Bangor Cultural Commission approves murals, debates new meeting schedule

[1:50] Speaker A (unidentified): Good morning, good. [1:55] Speaker B (unidentified): Morning, okay. [1:59] Speaker C (unidentified): All right, you are on, great, let's get started. Welcome, good morning, thank you all for joining us and finding us in this different room. Sorry we had to move you, we think that from this place we'll be all right. Maybe when us I see we have the January minutes, thank you, thank you for doing that. Any questions on the minutes from January? Do we don't have minutes from our May meeting? No, I'll have those next time. Okay, yeah, any questions on the notes? I know the January meeting was a small one and it was a. While ago, it was so cold that day. No questions? Okay. Can I get a motion? Motion. [2:55] Speaker B (unidentified): Great. All in favor? Right. [3:01] Speaker C (unidentified): Very beautiful. Welcome. Hi. We can slide over. I don't think officially you have to be at the table this time because you don't have microphones. So you can hear you. We're good. Yeah. [3:15] Speaker D (unidentified): Right here, cool, all right, what do you want to talk about? Well, we two right, yes, so we're, we have two projects that will look like art on in public spaces, and so per city code we need approval from first the cultural commission and then the city council. First it's already technically done, hopefully it's true, it's just a farmer's market mural which came out of a recognition actually from this technology but. [3:58] Speaker E (unidentified): So we did our best to make it look pretty, I think it looks great, actually we just finished it, I finished it yesterday actually, but we had community members come and they did a little bit of design, helped us prime the whole thing on the farmer's market, and then I did a collage design on three sides, and then the community members came back and helped us paint it on another Sunday farmer's market, and then we did a few volunteers to help finish it up, so it's in the container in the Abbott block and. So the whole thing it gets approved because it was just done, but going to the steps doing what we need to. [4:41] Speaker D (unidentified): On that one, yeah, and it's a temporary structure, so if you don't like it we can move it up. The second is the third in our series of school murals, will be it will be on the Fruit Street School on their gymnasium, and it will be another pollinator themed mural, this time on the a little more focused on fruit trees, specifically apple trees. The school is also partnering with Retree Us, the non-profit that goes around the schools and plants whole orchards at schools, they have that done Abram Lincoln two. Years ago and they will go for effect on the street school and we'll be working again. The students have created a bunch of designs. They've learned about pollinators. They've given them to us who we will give to Peter Walls was here. I don't want to talk about that, but I'll say the same thing. [5:30] Speaker E (unidentified): And it worked out perfectly. Peter was coming up to get the drawings, and I was like, hey, there's a me! Why don't you come up with letters? So it's nice to have Peter Walls here. And I just gave him the drawings, what the whole school has done. Every child has done an idea of what they think the mural should look like, whether it's a pollinator, an apple tree, or whatever they do that in the art class, and so we just picked those up and I gave them to Peter. [5:59] Speaker F (unidentified): Walsh and Peter, what are you going to do with them? The way we've been working these projects, I take the drawings and do my best to incorporate some of their imagery into this final design. It was really about making a great mural but having the kids have ownership of the mural itself. So I don't know if you've seen the other two that we've done. Yeah, so it's been, it's been really fun just to watch the kids from the beginning to the end when they walk away, you. [6:27] Speaker E (unidentified): Know, that's my, that's fine and yeah, the process. And so he designs something that I do think the hardest part is designing this, and then he actually scans some of the drawings in, so some of those one I use and I'm gonna make with labels are the actual drawings that Jill has done, so that, but he really has the students' artistic drawings that are in there. And then from that writing, he paints the rain pie with a primer, so it's bright white. And then he goes back in and tuts it, and he puts the black albino drawing on it. And then with every student has a chance to paint, we get to go in and volunteer per week. And then we have the high school come and finish it all off with the students. So it's a great opportunity for high school students. It's been fun, it's been a ton of work, but it's going to be successful, I believe. [7:33] Speaker G (unidentified): The murals look great, and I'm a fan. [7:35] Speaker E (unidentified): It's been really a special place. [7:37] Speaker G (unidentified): It makes me really happy to see them. Any questions? [7:46] Speaker C (unidentified): My only question is, when is it going to be