Okay, we're recording now, so whenever you're ready, Donna.

Okay, so we're gonna go ahead and call the uh meeting to order here for uh November October 15th.

2025 here.

Sorry, hold on, I gotta fix some rock.

Me?

Okay.

Ummissioner Falado.

Present.

Commissioner Frank Stapley.

Present.

Commissioner Romero.

Present.

Commissioner Rosati.

Absent.

Uh Commissioner Simpson Jr.

Here.

Commissioner Stoiber.

Present.

Commissioner Subers.

Here.

Commissioner Vowling.

Absent.

And Chairman Grotovsky.

Absent.

So we have a quorum with six.

Next on the agenda is approval of minutes.

Hopefully you've all had a chance to review the August 20, 2025 Arts Commission meeting minutes.

Is there any discussion or a motion to approve?

I'd make a motion to approve as presented.

Second.

Motion by Romero, second by Simpson.

Commissioner Frank Staffley.

Motion to approve the minutes.

Approved.

She's ironed.

Oh, sorry, I'm slow.

Aye.

Commissioner Romero.

Aye.

Commissioner Simpson Jr.

Hi.

Commissioner Stoiber.

Hi.

Commissioner Summers.

Commissioner Fulato.

Aye.

Motion carries.

Next on the agenda is citizens to be heard on agenda items.

This section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding agenda items and are allowed a maximum of four minutes.

It is not a question and answer period, and staff and the commission members generally do not respond to public comments.

Would anyone like to speak on any agenda items tonight?

Seeing none, um, we'll move on to agenda items.

Uh the first item that we have is Citi Square Sculpture Presentation by CJ Chen on community engagement.

Um if you want to come up.

Hi everyone.

Thank you for having me today.

So today I would like to tell a little bit more about my work in general and then also talk about how we're gonna proceed with our community engagement uh for our public sculpture at the city center.

So this is how does this work?

Sorry.

All right, if you can move to the next slide.

So I would like to talk about my art really quickly to give you an understanding of my practice.

So my work starts with papers, starts with menus, start with little things like this.

This is a paper that I collected today from the Rialdo Theater.

Next one, please.

So all these papers I collect from the community, from the public.

Uh papers are not meant to last.

For example, somebody might take this event, take a look and dump it, trash it somewhere.

The vaccination cars, documents from governments, receipts.

But to me, those papers hold specific meanings and memories.

They are the witness of how we live, where we've been, what we've done.

And to that, menu is one of the things that often collect, if you can go back to the previous slide.

This is a very ordinary menu from a Cambodian restaurant in Los Angeles.

If you look at it, you see a bunch of full items.

But to me, I see a map.

Why do I say that?

Because you if you look at the right hand side, you see two dishes.

One is a chif cake, the bottom one is a shrimp cake.

If you see those two items in the menu in a Southeastern restaurant, Southeast Asian restaurant in America or in Europe, you can safely assume that some the person who owned the restaurant or the chef has is a Chao Chinese descendant.

And why do I know that?

Because I was born and raised in Chaoshan.

And those food items are stables onto our menu.

And the reason why they made their ways to those Southeast Asian restaurants around the world is because Chao Chinese people moved to Southeast Asia in starting in the 1800s, and then later they moved to America and Europe because Cambodia War, Vietnam War, and they bring this item along with them.

So to me, when I look at menus in this country or in any country, what I see is places on the spin, the memories they carry, the cultures they carry.

Next slide, please.

So I collect all of this just like I collect this paper and then make paper cuts out of it.

Next slide, please.

So I will collect them, I will use Caesar's knife to create shapes.

Next one.

Shapes of buildings, shapes of trees, animals, or abstract forms.

And this practice is called paper cut art.

Next one, please.

So I would like to talk about paper cut art a little bit.

Papercut is an ancient art form, dates all the way back to the fourth century.

It's actually part of my family heritage.

Still, today it's practiced and appreciated in many countries in the world.

You see Switzerland, Switzerland's artists on the left, Korean artists, Vietnamese artists, and Mexican artists at the bottom.

Next one, please.

And that's my dad in the picture doing his paper cut.

In the uh where I was from, where I was born, paper cut is used often as window decoration with religious offering.

So it's both a decoration, but also carry cultural and cultural significance.

But if you notice, paper cut usually use single-color paper and create intricate shapes out of it.

And what I do a little different is I use ready-made paper papers I collect from the public.

Next one, please.

