All right, so I guess call to order. So this meeting will now come to order. So let's do a roll call.
So Nedab Delrahim, chair. Gerard Ponacook, Grant's subcommittee chair. Colin Dugger. Commissioner.
Commissioner. There we go. Thank you. H. Sharp, staff. Rob Shakespeare, commissioner. Gretchen Mell,
commissioner. Betsy Stewart, commissioner. Austin Mike, commissioner. Christina Elam, staff.
And Becca, too, if you can just let us know your remote as well. Becca, public art subcommittee chair.
Is remote. Is remote. Thank you. All right. So next on our agenda is approval and or correction of minutes.
So the secretary's draft of the minutes.
of the August meeting was sent to everyone and a copy is in the meeting packet. Are there any corrections
to the minutes as distributed? All right, great. There are no corrections. I move to approve the minutes
as distributed. Can I get a second? Second. Thanks. All in favor, say yes. Yes. Those opposed, say no.
All right, minutes are approved. Thank you. And next, we go to
We're at the new commissioner, actually, who's not here. Can you find our final tools? Yeah. OK, let's
do this. Who is it? Larissa. Danielle. Yeah, she's an adjunct. Jared was just explaining. He knows her.
She's an artist in town, but is also, I believe, an adjunct professor. Is she an adjunct now?
I think so. I think she might be.
Let me fact check that. I didn't see her on the roster, but honestly, it changes all the time, so. Yes.
OK, so yes, now we're city staff for the financials. Sorry. Sorry, can you repeat that? Is it tiny?
Huh? I was saying, is it tiny? It's very tiny for people to calculate.
There's very little changes in the last time. This is just delineated how much was we spent for the
round of arts project support grants. And then we do have the professional development funds. And Kerti
Steno will actually talk about that because we are going to be doing a round of trainings, opportunities,
and the funds will be expended at some point this fall. There will be changes once we do artistic advancement as well.
And that's it. Wonderful. OK, so for now, we'll just wait to see if Larissa is able to join us, and
we can have her introduce herself at that point. But we can move on to the next thing on the agenda.
So back to- She didn't say she's not on your note. Oh, she did say she's not on your note. She might
have had trouble getting the link. She had trouble with the link.
Yeah, I only see you back there. Oh, there she is. Yay. Perfect. OK, then let's wait for Larissa to
get online, and then we can ask her to introduce herself. Hey, Larissa. Hey, Larissa, can you hear us?
Hey Larissa, we can't hear you. I don't know if you can speak. Oh, there she is. Hi. There you are.
Hi, welcome.
Okay, so we only just got started a little bit ago, and you actually came perfectly at time. We were
introducing you. So if you want to just share your name, a little bit about yourself, and then we can
all maybe do a quick round. I don't know if you can see us all, but if you can, hopefully we can do
a little round of names after you introduce yourself, if that's okay. Okay, yeah, sure. So my name is
Livia Cepeno.
I've been in Bloomington for, I don't know, maybe a couple years or so. I'm an artist, sculptor,
and painter. I graduated from IU with an MFA a couple years ago, so I'm excited to be here on our commission.
Great, thank you. And then I introduce myself over email, but I'm Neda. I'm the chair of the commission,
so welcome. And then we can just go to
Hi Larissa, I'm Gerard Ponacook. I've been on the Arts Commission for almost six years now, and I also
work with the IU Arts and Humanities Council. And I'm not directly connected with the Prison Arts Initiative,
but I'm aware of the work that you do with that. Okay, nice to see you. My name's Colin. I'm new to
the Commission as well. Last month was my first meeting, so nice to meet you.
Hi, Larissa. Great to see you again. Hi. Rob Shakespeare. Hi. I'm a lighting designer, and I do some
public art, art installations that integrate light. And this is the end of my third year. Hi, I'm Gretchen.
This is the end of my third year. I'm public arts.
commission, and I used to hold really fun art openings in my office for a few years as a member of First
Fridays. Hi, I'm Betsy. I think you know me, but I used to be at IU. Yeah. You too.
I'm the public art subcommittee chair. I also work at IU. And I'm pretty recent to being on the commission
as well. I started in April. So it's nice to meet you. Yes, you too. My name is Austin. I'm fairly new
to the commission. I believe I work on the grants committee. I should know this by now. But yeah, nice
to meet you. Yes, you too.
Hey, Larissa, we know each other, but it's good seeing you again. Okay, great. Thanks, everyone, for
doing that. And welcome, Larissa. If there's anything that comes up, they have any questions,
let us know. But we're going to move on to the next piece of the agenda. This is back to city staff,
so staff report, and there's a few things on the agenda for that. So I'll take it away.
get off about the bead which is a Bloomington entertainment and arts district. It's a cultural district
that's state designated and went through a whole application process and it's just at FYI the state
of Indiana arts commission is going to be doing a recertification. So we'll have to determine whether
we want to apply to be recertified as
state-designated cultural district. It's also an opportunity to change the boundaries. Maybe we want
to expand. Maybe we want to contract. So there will be an LOI, a letter of intent, to apply by the end
of October if Bloomington wishes to move forward with that. The city was the original applicant. That
was the requirement of the program.
But we'll work with the Bead committee to determine what they're interested in doing. I met with Galen
to get that kick started and we'll attend the September 30th meeting, I think it is, and just talk about
that briefly. And then the application deadline is the end of December, if we choose to go in that direction,
to get recertified. The recertification will be every four years.
And it is kind of a good opportunity to defibrillate interest into the downtown, or it's an entertainment
district. They'll also have a grant opportunity for up to $5,000. Something we've already kicked around
is like wayfinding, which is something needed in the area. So just aesthetic improvements in general,
I think, would be important. So know that that's just an FYI is coming around the bend,
I guess promoting arts and cultural opportunities is part of what the BAC is about. So that's a lot
of what BEAD does. It's like promotions and marketing of the downtown area. So it just adds up. Any
questions about that? What does BEAD stand for? Lovington Entertainment Arts District. Yeah. And it's
West Kirkwood, right? Truthfully, I mean, that's a...