still soon? [7:49] Speaker E (unidentified): Well, we don't know our next samples. Okay. Okay. But in a vote. Not for the renovation. No. That's fair amount. Oh, okay. No. Okay. But my... I have to... We're ready. Oh, you're dancing? So... All right. No other questions? [8:11] Speaker C (unidentified): All right. Can I get... We can do them separate, or we can do them together. Okay. [8:19] Speaker G (unidentified): And it's in the form of recommendations to the council? Yes. Okay. I recommend we accept these wonderful designs. [8:30] Speaker B (unidentified): All right, all in favor? Yeah. And we love that. Cool. [8:37] Speaker D (unidentified): Back [8:44] Speaker C (unidentified): to our agenda. You're welcome to stay, but you must wait. [8:46] Speaker D (unidentified): Thank you. Thank you. [9:00] Speaker C (unidentified): Okay, next part is proving to be a little complicated. We have been trying to find a different time to meet because 8 30 on Fridays doesn't work cleanly for everybody who's currently on the commission. I sent out several options, we looked at Wednesday evenings two times, Thursday evenings two times. We kept the Friday morning in there so that I could see how many can't do that. And those were the only times we looked at. We didn't look at Mondays because City Council always meets on Monday, so the Wednesday is never available. We didn't look at Tuesdays because I have a pre-existing conflict. And so really kind of Wednesday, Thursday were our only options what we didn't look at is other day times but I think some of the concerns with the 8 30 to 9 30 is that it breaks into the normal work day and that's why some people can't do that so while we can certainly look at other normal out working hour times I think those are maybe just as complicated as the morning so three people couldn't do Wednesdays after work that was the, Wednesday 530 was the one that most people could do, but it actually is the same number of people [10:27] Speaker B (unidentified): that can also do Friday mornings. [10:28] Speaker C (unidentified): So three people of 11 can't do Wednesday evenings, and three people can't do Friday nights. So I didn't want to just pick one. I don't think that's fair. I don't want to set a time where people can't join, but I think we need to go back to the drawing board and I want to hear ideas of other times we can meet, other ways we can make this work, other ways to be flexible to try to be able to continue meeting and allow everybody who's on commission to actually attend meetings. It is a requirement of being on the commission that you attend meetings, and so I don't want to set a time where someone can't and then they have to drop out. But I don't have time that works for me. What other ideas do you have? Can we meet in [11:22] Speaker G (unidentified): this room on Monday or Tuesday? Yeah, well, if the council needs an executive session they go in here on Mondays, but Tuesdays you could. Yeah, I came to Tuesday, Mondays. So what [11:41] Speaker H (unidentified): if we alternate Wednesdays. Okay. [11:45] Speaker A (unidentified): Like do you have to go to the attendance requirement to repeat everything? [11:50] Speaker G (unidentified): I don't think there is written in the policy. No. I thought it was like three times. I remember [11:57] Speaker C (unidentified): three times for some. If you miss more than three minutes without saying anything. Right. That's that's from could we yeah earlier on Friday morning or is it too early [12:16] Speaker G (unidentified): I mean you can the building is open at 7 00 a.m so if you want to do like 7 30 you could do that Yeah, but there's lunchtime too. I've had committees in the past meet at, you know, do a new meeting. [12:51] Speaker A (unidentified): I can only do that on one thing. [12:53] Speaker D (unidentified): Once it's really yeah I'm [13:01] Speaker B (unidentified): the most available so I can't look at work whenever alternative work [13:11] Speaker E (unidentified): Right it's like if we do even like private like even at this time yeah so yeah [13:22] Speaker C (unidentified): I worry a little that eight to nine still cuts it too close to people who have to get to an office by nine 7 30 to 8 30 is something we could definitely consider if that's possible yeah it does I mean it means I have to ask my partner to do bus pickup but it could be possible if we do or 7 45 to 8 45 [Speaker H (unidentified): Fine yeah] Because you can't do Wednesdays I can't do Wednesday evenings yeah I could do Wednesday morning right but same yeah what time is your dinner to get him there by eight but it's important [Speaker G (unidentified): Right I like] the alternate idea and maybe also moving the Friday one slightly earlier I wonder if that will satisfy the most and If we do write 745 to 845, if you join at 815, that gives us enough coverage that you can participate. Given that not everybody's here, I will send out an email. Actually, let's vote on this and see how everybody in the room feels. Yeah, 530. We could also do 6 on Wednesday evenings, or we could make it 6 30 on Wednesday evenings. Like all of those times are options. I prefer closer to 5 