EVOKE A BACK OF HOUSE KIND OF EXPERIENCE.
AND THEN A PROSPECTUS WILL COME FORWARD FOR ARTISTS TO ENGAGE DIGITAL SCREENS OR PROJECTION BASED PUBLIC ART INSIDE AND OR OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.
THAT WOULD CREATE AN EXCITING EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTING AUSTIN'S CULTURE.
THIS ARTWORK WOULD HIGHLIGHT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DESIGNATION AS A CITY OF MEDIA ARTS WITHIN THE UNESCO CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK.
AND ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES MAY BE PROPOSED LATER AS WELL.
JUST AS WITH, UM, A IPPS USUAL PROCESS ARTS ARTIST COMMISSIONS WILL START WITH THE DESIGN CONTRACT TO GET FROM THE CONCEPTUAL PHASE TO THE FINAL DESIGN WITH ALL THE NEEDED DETAILS, INCLUDING ENGINEERING AND BUDGET CALCULATIONS, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FABRICATED AND INSTALLED ARTWORK IS EXACTLY WHAT WAS APPROVED AT FINAL DESIGN.
THIS IS TYPICALLY IN A TYPICAL PROJECT, 15 TO 20% OF THE COMMISSION BUDGET FOR THE FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION CONTRACT.
THE ARTISTS WILL BE EMBEDDED WITH THE DESIGN TEAM UNDER THIS PROSPECTUS TO REALIZE THEIR ARTWORK, OVERSEEING AND APPROVING THE FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION PROCESS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AS IT'S BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER.
WITH THIS DESIGN TEAM DE PROJECT DELIVERY PROCESS, ARTISTS WILL WORK WITH PROJECT ARCHITECTS TO CODINE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR ARTWORK WITHIN THE ARCHITECTURE.
THEY WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE DESIGN TEAM WHILE DESIGNING AND DETAILING THEIR ARTWORK SO THAT THE WORK FITS SEAMLESSLY INTO THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UPON INSTALLATION, AN ARTIST WILL BE CONTRACTED AS AN ARCHITECT, WOULD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESIGN PHASE, CONCEPTUAL THROUGH FINAL DESIGN, AS WELL AS THE FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION.
THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK WILL PRODUCE THE FINAL PRODUCT SUBJECT TO THE ARTIST'S OVERSIGHT AND APPROVAL.
SO THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ARTISTS TO CREATE BIGGER BUDGET, LARGER SCALE PUBLIC ART THAT'S PROMINENTLY FEATURED IN THE SITE.
THEY WILL NOT HAVE THE ADDITIONAL BURDEN OF MANAGING THE FINANCES, SUCH AS NEEDING TO GET A LOAN TO FINANCE, ARTWORK, FABRICATION, BECAUSE THE CITY CANNOT PAY ARTISTS FOR WORK THAT HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED YET.
OCCUPANCY PERMITS, FABRICATORS SCHEDULES, AND VENDORS FOR THESE LARGE SCALE PROJECTS ARE A LOT TO MANAGE.
FREEDOM FROM BUREAUCRACY ALLOWS THE ARTISTS MORE TIME FOR THE CREATIVE APPROACHES AND SOLUTIONS THAT THEY CAN BRING.
THE A IPP PROGRAM, UM, WILL HAVE STAFF THAT WILL WORK WITH THE DESIGN TEAM AND OVERSEE THE PUBLIC ART PROCESS THROUGHOUT.
SO, AS WE MENTIONED, THE DESIGN TEAM IS WORKING ON A VERY FAST TRACK TO MEET THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER DEPARTMENT.
[03:10:01]
A FAST TRACK ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS TO GET THE ARTISTS IN PLACE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THEY CAN WORK WITH THE ARTISTS TO CODINE THE SPACE AS AN OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR ARTWORK.FORTUNATELY, THE A IPP ORDINANCE GUIDELINES DEFINES A LIMITED ENTRY COMPETITION SELECTION PROCESS FOR SITUATIONS SUCH AS THIS THREE.
YOU SEE THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND THE ELIGIBILITY FOR ARTISTS.