I don't know what the boundary map is quite yet. That'll be another that'll be a conversation because
because that's the opportunity to change the boundaries as through this process which will be really
a good thing to move forward with. So I have
Three things. So professional development trainings. So we'll be launching three professional development
workshops. The first one will be October 19, and then it'll happen kind of every other week. So October
19, November 2, and November 16. Andrea M. Sterling, she is a facilitator, and so she will be giving
workshops. And so the workshops work together as far as their topics, but you can also attend them standalone
if you can't make all three.
The topics are more so around like conflict resolution, collaborative community, being like collaborative
as an artist, and then also burnout. So those are the three topics that we're exploring. So yeah, so
that will go live as far as signups on Monday. And so people have like weeks to be able to sign up to
what they will do. It is limited seating. So like 12 to 25 is the cap because it's just better
with that number, as far as getting the most out of the workshop. And they'll all be held at the wall
joint. And it focuses on emerging artists? Yeah, so it's focused on just artists in general, and then
arts administrators. But also people who are considering making their artistic practice more than just
a hobby. Because our initiative is like,
creative entrepreneurs so if you're thinking about making that transition you can also attend but that's
kind of what the focus is. How do participants like get into the program like say there's more than
25 people who want to be in a in a workshop like is there an application is it just you sign up and
you get in like first come first serve? Yeah so it's just a registration link is first come first serve
yeah and so
In the past, what we've done is if people like more people sign up in spots, we would have like a waiting
list and then people and we try to like communicate to make sure that like you can't make it. Okay,
cool. So we can like go to the waiting list and people can still have the opportunity and we make sure
that those seats are filled. Um, but that's been our process. Do you like any commissioners to attend
any of those or, uh,
We'd take up a spot if we do. Yeah, technically, I would. Any other questions on that? OK. Commissioner
trainings. So Jennifer Crossley sent out a email to all the commissioners either this morning or yesterday
about the next commissioner training. These are required, and it will be on September 30.
30, it will be in the chambers, the big room down the hall. And then there's also a virtual option.
As far as the previous questions on if you attended online for the ones that were like back in June,
she said that there was a code of conduct email to you. You just signed that and then just
email both me and her. And so that will be like your record that like you attended. And so you'll be
good there. I know there's some questions there. So she'll probably have you do that if you attend on
the virtual session on the 30th of this month. Is this an email we should have gotten? Because I'm pretty
sure I didn't get an email. I didn't either. Yeah. I was going to say, I don't know. So are you guys
like attended virtually? Sorry. In the junior one? I wasn't able to attend. I attended virtually.
Yeah. And I attended virtually, too. OK. Anybody else attend virtually? Yeah. OK. Well, I guess only
you three would have received it, because you guys received the everybody else. You just like the new
slate, I guess, of people. So did you receive like a new email on the 30th? OK. Maybe she only emailed
us to tell y'all. I need to do it still. Yeah. Yeah. So. Also.
We have to do it every year, right? Once a year. Is there a time? Let's see. I think last time was at 5 p.m.?
Dinner time. She said Wednesday, September 30th is our new date for our board of commissioners who didn't
sign up for training. The training will be held in city council chambers from 530 to 7 and there'll
be a hybrid option.
We'll get sent a link or something to sign. Oh, OK, I just read it. It says, please send this link.
OK, so it's not me. All right, I'll send it out to you. I'll look for you. And is this just for those
that didn't attend? Yes. Or do they all have to re-attend? If you already did it this year, you're good.
OK. You're good. So you don't have to do it again. Awesome, because I have a career fair up in Indy.
So I'll be traveling back that day. Yeah, yeah.
Okay. So you're good. Um, but when it comes to now, those of us who did it virtually on, in June, I
don't think we received the like code of conduct email. Yeah. So we didn't get anything. So is that
something maybe you could check in for us? Yeah. Okay. Cause yeah, I would have remembered, I think.
So we'll get the code of conduct and then the link for the sign up. Yeah. I don't.
I'm going to wait until after you guys do your trainings, because she might actually send it out or
whatever. But I'll just do it for people who already did their trainings. But yeah, you'll look for
the link from me, though. That's only the link is you can sign up for the link, if I remember correctly.
And you can choose either the virtual option or the in-person. And if you come in person, they have
the code of conduct in person. You sign it, and you're done. It was just those of us who did it virtually.
Obviously, we weren't here, so we couldn't sign in. So if you do it in person, then you don't have to
worry about it.
any extra stuff. Sounds great. And then newsletter sign up and headshots. I just want to make sure that
everybody's getting our newsletters, BAC newsletters. These are the real, this is the real BAC or the
real city or the fake city. Yes, I do get it now. Okay, cool. And then Larissa, I'll get you signed up.
And then also for our end of the year party. So at the end of every year, we have a party at some gallery
in town, and we invite all of our grant recipients. And so part of the slideshow, I'm going to have
a slideshow. Part of the slideshow, I would like to have all the headshots of all the commissioners
so they know who granted them their money. So yeah, so if you guys can send in or just email me a headshot
so that way I can put it in the slideshow.
Do you have any size restrictions, or do you want it to be like a square, or any parameters? That's
a great question. We'll just send you a picture. Yeah. Selfie Rob right now. It's not like the pixel
size or anything. Or number of kilobytes or megabytes or terabytes. You look granular. Just a clear
picture, you guys. I can do that.
Okay, great. Thank you, Christina and Paige. And now the next piece of the agenda is public feedback
on Miller Shower's public art piece, and that's back to Christina. Cool. So as you guys noticed when
you walked in, there's some colored paper. For a lot of the feedback sessions, I always have colored
paper out just for people to jot things down. It's just a helpful tool. You don't have to use it, but
I thought it was fun and I like colors, so I just wanted to introduce it to you.
So for the Miller Showers, so you guys know the sign that's on, it's like off of 17th and was it 46
when you first come into Bloomington, the Bloomington sign. So in that park is Miller Showers Park,
there will also be a public art installation going in and around that sign. Part of parks commitment
to doing that sign is also just having a public art piece in that space.
And so that is going to be the call for that is going to be released this like this fall. And then we're
going to try to install next year. Before we release that call, we're going to do some public feedback.
And so our first stop is the BAC. And so I have just a few questions for you guys. I think someone's
in the waiting room.
slide of the sign that you guys showed at last night's meeting?