o'clock, but not right at 5, because I think then I'm going to still leave work early, which again runs into the same issue. But yeah, thoughts about 5 30, or is 6 easier, or is 6 30 easier? But not every month. We would do that alternating with the Friday morning. I [15:42] Speaker E (unidentified): think the later, if you count, if it gets more difficult, I think they're like 6,.30. [15:48] Speaker G (unidentified): For me anyway. [15:53] Speaker C (unidentified): So I think maybe the recommendation would be we do every other first Wednesday, so we'll keep it in the first week always, but every other first Wednesday at 5 30 p.m. and then alternating Friday mornings. And maybe get a show of hands for which time you prefer keeping it at 8 30 to 9 30 is option one option two is 7 45 to 8 45. Do we want to consider any of the other early travel? Is anybody very pro 7.30 to 8.30 or eight to nine? Okay, all right, those are the two options. Who is for option 1, 8.30 to 9.30 on Friday mornings? Every day, first Friday. [16:58] Speaker H (unidentified): I'm not good at both. [16:59] Speaker E (unidentified): I'm not good at both. Same,. [17:02] Speaker C (unidentified): But I just need to know what works for you. If you could make it work, let's say yes. [17:08] Speaker G (unidentified): It would give you both. On my phone, of course. Yeah, okay. [17:12] Speaker C (unidentified): Because if no one raises their hand for the second one, then I will know to not include it in the option. Okay, and 7.45 to 8.45. On Friday mornings, yeah, every other first Friday morning. Okay, all right, cool. I think we still should include every other commission member, so I'm gonna, meeting scheduling is one thing we can then do over emails. Yeah, so I will send these options out and get everybody else's input, make sure that the people who can't do this current meeting time, that's why they're not here. I know Jonathan's vacation, but other people who can't make this time, I think Ellen can't make this time unless she's into a meeting, but she can do the Wednesday evening, and so we'll send it out via email, we'll try to get this confirmed for the next meeting. I think this could be beneficial because the next first Friday right is July 3rd, which is a holiday. Yeah, we're going to close serving holiday, so if we move it to that Wednesday, that would be July 1st, so we could still have July meeting without doing another thing rescheduling. We do usually skip one of the summer meetings, which we can also talk about today, but I think maybe given that we've had scheduling problems and we've had a bunch of numbers who, you know, haven't been able to come consistently, maybe we keep both the July and the August meeting and get into this new rhythm if this works for everybody else, and obviously if you can't come that's fine, but maybe the plan will be over email next first Wednesday, July 1st will be a meeting in the evening, and then August, whatever, right, August, I just had it up to the seven on Google, go the seventh, okay, a baby's around the phone at me is no, babies are always welcome, I'm just going to say lots of health care, yes, I brought Julian to the city council. [19:40] Speaker A (unidentified): I might be able to make Wednesdays if I can, if I can introduce August to the civic process, but I'll have to talk to, I talked to dad, right, yes, baby girl is welcome, okay. [19:52] Speaker C (unidentified): I would say even older kids are welcome if they're willing to, you know, sit for a while. It's not much fun for kids, but we'll do what we need to do to make it work so that people can participate. All right, don't think we need to vote on this yet. We'll send it around over email, and then we'll kind of set the next meeting over email, and then maybe we can vote to set the schedule then. Okay, great, thank you all for being willing to work with me on a wonky schedule and having good ideas and participating. All right, report of chair. I don't think I have much to report. I did attend another budget meeting this week. Did not, they didn't have any more questions, which is great. They had asked several questions. I think maybe we already talked about this a little bit. No, I think the last was in May, so yeah, budget meetings. I went to City Council and it was a budget workshop a few weeks ago. They asked a few questions about the budget we have proposed and of the biggest question was why has your budget not increased and my answer is what you're asking and giving us for. So we presented them, thank you Kelly for a great printout with [21:26] Speaker B (unidentified): all the numbers. Yeah, if you want this you're going to ask for it today and I don't think I don't need it, so if you want that your files like there's all our files, that's [21:36] Speaker C (unidentified): fine. Yeah, it was really helpful to be able to present them with actual numbers of how much money has been requested over the past several years and how much were we able to pay out and what's the gap, because that gap keeps increasing and it's pretty significant. And this year the requested total amount for both cycles together was $33,000 and our budget's $20,000 and