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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - COTA Meeting Minutes 11/03/2014MI NUTE S COMMISSION ON THE ARTS Council Chambers City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue Monday, November 3, 2014 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:10 p.m. by Chair Malinda Cooper. Members present were Jennifer Brockpahler, Connie Garnett and Andrew Zehr. Absent was Steve Sullivan. Spring Special Project Decision Commissioner Zehr moved to approve the funding recommendations as discussed, seconded by Commissioner Brockpahler. Motion carried unanimously. Public Forum No one was in attendance for the public forum. Approval of October 6, 2014 Minutes It was moved by Commissioner Brockpahler and seconded by Commissioner Garnett to approve the October 6, 2014 minutes. The motion carried unanimously. Annual Grant Hearings Friends of Ames Strings – Jodie Held presented on behalf of the group, which has moved to a larger facility. The summer workshop enjoyed a record enrollment of 59 students. COTA funds help pay the cost for a two week student program, which is $85 for nonmembers and $75 for members. Full scholarships are offered as needed. Ames Choral Society – Steve Hoifeldt told the commission that this community chorus is different in that members with high school and college experience are accepted without an audition. This year is the society’s 50th season. The group participated with the Ames Municipal Band for the City’s July 3 Sesquicentennial Celebration at Reiman Gardens. Participation is unpaid. Grants from COTA allow them to take on more and different projects, like singing in Nevada to raise money for the Kiwanis Eliminate Project and singing at the Good Neighbor fundraiser next weekend as well. Commissioner Garnett asked about the target audience for reduced or free admission. ACTORS – Stan Rabe presented. Ames Community Theater is an all-volunteer theater troupe with no paid staff. This is ACTORS’ 60th Season. They have been working on specific goals for the last few years, which include higher quality performances, improved facilities, increased season ticket purchases, etc. Having met these goals, they are looking at updating their computer systems. They do not have online ticketing, and their computer system is older and presents difficulties with lots of extra data entry and vulnerabilities. They need to help their volunteers by having better information technology infrastructure. In their 60th season, ACTORS is looking at bringing back favorite shows, possibly including their first show: Charlie's End. Good Company – Steve Hoifeldt and Cynthia Martin presented for Good Company, a women’s choir. This season they are partnering with Youth and Shelter Services on AMP to empower them with healthy life models with the goal to spread the word about the personal and community benefits of being part of an adult choir. Last year Good Company sang with Ames High Choir. For this next year they are looking at doing an intergenerational choir. One of the few independent women’s choirs in Iowa, Good Company is looking for money to help with advertising and website work. Composed of 25 members, the group participated in the Kiwanis concert in Nevada and will participate in the Good Neighbor fundraiser concert. COTA funding will be used to recruit new singers. Dues of $90 per person are used to pay for music, rehearsal space, advertisement, publicity and accompaniment. Dancenter Dance Company – Lisa Bannitt presented about Dancenter Dancers, which is an amateur dance company. Training and education workshops are held with nationally known instructors. This allows the members to see other dancers and how they are excelling. Each December, Dancenter hosts a workshop, called Blast, with alumni who instruct the students. The company holds a Dance Showcase each spring. Ames Community Arts Council – Rhonda Scott told the Commission that ACAC was established in 1976 to help celebrate the arts in Ames. ACAC efforts help artists succeed and build a stronger sense of community. ACAC has an arts promotion system including a weekly newsletter, which is shared with all community publications to help events reach a greater audience. ACAC hosts a community calendar and has a social media presence. ACAC sponsors an annual arts award celebration, which is open to the public. An arts educator program helps build community programs such as a monthly gathering of artists and a gallery hop, which are free events for members and allow participants to share ideas and get to know each other, which promotes crossover of arts and provides an environment to help expand the arts. COTA funds help keep events free and the dues low for ACAC. Story Theater Company – Mike Lezere and Carrie Marsh presented information about the club’s work. Last year the company opened a teen room and instituted a teen club. They had record attendance at the “Little Mermai.” STC continues to grow in their mission with youth, collaboration, and team work. The company works with ISU students to train kids in acting and stage production. They have enjoyed a lot of growth in their programs, and expect more this next year as well. They are in the process of finding a permanent home so they can work on staging sets and such. STC uses the City Hall Auditorium for large events and Zeke’s for smaller shows. Commissioner Zehr asked about workshop expense savings on utilities. Ms. Marsh noted they did not have to pay utilities at the new space they are using. Central Iowa Symphony – Sam Wormley and Roger Berger presented for CIS. They added information that had been inadvertently omitted. CIS has many young people playing in its orchestra. COTA funding is essential to the orchestra. Two weeks ago they had record attendance for the season opener where solo violinist and AHS alumnus Caleb Polashek performed. CIS has started a fundraising program. With its friends group, CIS is hosting receptions after concerts to build the community experience. Members of friends