IT'S NOTABLE THAT THIS PROJECT DELIVERY METHOD ALLOWS EMERGING ARTISTS AND ARTISTS WITH NO PUBLIC ART EXPERIENCE TO BE COMMISSIONED BECAUSE THEY'LL HAVE SO MUCH SUPPORT BUILT IN.
THE DESIGN TEAM IS READY TO WORK DEEPLY WITH ARTISTS IN ORDER TO INTEGRATE PUBLIC ART.
THEY'LL SUPPORT THE DESIGN PROCESS.
THEY'LL HELP THE ARTISTS CONCEPTUALIZE HOW THEIR AESTHETIC CAN BE EMBEDDED INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND HELP THEM THROUGH THE FINAL DESIGN PROCESS WITH DETAILS, WORKING DRAWINGS AND OTHER RESOURCES TO CONVEY THE FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION PROCESS.
THE PROCESS STARTS WITH AN ARTIST NOMINATION PROCESS TO DEVELOP A ROSTER OF ARTISTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR COMMISSION.
ELIGIBLE ARTISTS WILL BE NOMINATE NOMINATED BY A NOMINATION PANEL OF ART AND CULTURE LEADERS THAT THE DESIGN TEAM AND A IPP PROGRAM ASSEMBLE EMERGING ARTISTS AND ARTISTS.
WITHOUT EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC ART WILL BE ABLE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
EACH MEMBER OF THE A IPP PANEL AND THE ARTS COMMISSION IS INVITED TO NOMINATE ARTISTS AS WELL.
UH, STAFF WILL REVIEW THE LIST OF ARTISTS FOR ELIGIBILITY AND THEN, UH, THE LIST OF NOMINATED ARTISTS WILL AGAIN RETURN TO THE A IPP PANEL AND THE ARTS COMMISSION IN AUGUST FOR APPROVAL.
THEN WE'LL CONFIRM THAT THE NOMINATED ARTISTS ACCEPT THEIR NOMINATION, NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO, THAT THEY ACCEPT THE DESIGN TEAM PROJECT DELIVERY PROCESS.
AND THEN THEY'LL UPLOAD, UPLOAD THEIR QUALIFICATIONS TO, UH, PUBLIC ARTIST.ORG FOR SELECTION.
THEN IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, WE WILL RUN THE STANDARD A IPP SELECTION JURY PROCESS OUTLINED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SLIDE.
THE SELECTION JURY WILL BE MADE UP OF, UH, LOCAL VISUAL ARTISTS AND EXPERIENCED PUBLIC ARTIST ART, ART AND CULTURAL LEADERS WITH KNOWLEDGE OF SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS TO AUSTIN'S CREATIVE HERITAGE, AS WELL AS A DESIGN TEAM REPRESENTATIVE AND AN AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER REPRESENTATIVE WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE IN FACILITY MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE.
I'LL ASK YOU FOR NOMINATIONS FOR JURORS TO MAKE UP THE SELECTION JURY IN JUST A COUPLE SLIDES.
HERE YOU SEE THE PROJECT GOALS.
THE GOALS OF THIS OPPORTUNITY ARE TO COMMISSION ARTISTS TO CREATE ARTWORK THAT WOULD REFLECT THE CULTURE, CREATIVITY, AND VIBE THAT CREATE OUR SHARED EXPERIENCE OF AUSTIN.
INTEGRATE SEAMLESSLY INTO THE SITE FACILITY BUILDING, FINISHES AND OR INFRASTRUCTURE.
CONVEY THE MISSION OF THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER TO PROMOTE AUSTIN AS A PREMIER DESTINATION, EMPLOY SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND PROCESSES AND THE CREATION OF THE ARTWORK AND HER USUAL FOR, UH, A IPP.
UM, THE GOAL IS TO, UH, ENGAGE ARTISTS TO CREATE ARTWORK THAT WOULD BE SAFE, MAINTAINED AND VANDAL RESISTANT IN ITS ENVIRONMENT, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PUBLIC ART COLLECTION.
SO WE HAVE TWO REQUESTS FOR YOU AS ARTS COMMISSIONERS.