So that's the sign, at night, jog your memory. And so this is an aerial view. Right now, the particular
placement. Can you screen share it for us? Yes, sorry about that.
slide me that yellow paper somehow. OK. Can you guys see this? Yeah. Oh, man. OK. So here's the sign
that we're talking about. And then this is an aerial view. The placement of it is we're thinking about
on top or around or behind something that's close to the sign as a general placement of options.
But just to give you a visual, I wanted to go through these questions. So I will switch screens. So
the questions that I have, they are in different categories. So the first one is just like,
culture and values of Bloomington. I want you guys to think of just some words, I have three to five,
but whatever, some words that would describe your experience living in Bloomington. You can shout them
out, you can write them down, however, but I will record them. And also, this is a discussion as well.
association, things that first come to mind when you think about living here in Bloomington. I have
close-knit, open-minded Indiana University.
friendly and artistic and I only got two. Nice. That's perfect. Should we blurt them out or are we going
around? You can just blurt them out. Okay, fun, growth, openness, change, IU.
Is this the idea for what the thing should be? Yeah, so this, everything, all our answers here will
go towards a larger collective of just public feedback and then we'll share that with the artist so
they'll have a greater understanding of what the residents here want to help influence their design.
Hopefully it'll be someone local so they won't need
to go through this. Ideally, it will be someone local. So they won't have to guess at what we are. I
think Rebecca said community. I don't know if somebody said that. Community? Yeah. That was a new one,
I think, by the way. Yeah, thanks, Becca. Did you play that song? Yeah. A huge one. Right when it comes
to life. Exhilarating. I love this community. Dynamic. I find it very safe.
But I'm a guy, so I don't know. But from my perspective, it's very safe. Arts and culturally centric,
that's more than one word. And I find this community really engaging, which is why we stay here. Why
they blew meringue. They tried to quit, but they came back. I wish I could sit here. Addictive? Is that good?
I guess I can share mine. Some of mine are two-word answers as well. I had Midwestern vibes, Indiana
University, unique, laid back and accepting. Accepting, I like that one.
Rob stole another one of mine, which was engaging and artistic. I have one that's not in the form of
a single word. Worldwide culture and small town.
coziness or friendliness or something. Mountain biking five minutes from your apartment, which is not
one word at all. I mean, just looking at this picture, what, 24 months ago, those buildings, none of
that was there at all. So, I mean, it's...
Yeah, it's just astounding. None of that was there. That's a nice question. Briefly describe what makes
you feel connected to this community. People. Are you? Yeah. Locals. Arts.
like locals as in like the people here. I would say the outdoor spaces and long-standing local
establishments. Yeah. Yeah. Local business owners for sure. Yeah. Commerce is so important. Yeah. It's
an interesting question because we chose to stay here when I retired in 2014. And we feel really vested
in the community.
what makes me feel this, wanting to be vested in the community. Connected to the community. Connected,
I just want to see it thrive. Yeah. I want to give back. You want to give back, yeah. I also think a
lot of things like the farmers market, Taste of Bloomington, Food Truck Friday, things like that, and
a lot of the festivals, Grand Palloon, kind of, I feel like bring a lot of connection to the community
as well. Festive. That's the one more thing. Yeah.
I think I meet somebody new every time I go to the farmer's market. Yeah. I run into somebody I haven't
seen for 10 years every time, it seems like. It's a real vortex. Yeah, yeah. Still kind of like that
small town vibes, even though there's the growth here. It's still happening. So that's because you still
meet people. But you're still meeting people and reconnecting with others, like you've seen. But there's
definitely
an openness, I think, to people in Bloomington that have been here. I also find a great sense
of appreciation. Yeah, for differences and more. Yeah, yeah. I think there's a sense of loyalty
to Bloomington too, which is why
For instance, when there's an outside artist as picked for that mural, people get pretty insulted and
bent out of shape about it, because we are loyal to our local artists. And we know how many talented
people are here. So we are loyal to Bloomington. Yeah, we definitely don't need to go outside for some
of these projects at all.
No. I'd say we're all pretty loyal, right, to Bloomington? Yeah. You what? Loyal. Sure. I wrote down
public spaces, too. I think that those are a really important part of the community that we build here,
and that's where I see the people and I utilize them a lot.
The next section is just around the visitors perspective so because this is a gateway, it's an entry,
and we get a lot of visitors that come through. Question I have here is what would you like visitors
to see or understand about Bloomington as they arrive. So flourishing.
week from Chicago, and she's never been here. And she's like, what are we supposed to do? And I was
like, just walk around. It should be enough. So I think just that kind of coziness and just open fresh
air and people just moving around enjoying being alive, kind of. You'll see it's different. Because
in Chicago, everyone's just kind of like, ugh. But then here, it's like, ugh.
Yeah, I like going back to the sort of engaging that like, now obviously we have, it's a university
town, but like even beyond that, like I think the people here are generally like thoughtful and interesting
and like there are like thought provoking and interesting things around and like they might not be like
immediately visually apparent, but like if you like, if you are looking for them, you'll find them.
So, engaging. And welcoming and safe too.
Open. I want people to, I guess, know that we're open and also respect our town while you're here.
You know, like, judge yourself a little bit, but I know we can't do that. Welcome people to feel welcome.
Regardless of who you are.
I don't know, I think it's kind of cool that, I mean, outside of obviously like Indiana University and
things like that, I mean, I feel like compared to the rest of the state and surrounding areas and especially
the southern part of the state, I feel like Bloomington is a little bit different or weirder than other
areas. So I think that's something that would be cool to highlight to people coming in to be like,
you know, oh, this place is a little different than say, I don't know.
West Lafayette. Yeah, yeah. Somewhere different. West Lafayette's really beautiful, but then you're
like, it's kind of, it's dead. It's very sterile there. It's not very lively. But you look at this.
These apartments over here are shifting towards a sterility that I
Yeah, if we could figure out a way to maybe let the freak flag fly a little bit there in that area,
you know, compared to some of those, like, sterile buildings, I think that could be cool. Speaking of
flags, it's a very good idea, actually, for this. We could get flags. A new flag? No, I mean, flags,
you know, like, a rainbow color, like, different colors. Yeah, like really small flags that, instead
of putting some sculpture thing stuck there or whatever,
I don't know. I mean, I actually don't think that that is back. I think it's OK. It needs work around
it. But what about flags? Of course, then somebody would have to put a tag on it. Sure. Or something
that accomplishes what flags do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know there's also been some discussion about, should
it go behind or in front? But if it's behind but elevated, then you could solve that problem.
