Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Minutes from the Public Art Commission meeting on July 7, 20261 MINUTES PUBLIC ART COMMISSION Conference Room 135 515 Clark Avenue July 7, 2026 Call to Order President Theresa Stromberg-Murphy called the meeting of the Public Art Commission (PAC) to order at 5:38 p.m. In attendance were Bob Anders, Ratnesh Kumar, Tom Lindsey, Jospeh Nolin, Greg Rowland (Treasurer), Ray Schmidt and Brian Phillips (City of Ames Staff Liaison). Manu Agrihorti, Donna Hoff-Grambreau, Emily Gassmann, John Marchant, Janice Reutter, and Julianne Rogowski (Vice Chair) were absent. Approval of Consent Agenda Moved by Anders, seconded by Rowland, to approve the Consent Agenda, including the Minutes of the June PAC meeting and July Treasurer ’s Report. Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion carried unanimously. Report of Commission Subcommittees • Collections Management o “A Particular Family” has been repaired, but “Dad” has not been installed yet o “Cyclone Twister”, located in Campus Town, has a missing footprint and the City is investigating how to replace it o Yellow Plexiglass in “Oxbow” has not yet been replaced o Artist who created “Playthings” was in town to repaint the piece, will need to be touched up to remove overspray o “Tipsy” has been installed at ACPC • Outreach 2 o Reiman Gardens Art Festival is Sunday, July 12, signups will be coming in via e-mail, the booth is outdoors so Commission members need to bring water and chairs • Public Relations o Subcommittee recently met and developed a backlog of new artifacts and strategies. Creating better exposure for events and activities through flyers downtown, adding hastags to social media posts as well as chalk messaging to drive people to sculptures, and developing maps of art walk trails between similar works. Committee is also working on additional social media posts. o Create an “Adopt a Sculpture” program to be promoted and to have people clean up around sculptures located in the neighborhoods. o The committee sent a news release to various local outlets about the calendar competition but didn’t receive a lot of feedback about whether the item was picked up. o Three submissions by two artists have come in for 2027 Calendar, City also sent news release and has social media posts scheduled. Chair Comments • Stromberg-Murphy encouraged members to sign up for the Reiman Art Festival on Sunday. City of Ames Liaison Report/Comments • AMES Project is being finalized, several pieces are fabricated and proofs for plaques are available o Plaques will cost $450 each • The mystery sculpture in repair is “Rain Catcher #1” by Matt Lowe, and it is owned by fraternity where it is located • Current Fire Station #2 has sculpture “Just Between Thieves”, new Fire Station #2 will have a memorial to fallen fire stations, so this will need to be rehomed 3 o There are two other fire stations that PAC could move the sculpture to, or another location near campus • Carly is leaving City of Ames and Brian will be handling PAC administration until replacement is hired, she will be in place through third week of July. Old Business • Downtown Art Walk o Stromberg-Murphy thanked people who staffed the booth • Main Street Farmers Market booth o Gassmann investigated getting booth at the Farmers Market, they have many dates open July-October o Cost is $20 per date • Booth opportunities at Ames Municipal Band Concerts or “Neighborhood Road Trips” o August 19 at Hero Park o September 23 at Roosevelt Park o The latter are about 2 hours long, 4-6pm o Stromberg-Murphy will ask the outreach committee to schedule New Business • AMES Project Sculpture Locations: o Artists want us to choose where to place sculptures o Kedrowski moved that the Commission defer to CyRide and installation crews to decide where sculptures are place. Nolin seconded. Motion passed. • Reiman Gardens Art Fair on July 12, 2026 o Commissioners were encouraged to sign up • Public Art Tour: o Outreach Committee is tasked to develop a proposal for tours, including audiences and logistics 4 For the Good of the Order • Rowland noted that Lynette Pohlman, recently retired from ISU Museums, was instrumental in acquiring a lot of artwork in City Hall. Rowland suggests that the Commission ask her to provide some background on purchases to tell the stories of the acquisitions. Kumar suggested that she could be coupled with an art tour to talk about what was happening in Ames and to tell the history. Anders is acquainted with Ms. Pohlman and will reach out. Will add to the agenda for the next meeting. • Rowland noted that Ames Foundation continues to add murals. Do we want to expand the web site to include other pieces of public art that do not belong to the City? The consensus was to start with highlighting other art pieces on social media. • Linsley asked to place on the agenda a discussion about the Commission’s mission and definition of public art, and whether the Commission should be seeking external funding to purchase public Art. Adjournment Moved by Kumar, seconded by Linsley, to adjourn the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion carried unanimously.