that's a significant amount that we can't fund and kind of it's been in that vein like close to 9 to 13,000 over every year for the past three to four years. And so I think they really offered that the being able to dip potentially into the TIF budget that is separate from the city council budget I think helps. Also I think a few councillors really appreciated the idea of hiring someone for an actual strategic plan for the asset survey and to really spend a bit more time and be serious about this process. I the only other questions were is there other funding, are you applying for other grants, which we are and we're we Haven't received any, but we're trying. There was one question about why we're not getting other outside funding, and we all know that mostly it's because a lot of funding organizations' budgets have been significantly cut by federal lack of support, and there also is a minimum threshold of income for a lot of grants, or grants that we could receive, so we don't qualify for a lot of grants. So hopefully maybe with this budget increase, if we do get an increase, that would actually make us qualify for a few of the main arts commission grants where the minimum that you have to have as your kind of operating budget is 25,000, and so that might open up a few other funding possibilities. So we won't know until probably early July, maybe late June. Yeah, they 're gonna vote on the [23:56] Speaker G (unidentified): the budget. It looks like we're voting on the budget on the 22nd. [24:18] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah, budget adoption June 22nd. Okay, so we might know in time for our July 1st meeting, so then we can talk about what to do. Fingers crossed that both our grant portion increases and that we have funding for the strategic. Any questions about [24:44] Speaker B (unidentified): well, I'll just say I was really happy to see, I went to the one in person with you and then I watched the other one the other night, but there were quite a few councils that are definitely backing this idea of the arts and cultural development here in the city, so it was [24:59] Speaker E (unidentified): really good to see. So yeah, I was happy to see that. Yeah, thank you. Know at this stage, which is [25:08] Speaker H (unidentified): late, that I haven't, like I mentioned in my email to you, I have not been an advocate in any way. Are there still things we can do that are impactful to try to do a small pass? I mean, I [25:17] Speaker G (unidentified): think that you did send an email to counselors. It's always good for counselors to hear from folks, and the counselors at 94many.gov goes to all the counselors all at once, so it's a pretty easy way to communicate. They read every email, so yeah, well [25:40] Speaker C (unidentified): anybody else would like to know, feel free. If you need help with talking points, let me know. Or maybe, Sinanthi, you want to share your email with the Commission? Oh, sure. They would say don't copy someone else's email, but if you need inspiration for it, someone appropriate, I'm happy to help. [26:05] Speaker D (unidentified): All right. I think that's all for my report. [26:11] Speaker C (unidentified): Money. Financial report is in our packet, sideways at the end. [26:21] Speaker G (unidentified): We're working on getting your grants out to everybody. Yeah, great. Do you know when they get paid out? Because those were approved by council, right? Yeah, so we're contacting everybody to kind of coordinate, but yeah, great. Sometimes, yeah, contact recipients. Is that contact recipients? [26:42] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah, and then they receive a check, I think. Yep, and then they have to report back. [26:52] Speaker G (unidentified): Right. And we'll put that in a letter to the branch to report that. [26:58] Speaker E (unidentified): What are they reporting back? That they kept completed? [27:02] Speaker G (unidentified): Yeah, just that this is what we used the funds for and, you know, this was the program. And these statistics. I think it, again, always helps you have budget time to be able to say, you know, this number of people attended this event. It's like we know your reach, but it's good to have those numbers for others to know. Yeah. Yeah. [27:28] Speaker C (unidentified): All right. We don't have to rivet any other questions on the financial report. Fingers crossed for next year. Committee reports. Jennifer's not here for the grant committee, but we just talked about it. We're in the process of paying out this year's grants, and then the grant committee will meet at some point in the next probably couple of months to decide if there need to be any edits to the application. We have talked about maybe moving it totally online. That might be a good approach for next year. It should be a fairly simple process to do that, so we [28:16] Speaker G (unidentified): don't require people to print anything. Yeah, you can put a fillable pdf on the website. Yeah. [28:24] Speaker C (unidentified): I think that might be something that we should talk about ahead of the next trans cycle opening September cultural assets. [28:38] Speaker G (unidentified): I