Right. So the challenge is I think money and height. Yeah. Yeah. Money, height. But a flagpole. Who
deals with it? Last night we were talking about instead of maybe one big piece or like the possibility
of like a gradual, you know, something coming out of the front and the back, maybe several pieces, smaller,
Shards. Shards, yeah, exactly. Shards. Just that, like, car height of an eyeball, you know? Like, what
are you going to see right there? Like, that height. Or a giant flagpole, and then different artists
kind of, like, weld something into it, like maybe somebody's bike, somebody's ceramic piece goes into
it. Like a freaky flagpole? A freaky flagpole. Yeah, there we go.
I'm actually gonna ask a lot of, yeah, write that down, because I'm actually gonna ask like an overall
question that'll encompass all those things that you guys just said. I think we'll just kind of go to
the next question, which is the next category, which is like the feel of the piece. So if you have to
sum up the feel, I feel like a lot of these things that you guys have kind of touched on, but if you
wanted to add anything you could hear,
of just summing up the feeling or mood that you hope this artwork projects in just a few words, what
would that be? So I'm thinking like playful or calm, wonder. I mean, you guys talked about like weird,
kooky, freaky. Yeah, like these words. Welcoming and trying to tone down the sterility of what's happening
right there. It's got somewhat of a corporate vibe, which really isn't Wornington at all. I don't even
know if it's a playful thing.
Colorful, there's movement, I think that would be really nice. Go back to dynamic and flourishing. Flourish,
like a gesture. Growing. And I love your image, which is actually creating a totem. Yeah, exactly.
A totem, that's what I think. That would be so cool. Oh my gosh.
I think there's a lot of room to work with, too. I don't think you really necessarily want to take away
from the Bloomington sign, you know, because that looks nice, but I feel like you could even almost
do something almost interactive behind it as you walk through it. I think a car probably gets five or
ten seconds max. Right, but I'm saying if people were to walk through the sign there on the sidewalk,
it would be cool, but maybe there was something interactive behind it as you go into Miller Shower's
Park, you know.
Oh, you're right. Yeah, most people probably drive by it as they come in. I imagine some of you might
have seen some of the coverage of this blue stick figure outside of the Kennedy Center that was just
removed. I don't know. For some reason, I'm picturing that guy doing this over this sign. But I don't
know. OK. I like it.
Throw in my two cents real quick. Okay, so we're talking about that huge Robinson sign that's between
foliage and walnut, right? Okay, so I'm picturing in my head, I'm listening to all of y'all and I'm
picturing in my head, somebody mentioned flags. I really like that because I feel like a sculpture or
some other form of art per se is gonna
just kind of clash with the Bloomington sign. So I really like the flag, maybe some on the left, some
on the right, that talk about the playfulness, the colorfulness of Bloomington. Like when I first moved
here, I'm thinking of Bloomington like blooming flowers, colorful pinks and purples and yellows and
oranges, because the town is very lively. So I'm thinking that
I really like the flag idea. Maybe we can find like a art seamstress or somebody who can, you know,
maybe sew some flags up front, I don't know, something. But I really do like the flags because it's
some lights, it has movement, and I feel like it won't overwhelm the sign that's out there. Okay.
Thank you. That was great. I like the word lively that Larissa said.
And are we looking for something that's like a permanent installation? Yes. OK. And then are we looking
to add to the sign at all, or is this more just kind of utilizing the space in and around it? I think
this is it, right? The options are on top, like surrounding on the sides, or like behind. But it would
be like close up, not like far in that green space behind, but like more. So to where it would just kind of
Hardify the sign. I also think it'd be kind of cool, like, to Austin's point, where he was kind of bringing
up, like, bikes, you know, and we have little five and things like that. I think there could be, like,
some kind of cool, like, bike structure you could do on the top to accentuate that with, like, yeah,
an ideal flags or something behind it as well. But yeah, OK. I hope there's something distinctive. Not
trying to solve the problem, so it's a sign. Right. Distinctive.
And I also took note, they have this document that they shared maybe on Tuesday or last week where a
logo is being proposed. Well, I actually read the 17 pages of the document. And in there, there are
three quite varied color palettes that are really dynamic.
And I'm also noting the place making that's going on behind here. John Racing has come up with a color
palette for it, which are all just exciting and dynamic. And if the city is moving in a direction of
there might be a palette of colors associated with Bloomington, then maybe this is a place to begin
expressing it.
I also think to that point, too, like a cool light installation or something at night could be really
cool right there as well, you know? And then she's kind of in that field, too, and you're talking,
I was like, you know what? That could be cool. It could be. That, yeah. People freaked out last time
they tried to put a big light installation out. Oh, really? Not a bus or a door yet. Yeah, yeah. No,
they didn't. It would've been cool. There's a cinema sign.
It doesn't even have to be a real big one. You know what I mean? It's got a little flavor to it,
you know? OK. Cool. I don't know if this one repeats it or I should. So if this artwork could speak,
what would it say? I don't know if that kind of repeats what we were already saying, if you guys have
anything additional to add. Hi, welcome. How are you trying? I think it could also say that
We're proud of our city. That's important. And we are proud of our city outside of the university. Yeah,
the city. The city is a red and white, or cream and cream. That's right. Just like, whoa, because a
lot of times when you're driving from up north and you make that drive and then you're like, you're
just going,
And you're like, oh, I can't wait to get back into town. And then you see McDonald's. And you're like,
oh, thank God. And then you cross the highway. But Bloomington's the first thing you see. But then that
would be the next thing you see. And if you were to come here for the first time, you'd go like, whoa.
Because directly to the left is what used to be Denny's. And then you got all that stuff. So as you're
going through that street, it's not particularly inspiring. Because there's that strip mall to the right
that no one ever goes to.
