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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025 07.13 CPAMBROOKLYN CENTER CULTURAL AND PUBLIC ART COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 6:30 p.m., Thursday, July 17, 2025. BROOKLYN CENTER CITY HALL, COMMISSION ROOM Members: Nahid Khan, Chair; Michelle Thayer, Vice Chair; Gail Ebert, Adriana Jeffrey, Kari Kelly, Sabra Love, and Marie Martin. Members at Large/Affiliates: Denise Butler and Cyd Haynes. (Two vacancies.) City Staff: Liaison Raquel Diaz Goutierez and Director LaToya Turk. Council Liaison: Mayor April Graves. Note: Technical difficulties and attempts to resolve them delayed start of meeting, which therefore was not recorded as usual. 1. CALL TO ORDER: at 6:52 p.m. by Chair Khan, followed by Land Acknowledgement by Vice Chair Thayer. 2. ROLL CALL AND QUORUM: conducted by Director Turk, in lieu of Liaison Goutierez. Members Present: Members Kelly, Member Love (present until 7:50 p.m.), Vice Chair Thayer and Chair Khan. Members Absent: Member Jeffrey (excused absence); Ebert and Martin (unexcused absences). Quorum of four members was met. Members at Large: Cyd Haynes (present online at 6:30 p.m.), Denise Butler (attempted to attend via phone but prevented by technical difficulties; classified as excused absence). Two vacant positions. City Staff: Director Turk (present), Liaison Goutierez (excused absence). Council Liaison: Mayor Graves (excused absence). 3. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: conducted by Chair Khan. Vice Chair Thayer moved to switch order of Old Business items 8.b. (Implementation of “Beautify Brooklyn Center”: Planning for Public Art” document): Essential Role of the Arts to Enhance City Life and Development) and 8.c. (Expanding Communications). Member Love moved to adopt Amended Agenda and Member Kelly seconded motion, which was then unanimously adopted by Members. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: June 5, 2025, conducted by Chair Khan. Member Love moved to approve the Minutes and Member Kelly seconded motion, which was unanimously adopted by Members. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REMARKS: Item was tabled by Chair Khan as Mayor Graves was not present. 6. BREATHING EXERCISE: Item was tabled by Chair Khan as Liaison Goutierez was not present. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: Conducted by Chair Khan and Director Turk. This material will be emailed to members as a document instead of continued review at each meeting in order to save time. Chair Khan asked for Members to commit to reviewing the material before meetings and they did so. Director Turk shared an overview of items for Commissioners: a. Basic procedure norms. b. Roles, voting procedures and guidelines for Members and Members at Large. c. Adjournment procedure. d. Meeting dates and policies. e. Commission documents for review. Director Turk reminded Commissioners to review foundational Commission documents: “Beautify Brooklyn Center: Planning for Public Art” and the Establishing Resolution. The Planning Document serves as the work plan for Staff and Commission, from which tasks are drawn. Documents are posted at City web site, under Government tab, then under City Commissions page, then under Cultural and Public Arts Commission section where Commissioners can find links to the documents. Links to these are included in email communication. Member Love suggested all information be added online. Member Kelly was in favor of Member Love’s suggestion. 8. OLD BUSINESS: conducted by Vice Chair Thayer and Director Turk a. Filling vacant positions: All 7 resident full-voting Member positions are filled. There are 2 vacancies for non- resident, non-voting affiliate Member at Large positions. Director Turk suggested Members continue to promote roles to recruit individuals with strong connections to city, community, and contacts who are subject matter experts. Director Turk also reminded Commissioners to keep the “Beautify Brooklyn Center: Planning for Public Art” planning document in mind, which emphasizes diverse membership and responsiveness to community, focusing on diversity, inclusion, fairness and equity, and to include diverse voices to uplift the City’s culture as it continues to evolve its identity. Member Love inquired about including youth in high school art classes as non-voting members. Director Turk shared that there is a summer initiative with the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth, to work with both the Cultural and Public Art and Parks and Recreation Commissions. Recruitment plans include inviting resident and non-resident students by reaching out to area schools / school counselors. Member Love suggested contacting the Perpich Center for Arts Education (arts high school in Golden Valley) as it is close to Brooklyn Center. Vice Chair Thayer suggested an opportunity to form a marketing and communications committee to support outreach. b. Expanding communications: QR code for/about Commissions: Director Turk shared there is a communications request form on the City web site for Commissions and the City’s Communications department handles this. They need two- week advance notice for requests. She suggested that Commissions send