think I reported last week. I guess I'm wondering in the latest anticipating opportunity for strategic planning, is it worth us getting together first and setting some goals towards that, or just wait for that? [29:04] Speaker C (unidentified): I think we should wait until we know we have. Okay, because then you can meet in July. Okay, cool. Any other questions about cultural assets? I know we've been in a holding pattern, [29:37] Speaker B (unidentified): but I have a question. We're allowed to be on more than one subject. Yeah, okay, good. [29:50] Speaker C (unidentified): I think especially if we get any sort of funding, there will be some stuff we can do with it. All right. I have a committee. Bye guys. Okay. Yeah, [30:09] Speaker H (unidentified): We did meet earlier this month. So to get the ball rolling for those that have been around for a while. The last two or maybe three years we've had a pretty structured approach, which has been to, you know, host a big celebration for the annual arts award right around the first of October to kick off the month. And to do a few other things that we can define as time goes on. So the consensus of the committee is we want to keep that structure, but also spend a little bit of time thoughtfully thinking about whether there's a little bit more we want to take on. Recognizing that last time we did, the people leading the charge felt like maybe they bit off a little bit too much or something like that. So kind of thoughtfully thinking about there's a little bit more we want to take on. You know some of early ideas around that would be you know simply just being aware of cataloging the events that are happening that month and maybe finding a way to promote those more because there's always a lot going on I'd say an example that came up is you know last year Banger Symphony Orchestra was doing you know a big showing of Nightmare Before Christmas and they're doing the music with that you know they're scheduling that with no concern about whether it's on top right so and then There are many other activities like that so simply highlighting those might be one thing that could be an easy lift but we also wanted to keep the door open to just considering what else we may want to do the committee felt that hosting the event at the stage door worked well we didn't have a lot of appetite to look beyond that at the moment both because the facility worked really well and it was affordable too so you know again keeping it maybe keeping an open mind there but the committee Felt pretty strongly we want to do that again and we set our next meeting for 626 and we can be the space so I haven't requested it yet when I thought if there's others that would like to join and that time is a problem but we're open to changing it so just speak up now or shoot me an email or something but really excited to keep going and yeah I think that's about it am I missing anything for those of you that were there yeah great yeah right yeah I'm really excited about it [32:29] Speaker C (unidentified): I should say yeah sorry I couldn't make it sure when you have the room confirmed will you just send a reminder to the whole commission yes just in case somebody has to have time to join and [32:51] Speaker H (unidentified): Even if you can't commit the drawing BS and thoughts you want to share, I think the next few things that [32:59] Speaker C (unidentified): the committee will likely do is start putting up a call, or decide when to put up a call for the Arts Award if needed, and then start reaching out to possible the jurors. So if anybody has ideas for who might be a good juror, we usually try to, we have a list somewhere that I can share, actually it's in our whole tracking outreach list that Sam was set up a while ago, of who previous jurors were, so we don't ask the same people over and over again, where we try to balance their disciplines a little bit. So we have a musician, we have maybe be a writer, and maybe someone who's theater based, and maybe someone who's visual based. Could Polly juror? Juror? Juror? She could absolutely be a juror. She did. I went to her opening yesterday. It's awesome. Her release party is so great. All right. Yes. She builds the stage door. That's awesome. It's great. Yeah, Polly's a great idea. [34:04] Speaker B (unidentified): And then we do the one from [34:06] Speaker C (unidentified): from last year that somebody would be usually right, the someone from the or usually the winner is the juror next year, and they were committee, so they can select who [34:19] Speaker G (unidentified): maybe it's maybe this is a committee decision, but you want to say something about, you know, after someone's won the award they need to let other people win [34:37] Speaker C (unidentified): so we don't end up just rewarding the same group. Yeah, I think we can certainly put that forward. It's a little bit up to the jurors, not that it's not a worthwhile, right, I think you're mentioning this because the first winner was Annette as a solo person and curator, and last year the last year on third or fourth, okay, but Banger beautiful one, and obviously Annette is on the Banger vehicle board. It