- I'm going to go ahead and call this meeting to order. Thanks, everyone, for being here. I know it's
- cold. It's warming back up here. Yeah, it's going to be like back 70 degrees again on Friday, Saturday.
- So yeah, right. It's a bummer all the leaves fell off the trees, though. OK, yeah.
- Agenda item number two, a review of the BAC minutes. So the minutes have been distributed and read.
- Are there any noted corrections to the October meeting minutes? Great. Okay. I'm going to go ahead and
- motion to approve the minutes. Can I get a verbal second? Second. All right. Thank you, Paul. All in
- favor of approving the minutes, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay.
- The minutes are approved. Holly, walk us through the financial world of things. Hello everyone. No changes.
- So we are still trying to get $65,000 at the door to our artistic advancement grant recipients. We're
- almost there. We're waiting for legal to answer one more question about them, and then hopefully we
- will get those MOUs out by the end of the week, and then we'll wrap the payments very quickly after that.
- During this meeting, we will vote on the operations grant allocations. We had a great meeting last Friday
- that Gerard will talk a little bit more about. And so between getting the artistic advancement grants
- out the door and the operation grants out the door, we will have more than spent our grant funds available
- for the year. Gerard, again, will talk a little bit more about this.
- just based on the quality of the operations grants this cycle and just knowing that our 501c3s are in
- more need than ever right now, we found some extra money in my budget to be able to give a little more
- funds for that. We have the $5,000 for emerging artist professional development. I'm working with CHAS
- right now to encumber $4,000 of those funds for workshops that will happen next year with some awesome art
- And we still need to talk about the Public Art and Grants Fund of $16,500. But we'll do that in a public
- art meeting. So while you see no changes on this screen from last year or from last month, funds are
- moving. And I'm happy to answer any questions. Great. Cool. Thank you. Thanks, Holly. Item number three.
- back to you and jazz for city updates. I don't remember if this happened before or after the last full
- commission meeting. Our 26th budget was approved. So that's great. And basically we're going to have
- the same amount of money that we did this year to spend. So we'll have the same amount of money to spend
- on public art and grants. And that's separate from our one percent for the arts allocation, which is
- tied to capital.
- projects and comes from a different funding source that's outside of the city's general fund and local
- income tax budget. So I'm heartened. We were one of the few budgets that wasn't cut this year. So I
- think that's just a great indication from our administration and from council that they see value in
- the arts. Of course, I always want to fight to get especially our grant funds up every year. And I was
- just asked not to do that this year. But I think we'll still be able to do a lot with what we've got.
- next year and we'll see how things move forward into 27 when there's potential for there to be more
- cuts but I will just kind of keep my finger on that pulse and
- I know you will all support me in advocating to keep our budget strong as we go into the next budget
- cycle. We will. Thank you. Thank you. Michael, we will keep council there till 2 a.m. I think
- Beyond that, here at the city, I think we're just trying to wind down the year. We're coming up on our
- last couple of payment and claim cycles for the years, still trying to get contracts out the door before
- the end of the year so we can hold on to every part of money that we have. And that's really what we're
- focusing on right now. Can I do the BAC engineer? Yeah. Yeah. OK. Hi. OK. Thank you, Holly.
- So, save the date for Wednesday, December 10th for the end of year BAC artist party that celebrates
- the grant recipients. That will probably be the day. Something like six to eight, something like that.
- Please reserve that day on your calendar. For now, I will keep you updated. It might be at FAR Center
- for Contemporary Arts.
- Again, some of this is a little not confirmed. It's not confirmed fully, but just please hold that for
- now, and I will get in touch more, and we'll try to get that out as soon as possible. But that's my
- update, so please attend. Thank you. If it does stay on the 10th, if we could do 6.30, or maybe start
- at 6, but well, because that's the same day as our last meeting. So we will be here. Right,
- we noted that. So yes, 6.30. Yes. That's why we did it.
- Yeah, we did know that. Paul and I did know that. Because last December's meeting was like 30 minutes.
- Yeah. And I think it's because Chas and I were both not here. So it could be a shorter meeting. It might
- not be, though. You never know. It's still plenty of time for things to come up. We shall do 630.
- But yes, we know that the Arts Commission meeting is on that day. But yeah, you can just go from here
- to there. And there'll be food, right?
- Likely I have to get it approved, but I'm going to do my due diligence as a public servant. This party
- has libations of all sorts and festive wonder for the arts community. I think Christina might help me
- with some of this, but I need to talk to her. OK, thank you. The last one you had there was so fun.
- Thank you, yes.
- Trying. Yeah, I wasn't at that one funnily enough. The pictures looked great. They looked like a fun
- time. But yeah, I will send out a more official confirmation. I just wanted you to mark your calendars
- now as it gets into busy season. And shout out to Rob for reminding us that it was October last month
- and that we needed to figure that out. So kudos, Rob.