And I create shapes, different shapes, and I collage them onto canvases.

Next one, please.

Next one, please.

And they become landscape, landscape of a community, landscape of people's stories.

It's a document of where we've been, what we do, and the stories we carry.

Next one, please.

So a lot of my paintings are collected and exhibited in public spaces, telling the stories of a communities of migrants, just like people, just like Sholia being a center of transportation, being the hub, being the beginning, the first 100 miles of 66, Route 66.

People come from different places and bring their memories, their stories, their cultures to Joliet.

And to me, it's I bring the public their stories, their families, their history to my paintings through the papers that they contribute to me.

Next one, please.

This one, that one, the previous one was at Seattle, the Coma Museum, and this one is collected and exhibited at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Next one.

So to um next one, please.

That was a video.

So these papers, by doing using these papers and creating paper cuts, I'm not just creating arts.

To me, I believe I'm holding spaces, a spaces for public memories to be preserved, to be kept.

And these papers, they're had they were originally handing to the trash, but now becoming part of the art, and they are being part of the history, present, uh being part of the history we're making today, and hopefully future generations can look at these and understand the time that we lived in.

Next one.

So in addition to doing all these paper cut works in paper, I also do paper cuts in at papercut inspired art, cutting steels and make them into sculptures.

And the way I do it is I go to communities and I do workshops, I do meetings like this and invite people to share with me their stories, their aspects, the perspective of their hometown, the city, and then I collect those stories and those stories and I create sculptures, art that truly represent and bespoke to the communities.

If you can go back to the previous one.

Next one, please.

So Port Smith was celebrating their 400 years anniversaries of the city, and they commissioned me to create sculptures of sculptures for the maritime history, maritime cultures.

So one of the things that the members, the community members talk to me is they want the sculpture to reflect not just the people who have gone to the sea, but the people who left behind.

So those two children, now we can see at the bottom of the right cell are the children representing the community members, waiting for their loved ones to return.

Next one, please.

This is for Chowshan International Airport.

And so for me, doing doing uh public artworks like this is a way for me to ask the question to pose a question of the local communities, the members, what kind of communities are we?

Who are we?

Next one, please.

And what do we want to preserve?

For example, this one is for Richard in Kansas.

Wichita is has a nickname Air Capital of the World.

It's aviation history, aviation industry has such a big impact on the city.

So this is a series of seven clouds, and on each cloud, I work with people from Wichita to create images that represents the city.

So you can see birds that become not becoming, I mean, Wogita is a big stop for migratory birds, so you can see birds on the green panels.

In the middle, you can see the airplanes, the historic historical airplanes that was made that were made in Wichita being featured at the center.

Next one, please.

So in stories, uh in coming to do public art with the communities in the city.

I'm hoping through this movement we can generate support for the arts, but also bring people from diverse backgrounds together.

Next one, please.

I want to ask people this question that what do you want to see in the art and what do you want to see in the future of your city?

Next one, please.

For public uh public art, I believe that it has multiple multiple serve multiple purposes.

One is to highlight and enhance the space.

And second one is to truly unite people during the process, to bring people come together to collectively create a piece that is going to stay in the city.

And during this process, you we hopefully new friendship can be born, new connection can be fostered, and conversation can be generated.

What do we want for our city and what kind of future do we imagine?

Next one, please.

And next one.

So that brings to my proposal, Dawn Wood of Unity.

Resonating about the archway at Riado Theater, this storm, I believe would bring a create a space in the center of the city square, a space for people to come, reflect, and a place to appreciate the work through, appreciate the city through the work as well.

Next one.

I think we are all very familiar with this the idea, so I'm just gonna go quickly through.

Next one, please.

Yep, next one.

So in this week, we're in town, we're gonna meet with schools.

We went to the Rialdo Theater this afternoon, we went to the history museum this afternoon today, and also the Junior College for lunch, all of those.

And I understand, it just helped me understand so much more about the city and its people.

I can do an artist can do the research miles away thoroughly.

I understand, I I feel like I have a great, a good understanding of a good understanding of Joliet before I can.

But I have to say nothing beats an on-ground engagement to talk to the people to understand to really engage what is Joliet.

And I think I'm getting a quite a good sense of it.

Next one, please.

I think Jolia, it's about diversity, Joliet is about transportation.

Joliet is about preserving the history by looking forward to looking towards the future.

Next one, please.

So this week we're gonna together collectively develop the perforation, the paper cut inspired cutouts on the dorm of unity.