is a juror selection. We do also usually actually have one commission member be a voting juror, so [35:18] Speaker H (unidentified): that there's options. I don't know if we're gonna change that. [35:25] Speaker B (unidentified): Yeah, well, we have to write it in like the grand stronghold for once a year, and that's written in the language by the city. Would it have to be something that's written in, and if we're going to change that, or I'm just, well, not that it matters to me personally. Yeah, yes, as long as the [35:43] Speaker C (unidentified): time where you apply or something that should be maybe but if people don't apply themselves generally they nominate someone else that's right and so i kind of don't want to discourage nominations right even if the same people get nominated then we invite the same people to party and everybody celebrates that i'm okay with but maybe we do in the juror guidelines we include a we'd like to not have the same winners every year so it's like some years or something like that right exactly i mean like It means we have opportunity to give awards to other people, and I do think it's been a really good spread of disciplines, and I haven't found things around time. Last year was the fourth one. We haven't met, but we have been. Similar fifth year, which is exciting. So far, the nominations keep growing pretty significantly on the attendance of the event. Great. I do think if the committee would like to set a few juror guidelines, that might be a good thing to do, that give them some direction. Do they [37:17] Speaker E (unidentified): have like a rubric or something that they're looking at now? Okay. [37:23] Speaker C (unidentified): And I think generally, we've tried to refine the nomination form a little bit with more guidelines, because it ends up being that the nominator could put a whole lot of information in the form or very little information, and we really just go by the form. And so that kind of puts it, might put emphasis or de-emphasis on an application, and like that's something to consider. We don't usually have people do research, we bet to make sure everybody's actually eligible, but we don't like share people's websites or portfolios. It's it's really based on the number, the [38:13] Speaker E (unidentified): the strength of the nomination. So if I were to win one year, I would be sort of the group for the October committee would say like, you won last year, we're going to kind of move you out of this group that we're giving to the people who are making the decision. [38:33] Speaker C (unidentified): That's a little bit, I think, why we started having inviting last year's winner as a juror. Okay, that ensures that at least the person who won last year won't win again this year. That makes sense. The juror won't vote for themselves. But I do think maybe some guidelines around not selecting the same winner for a longer time frame than just two years is maybe a good idea. But yeah, we have kind of left it open to the jurors to decide how they want to choose in the past few years. I think a little bit on purpose, because they're all involved in the arts, and generally it hasn't seemed that they, maybe everybody has their own biases, but it hasn't been that they clearly select the person who is their friend. I think it's been, or it has seemed to me at least, very fair in how they deliberate. It's the ones that I've been in the room for or been part of the discussion with some of those people. It works pretty well. [39:41] Speaker H (unidentified): Remembering last year, for those that were part of it, by having a pretty open slate in terms of what they could do, they spent some time defining it themselves, very thoughtfully, and that was an interesting process to watch. So you do run the risk of making it too narrow a definition. Yeah. Not allowing that opportunity. [40:05] Speaker C (unidentified): I think two years ago, they all came to the meeting with kind of their three favorites. And then they discussed that pool, and there was a lot of overlap already in those nominations. And so then it wasn't we have to, for hours, discuss every one of these 20 applicants, that they have looked at all the nominations ahead of the meeting, and then they deliberate kind of on the ones that naturally rise to the top. Yeah, we voted. Would you like to be a juror this year? You don't want me to. We've got some time, but if someone would like to put their own name forward as a juror from the commission, definitely do so. Any other October questions? You're [40:59] Speaker A (unidentified): doing a really good job. I feel very communicated too. I'm very, I know a lot about what's going on with [41:07] Speaker H (unidentified): our topiary stuff. Well, thank you. I will pass that thanks also on to Nina and Holly, who set up something that was pretty easy to step in and manage. [41:21] Speaker C (unidentified): We do also still have graphics from last year. They're now more editable than they were before. And instead of the first couple years, you know, this, we printed an events calendar, and they get out of date very quickly, and not that many people take them. So I think last