in 2026 events in advance. The Communications department can also help co-create assets for City social media sites and email lists (gov.delivery). Commissions can petition Parks and Recreation Department to add items / notifications of events to the Spring brochure. The city has multiple communication tools that include over 1,800 contacts, the City attempts to translate critical communication into multiple languages that represent the top 3 languages represented in Brooklyn Center. The City has a limited resource for translating materials. Director Turk shared staff is currently working on updating and streamlining commission process. The process will address front-facing communication on the commission application process, interview process, appointment process, and Council notification, as well as youth participation. Chair Khan inquired about using different methods of communication (spoken word, music, performance, other art forms) to reach people who are not as literate or use English as a second language. Director Turk shared that the Police Department uses TikTok as part of its public communications. She indicated that this idea for community engagement needs to be based on data showing how music, sounds, etc., drives and expands reach. Vice Chair Thayer mentioned there might be grants available, which then could be used for a call for artists, whose performances or creativity could be used for messaging and communications. c. Implementation of “Beautify Brooklyn Center” Planning for Public Art”: Director Turk shared main points of our Planning Document, pointing to the essential role of the arts for City enhancement, community building, economic benefit, and quality of life improvement. Commissioners were asked to focus on reviewing this section (around page 30 of the Planning Document) in advance of the next meeting, to prepare for a discussion about promoting the value of the arts in our City. Member Love inquired about moving the next meeting to August to reconvene on these ideas instead of waiting until September. Chair Khan shared that we would not be able to meet in August but asked Commissioners to prepare for the September meeting by reviewing the Planning Document. d. Update on Grants: Vice Chair Thayer shared that she and Member Love met as part of the Grants ad hoc Committee for about 2 hours to collect information on more than 100 different grants and other foundations. They started a grants information database listing local, regional and national grants, including seasonal opportunities and requirements. A suggestion was made to investigate the MN Lottery, which offers heritage, history, culture and arts funding opportunities. Member at Large Haynes suggested investigating US Bank as a source of grants. Numerous types of grant funding is available, including for Operations (staff time) and arts- related work by the City (for example: Artists Housing, Anti-Litter initiatives), as well as for artists and art projects. Director Turk shared that the City Staff prepare grants but there is no designated grant writer. During discussion, it was suggested that Commissioners reach out to neighboring Cities (Departments and/or Commissions) to learn more about grants received there: ask them 3-5 questions about what worked for them, metrics for grants funded and how these benefited their City. More discussion followed about private philanthropic organizations, such as Melinda Gates, or those with celebrity status, who want to increase philanthropic endeavors, such as Alicia Keys, who has ties to Minneapolis, even outside of the recent “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” exhibition at Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia). Member Love also has connections in the entertainment industry. MRAC (Metropolitan Regional Arts Council) awarded a grant that Liaison Goutierez had applied for in 2024. This grant funds creation of a mural and details will be shared later. Chair Khan shared congratulatory remarks and suggested more research and preparation time to complete the grant writing process. Director Turk suggested collaborating with other departments to apply for funding as a unit, and additional committees could be formed for this work. Chair Khan mentioned that Member at Large Haynes is a professional grant writer, and suggested using language templates to have messaging prepared ahead of time to reuse for grants. e. Staff presentation follow-up: Ian Alexander, Manager, Economic Development Division, Community Development Department, “The Opportunity Site as Opportunity for Aesthetic Considerations”, March 2025: Chair Khan shared that Manager Ian wants to focus on developing the artist housing concept, using two existing buildings across the street. His request to the Commission is to help research housing facilities and provide a set of written recommendations. Ideas for research include interviewing artists in artist housing, interviewing artists to learn what they like and dislike about such facilities, contacting staff at such facilities to learn from about perspective, visiting area artist housing to see for oneself, and conducting online research. Once the research is complete, it will be consolidated and a set of written recommendations