FIRST, UM, WE'RE ASKING THAT YOU PLEASE NOMINATE UP TO THREE ARTISTS FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AS YOU'RE WILLING AND ABLE.
THE DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS WILL BE JULY 29TH, SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
WE WILL EMAIL YOU A LINK TOMORROW TO AN ARTIST NOMINATING FORM FOR YOUR NOMINATIONS.
AND SECOND, WE WOULD ASK THAT YOU NOMINATE SELECTION JURORS FOR US AND THE CATEGORIES THAT YOU SEE HERE TO LOCAL VISUAL ARTISTS AND EXPERIENCED PUBLIC ARTISTS AND TO ART AND CULTURE LEADERS WITH SIGNIFICANT KNOWLEDGE OF, UH, AUSTIN'S CREATIVE HERITAGE.
PLEASE SEND THOSE NOMINATIONS TO LAURA ODEGAARD BY JULY 29TH.
HERE YOU SEE THE PROJECT SCHEDULE, WHICH ASSUMES THAT YOU APPROVE THE PROSPECTUS TONIGHT, NOMINATED ARTISTS WOULD UPLOAD THEIR QUALIFICATIONS IN AUGUST, AND SELECTION WOULD TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
THE ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED PUBLIC ART PROJECT IS UP FOR APPROVAL TONIGHT.
TIMING OF FUTURE PROSPECTUSES ASSOCIATED WITH AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER, UH, WILL BE DETERMINED AS THE SPONSOR PROJECT PROGRESSES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG NIGHT.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
THANK YOU TO YOU BOTH FOR A VERY EXCITING PROSPECTUS.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE COMMISSIONER KY
OH, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? COMMISSIONER MULLIN, THOUGH? OH, NO, I WAS GONNA
[03:15:01]
SECOND.UH, MOTION BY BERKY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAL.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE PROSPECTUS.
AND I JUST WANNA BE SURE AS FAR AS RECUSING, UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S THE DEPARTMENT I WORK IN.
I EMAILED ABOUT IT, BUT THIS IS MY FIRST TIME, SO I JUST WANNA BE SURE, UM, THAT THAT'S NOTED.
I THINK YOU SHOULD BE FINE SINCE YOU'RE NOT DIRECTLY FINANCIALLY BENEFITING FROM THIS.
THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR WAITING TO THIS LATE IN THE NIGHT TO PRESENT.
LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU AGAIN.
UM, WE'VE MOVED ITEMS 12 THROUGH 16 ON CONSENT.
[17. Discussion and possible action to solidify consented terms of Commissioner Agreements as discussed at the 6/25 Arts Commission Retreat ]
ITEM AND I'M PUSHING IT TO AUGUST 17 AND 20.UH, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON IS TEARING DOWN AT THE MOMENT.
UM, DID WE, DID WE DO ANYTHING WITH IT? UHUH? WE HADN'T GOTTEN TO IT YET.
I WAS GONNA GO TO 18 AND 19 AND THEN GO TO 20.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE THAT TO AUGUST TOO.
SHE HAS REQUESTED THAT, BUT I WANNA WAIT FOR HER TO COME BACK ON SCREEN.
LIKE SECURITY'S TRYING TO KICK US OUT.
WE'RE ALMOST, WE'RE ALMOST THERE Y'ALL.
CAN I GET A SECOND? SECONDED BY SCHOCK.
COMMISSIONER MONALI YOU IN FAVOR.
UNANIMOUS WITH THOSE ON THE DA.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE ON TO ITEM
[18. Update from joint Arts/Music Commission Working Group on Urban Core Issues with Commissioners Gray, Maldonado, and Schmalbach (chair).]
18.UM, WORKING GROUP UPDATES FROM THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ON URBAN COURT ISSUES WITH COMMISSIONER GRAY MULLIN AND SMALL BLOCK CHAIR.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONVENTION CENTER FOR THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GROUND FLOOR DEVELOPMENT.
WENT OUT FROM OUR WORKING GROUP AND, UH, THIS IS SORT OF FOR INFORMATION, BUT NOTE THAT THE WORK WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT FROM EDD THROUGH, MOSTLY THROUGH DONALD JACKSON FOR THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE AND CREATIVE SPACE BONUS PROGRAM IS GOING TO COUNCIL ON THURSDAY.