year, several years, we printed just the map. We could talk about making updates to that map file, whether it's right now it's the arts related creative organizations or shops downtown. I think there have been some new additions this year, definitely to the stores. So that's something we could do. We had also talked about switching it up from stores or coffee shops, like creative places, to murals. We'll your own map we'll see how much budget we have for like actually making paper like hiring someone to make a new map. But we can make some small changes to the map for sure. And then we link to existing online downtown local calendars, both the downtown mega partnership and general sevens, because they have already updated events calendars. But we do also have a an instagram account that Holly's going to log into where we can highlight more of the events that may come up too. [42:53] Speaker G (unidentified): All right the other thing I'm just going to ask the group is the flags that we put up. I noticed last year they look a little tired and I do have some downtown tip funds I'm like you know might be able to use to kind of redo those. But do you want to change out the graphic [43:13] Speaker C (unidentified): or is it are they all the same graphic? Yeah it would be worth [43:25] Speaker H (unidentified): them revisiting it. Yeah and you know maybe just even color palettes that don't fade as much because I know it's the same I mean that's kind of all golds [43:34] Speaker G (unidentified): really faded. Yeah so if I were to order more I would need to order by mid-August. So it gives you a little bit of time to get that profit going. [43:44] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah. We'll put that on the agenda for Virginia. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Cool. All right. Out of your October things, questions, ideas? [44:01] Speaker G (unidentified): I guess it's up to the October committee to decide on the gift. Yeah. [44:07] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah. We do usually do... I mean they get a thousand dollars and then we usually do a gift around a hundred dollars. We've been getting it from actually last year we did something different. We have been getting it from Cedar Works, something locally made. We had a good idea actually Sunny had a really good idea [44:32] Speaker B (unidentified): now we you had a very good idea about having the having the like the award like we had a plaque engraved in the wood and everything having a piece of art somebody's artwork is you know what I mean with that you're the winner of the award. I thought that was a really cool idea [44:50] Speaker H (unidentified): yeah which i think was just consistent with what we've been doing i think it was like a consensus as we look to an art award to you know to have something that feels like you know that's created by an artist yeah and so a theme of last year i know nina will remember this maybe not the rest of you like a lot of things that did happen with the last minute you know some of you that nobody might know that 's a pattern so hopefully that won't be true this year so last year you know we got to the end It didn't have the award the previous and we were going to go with the previous artist who, when we called, was like at an art fair in the door consent got to it right now, so we found another, you know, local artist, but we don't need to stick with that person, a person who did some woodwork and could do something on like, oh, 10 business. [45:39] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah, we've been doing something that's usable and made locally by an artisan and then also is engraveable in some way so that there's a mark on it that this is for the Arts Award winner. We've done like wooden clipboards in the past. What was the thing that we did last year? [45:58] Speaker H (unidentified): It was a piece of wood in the, well actually it was a piece of wood engraved with the state to Maine and then you know some epoxy, you know, so they laser, they laser great, but they dug it out, you know, by an inch or something, it's like put an epoxy, but it looked nice, it was great, but I believe maybe more physical ideas this time. [46:19] Speaker C (unidentified): And last year was like hooking or something and it is usually a sort of last minute thing, we end up having about a month because we choose the gift based on who the winner is, right, so we don't usually choose the gift ahead of time and so we select the jury selects the winner usually late August, early September, early September, and so then we have to have the gift by October 1st, and so really a three-week window where we can do that, we could do something ahead of time, but I kind of like giving. Something that maybe is in some ways relevant or usable specifically. [47:02] Speaker H (unidentified): I mean, these things that are coming up, in hindsight, realize maybe we'll take the next meeting and get them off at three months, and we'll come up with a plan. Yep. All right. [47:14] Speaker C (unidentified): Sounds good. Any other thoughts or ideas for that? Great. [47:22] Speaker G (unidentified): All right. Stop