prepared, which will be then shared with the City Council by Ian and colleagues. Vice Chair Thayer led discussion with Commissioners for ideas for this topic. Member Love met with Ian shortly after his March presentation to learn more and discuss this topic. She also posted on her personal Facebook page and asked her contacts for feedback. The comments she received were: - Artists would like live / work spaces with rent under $1,000. - Opportunities to show work in the buildings (gallery spaces). - Spaces to host monthly events (similar to spaces in NE Minneapolis). - Availability of nearby amenities, including green spaces. - Proximity to businesses, shopping, coffee shops, etc. - Cover the buildings in a mural to make them easily identifiable from the streets and highways. - Rental policies to benefit emerging artists, including limited terms (2-3 year lease) and sliding fees. Vice Chair Thayer has connections at ArtSpace and shared some background: ArtSpace had good intentions but didn’t follow through with focus on artists housing and doesn’t have artists on their board. ArtSpace grew fast but had mission drift, and many units turned into Section 8 housing. It was mentioned that Springboard for the Arts lists all existing artist housing options in the metro area. Member Love inquired about mixed-use housing in City where artists could buy or rent condos / townhouses. She also suggested investigating other vacant buildings in the City to use for studio space. Commissioners were requested to continue research and share more findings with Commission leadership via email. There will be follow up discussion on this topic. e. Commission Chair presentation follow-up: Noah Jeffrey, Chair, Parks and Recreation Commission, “Nature and Culture are Intertwined – Potential Areas of Collaboration”, June 2025. Vice Chair Thayer shared that an ad-hoc committee likely will be created for an anti-litter campaign, in collaboration with the Parks and Recreation Commission. It would operate as a short-term committee, working for 1-2 months to prepare for anti-litter campaigns in the fall or spring. Funding is available (via grants) for this type of beautification work. More information will be shared later. There are additional connections between the Cultural and Public Arts Commission. Member Ebert is also on the Parks and Recreation C ommission, and Member Jeffrey is the wife of Noah Jeffrey, Parks and Recreation Chair. 9. New Business: Director Turk shared updates on projects: a. Preparing a 2030 Vision for Brooklyn Center: Role of Commission to support vision for City development. Director Turk suggested researching economic development policies and their impact on arts (and vice versa: support for the arts and impact on economic development) in a city or region. An ad-hoc committee could be formed to help with research. The research could be turned into a written report or video, envisioning the future of Brooklyn Center, focusing on the benefits of advancing arts, beauty, and engagement. Vice Chair Thayer recommended connecting with Member Love (who had left early), as she has a strong skill set in this kind of work. Member Kelly said she would be interested in helping with the research. b. Upcoming presentations for September and November: Chair Khan shared that our State Rep. Samantha Vang will be invited to speak in September as the new co-chair of the Legacy Finance Committee, which oversees the budget allocations from the Legacy Amendment tax, and reviews funding requests for arts, culture, parks, and museums across Minnesota. The focus will be to learn about this general funding source for projects to benefit our City. Chair Khan shared that Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Noah Jeffrey will be invited back in November for a follow up discussion about Commission collaboration on anti-litter work (see above). Earlier this year, a long-range / 30-year planning document for City Parks was prepared by a consultant team who presented it to the Parks and Recreation Commission and then to the City Council. [Most of the work on this document was done before the formation of or during the earliest stage of our Cultural and Public Arts Commission, so we have not been able to discuss it or provide feedback on the role of arts, beautification and culture from our point of view. The consultants are willing to speak to our Commission.] This long-range planning document is relevant to our Commission and Vice Chair Thayer suggested that Commissioners review the City Council meeting recording of this presentation ahead of a live Q&A with the consultant team (and possibly others from the Parks and Recreation Department / Commission) to provide feedback from our Commission to supplement this planning document. This could take place at the November meeting since it would be connected to the follow-up discussion with Chair Noah. c. Staff and Council Liaison report: Director Turk shared information about ongoing programs: - Visions and Voices series is being held with different cultural groups; recent one had discussion on bridging generation gaps. - Random Acts of Kindness program is accepting applications until November. Go to City web site to nominate City resident(s). Director Turk provided a