handed out promotional fliers at the farmers market and before their Bandshell concerts. Composed of professionals and amateurs CIS provides an affirming and uplifting environment. COTA funding goes almost entirely to renting the Ames City Auditorium. Although they do more than classical symphonic music, that is their focus. Playing to standing ovations, CIS is publicizing that we have a high quality orchestra here in Ames. Commissioner Garnett noted honoraria are more than half the expenses for the year. The honoraria are the salary for the conductor and director. The first chair cello and violin are also paid honoraria. Ames Chamber Artists – Chris Johnson noted the organization is celebrating 27 years. They aim to present exciting choral literature from all backgrounds and genres. Working with the Ames Children’s Choirs, they will have a joint spring concert. Ames Chamber Artists also held joint sessions with Des Moines Choral Society, worked with Mason City, Twin Cities, ISU singers, and others. They are working to broaden their audience and the different groups involved. This includes expanding the number of paid instrumentalists. Commissioner Cooper asked about the increase in the group’s outside fees and services over the last couple years. According to Chris Johnson, recording of the concerts is part of that and also the m astering and duplication of the concerts for selling CDs. Commissioner Garnett asked about what event is held at no cost. Johnson noted it is a concert at a church in Boone this year. Often it can be when they are with a children's choir. Octagon Center for the Arts – Heather Johnson discussed how the Octagon works with artists. She noted all the special events they host, including rotating exhibits, the shop, the art festival, Festival of Trees, etc. The Octagon collaborates with many groups, including Mainstream Living clients. It also teams up with ACAC and the College of Design. Since 2009, the organization has cut its staff in half and has recovered from poor fiscal management. The Octagon has four full-time staff and at one time this summer it was down to two full time staff members. The group is now adding some part-time staffers to help out with holidays. The organization is also looking to work with Boys and Girls Club and YSS, and exploring this more as a therapeutic art. Commissioner Garnett asked why there are so few kids in the participation numbers. Johnson noted it was because of the juried shows have attracted adults in large numbers. Ames International Orchestra Festival Association – Patti Cotter and Carl Gwisada presented. Gwiasda noted that there has been a great change since AIOFA started and the best orchestras have also changed. At one time, there were a few select orchestras in Europe and US. Today, there is no consensus. Picking the best is impossible and limiting the list is difficult. He noted that an Estonian orchestra and an Asia one that hves grown greatly in talent. He also noted Latin America. Mexico National Symphony is coming this spring and it is very vibrant. The festival association reflects that changed condition. He says it has become a global/world orchestra festival. He thanked COTA for helping the expansion of AIOFA. Town & Gown – Ann Kimber and Tom Jackson noted Town & Gown is in its 66th year and needs operational support. They are asking for more funding. The audiences have been great this year and turnout has been wonderful. Visiting musicians have hosted two educational support classes for students so far this year. The organization continues to have free tickets for students. COTA supports artist fees and some of the marketing. Grants have decreased and the fees are going up. Costs are increasing for artists including travel and lodging. Ames Children's Choirs – Sheryl Montabon and Paul Hertz presented about the choirs. Using a COTA special grant, the choirs hosted a successful summer camp. They are doing a special 20th Anniversary concert in the spring to celebrate this milestone. The organization sponsors Midwest Children's Choir festival in the spring. The financial requirements for the participants are similar to prior years. Fees are $375 for the whole year, mid choir is $410 and choral is it $575. India Cultural Association -- Geetha Srinivasa discussed their request for a grant to host a troupe of blind dancers from India. The group specializes in rhythmic dance, a type which is hard to learn for sighted people. A COTA grant will help India Cultural Association sponsor this special project. The dance tells a story with expressions according to Renuka Mathur. Kshitija Kelkar was also here in support of the application. ICA has approximately 98 members. Co-Motion Dance – Valerie Williams and Madeline Russell presented for this professional modern dance company. Once a full-time company, it is now part-time. Based in Ames because it is a great place to be, the troupe travels to where it is paid to perform. Kansas and Maryland last year were some of their outside locations. COTA funds allow the members to rehearse and perform in Ames. Their regular home season takes place at the City Auditorium and also on the ISU campus. The dancers have performed at the Betty Thoman Theater. They also recently purchased the old city hall auditorium curtains for that location. CoMotion frequently performs for live local music and live local performers. They do outreach work in Ames, since they have professional dancers, including women in motion over the age of 18. They also work with local amateur performers. Kids Co’Motion – Valerie Williams and Madeline Russell presented information about the great Kids Co’Motion program. They have been exploring great ideas for next year's program. They wanted to note that the application did not come through correctly and they are only requesting $3,000 (not the $6,000 on the first page). Upcoming Meetings • Next Regular Meeting December 1, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. Commissioner Brockpahler requested adjournment at 9:32 p.m. There were no objections. /mjm