IS THAT RIGHT, LAURA? GIMME A WINK.
IF YOU WANNA SHOW UP AND GIVE A THUMBS UP.
YOU'RE ALSO WELCOME TO WRITE INTO COUNCIL AND, UH, DEMONSTRATE SUPPORT AND WRITING.
WE SEEING THAT GO AROUND THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
[19. Update from Community Engagement Working Group with Commissioners Zisman, Houston, and Kracheni (chair)]
FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS ZISMAN.CAN I ACTUALLY ASK A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST SAID WITH COUNCIL? WHAT, WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN? IT WAS THE, YOU CAN JUST EMAIL COUNCIL IN SUPPORT OF, I BELIEVE IT'S ITEM 16.
UM, YES, SO THERE IS NO NEW UPDATE.
UM, PERSONALLY I JUST WANNA, UM, EXPAND THAT AND SAY, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WAS SHARED TONIGHT WITH A LOT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS FACING DISPLACEMENT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CASH FLOW ISSUES AND GRANT ACCESS.
UM, US ON THE COMMISSION ALSO HAVE ORGANIZATIONS AND ARE FACING VERY, VERY REAL, VERY SIMILAR CHALLENGES OF DISPLACEMENT, UM, INCLUDING MY OWN.
SO I HAVE NOT HAD ANY TIME, UM, FOR THIS WORKING GROUP, BUT I DO THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, UM, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF, UH, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WERE HAD TONIGHT.
AND SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN GET SOME MORE VOICES IN THIS WORKING GROUP.
IT WAS A, IT WAS A WORKING GROUP OF FOUR.
UM, AND ONE ACTUALLY IS NO LONGER ON THE ARTS COMMISSION, SO NOW IT'S DOWN TO THREE.
UM, SO IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING THAT SPOT, UM, AND MEETING AND DISCUSSING, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
UM, WITH THAT WE'RE ON TO ITEMS FOR INFORMATION.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOT THRIVE AND ELEVATE OPEN.
WE DIDN'T ADDRESS 20 THAT WE SCRAP.
'CAUSE WE GOT ITEMS FOR INFORMATION AND THEN I'M JUST GOING IN ORDER WHAT THEY GIVE ME, I THINK 20.
[ITEMS FOR INFORMATION]
KIND OF TRYING TO GIVE GINA A SECOND TO GET BACK.ARE YOU GONNA, ARE YOU GONNA POP IN? WHAT'S GOING ON? JOIN US.
ARE WE AT ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? YEAH, WE ARE, WE'RE SO INFORMATIVE IN THIS MOMENT.
SO, UM, IT ACTUALLY GOT PUSHED FROM THE COUNCIL AGENDA, SO WE'LL SEND, UM, THE MEMO ABOUT THAT, BUT IT IS NOT HAPPENING THIS THURSDAY.
SO HOLD AND WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU KNOW
[03:20:01]
WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, ON COUNCIL'S AGENDA SO YOU ALL CAN, UH, EMAIL IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO.SO THREE THINGS QUICKLY TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, UM, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, OUR ARTIST CAREER TRAINING IS LAUNCHING TOMORROW.
UM, AND SO THE APPLICATION FORM, UM, CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE.
IT WILL BE OPEN FOR FOUR WEEKS.
UM, 24 ARTISTS ARE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS TRAINING PROGRAM WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS DIVISION, UM, AND VARIOUS EXPERTS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IT WILL BE IN OUR NEWSLETTERS AND EVERYTHING AS WELL, BUT JUST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL A HEADS UP ABOUT THAT.
UM, THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM THAT IS RECEIVING THE NEA FUNDING THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT FOR OUR FUTURE 35.
THAT APPLICATION WILL BE LAUNCHING ON THE 23RD OF THIS MONTH.
UM, SO AGAIN, STAY TUNED FOR THAT ONE.