roundup of past events: - Bike Ride event on May 24. First time holding and co -marketing it; had a lot of engagement; - Brooklyn Park Tater Days on May 31. Representatives from the City of Brooklyn Center walked in parade. There was a discussion about further collaborations. Director Turk is open to ideas and is able to pitch them to the organizers. Chair Khan inquired about a possible potato cook-off as an idea and Vice Chair Thayer asked about issues such as allergies and food poisoning, and how the event could be controlled to limit these types of issues. Director Turk shared that there is a community partnership with North Hennepin Community College, where a (commercial) kitchen could be used. This discussion also led to the idea of a cookbook for the event. - Colors of Southeast Asia Festival (COSA) took place on June 7 at Centennial Park. - Juneteenth celebration took place June 20 in collaboration with City of Brooklyn Park at NHCC. Liaison Goutierez led a community art project and will share a report on surveys collected. Member Love received a volunteer appreciation certificate. - CAPI held a groundbreaking ceremony / event on June 26 at their HQ on Brooklyn Blvd. Mayor Graves spoke at the ceremony kicking off a building expansion. City Staff members attended along with Chair Khan and Member at Large Butler. - Shingle Creek Fair organized by ACER at / around their HQ at the former Shingle Creek Shopping Center on June 28. Community Engagement attended and conducted / collected 52 surveys. Member at Large Butler is a staff member at ACER. Director Turk shared information on upcoming events: - Liberian Independence Day celebration, July 26 at Centennial Park. Director Turk shared history of event planning: 8 months ago, a group of young professionals created a partnership with MN Northwest Tourism to plan event in Brooklyn Center, including parade, music, artists, vendors. - Night to Unite (aka Neighborhood Night Out), Aug 5. Register on City web site to have city officials visit neighborhood gatherings. - Community Health Fair, Aug. 16. Director Turk shared that it is one of the top 3 events in the City, with 52 vendors, health panels, demonstrations and trainings. Commissioners invited to get involved. Director Turk shared that information about community engagement and volunteer opportunities for City events is available at City web site and from City newsletter/emails (sign up to receive them). 10. Commissioner Report: Member Love shared that there is an art event coming up at 5345 Fremont Ave N, and that she will share details. Vice Chair Thayer attended the “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where she is also a member. She will be attending the Minnehaha Art Fair over the July 18-20 weekend. She has colleagues in a jewelry exhibition opening on July 26-27 in Mankato. Member Kelly also saw the exhibition “Giants” at Mia. Director Turk suggested that since two members saw the exhibition, we should write to Alicia Keys and explore opportunities. Vice Chair Thayer and Member Kelly agreed to collaborate on a letter. Discussion led to how to find more resources on the history of Brooklyn Center. Chair Khan and Director Turk provided suggestions: Chair Khan learned from BC resident (and neighbor) Darryl Sannes of the Brooklyns Historical Society (longtime local history organization) that it is in the process of sunsetting for lack of society members and community support. Their collection is being donated to Hennepin History Museum, University of Minnesota Libraries and the Minnesota Historical Society. The BHS published a book on the history of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park 25 years ago. Director Turk will inquire about getting copies of the history book for the Commission. She also suggested assigning sections of the book to Commissioners to read, become familiar with the history in it and be able to work with the information for Commission purposes. Member Kelly suggested writing a play about the past, present and future of Brooklyn Center, by collecting community member stories and doing research. Discussion followed about involving other community members in all levels of the project, including elders of the community, members of civic organizations (such as the Rotary Club and Lions Club), and City Staff (including Police and Fire Chiefs). 11. Open Forum: Chair Alexander Koenig, Planning Commission, complimented the Cultural and Public Arts Commission for collecting and aggregating ideas, visions, and frameworks. He also shared that he noticed a comfort level and cohesiveness to the group. He has attended three meetings in total. He is also very familiar with Dean Collection exhibited at Mia and suggested we do pursue contact with Alicia Keys as she has connections to Minneapolis, and their philosophy aligns with the City of Brooklyn Center’s work. 12. Adjournment: Chair Khan thanked Member Kelly for taking notes and in advance for preparing a first draft of the Minutes. Member Kelly made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Member Love had seconded this motion in advance before leaving early for her birthday celebration. Members unanimously adopted this motion. Chair declared the Commission meeting adjourned at 8:43 p.m.