- Okay, now I'm gonna stop talking, thank you. Okay, thank you, Cindy, for your updates. Agenda number
- four, we're gonna have a presentation, actually on behalf of two different groups. So I'm happy to welcome
- back Carol Rhodes, who will be speaking on behalf of Artists for Climate Awareness, and then Lily Shan,
- who will be speaking on Brushes for a Better Planet,
- Bloomington Project for Earth. The groups are related in some ways. We're actually partnering. It's
- going to be very quick. I have 10 slides. If you both want to stand over here, you can. If you want
- to stand over here, you could. Oh, fine. I don't know if that's- Or join the table. That's where the
- mics are. Okay. Lily, if you want to come over here too. Yeah, so Lily and I are partnering.
- in a project. She approached me last spring. We are, and Artists for Climate Awareness is hosting, advising,
- and being a sponsor for the project that Lily will describe soon. We're very proud. So just a very quick
- two minutes about who Artists for Climate Awareness is. Next slide. Our mission is to use art to educate
- Inspire and empower people to act promptly both personally and communally to reverse environmental
- destruction and initiate the earth's healing and that's what we do. And we do it a lot. Next slide.
- And this is
- slide deck that I've used before and you're the Bloomington Arts Commission so I probably don't need
- to explain to you how the depth and breadth and effect that art has on people so we can skip this slide.
- We raise awareness about climate change through artistic expression in workshops and events. We always
- educate. We
- hope to inspire and empower people to become agents of sustainability. We partner with like-minded
- non-profits, and I'm gonna just give you a list of the non-profits that we have partnered with in the
- three years that we've been in business. We partner with Canopy Bloomington Sierra Club, Sycamore Land
- Trust here, Center for Sustainable Living, Sass Press, Audubon, Hilltup Garden,
- We've done something at Lotus Blossoms, Jacobs School of Music. We are partnering with a group called
- Net Impact at IU. MC Iris contracted to do some education, but our instructor canceled. And we're partnering
- with a lot of new groups via Lilly's project. So next slide. We serve artists.
- We serve communities. We have a lot of partners who you just heard of. We've had, and this was an August
- slide deck, 156 people have joined us at one time. That means paid money and donated. Right now we have
- 85 of them that are current. So I sort of, you know, they rotate through and so I need to bump some
- people. Some will stay on, some will come on you. But right now we have 85 currently paid members
- And 31 of those are lifetime. Next slide. We were founded in 2022 by a group of artists. We started
- doing grassroots workshops. We have done a lot since. We've had five total art shows. We've had more
- than 22 workshops now. I think it's up to 26.
- And we do children's events. We did Middle Way House. We've done all kinds of things. And our exhibitions
- include musical performances, too. Next slide. So these are just the programs we have offered. We offer
- workshops, art shows.
- And we've done some legislative outreach with Sierra Club, that which we can do as a 501C3. And these
- are the 24, 25 highlights. In 2025 now, we've had four workshops, two musical performances, two panel
- talks. We did Lotus Blossoms last spring. We've had a film screening, four tabling events,
- We have an art sale at Bloomington Fine Arts Supply and with the IU Group we're planning a bake sale
- and some other things. Next. Some programs and initiatives. We've got Brushes for a Better Planet that
- you can see and Lily will go into that. Another very big one is this Midwest Climate Art Consortium
- which is in process right now. We're in the planning phase with a group of
- people from Louisville and Cincinnati and Chicago, as well as some others. So we are hoping to share
- resources with other nonprofits and scientists. So we have some scientists groups there, too. So that's
- a very exciting thing. Next. So our visions are to expand our regional collaborations so that we can
- get more bang for our bucks in our efforts.
- Partner with scientists, Lily will talk more about that. Collaborate with groups to launch traveling,
- some traveling climate art shows. I could say more about that, I won't. Continue to offer educational
- programming and engagement and work toward climate policy integration. That's it. I introduce you to
- Lily Shan, whose project we're supporting.
- Good evening, everyone, and thank you to Carol for providing some information. Artist for Climate Awareness
- was just serving as a fiscal sponsor for Brushes for a Better Planet. Next slide, please. So I want
- to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Lily Shan. I'm a PhD student at IU in geography. And
- last year, I was a Fulbright-Neruda scholar in India, where I first conceptualized Brushes for a Better Planet.
- So Brushes for a Better Planet is a global initiative that brings together artists, researchers, and
- communities together to co-create visual stories about climate justice. For some context, I study climate
- change and how water scarcity impacts women in tribal and rural India. And from my research there, I
- learned that art was a transformative tool to foster and create knowledge about climate change. Many
- of the communities that I work with are illiterate, so art became not just a form of expression, but
- a tool to encapsulate the lived experiences of women there.
- From my work in the university setting in Washington, D.C., I realized how inaccessible climate research
- is to the communities we need it the most. And art was a crucial bridge to get this data, research,
- and facts back into the hands of the community. Upon learning this, I worked very closely with another
- arts organization, Coimbatore Paints, and artist and curator Natalie Callahan to produce a climate and
- art workshop as well as an exhibition.
- The inaugural session of BPP resulted in 25 workshop participants from a diverse range of 40 attendees
- to the exhibition, including NGOs and environmental researchers, and a community mural depicting
- a sustainable community. We brought in 15 local artists and received sponsorships from art suppliers,
- caterers, and the Fulbright Commission, allowing us to put on a community art event while additionally
- disseminating and raising awareness of environmental issues.