Let's share the agenda the agenda.

We were going to we're going to schools tomorrow.

We'll be hosting a lot of workshops, teaching the kids or everyone who are interested how to do paper cut.

We're gonna give hands-out templates and scissors so people can a first hand experience of how paper cut is made.

And hopefully through this process, people can think about what patterns would uh what patterns were thing what are the what are the things that represent Joliet and maybe they can cut it with their own hand and submit it to our website.

If we can go to our website.

Yep.

So this is a website we created.

It's called Joliet Union uh Unity Dorm.com.

So it has a home page uh about page that tells the public this project, and if you go to the news page, and if you click on that, this is our community workshop.

We have two workshops, uh one on uh Friday, one on Saturday, and I would like to invite all of you to come to experience paper cut first hand.

And after you understand and got your hands not wet, but you know, cutting the papers, you can go to Ray.

If you can go to the connect page.

Yes.

Answer all those questions.

And if you scroll down to the bottom, there is a upload button that you can upload any imageries, paper cut designs, photos that you think represent Joliet, and then hopefully together we can create the beautiful paper cut uh perforation for the dorm.

And dorm um right, if you go to gallery, gallery, yes.

So all the visual entries will be presented, will be uh exhibited in gallery.

So people will have a chance to see their artwork, they create uh their creation being appreciated in the community.

And this website will also document every steps of the way that we go through in this public projects.

People will see how it's being made, the process, the fabrication, the transportation, the installation process, and at the end we can transfer this website to the city, and if the city wanna keep it, this will serve as a living archive of how at 2025 everyone in Joliet come together, together we create the dorm of the Unity dorm.

Yep.

So that's that's my presentation.

Thank you.

And if you have any questions, yes, go ahead.

Lots of lots of them, not not that many.

So uh will you be taking dozens of ideas and then you know put a voting uh you know process down to see which one everybody likes or if if you participated that's you know, I mean, I'm I'm assuming you'll have dozens of ideas.

That's a good question.

So after we receive all the um, after we receive all the feedback from the public, I will then do an initial design.

An is your design of the of the the dorm and um the paper uh perforation of the dorm, and I will submit to the committee to get your feedback to see what you think if there need anything need to be changed, or you want to add something more, if that makes sense.

So it's very much uh interactive process.

How many of these designs do you think can be incorporated into the sculpture?

Is it I mean some of these that I see looks like there's one or two with just regular other shapes, uh or is it dozens or is it that's a good question?

We will see what idea got the most popular.

We're gonna we're gonna select well, not select, we're gonna incorporate the um the things that got mentioned the most.

So right now I'm thinking limestone.

Limestone got mentioned so much and is such an important piece of architectural architecture and history here in Joliet, so I can see the limestone making its way into being one of the items being presented at the final design, as long as the railways, but I'm very excited and can't wait to see what other people what everyone has to say about Joliet.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So can't give you a definite number right now because I'm trying to get a scope in my understanding I understand.

See how many things were presented.

And um, do you do and do you want to pull up the school uh the agenda so the committee knows what we're doing?

Is this the one?

Perfect, thank you.

So okay.

My site is not very good.

So I can't really actually really read right now.

So if you can okay, I can see Joe L.

I w I know we're going to the West School and now we do the central high schools, but Washington.

High school, yep, those are the ones that we're going and the elementary school.

Yep.

Sorry, I don't know if we can do them all or not.

And then Saturdays were after the meeting, we're hoping to also do some more visits and uh of the sites.

For example, the um the the prison that we were hoping to visit and maybe the library as well.

We want to understand and get the get as much information as possible.

Yep.

I have a question.

If families are common, is there anything they should bring with them other than ideas?

Yes.

So people can use we will provide templates and papers and Caesars at the workshops, but people uh public are welcome to bring things that they are meaningful, that are meaningful to them to Jolia and they create paper cuts using those material.

And actually um and and we were chatting today that potentially, potentially at the uh after the sculpture is finished, we can also do uh exhibition putting on the paper cuts on the window fronts in uh next surrounding the city squares.

So people, whatever they create, people will have a chance to see it being celebrated in the public.

Yeah, that would be that's a great idea and ties back to paper cut being uh window decoration, and I think it further generate interest to this project and then I think it's always good for people to see their creation being celebrated.

Yeah.

Can we talk about um the materials?

I know we've talked about this when we had our conversation online, but just for the record here, oh yes, materials that you would use and um what is being done to help with um any uh I don't want to say destruction, but anyway anybody does uh graffiti or anything like that.