Close down old restaurants. Mm-hmm. So it's like if you can have that first thing just kind of pop out
at you and go like Oh, what am I getting into when I get over the hill? Right college. I'm like take
your eye this way. Yeah You just get something in the old steak and shake would be one better off Yeah,
I mean as far as like speaking is it like at all anything where maybe we would want to do something
like mention some of like maybe the history of Bloomington whether that's like
I don't know, some sort of Hoagy Carmichael thing or something. You know what I mean? I think there's
other ideas that are really cool, rootsy aspects of Bloomington that maybe people don't think of, especially
when they're visiting as well. I do like that giant Kurt Von again that comes out every now and then.
Yeah. If we can do maybe like a giant melon camp. We had an indie game like Reggie Miller mural, which
is super cool, things like that. Enough of that stuff. I know you're joking. Sorry. Why don't you just
eat it? IU already has the Hoagy Carmichael.
Oh, do they? They've got it all. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut.
And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut.
And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut.
And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut.
And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut. And the Vonnegut.
And then the last question, I just want to make sure I actually have, you guys have been sending a lot
of good ideas. It was just overall content and themes that you would like to see inviting in the work.
So I have the totem pole, freaky totem pole, the flags, also incorporating if possibly the palette of
Bloomington colors. This could be an opportunity here. Are there any other like themes, concepts that
kind of come to mind that I missed or that you guys want to express? Are we afraid of rainbows now?
I mean, is it to yesterday? What do you mean? Like, I love them. But then it kind of like centers towards
just like one specific thing. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like right when you come into town, it's like
rainbow. I'm like, I get it. Too obvious.
Yeah, it's like, if anything, that would be included in the giant freaky pole. That's right. Right.
OK. You shouldn't have to wonder. The total pole with the flag on top. Let's put it all together as
a thing. That's kind of Bloomington. I prefer something abstract, something that captures all of these
emotions and isn't going
a peg one thing, or one person, or one part of the culture. You know, like if you stick a bicycle up
there, then that's sort of peg part of our culture. You put a lotus up there, that's another part of
the culture. Is there something fun, abstract, cheerful, welcoming? You know, we've got a small sculpture
in front of our house we picked up at 4th Street three years ago, and it's a simple metal thing, and
it's just called The Optimist.
And Marie named it before the artist told us what it was called. And it's just a simple, strong, powerful
shape that makes you smile. So I'm not saying we want an optimist up there, though I like that word,
but not literal. I don't think we want the ex-mayor or something standing up there. Well, maybe if we're
talking about the diversity of the town,
and all the different aspects of it, like flags or not to go hammer into hard what I was saying before,
but many things around it that could represent everything we're talking about. With five times the budget.
Oh, yeah. True. Yeah. All right. Can I ask a question? Yeah. Right, go ahead. So the virtual console
or visual concept or thing that I was thinking, and I know this might be a far-reached, but there's that
walk bridge that goes across 46, that rusty old looking walk bridge that just looks so sad. And when
I go to other towns, they have such beautiful bridges that people can walk over. They're so colorful.
So I'm thinking, is there a way to incorporate that bridge that when people are coming into Bloomington,
they can get welcomed by the bridge first and then when they see the Bloomington sign, it's like maybe
a continuation of the bridge, someway, somehow. I don't know, I just want to see something done with
that wall bridge. Same, I love that idea. This project is parks and rec money, is that right? Yes. So
like the sites for the bridge, who, where would that,
money come from. Depends on the bridge. Yeah. The one way on. Arlington Elementary there. Yeah, by Arlington
Elementary School, it's. I know that Tim has talked about a bridge going over the beeline or a couple
of different bridges. It would be coming into town from the west. Northwest, yeah. That one. It's the
biggest one that we have.
It's the one that's been seen all around it. What is that, Corley Pike? Let's certainly ask Tim and
find out, because I think Bridges is usually federal, but it depends on the bridge, so we can investigate.
Whether it's state or federal. And it might be one that he was already thinking about. It's hard to
tell. I secretly love that way it is. You love the way it is?
I went to Arlington as a kid, so I remember walking across the line, so it's more nostalgic for me than
it is for me. It is a little sad. So don't touch my bridge. My husband would say the same thing.
He'd be like, leave it. But it is a little sad. All right, are there any other? That was the last question,
so I don't know if there are any other closing thoughts or speak now for everyone. I got another one.
I find the sign cold, dispassionate, very administrative. It looks like an office park. A tombstone
in the right way of saying it, like there's a tombstone we call them in front of the opera that announces
what's coming up, right? Whatever is the opposite of those words would be a theme for that.
Yeah. So none of us were on the board when this was picked. But when it was implemented, we were. And
Betsy and I were just talking about, we didn't, I don't know who picked out that bond. I think it was
REA. I think they. Who picked it out?
the landscape architect who designed the sign. Yeah, they were hired to do this and they came up with
their font. Originally they had all the big rocks, right? They looked like Bedford and now they came
the rocks down and instead of going this way they went that way. And that was part of the proposal?
It was all done? It was up to parks. Okay. I would just hate, the point I'm trying to make is that
I hope we don't conceptualize something really cool and have something like that happen. You know what
I'm saying? Like the kind of metal or whatever that... I think the key distinction there is we're discussing
a public art piece. That is not a public art piece. That's a sign. No, that's just a sign. Presumably
we shouldn't. I think the focus is artifying the sign in some way. Yeah. I don't get that.
I don't like putting more graphics on top of the artify sign. I don't think you can artify it. I think
it has to be separate. The sign is a sign. I guess when I heard artify, I guess I interpreted it as
just putting art near or around by the sign, like whatever the installation is. It's just, you know
what I mean, not necessarily... Artify the region, artify the area.
It would be like that language. Could it be a fountain that shoots really, really high? No. Those are
tough. I mean, parks, we talked about that with parks. There's all the water things that people say
no to nowadays. It's like engineering and plumbing and all that. And winter and freezing and not doing
anything. I forgot about those other seasons. But last night, then, it was conversation. Water's fun,
though. Yeah, right. But that's something that's fluid or moving. Yeah. It would be awesome.