- And I was supposed to stop there until many of the attendees there actually came up to me asking how
- they can get involved further and what the next steps are going to be. And with that I realized that
- art is not just a tool to raise awareness of climate change impacts, but it can be the spark that encourages
- further action.
- I had already planned to move to Bloomington, and I realized I didn't want the B2P to end. And so I
- got in touch with numerous IU partners and artists for climate awareness. After working very closely
- with different groups throughout the city, we developed a comprehensive Earth Month programming that
- engages both researchers, artists, and the public to embody and fight for climate justice in our community.
- From this, I was able to apply for nine grants, host a workshop at IU in October, and table at a variety
- of events in the ACA.
- At this current moment, we see public funding for environmental research and arts being cut to an all-time
- low, meaning some of the cross-cutting research taking place may never reach the eyes of the public,
- and even if it does, how are we going to communicate it? Our Earth Month programming, specifically keeping
- in mind Bloomington's local ecologies as a college town and arts hub in mind, aims to bridge this.
- Our first event, the Hackathon, aims to bridge researchers and artists together to form a direct link
- of collaboration. The premise is simple, pairing environmental researchers at IU and local environmental
- organizations with local artists to create visual and artistic representations of climate justice and
- climate research. With partnerships from ESSI and the Ostrom workshop, we are recruiting researchers
- from IU to take artists on field trips throughout the month of March to show them what their research
- is on and how climate justice manifests in Bloomington.
- Following the field trips, dedicated studio time will be set aside in the Ostrom workshop every two
- weeks leading up to the exhibition, allowing for space and time for the artists and researchers
- to collaborate on what their final piece will look like. These pieces will be put on display at ACA's
- Animal Earth Month exhibition at the end of April for the public to enjoy and learn about the art and research.
- But we hope these collaborations go farther than usual. With this programming, we hope to forge lasting
- partnerships between artists and climate researchers at IU to continue to work together, apply for grants,
- and ensure that climate justice is realized. This is the first of its kind, and we hope to be able to
- create a sustainable model to partner with the university and other local organizations in Bloomington
- in the future. Next slide, please.
- The second component of our programming is the workshops specifically engaging the youth of Bloomington.
- We hope to host at least three workshops in partnership with local art teachers and environmental
- organizations to teach the public about environmental issues through arts. We have already hosted one
- workshop at IU for IU students where we brought in Ava Hartman from Kennedy Bloomington and Diana Ojeda
- from IU. At this workshop we had 15 participants.
- We additionally have tabled at Science Fest, where we're hosted annually by IU, where kids got to make
- their own climate comics to help them learn about climate change through coloring. These workshops would
- aim to engage the youth in creative ways of thinking about climate change with the main objective to
- inspire change. Next slide, please. The final component is public art. Knowledge, especially climate
- research, deserves to be in the hands of the public, and the public deserves to co-create this knowledge.
- Thus, we are working with the Sustainability Commission to develop a standard mural with a local artist
- for their annual Earth Month celebration, allowing for the public to actively help create art that reflects
- climate justice. In addition, we are working extensively with Midwest Fable to develop a planetary healing
- interactive installation in Fathom Square Mall. ACA's Earth Month exhibition will also be open to the
- public, allowing for the community to see the research and art that has been created as a part of the
- Earth Month programming.
- Through all this programming, we aim to elevate local artists to be a part of climate justice discussions
- and contribute their unique ways of knowing and understanding that translates into visual and tangible
- products for the public to also enjoy. We want to continue to work with the public, youth, and artists
- and researchers to create a sustainable and just community in Bloomington. And this is just the first
- step. Next slide.
- As we continue to plan our Earth Month programming, we are in need of some things. First of all, funding.
- I don't need to stress how important it is that artists are compensated that for their time, especially
- as public arts funding decreases across the country. The second thing is marketing. We want to hear
- from the public, and we want them to come to our events. So marketing is crucial to ensure people know
- of the opportunities available. And finally, partnerships. We have a few partnerships already established
- at the university and in the local community, but we would love to partner with the commission to help
- make some of these events possible.
- Next slide. As I conclude and open up the time for questions, I want to leave you all with this quote
- from Bertolt Brecht. Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it. Through
- this programming, we hope to shape our climate and environment's realities by driving and fostering
- spaces for change through the power of collaboration in art. Thank you. Bravo. Thank you. Thank you.
- questions from the group? Okay. So you're going to be at Earth Day next year in partnership with the city.
- Yeah, so we're still waiting on a grant to make sure from Arts Midwest to see if we're able to do the
- Sand Art mural because we did reach out to the commission and they didn't have funding for it. But hopefully
- we'll be able to get that grant and have an appearance at that switcher park event. I think we have
- plenty of support for that. And we have a group of Girl Scouts participating in the Sand Art mural.