up, Paisley. I don't have any other thoughts. It's just a budget. it so yeah nice you have a kaylee now yes kaylee she just started and she's going to get caught up on doing some minutes and be coming to future meetings so great that's exciting all right [47:43] Speaker C (unidentified): If anybody has questions for you should they email you and Kaylee for now? Yeah, so I have a. [47:50] Speaker H (unidentified): Maybe a thought or comment related to that which is it looks like there's been some progress in Pickering Square, I think I see something, it looks like a kiosk to me. Oh yeah. [48:01] Speaker G (unidentified): That's the kiosk for, you know, visit for visitors to find out like what's going on, so we will kind of load it up with events information and, you know, as well as. [48:17] Speaker B (unidentified): Businesses right there. Yeah, I think that would be awesome once we do it. So our asset done, that was a cultural asset. Yeah, right on there. But the ones, sorry, I'm sorry, you, if you tried to talk first, I talked over you, I apologize. That I'm not, I had a terrible habit of that, sorry. I just get excited. No, I'm talking over here, so [48:44] Speaker H (unidentified): I was going to say, so that particular kiosk is informational of the others that will host [48:51] Speaker G (unidentified): the art? Yeah. That's a separate project. Yeah. Two or some projects. So they'll also be cutting them. Yeah. It's great. [48:58] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah. We're getting there. Is there a timeline update on the art kiosks? [49:03] Speaker G (unidentified): Hopefully this year. Right. Yeah. [49:07] Speaker C (unidentified): All right. Any other thoughts or questions? A reminder that it's first Friday, you can get back to home if you happen to be up for a drive tomorrow. There's a poster show opening in New York Harbor at the Justice Library that I curated through AIGA in Maine, which is a grantee this cycle. It will also travel to Bangor in October. It will be at the library here, but it's opening tomorrow in Vaughn Harbor. The Justice Library just added a new expansion, a brand new part of their building, it's cool to see. Come take a tour of that. It also has Pride of Vaughn Harbor tomorrow. It's going to be really fun, last April. [50:04] Speaker B (unidentified): Not as many people in July and August. [50:06] Speaker G (unidentified): Emily Bivart exhibited the library for two months in honor of the 250th birthday. [50:14] Speaker C (unidentified): And if you look closely, Kyle has some work. I saw your name on the wall. [50:21] Speaker G (unidentified): Oh, one of the little squares. So if you look closely, part of the little squares, they did a community project that's really cool. And then there's a draft of the Declaration of Independence, a historical exhibit intertwined with an artist's thinking about reflecting on what that all was about. [50:51] Speaker B (unidentified): I actually have family members in Southern Maine that are very excited about this draft of the Declaration of Independence. Is being our pyramid plus history teacher and he teaches now he's retired but he teaches adults that are getting their national citizenship here I mean and he's very excited to come up here and [51:09] Speaker G (unidentified): see this well it's really unusual because it's it's juxtaposes a contemporary artist interpretation [51:21] Speaker C (unidentified): There's that one, yeah, it's a cool exhibition and right then those student interpretations. And then the Historical Society was in it, the actual, one of the actual real declarations of independence. That's what my listeners are also, which we also supported. Exactly. That's awesome. Anything else happening in the next month that you know all the listeners should know about? [51:48] Speaker H (unidentified): The musical PTC opening next weekend. Yeah. Fantastic. [51:52] Speaker C (unidentified): Yes. Fantastic. Oh, all right. [52:06] Speaker I (unidentified): Can you hear me now? Oh, first Friday is tonight. Yeah, yay, that's art walk, that's going on tonight. Sorry, I've been here this whole time, I don't know if you knew that I was here, but I wanted to say some things about Arttober too. We can go back to that. What do you want to [52:27] Speaker C (unidentified): say about our tour book? We have time. Yeah. Oh no, yeah, okay, but you're muted again, you're muted [52:41] Speaker I (unidentified): again, but now you can. Okay, am I better? Hi. Yeah, okay, sorry guys. We were going to meet every month leading up to the event except for the last month, we're going to meet four times in a, I think was the plan, like every week, we discussed that. Yeah, that sounds good. Yeah, and then yeah, first Friday is coming up tonight, and then on the 13th there's Green Drinks at Banger Beer Co, and yeah, 27th there's the Zillman anniversary gala. Oh, all three of those events I'm DJing, so that's why I know about them all. Right, cool. [53:24] Speaker C (unidentified): Cool, any other final thoughts? We do have like six minutes if we need it. Okay, great, then I adjourn meeting. We will see you July 1st most likely, but I'll come from over.