What what uh precautions are you taking for that kind of so after the uh we will apply UV coding and uh and anti-graffiti coatings on top of that so can be easily uh removed if it's should anyone yeah spray on that?

Yep, I had one.

Uh so I love the idea about having uh junior high and uh high school people involved.

You also mentioned some history, so I'm assuming that there's some for lack of a better word, old timers in the city that that people in the have ideas of what the city means and the history and stuff like that.

How how will you hear from them just online uh uh or I mean if if they say let's say a steelman, which is you know something that's you know one particular thing, does uh you know junior high kid have to cut it out to make it uh you aware of it?

I mean some of the you know some of the older things like limestone or whatever whatever is you're seeing the meeting.

So we had a fantastic tour today at the history museum.

But then what I would like to is encourage everyone to come to the public sessions, the public session on Friday and Saturday, and so we can have uh in-person conversations and to have an understanding of the general public, not just the students are thinking, and I think that's just as important.

And also online too.

Like I hope that people can if you can make it to the in-person meetings.

I encourage everyone to go to the website to share their perspective.

And so let me know what you think represent is most representative.

Yeah.

And how about a timeline?

Like good question.

Thank you for that.

Thank you for that.

So um the timeline is um uh uh three weeks from three weeks starting next week.

So total of four weeks of uh community engagement.

Yeah.

So we were trying to we're we're trying to finish the and install this piece at May.

So we wanted to keep everything moving pr fairly quickly.

Yeah.

And you have a question?

It was about the color, but I think that was decided a while ago that it would be white.

Yes, that correct.

Yes.

Okay.

And I think the white color will very nicely complement the rat uh break the the rat carpet uh underneath.

And yeah.

And are the lights uh there's lighting in this too.

Is it I don't know if that was something that you were providing or the city had pro was talking about providing.

Um between the lights and the sunlight, the natural light, is there a way to incorporate into the design some of the moving shadows that you would see on the ground from the artwork?

So we were actually on the site today, and the lights were installed on the concrete the on the plant.

So at night time it can it will illuminate this sculpture.

Yeah.

And but can some of the uh the cutouts if the light or the sunshine hits at the end of the day?

Oh, it's gonna create beautiful shadows.

Yes.

It's the thing about uh this the sculptures, I think it's almost its own living thing because of the perforation and indirection between the perforation and the sunlights.

Different time of the day, you'll give you completely different experience.

So it will be uh kind of like a living art for that sense.

Yeah.

Any other questions?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I look forward to seeing all of you to do some paper cut with paper.

We'll see then.

Yeah, just is it good?

Okay, thank you, CJ.

Next on the agenda is staff comments.

Um Ann, did you have some comments you wanted to make?

Yes.

It was on.

Okay, sorry.

I was on.

Um so my name is Ann Sylvester.

I'm the director of cultural affairs and special events for the city of Joliet.

I've been here now a little over two months.

So um lots of exciting things happening, and it was absolutely wonderful to spend time today with uh Cesha and Michael and kind of get some of the excitement from them, but also from people we interacted with today.

So very excited for this project.

Um a couple of things.

I am going to be transitioning to be the liaison for the arts commission.

So I wanted to start first of all by really sincerely thanking Ray for helping and keeping this commission moving over the course of the last I'm actually not exactly sure how long you were doing it, Ray, but a year or so.

Um almost three years now.

Almost three years.

So thank you so much for that.

I know we and I hope everybody else really appreciate everything that you've done the last couple years, and I know you've definitely got your hands full with lots of other projects, but appreciate your support in this as well during this kind of transition time too.

So thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Um I also wanted to introduce um Katie Fixon, who is going to be uh helping to kind of assist me, make sure um I follow everything and do things the right way since I'm new to this.

Um and if you hadn't had a chance to meet um uh Becky DeGroat, she is over here, and I'm gonna pass this over to her to let her introduce herself a little bit.

Hi everyone.

I think I kind of ran around the room met most of you, but if I didn't, I'm Becky DeGroat.

I am the grants coordinator with the City of Joliet.

I do come from a background of grants over ten years experience writing, implementing, reporting, auditing, all sorts of things, fun things with grants, uh federal and state as well.

So I actually just started here not long before and did.

Um I'm coming up on my 90 days and they are still looking to keep me, so it's a great thing.

Uh and uh I really look forward to working on arts grants.

I actually have one in the works now.