- Oh, great. Cool. I've got a couple of questions, but I'm
- I wonder if any commissioners have questions first. Cool. How can we support you? So honestly, the first
- thing is definitely marketing. One of the biggest things is we want the public involved in as many of
- these events as possible. And currently, I'm still working with the Austrian workshop to finalize the
- dates for the hackathon, but we want the public to also come on these field trips so they can see researchers
- in action as well. The second thing is also,
- Just if you have any sort of events that we would be able to table at or spread awareness around, that
- would be awesome as well. Because most of our connections actually come from the tabling events. Oh,
- that's great. Yeah. So those are at the basic level of the biggest support that we need. Awesome. Cool.
- Thank you. I know Chaz has your contact information. So as you're doing a promotion, just share it with
- her. And we'll make sure that you're on our Instagram page. You can always tag us and reshare your posts.
- We're also always happy to include blurbs in our newsletters, and we're also happy to come show up at
- the event. We have an arts project grant cycle that will launch in February of 26. So it might be a
- little too late, but it might be something I would just encourage you to check out if retroactive payments
- of things is something
- you're open to. But that's all about just funding projects that have a very public-facing component.
- So it sounds like a good candidate for that. And then have you already tagged specific artists to work
- with in the community?
- Yeah, so for the Sand Art Mural, we're working with Sarah Sethi McQueen, and then for Midwest Mabel,
- they have a few artists that they're working with for the eco-anxiety healing installation. And then
- I know Carol has a bunch of artist contacts, and so we're hoping to tap into that for the hackathon
- component as well. We're also working with performers and a biology professor for
- a program based on following a researcher through springtime frog season. And then they create music.
- That's cool. Thank you. So I know that Artists for Feminine Awareness, you are a 501C3, right? Yes.
- Is your group a 501C3? No. OK. Cool. Yeah, I only asked it just because of our operations grant cycle
- as well. Right. So we're the fiscal sponsor. Right. Yeah. They're under that umbrella.
- Yeah. Yeah. So I think, and I think we do, do we allow, yeah, we allow fiscal sponsors. Yeah, we do.
- We do. Yeah. So. Yeah. Okay. Because, yeah. Right. This is an aside, but do you happen to have Ben Brabson
- on your. Yes. In your group? Fine. I just wanted to. Yes. Yeah. He's a, he's a great supporter. Yeah.
- That's great. Yeah. And he, and I'm sorry if I missed this, but have you guys
- We talked with the, oh my gosh, what's Dina's? Dina. Dina. Boss. Dina. Boss. Yeah. We did a presentation
- in August with Ben Brabson and Dina and David. Right. Yes. We're going to show it's the best space.
- OK. We've got to make sure you're aware of them. Because I know there was a lot of artists involved
- with that. Like, there's a stained, the little tiger glass work, stained art, stained glass art.
- I'm wondering, there are many organizations involved with environmental protection and awareness. And
- I'm wondering whether you're in contact with them as you try to publicize your events. Yes. Yes. We
- work through each other, luckily through social media.
- In the last several months, organizations around the country have gotten in touch with me and said,
- let's work together and see what we can do. So it's getting very exciting, right? And there are many
- organizations, and we really need to work together at this time. Yeah. Thank you.
- And yeah, we've been partnering with some local environmental organizations as well as environmental
- organizations affiliated with IU in particular. So I had a list on the screen, but some of the programs
- we're partnering with is the Environmental Sustainability Society Institute, the Environmental Futures
- Program, the Alsham Workshop. The Environmental Resilience Institute is also an environmental partner.
- I've been meeting with them.
- in two weeks, and so different components, but we're also hoping to get more involved with the local
- organizations, such as Canopy Bloomington, because I think that's also a very important aspect of the
- community-driven art. Yeah, yeah. In our workshops, in our events, we always have somebody come in.
- And so I've brought in Canopy Bloomington, Sycamore Land Trust, Sierra Club, and many others as well.
- So yeah, it's strength in numbers.
- Yeah, I mean, it sounds like for a lot of your events, I mean, some of them are site-specific, like
- the sand art at Switchyard. But for your workshops and things like that, is needing a space, is that
- an issue that you come up against? Or do you usually have a good space to host your events? We have
- an agreement with Ivy Tech at 501C3.
- where we're able to essentially just pay a very small amount per participant for their services, for
- their registration and marketing and facilities. So it's wonderful. And also Pillar Arts. Yeah, I would
- just throw out, if you're looking to host a public event,
- and just needed a space, maybe not necessarily like an art studio space, but a space, I would recommend
- the Cook Center in Maxwell Hall as a space to reach out to. Thank you. Good projects. It's so nice to
- see art as activism. Yes, exactly. Exactly. It is art as activism, and art sort of is
- OK, thank you. Keep us posted. This is really exciting. Thank you so much for making time. Thank you
- so much for letting us talk to you. Yeah, thank you for making time. You're doing awesome stuff. Thanks.
- Great. Agenda item number five, an update from your public art interim chair, Christina. Hello. Christina,
- take it away. Yeah. So the main focus is just the convention center and just to kind of update where
- we are with that. So the call is live. And we're getting some applications there. And that will stay
- open until Monday the 17th.
- And so again, this is a large-scale installation. The budget is around $400,000, so that's exciting.