Well, there was some conversation last night about using the sign as the base of another piece of art
that would go on top of it. You know, if we were like the swampy city, I could sort of see in a very
tame place, a whole flight of cranes or something, you know,
that would be connected to the sign and do something, but we're not that city, you know? Yeah, we'd
be more like construction cranes all around it, permanently. I think it's like, the sign takes away
from a really awesome sculpture that's shortly there behind it, that I think has, you know, I remember
as a kid going in and always just being like, that's such a cool sculpture to like drive by, and now
it's like, kind of ticked off. Yeah, you can't even know the city anymore. Can we put that sculpture
in front of the sign? You know what I mean?
Yeah, I wish that were more noticeable now. It is really beautiful. Well, thank you, Kristen. Thank
you guys for your thoughts and your input. Organizing your exercise for us. Yeah. Also, as far as the
paper, sometimes I collect them if you don't want them. And I like to just to have those ideas in that
record. But if you wrote something on there that you actually need, it's OK for me to keep it.
I could have those, that'd be great. I love the pictures. Okay, just so we only have 20 minutes left
before we want to end the meeting. So let's move on to the next thing on the agenda. And so that's to Becca.
for Public Arts Subcommittee. So I'll try to be quick here. So we talked last time in our committee
meeting. So these are some of the topics that we just, topics that we covered and updates I've covered
last night. The Uptown Plaza Mural through the DBI, the Downtown Bloomington Initiative. There was a
small selection panel and then we reviewed
approximately about 38 submissions and picked one. So it was titled A Day in Town, I believe. And they
were Minneapolis-based artists, unfortunately, so you're not local. Two artists, I believe they're a
mural company called Boring House, B-O-R-I-N-G, Boring House. Hilarious. Yeah.
The project has a budget of $25,000, so yeah. We also just kind of discussed, you know, lacks the commission
as a whole, our public art subcommittee. We kind of discussed lack of involvement from the public arts
commission there in this process, but you know, we'll kind of discuss moving forward how maybe like
in future involvement between outside
you know, selection committees, how maybe public art could be involved more with those. So it was kind
of a long conversation, but we settled on it and it's kind of water under the bridge now at this point.
Traffic box updates. Four out of the five are underway, so they're in progress. Fifth one has a call
for artists and those
applications closed this Sunday, so we elected, formally elected Gretchen to review those, so all the
applications will be sent to her once the applications are closed, and she'll go through those for about
a week between, I believe, next week, like the 16th through the 23rd, she'll have a week to review those,
and then she'll get her comments and everything back, I believe, to Christina, I think, is how that might go.
Um, can I send them to everybody on the public arts commission too? So everybody kind of has a say.
So what doesn't happen with this mural happen again? Like one or is this just not that important? Cause
it's just a little traffic box and not like a massive mural. Right. Christina, how's that process going?
Okay. Um, yeah, I mean,
Last year, when we did the traffic box around, it was like a group of them. It was eight traffic boxes
at once. And honestly, the reason we are doing this traffic box is because the original artist wasn't
able to do it. So we just kind of had to hurry up and get somebody, in a sense. So we're already on
this, what do you call it, expedited timeline. And so since it's just one traffic box, I think it would
just be best if we just had that one representative. And I think that would be more than enough representation.
So as a group, we formally elected Gretchen. She'll review those, and she'll report back after the review
period on who she selected for those. That traffic box is going at Kirkwood and Rogers, so for that
one. And then World Foods Market mural. Basically, the only update there, it still remains in the twice
design phase. They've had several sketches.
sort of under consideration. And then we just kind of continued this conversation, the previous conversation
with Village Showers, talked about this, the feedback that Christina proposed, so we can bring it here
for this conversation here for the bigger meeting. So for the grocery store one, are the owners picking
the artists for that, or what's happening with that one?
for World Foods? I can take that. So the artist has already chosen for that one. And so that's why they're
in the design phase now. How does that happen? I'm just curious. First of all, who's paying for it?
And then who pays the artist? How does that work? I understand about the building owner. Yeah, so I'll
just real quick, big old project. So DBI.
has their initiative to put public art downtown. And that stands for? Downtown Bloomington, Inc. So
they are running this. They are spearheading it. And they're funded by? ARPA dollars. So that's where
this is all coming from, is ARPA dollars. Grant money. Grant money. OK. And so there are some murals
as part of this, and then there's traffic boxes. On the traffic boxes, the city is more of a partner,
so I'm kind of
project managing the traffic boxes, but the other two installations, that's DBI spearheading, okay?
And so a lot of this came about is just that DBI was looking or asking businesses who were interested
in putting murals on their building. And so we had one originally, what do you call it? Express interest,
that was at the top of the year or actually the end of last year, but then they ended up
backing out and so we already had the artists and everything and so when they backed out the artist
had a design so we just kind of moved her over because somebody else ended up expressing interest and
so that's kind of we just ended up moving that artist to that new building which is World Foods. So
that's kind of how it was so in that process yeah that's just kind of how it was and I just kind of
want to say that just you know like
Where is the city involved and where the city is not involved? And that is also very big on why things
are structured the way it is. For example, with Uptown Mural, we did not do a press release. We did
not host the call on our website because it was DVI. So a lot of this stuff is like, we want to make
sure that the city is involved as far as reviewing applications, but it's really ran by them.
Can I just ask a question? So the uptown mural, the city isn't involved? We're helping facilitate that
process because... But the city picked the... I'm confused. We didn't pick it. I was just on the panel.
Christina and I were just on part of the panel, but there were several other people. So like this part of the
panel also was the CFC member that the mural was going to go on. So we were all just kind of like hand-picked
and selected for the panel. By DVI. Yes. It seems to me that our role from now on would be to encourage DVI to
Think about this differently, maybe. I know they're not art people, right? I mean, these are business
owners. You're a business owner, but you're an art person. Anyway, it seems to be, I mean,
it might be hard. Maybe we can't do it. But encourage them to think about things differently. Maybe
not just go for something that's the easiest choice. I'm not saying you guys did. I'm just saying.