UH, IT WILL BE OPEN AS WELL FOR FOUR WEEKS, BUT, UM, BECAUSE THESE ARE HAPPENING BEFORE WE MEET NEXT MONTH, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNEW ABOUT THAT.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY, AS WE'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, WE ARE WORKING WITH MEASURE TO DO AN ASSESSMENT OF OUR HOT FUNDED PROGRAMS. SO NOT JUST CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING, UM, BUT ALSO MUSIC, UH, AND HERITAGE AS WELL.
AND SO THEY'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF DOING FOCUS GROUPS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THESE FOCUS GROUPS ARE PAID.
UM, THERE'S $125 BENEFIT FOR EACH PARTICIPANT.
THERE ARE THREE DATES COMING UP.
I HAVE A LITTLE BROCHURE THAT MEASURED JUST SENT ME TODAY THAT I WILL SEND OUT TO YOU ALL AS WELL.
UM, BUT THE NEXT DATES ARE JULY 22ND AT 1230 IN THE AFTERNOON.
UM, IT'S MONDAY, THEN TUESDAY THE 23RD AT 6:00 PM AND THEN THURSDAY AT 1230 NOON.
UM, SO THEY'RE ALL ONLINE AND THEY'RE AROUND 90 MINUTES, UM, FOR CONVERSATION TO HELP INFORM, UM, FUTURE HOT FUNDED PROGRAMS. SO WE'LL SEND THAT INFORMATION TO YOU ALL, BUT PLEASE HELP AMPLIFY, UH, SO WE CAN COLLECT SOME OF THESE, UM, COMMENTS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM COMMUNITY.
PLEASE SEND ALL OF THOSE ALONG AND WE WILL PASS THEM ALONG TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ANY OTHER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? OKAY.
LET'S GET A MOTION TO MOVE 20 TO AUGUST.
MOTION BY SCH SMALL BOX, SECONDED BY GARZA ON IT.
YOU CAN HAVE FIRST IF YOU WANT, UH, ALL IN FAVOR,
THAT WAS ACTUALLY COMMISSIONER HOUSTON'S IDEA.
SHE'S HAVING TROUBLE WITH HER MIC.
SO SHE SUGGESTED THAT VERY EARLY ON IN THE MEETING SINCE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SHE ADDED TO THE AGENDA.
UM, BUT I KNOW COMMISSIONER GRAY WOULD APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO BE PRESENT FOR THAT CONVERSATION AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF THIS VERY, UM, OH, NO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
JUST KIDDING.UM, WE'RE TALKING ITEM 17, ITEM 20 FROM JULY, AGENDA TO AUGUST.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD, UH, WORKING, YEAH.
DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION AROUND, UM, LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES FOR OUR HOT FUNDING, UM, WITH A COMMUNITY, A WORKING GROUP WITH POTENTIAL COMMUNITY COLLABORATORS.
UM, ANY OTHER FUTURE ITEMS? WE, AGAIN, A REMINDER, YOU CAN ALWAYS, UM, ADD SOMETHING TO THE AGENDA UP UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A SECOND, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER TO, TO BACK YOU UP ON THAT.
I'M ALWAYS, UH, HERE TO BE A SECOND FOR YOU.
IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE AGENDA.
UM, A REMINDER THAT WE HAVE MONTHLY A IPP MEETINGS THAT I'M ENCOURAGING ALL OF US TO AUDIT AT LEAST ONCE, UM, THIS YEAR, IDEALLY MAYBE TWICE IN A YEAR.
UM, LINDSAY HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB INVITING US ALL TO THOSE.
WE, WE GET ALL THE CALENDAR UPDATES FOR WHEN THOSE HAPPEN.
I THINK IT'S THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH, SO IF AND WHEN YOU CAN PLEASE ATTEND.
I THINK IT'S A MIX OF VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON MANAGER.
DO YOU KNOW IF THEY'RE IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL? QUARTERLY IS, UH, IN PERSON.
QUARTERLY IS IN PERSON VIRTUAL MONTHLY.
OUR, UH, NEW A IPP MANAGERS ALREADY BEING PUT TO TASK.
SO WITH THAT, WE'VE REACHED THE END.
GARZA, YOU WANNA DO THE MOTION TO ADJOURN?
EVERYBODY WHO STAYED ALL NIGHT.
I THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE LONGEST MEETING ON RECORD.