- And then also just remember to just tell your friends, like artist friends, who you feel like are qualified
- and can apply. So that's that. As far as selection process, moving on to the next step in that process,
- what we'll do is we'll kind of talk more about that
- at the Public Arts Subcommittee, but we do want to be able to have the BAC involved in that process
- and kind of like do a run through of that. This is being run through the Capital Improvement Board,
- so it's not necessarily the city's money, it's theirs. And so just kind of putting that out there. And
- then we kind of want to be able to narrow down the finalists to five finalists
- submit proposals for the full artwork. And then the last few things was just our meeting on Friday,
- November 15th at 1215 for this public arts subcommittee meeting. And then right afterward, it'll be
- following the strategic goals task force at one. So those are the only things I have. Any questions
- for Sina? How did the block party work out?
- Oh, the Trump administration's block party. It actually was pretty good. So this was the block party
- that Nick Blanford shared about last month. There was a lot of attendance. I was actually really heartened
- and surprised. But I do think that one thing that was suggested at the October meeting was you're going
- to need more modes to get public feedback, and that was a correct
- assessment. And so I am only peripherally involved in that process at this moment in time, but I do
- communicate with Nick regularly. And we have a meeting on the books just to talk about learning lessons
- from that experience and just kind of next steps moving forward. Yeah, he learned a lot, too, on what
- to do and what not to do. So he's great.
- pretty well attended. Then it got kind of cold. Yeah, it was nice. The weather wasn't too bad. It's
- hard on gallery walk though. It's true. It was not the good for gallery walk idea. It was not at all.
- It was, we were... The weather or the block party? The block party. With the gallery walk. It was too
- diluted. We just don't need more... Some of the people in Bloomington for... Yeah, we don't need more
- things on one... All on the same day. I'm happy
- I am equally happy and exhausted by how many things there are to do on a given night of Bloomington,
- especially Gallery Walk. But I definitely found myself having to see so many things that night that
- I didn't have the energy to really get anything out of any of the things, because it was just like,
- dipping, dipping, dipping, dipping. But I can share that. I'm sure he's already thinking about that,
- but I'm happy to share that feedback.
- It's not only up to him, it's also IU. But it's ultimately up to IU for some of these things. What did
- you say, for some reason? I said for some of these things. Sorry. I want to share one other thing about
- the Convention Center. We've gotten 60 applications so far. Dang.
- Wow. Coming in. It's not going to slow down before the 17th. I'm just kind of bracing myself for an
- onslaught of the 17th, both of applications, but also questions and glitches. So we're ready. And we'll
- talk more about the process and how we're going to handle that volume of applications on Friday. That's
- exciting. Yeah, that's exciting. Wow. Yeah, yeah. OK. Yeah. A lot of really robust.
- Qualified applicants, it's really exciting to see just the type of folks who are applying to this. And
- it's from all over, all over. Yeah, yeah, it's really cool. Well, good job with the call out then, if
- you got that many people. Oh yeah, all you did, it's such a great job. Yeah, let me try. Yeah, that's
- too good of a job.
- those new venues, new outlets. Oh, yeah, yeah. Koda Works is just, people love that. And a couple others
- that were recommended to me are just, yeah, that makes a huge difference. That's awesome. Yeah. That's
- exciting. Yeah. I guess, hopefully, something good. Yeah. We'll definitely get something good.
- Also, I just clap for Holly because it's also juggling a thing. It's not the city doesn't own it. Like
- it's from the Monroe County Fund funding. So Holly has also a little control on some of this. And so
- I just want to say good job. Kudos to her because it's hard work. And thank you all for helping her
- on that too, because I think it needs to be said, you know, it's just the format of this is a little
- funny. It's not a city only thing. And so. Yeah. Good job, Holly.
- Representing the Arbo. But thanks to the commissioners for just helping us develop a robust process
- that we can share. Claps for everybody. And act with them. Yeah. I'm clapping for Alfie. Any more for
- Christina or anything else on public art? OK, great. Yep, perfect. Moving on to agenda item number six.
- I am going to present on behalf of Leila, who is en route to Paris. A little jealous. Okay, so as Holly
- noted, the operations cycle, the sort of the package
- of funding has been expanded a little bit from, I think, what we had initially budgeted and compiled.
- It is on the screen currently. I'll note a couple quick things. One is, out of the 20 groups, there
- were two groups that we opted not to fund. And actually, they don't appear on this list.
- note on that was we found them to they didn't have arts as sort of the primary focus of you know of
- their organization and sort of given that and the need expressed by a lot of fantastic candidates we
- opted to not fund those and then the groups that are on here I think based on a combination of assessment
- assessment of need and just sort of the
- organizational capacity from the reviewers and their operating budgets is how we arrived at the amounts
- that we did. So the higher ones went to highly rated groups with large budgets. And yeah, all in all,
- we're looking at a funding package of around $48,000 with a couple groups getting the maximum of $5,000 and then
- I think our lowest amount is $500, and that's for a group that's just emerging and has a very small
- operating budget. Any initial thoughts, questions? It's nice to see the Creative Class Center being
- supported. How many people are getting funded? Eighteen organizations.