You know, I think that's our role, don't you think? Because we're supposed to be the ones that are advocating
for the best art in this town. And we'll get the flag. Exactly. We will get the flag, because we are
the Arts Commission. So maybe we should have a bigger conversation at a future committee to have a drill
down a little bit more on this. I did, was before we even met yesterday, I mean, I was reviewing
with a public art master plan, and it delineates the role of the BAC and its full involvement in percent
for art, public art commissions. And so then the BAC is fully involved. When an external entity asks
the city for assistance, then we serve as a resource, but it doesn't mean that therefore the public
art commission is involved in the selection process. So we serve as a resource for that. So, and that's what was,
come up with whomever was the predecessor, which goes through 2027. It doesn't mean that we can't change
it, but that's the protocol that's really been followed. So that's where kind of that's coming from.
And we're both learning along this journey, and we're not aware that if this, then this, meaning that
if there's a piece of public art, therefore, they think it's a public arts commission decision.
The press releases are from DBI. It's a DBI project. There are certainly a number of pieces of public
art that goes up in this community. It has nothing to do with any of us. It's privately owned. It's
protected by free speech. It occasionally will be called in. Christina just received a call from an
attorney's office who wants a mural. So that's sort of the protocol that we've been following. But like
I said, we can have bigger conversations about that, and happy to.
And the input that you provide is really valuable and shared that concern with the building owner. They
can make their choice. There was a second like a runner up that they could consider, you know, because
if there's community concern that's expressed already, well, then they should be aware of it. It's ultimately
their decision, though. Yeah. Yeah. I don't like that.
That's OK. Let's have a bigger conversation about it. Because it's not a decision we can make tonight.
I think it requires a more deeper conversation from a variety of vantage point. But I understand. I
hear your concern loud and clear. That's how you end up with that thing at People's Park. Exactly. But
they're protected. It's free speech. It's their building.
But it's public facing. It's facing. It doesn't. It's still free speech. It's still free speech. It's
privately owned. It's owned by the building. It's building owner. It's it's their funding period. It's
free speech. I thought it was a grant. I mean, if you're talking about whatever the football mural or
something. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. Not that I'm aware of my understanding. But this new one, the Uptown
Plaza one is grant money.
It was ARPA funding. It's not percent for ARPA funding. It was just an agreement that was before us
that was made with DBI. Here's funding to execute projects, period. This is your role. Execute these
projects. The city has been more involved because we wanted to make sure the funding got out the door
instead of getting returned. So that's really where the city got more involved than it normally would
be, period. Is there any possibility we could all meet, could DBI meet?
with all of us as the Arts Commission? No. At this time, we've got to move forward with the process.
We've got to notify the artists. Well, not necessarily just this mural. It's not DBI's fault, though.
I mean, this is the guidance that we've been working with them, from our baseline of understanding,
guided by these documents. And we can't move back on these decisions. And we can't blame DBI. No, we wouldn't.
We wouldn't expect anybody to go back on any decisions. I think that would be impossible. But I do think
we should look at the future. Exactly. I think it's incremental. For sure. Yes. The fact that the parks
now are embracing us for a piece of work which would have normally just been parks domain.
And that was because of a big controversy over the Bedford sign, the cinema sign. So now we're involved
with them. And so we need to prove our worth. But then I think that's one step forward. We cracked an
egg. And so now there's other steps forward. But it's not going to take place overnight. But I hope
we can keep driving it a little bit more.
I will say too, definitely to move this meeting forward because it's almost 6.30. I think a lot of the
comments have been helpful. I know we've had people come in and give presentations. I don't know if
potentially a DBI representative can come and present about their work just so that we understand a
bit better. I don't know if that's a thing, but maybe that could be a start to understanding their work.
The concern that I'm hearing is not necessarily DBI. DBI was like the representative of an issue that
exists in terms of role delineation. And I think that's where the conversation really needs to go. Is
that a fair point? Changing the- Absolutely. Whatever these are. And we can change them. I mean, I just
want policies and protocols. I've been saying that since day one. And you're good at that. So we don't
have to be in these kind of conversations. And I'm happy to follow whatever we create.
I just need to know what we need to do, period. And that's why I'm saying it's dedicated conversation
to it. But I would love if we have time and you'd be willing to. Because I do have one thing that I
wanted to bring up. And Christina, if you could just real quick, because I know Gerard needs to talk
too. Because I want to give you guys a heads up about a maintenance issue. And it is a complaint that
we received recently
about traffic calming murals. And they were painted in October of 2024. It is now less than two years
later. To be clear, it's not the driver's fault. They're actually in the lane. They're in the lane.
So the key thing, it's not easy to dispose of artwork. We've got artist rights and things of that nature.
But it's also just an estimated repair would be $4,180 to repair every one of these murals every two
years. $4,000 each? Well, that's how much the artist's time and the material cost were for the installation
of these. So that was not the design cost. So maybe it'd be slightly less. Maybe it's $2,000 to $4,000,
right? Per? No, for all of them. For all of them.
But the key question is, like, we don't have to make a decision tonight. I mean, because I think that
it's one of the local individuals in the neighborhood who's complaining about it, because it doesn't
look very good. No. So did the artist create the dome? No, I think the city did. I wrote that street
the other day, and it's pretending to be a traffic circle, but the stop signs on either side of it,
it's crazy.
I own a house right in front of one of those and I think that they do add aesthetically to the neighborhood
and I think people really do like them and I do my opinion is that it would be money well spent to keep
those up and I also think people will freak out if we don't. I think they just need a curb built around
like a really thin one.
Yeah, that is true. So if the city did, we probably, yeah, we probably can't change, but I think it's,
I think it's money well spent. Other thoughts? It doesn't seem that the car tires have gone over the
upper one. Do we need it to necessarily be like painted? Like, could it be a color or like something
that's not a boring yellow or white, but at least like that would be easier to maintain, I'm assuming.
You could just spray paint or something. That would be easier to maintain. Yeah. Or are there other
materials? Yeah. That's not just,
acrylic paint on top. Is there a way to treat it after it's touched up to make it more workable?
You know, the stuff that they put the dashes down the middle of the road where there's something that's
a different material. Yeah, right. Or at least can we identify other locations that are not getting
traffic like that in the neighborhood that we could paint? Because I think it does make the neighborhood
look more interesting and fun to have those details. But if it gets driven over like that and we have
to pay that amount of money every time to fix it, it's like,
what you have for like six months before it's ruined seems kind of like pointless. Well, plus you can
see like, is there any way they can amend what's there? Because it's not the whole thing. It's just
like this way. Can they just redo the one or 25% of the action? Because you'll have old worn out and
then like this section is new. Oh, you think it will be too contrasting? Yeah, I think it would look
kind of funny.
high gloss clear thing. It's like the product that they used wasn't really meant for this. It's street
art. I mean street is street art. I was just going to say, I feel like that's what happens when things
are outside though. And like, you know, car power and tires, like that's not going to stay perfect.