- Great. They were all really very robust applications. Yeah. I mean, kind of similar in talking about
- how we've improved our call-out process. I think we've done a good job of not just refining our grants
- process, but also teaching the people who apply. We've seen much, much better responses, which in some
- ways makes our job a little bit harder, but in a good way. So OK, so. Just to say that.
- this was an outstanding group of applications. Quite heartening to see how many organizations there
- are doing good work across a whole variety. Yes. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
- So yeah, if there aren't any more questions or comments about this, I'm going to ask the grants
- subcommittee members who are here to vote on this. So any other comments? Okay, then I will go ahead
- and motion to approve the funding package. Can I get a verbal second from a committee member? Second.
- Thank you, Betsy. All right, so all in favor of the funding package here, say aye. Aye. Any opposed,
- say nay. All right, great. Thanks all.
- Our coffers are empty. Oh, yes, I did. I know we had a conversation earlier in the year when the NEA
- and IAC things started to happen. I wish we could have done a completely like fort.
- all the grant commissioners would have loved if we did another grant cycle. But I just found this was
- an opportunity. We had a little extra money in the budget, and I just thought this was the appropriate
- way to spend it. And now I have zero money, but that's OK, because it's November. And we still have
- a budget for the artist party. Yeah, so I mean, pending any issues with folks declining awards, which
- I don't think we foresee. I think this year we should be spending all of our grant funds, and then some.
- Yeah, and then some.
- actually, this is a little bit of a tangent. So some of our funds, so most of the funds, well, you've
- seen it on the budget thing. So our funds for grants come from these sources. They come from the general
- fund category. They come from a local income tax that we have. But then a portion also come from the
- Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association. And that is like a tax that is available to residents and like
- businesses that live in that zone pay that tax. But then those taxes go to fund different types of things,
- including some of our arts grants. And so in addition to finding some extra money in my general fund
- budget to cover these, the VUEA also offered to cover more. So that's great. Yeah. And now that it's
- been approved, is there any viability of the money getting out before Christmas?
- I have an email scheduled to be sent to our lawyer tomorrow at 9 AM saying, hey, it was approved. Here's
- the template of the contracts. Here are all the grad applications. Here's the numbers and the names.
- What is it going to take? Yeah, it's our hope, but it's we are, Gerard and I are also talking about
- having a conversation, and Legal is very open to this, having a conversation with them at the beginning
- of next year just to talk about how we can really expedite this process. Again, I think the BAC has
- experienced this in a lot of different ways this year. I don't think there are any new rules. I think
- this administration is just taking a different approach to how they follow them. And so I think we're
- just trying to
- It's been enough to spend as much time with them understanding that so we can create more efficient
- processes for everybody that isn't leaving anybody behind. And do we have an outlet where this is a
- broadcast, like these are announced? We always do a press release. And then at the party at the end
- of the year, that's like when we honor them and we have a little slideshow.
- What I'm observing is this is becoming significant, particularly in hard times for culture. And I think
- it would be good if more of the community got to know it, if the local paper took it on and stuff. So
- we've been talking about that sort of thing. So we always do a press release on it, because this is
- a worthy thing that people should know. It's up to the press to pick it up. That being said, there's also
- talks on trying to work with the mayor's office to like get out the word more so that I'm gonna flag
- for us like maybe there's possibility we talk to the comms in the mayor's office and be like hey arts
- has had a rough year like everything else maybe we could yeah I don't know maybe we could like have
- them do a spot somehow have them with their contacts maybe be like hey newspaper hey whatever maybe
- do a spotlight on this but
- So that's something we've been thinking about. So yeah, that might be something we can help facilitate
- and let them know that, hey, you could do this arts feature maybe on at least the operating support
- grant and how the VBA gave more money and this is really needed and blah, blah, blah. So potentially, yeah.
- we could potentially. We'll also do a presentation to council in early 26, just kind of like recounting
- to them how our grant school has grown over the past year, how we've evolved to fit their needs as they
- change and evolve. We'll do that. Also, Chesson are going to be interviewed tomorrow for a new WFIU
- podcast to talk about arts, so we can talk about that too. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Nice work. Nice work.
- And also, this is a note, I think if you have any contacts and people you know, you can always send
- them the press release or tell them, because sometimes it's hard for us to also have to act as our own
- press people. With that being said, yeah, feel free if you know anyone or like you know someone at Limestone
- Post or at Bloom, tell them that. Now I'm saying that with mother-in-law rights for Bloom.
- So someone email her, I feel like that's a, I can't say that, but you know her, email her. But yeah,
- if you can help us out with anything like that and trying to get out the word, that would be great too,
- because, and also, yeah, or WFHB or other things, like we're happy to talk to them, but also, as you
- as our ambassadors, you beautiful BAC people, you know, get out there and tell them Elm Arts Matter,
- because we also need some data, so this is why it's good that we spent all our money,
- The data is, the artists and the artworks need it. So no one can say no to that fact. There's so much
- gloom and doom out there that it's really nice to see someone being, or organizations being bolstered.