So I think it's like the reality, either we keep paying to do it and also closing down the street to paint it.
or we find like a different spot or we paint over it and yeah be like okay we'll paint over it but we'll
put this here or we'll paint something else a bit more. Can we work it into the budget that it's going
to happen like every three years and pay local artists to do it and
Tell the guys. It's a large part of the maintenance budget. We'd have to use other materials.
Right now, we only have $20,000. And we're doing condition reporting for all the pieces in the collection
that we have. We're like 80-something pieces of public art. And so a lot of it's going to just one piece
of art can cost a lot of money. And we're looking for additional sources of maintenance funds.
Trust me, I'm working on that.
$20,000 you did. But the cost that it is to maintain it, all of those have a top structure. Like here,
it's really not much going on. Is there a way to maybe change the idea and make a piece of public art
in the middle where the vegetation is that's a little more permanent that isn't getting ran over every day?
Yeah, because I also think like, I don't know if I've ever actually seen any of these, and I live in
the area, and so I wonder what's the impact of this art like, is it just the immediate neighborhood
that's seeing this. So, one, I don't want to say like people shouldn't have art in their neighborhood
right, but I agree I feel like is there a way we can modify.
this so that people can still enjoy it. Maybe it's a one-time fee to like change it or make it something
new out of it. So I don't know, I would be okay with something like that.
circumference smaller, because you see the top part, that's the highest part that they're driving, so
that's as wide as it probably should be. We're making an elliptical shape that you've seen. Well, I
don't think we can change that. I don't think we have a choice, right? We can't change the shape of
the traffic piece. Yeah, we can't change the shape of the traffic piece. But if you did an elliptical
shape, right? Like in paint where the traffic goes, paint it asphalt color.
But then you've got this other palette that traffic isn't driving on that becomes your new palette,
your new canvas. I don't know. That would be like a redesign. So we would have to then do an art,
you know, we'd have to do a whole selection process or, you know, would everybody be okay using these
same artists? And it's still, it's slightly, somewhat addresses the issue, but not quite.
Does this artist still live in Bloomington? Yeah, we could totally contract the artist, but I think
it's worth the discussion to decide what direction. It's not like disposal is not the go-to decision,
right? But it's definitely something to consider with regard to the ongoing maintenance costs. And it's
one of the things that is routinely cited as a criterion in policies, which is the work requires excessive
maintenance.
So it's not a decision for me to make. It's a decision for y'all to kind of consider. I wonder if the
artist can get involved in the decision. Oh, absolutely. The artist has to be a part of this decision.
Yeah, because I mean, if they're saying, hey, it looks really ugly the way it is right now, maybe I
can modify it.
Perhaps she could. We would still have to pay for it. That's all I'm saying. These are all the things
to have a conversation about. This is how far I've been driving her bit. I'm spitballing what it might
cost, because that was what it cost for her to actually paint it, and this is what it might cost. And
that could last. Yeah, exactly. She's an artist.
I mean, that whole neighborhood has very shabby sheets. I think maybe one thing that could be done is
the artist to cut down on maintenance costs. The artist can use a certain type of paint and maybe coat
it in a layer of
I don't know, some type of coating or maybe polyurethane so that it doesn't have to be done as often.
And then that can cut down on the maintenance cost. But maybe if requiring the artist to have it last
a little longer to use certain paints, maybe that should be a requirement of the artist. Yeah, for sure.
Could be. And I don't know what paint material can handle cars driving over it.
multiple times a day, it's a sort of, but. Yeah, but we can, there's improvements all the time. Can
we table it, sorry. Yeah, let's have, sorry, go ahead. We'll talk at the next meeting, sorry. I was
hoping we would progress, but it's cool. Okay, so let's do that for now, and let's move on to Grant's
Tidrard, please. Okay, a couple quick things. So, as a quick reminder, we're doing the artistic advancement
Review sessions this Saturday and this Tuesday. If you haven't already tried to log in and access, I
recommend you start that process now. As Gretchen noted, it takes a while to get through all the grants.
Everyone has 21 grants that they're doing, seven on which they're presenting. And I had some
login difficulties this weekend. So if you haven't already, check that now and get that resolved before
people are out of the office and can't help.
When you have your scores, send those to meme page. We're not going to announce the scores at the meeting.
We're just going to sort of like present your comments, but the scores will come to meme page. Because
these meetings are going to be fully public and open and recorded, we just want the comments presented,
but we don't want the specific scores. How do you want the scores? Just email. Email's fine. Just like
write the artist's name
And then finally, looking ahead to the operations grant, that cycle is still open. That runs for about
until the 24th, so about two more weeks. I mean, the groups who are applying for that mostly know who
they are, but if you
No one in struggling arts 501c3s or thriving arts 501c3s who don't regularly apply for that certainly
encourage them to do so. Betsy said it took her five hours, but it took me about four. Yeah, just to
give everyone a heads up. Between three to five hours is fine. Anything else? Yeah, thank you all for
helping out, being a part of this. So it does suggest that we copy that
Excel spreadsheet thing 18 times or whatever. That's what they want to see. That's the easiest to be
able to correlate the data. Cut paste, cut paste, cut paste. And there's a little symbol in the upper
right that you can email it off. Finally, we have just upcoming events and important dates.
I don't know if there's anything on that right now, but usually we sit for a second and chat about that.
But since we're already past time, we can just, you can find that in your meeting packet and email.
So please take a look at that at any events that are happening. So I'll just move on to the next piece
on the agenda. So commissioner comments, announcements, anything for commissioners to share?
Okay, no, nothing. Okay, great. So then, next is public comment. Do we have anybody from the public
present online? I don't think so. Okay, gone. All right, so nobody from the public? Okay, so there being
no further business, I move to join the meeting. Can I get a second? All in favor say yes. Luke will
say no. Okay, meeting adjourned. Thank you.