- Some of them have pretty big budgets. But this is, again, a step in the right direction for our funds
- going to support art in our community. All those different aspects. There's music. There's craft.
- I think there are a couple of ways to think about helping the community know more about what is going
- on. And one was there was just a splendid article about the budget and how the budget was being set
- up. It had a long, long, long part about art and the importance of art. I thought for sure that Hallie
- was the ghostwriter for that. It was really very, very little. Where was it? Pardon me? Where?
- was in the Herald Times. I think also, though, that one of the things that the paper does rely on is
- people providing stuff to them. And we might think about or ask Holly and others to think about sometimes
- developing press releases, which is
- gets the text, that gets the kind of flavor we want things to have, and then bring it on over. I think
- that I've seen other organizations be very successful in letting the people at the paper know. And it's
- partly a matter of figuring out. And I don't know who it is, but figuring out who is the person who
- would be the person who would pick up on this for us. Yeah. There's one person who's just kind of known
- for writing about arts things. And so anytime there's a big thing, I always reach out to her individually
- and say, hey, here's a press release. We also, so economic and sustainable development, there is a column.
- I think this is probably the column you're talking about, Paul. There's a weekly column called It's
- Your Business. And that's like, that column is shared between our department, Downtown Bloomington,
- Inc., the mill,
- and a couple other folks. And we basically all fight for who gets to write it. So first, it's a fight
- of who gets what week. And then it's a fight of who and which department gets to write the thing. And
- so Jane Coopersmith is actually the one who wrote that article. But any time one of those slots comes
- available, I'm like, hey, hey, hey, hey. Got my spiel. Also, we do do a lot in French. This is a fun
- fact that I must tell you, because I have this knowledge in my brain.
- The city does so many press releases, only about half of them get picked up, which is why part of it's
- not press releases, part of it's making those connections. We have in the mayor's office our comms people
- for the city. Lucas used to work in Indian as a reporter and he's awesome and he did a presentation
- recently on how, that's why I'm kind of saying just for some background that making more personal
- things like Holly was that reporter, emailing them too directly to be like, hey, you might be interested
- in this. It's going to be much more effective for some of these things. So we're kind of moving away
- from that route because they literally looked at the last year's press releases. Only half were picked
- up. Some don't need to be press releases. Some do. But I think for some of these more feel-good stories
- that are also factual, just making sure we somehow figure out ways to tell people about it, it's an
- ongoing thing, though.
- you know, how do we make sure the residents know what's up. So yeah, this is good to talk about. And
- I appreciate that. But yeah, we just had a thing on press releases. I am like, so I mean, one thing
- I realized that we don't really do is like, I don't know that we like share when those press releases
- go out, I don't think we really share them internally. I'm wondering if this if like, because you all
- get those because there's also like a city list of people that are supposed to
- Yeah. OK. We'll pay for the Herald Times, because you can get a free login through the library. Oh,
- really? Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I'm pretty sure, because I know Leila, for example, gets the press release.
- I don't want to get all the city press releases. You don't? You don't want to know why the water tastes
- like coconut this month?
- We can try to... We can... Yeah, we can set that up. We can do that. We can figure it out. Well, I mean,
- if I get them, I can put them at least in our midpoint email. That would make total sense. So if you
- just want to, if you just like, I don't know, you can just send them to me. That's a good idea. Yeah,
- right. A curated selection. Yeah, right.
- They're all important citizens. That's why we don't want to overload people with things. Press releases
- have a place, and so that's why. That's part of this ongoing discussion. So just so you know. Anyway,
- thank you. Do those live on the city website? Yes, they do. There's an archive. And also, what I try
- to do, and I could probably just prepare this folder if you guys ever wanted to take the time to look
- through it.
- I try to archive all of ours just in one central folder. We can look those up. Yeah. But it is also
- like, if you Google City of Bloomington, hope well. You'll get the press releases, and then you'll get
- others' takes. Yeah, I'll just pull them up, I'm sure. The city is also redoing the website, because
- it's kind of hard to super search some of this sometimes.
- Next year hopefully we'll have a new website and it'll be easier to find some of these things,
- just FYI. Things just always take forever because it's government, but I think a lot of these things
- will be helped in getting out the word by things we have planned for the future. It's just not helpful
- right now, but you know. We are thinking about this and talking about it and trying to do things, but
- it doesn't always go quickly or maybe it's the right thing, so we're trying.
- Any other questions or comments on grants? All right. Lieutenant, item number seven, from your chair.
- All right, we'll keep this short. I got three quick things here. So one is actually, it's an events
- thing, but I just wanted to make a note of it. November 21st, at the Waldron Center, they are having
- a Boards and Commissions Appreciation Night. In case you all didn't get the email,
- Yeah, I came out if I remember to throw that in the midpoint email. But, yeah. Okay, great. Yeah, if
- you can try to make an appearance at that, it's a nice thing to go to. What day is it? November 21st.
- Is that next Friday? Yeah, man, it's not a day. What? It was what you got last year. Yeah.
- Yeah, I think I've never seen that. It's like a drop-in thing, right? Oh, yeah. I'm going to re-send
- you. It's at the top of your mailbox right now. Perfect. All right, yeah, second thing, as Christina
- noted, the task force is meeting this Friday after the public art meeting. And we're going to be drafting
- our list of goals for the next year, too. So yeah, it's happening.
- Excited about that. And lastly, just as a reminder, we are inching closer to January 30, which is sort
- of the turnover date for a number of our commissioners. So I know that we'll be saying goodbye to Leila.
- And then I will be stepping down this chair. So that is two.
- Two leadership positions that will be open. Would love for folks in the group to consider stepping into
- those roles. Agenda item number eight, upcoming events and important dates. I just mentioned the, yeah,
- need to update this. I think I'm doing such a good job in that.
- Time moves fast. So we have the event on November 21st. We have the event on December 10th. Any other
- art events of note people want to mention and bring up at this time? Well, this weekend is a kind of
- crafts and artists event over at the convention center. Oh, OK.
- What is it? I think they tore the place up with lots of things by artists. Was that the handmade market?
- No, this is different. I think this is when a bunch of different craft guilds get together and do...
- Oh, it did? But is there another thing? Probably knowing this community. There's too many of those things.
- I do. Somebody put a stop to it. Or make them all do it at one time.
- What's that? The African American Arts Institute, all their ensembles. The Dance Company, The Soul Review,
- and The Choir. If you haven't seen them, they're fantastic. Like, really, really good. What day is that?
- Saturday. It's 7.30.
- Yeah, I mean, they're all great. Soul Review in particular just like blows me away. There's also some
- like author talks. Is that on there? There's like a bunch that have any names referred to in there.
- Sorry, it's a nice letter. Oh, yeah, right. That has a bunch of names. That is always with the scan.
- Thank you. Any other events of note the folks want to bring up?
- I'm giving a talk about how my degree in Classics got me to where I am today, in Indianapolis,
- next Saturday. Shut up. I'm very excited to talk about going to Latin Forum when I was a senior in high
- school. That's fun. Where is it going to be? It's at Butler University. Oh, go girl. I'm so excited.
- That's awesome. There's a movie, Sun, Saturday, called Freedoms Under Assault. Oh, yeah. It's amazing.
- I've seen it. Did you see it yet? I didn't see it yet. Oh my gosh. It's so good. Is that the VCT? Yeah,
- the 15th at two. Eek.
- I think it's at two o'clock. I got an email about it. Unfortunately, I mean, I don't know if anyone
- cares about football, but it is right in the middle of a football game. Perfect timing. But it's Jeremy
- Hogan. It's mostly his footage of the protests that happened at the beginning of last school year in
- Dun Meadows campus.
- It's amazing footage. It's horrifying. A lot of great interviews with professors concerning Pamela Witten
- and the way she's directing IU. So that's at two? Yeah, I think it's at two o'clock. It's... A bus crew?
- Yeah, it was shown once already and it was packed. It was full house. It's just really an amazing documentary.
- Very current, very current. Yeah, his footage is killer. Yeah, it's really, it's great. It's kind of
- horrifying, but awesome. It's like an hour and 10 minutes. Yeah. And the Buskirk Jumlee Theater, we
- donated the time.
- for the second showing and the cost of the staff and everything. Love Bohem, I think, has two
- more performances at the MET this weekend. Anyone wants to go with me on Friday? No? What's Love Bohem?
- Oh, is it good? Is it good? I haven't seen it. Oh, OK. What's that?
- It's the Mac the Musical Arts Center, where they do opera performances a couple times a year. Yeah.
- I'm sure it'll be great. Yeah. I'm sure it will be. Yeah. It was good. OK, good. Oh, because Elliot
- set it down. Yes, so. Did you make her jealous? It's like, what's happening? Drink some fancy Oliver
- wine. That's lovely. Bark.
- Thank you for entering that. There is a house exhibit, an event called Tending, and that is going to
- happen on Saturday from 7.30 to 10 or 10.30 or something. It's a fundraiser for SNAP, actually, and
- it's being curated by Faye Gleiser,
- at IU, and it's really going to be fun, I think. It's just sort of a very cool. Everything will be for
- sale? You know, I don't even know. I don't think we're even thinking about sales, but maybe.
- I'll ask her. Anyway, just a few artists are putting things up, and there's, I think, a performance
- and stuff like that. And I forgot the address. I've got that information somewhere. You do? OK. Thanks for that.
- It's a cool idea, and I just love the idea of that. OK, great. Moving on to commissioner announcements.
- Would anyone like to announce anything? I'd like to announce that this meeting is over six minutes.
- We did it again.
- Yeah, look at us. He's almost all of our time. Wow. Things to talk about. Okay. Do we have any public?
- No. No public. That's a new thing, right? I feel like the last couple meetings got people keeping their INS.
- That's good. I appreciate the relative calm. Let's keep it that way for December, too. Okay. Well, I
- will go ahead and motion to adjourn the meeting then. Can I get a second? Second. Gretchen thirds it.
- All right. This meeting is adjourned. Thanks all.