Hopefully we'll be able to get that one from murals.

Uh we're also looking at grants for City Square as well.

And additional arts and humanities grants that Ann and I have been working with quite diligently to get done.

Uh so I look forward to providing you with more grants to help fund arts and public art.

Yes.

Um so currently, because so much has been funded by grants, very, very excited to have Becky on board and we'll continue to kind of incorporate her in some of these meetings and and things like that.

So um I am very much looking forward to meeting each of you individually to kind of find out a little bit about you know your history with the arts commission and your history and Joliet, so that together we can create some strategies and goals for 2026 and beyond.

So I thank you for your patience as I kind of get onboarded with everything going on, but please do know that this is a priority for me and for the city moving forward, and I look forward to a very exciting 2026.

And that's it for me Ray.

Okay I don't have any follow-up comments so next on the agenda is uh commission member comments anyone have any comments a few things I'd like to say uh one uh CJ Michael came to the rock and roll museum today as well um we got a chance to talk a little bit beyond just the art project and understanding uh vision and uh the potential of what this could mean to tourism and bringing people here so beyond the art project I felt like there was a good grasp of what we were trying to do here and also trying to get um the community engagement and a little pride and ownership here for our community um there's been some good and bad publicity of course for this mostly good I'd say overwhelmingly good and um I think we're headed in the right direction um in doing this for our city we've mentioned this before being the formerly third largest city in the state of Illinois and now the fourth sometimes some of our uh arts commissioners here we feel like we're lagging severely and and hopeful that we're gonna be able to get caught up with a lot of this stuff um want to say thank you to to Ray for all that you've done thank you for um you know keeping us on track and taking all the all the the lumps that we all take together here as well uh for that and welcome of course Anne who I've had several conversations with and very hopeful of moving forward with the new team that's here and I I feel that this is uh a good turning point for our city and in moving into a new direction in a positive way so those are my comments I'd also like to say thanks Ray um I I work as hard as anybody else here but I teach teenagers so when I get here and I see the tiredness on your face I think what are you gonna complain about Ray's been doing that kind of job you've done a wonderful job keeping us as you said on track following the directions pushing us forward and I'm really grateful for the work that you've done I really appreciate it.

Thank you yeah I'm just always tired but it's it's nothing personal at this point.

Okay.

If there are no other can I ask a question that's a not not about this but arts related I mean yeah sure can you uh tell tell us what in the last pre-city council meeting I saw a presentation about I think it's called the story of art in America and how Joliet was one of the you know what that is I'm guessing trying to uh wonder uh oh yeah um so that's um what what is it I was briefly who brought up the speed on that I'm trying to think on the fly here um I think that's something that Paulina Martinez our economic development director was working I forget I could probably share a little bit yeah I was gonna say Donna could probably yeah I forget the the channel that was producing that but um Donna if you have information feel free it's legit productions um uh it's a docuseries um that uh airs I think they're starting the fourth season um but because next year is the hundredth year of the Route 66 um they've been traveling this year uh across through Route 66 and stopping and visiting artists along the way um so when they came through this area they met with six right I think there were six of us yeah um and uh they stopped by either your artwork or your studio wherever your space was interviewed and so it will air um next year in 2026 and then just a short little blurb about your your work and just visiting artists and you know you know celebrating this hundred hundredth year um being on this Route 66 and just visiting artists again along the way so I was selected at somehow I think it just because I've been a part of some other community art projects and my name was on a list and so when was it was presented um I said yes very quickly and um just been honored to be a part of something you know groundbreaking I think uh doing small doctors you know it's sometimes unless you're self-produced it's hard to kind of put yourself out there so I'm looking forward to it yeah do you have the title do you know the title the title of the story of art in America is the Route 66 edition yeah so there's a on my Instagram page and see if I can find it but they made it look like a little a flyer like a newspaper I want to say it said Route 66 edition but here we go.

Yeah, do you have the title?

Do you know the title?

The title of The Story of Art in America is the Route 66 edition.

Uh yeah, so there's a on my Instagram page.

Let me see if I can find it.

But they made it look like a little a flyer like a newspaper.

But here we go.

Oops.

So it's legit pro NYC.

L-E-G-I-T-P-R-O D-C.

And the producer's name is Chris Tao.

I can't remember her last name, but if you go to it on Instagram, it's under legit, legit pro, uh NYC, uh you can see all of the other artists where they stopped along Route 66 so far.

I think they went to Missouri right after leaving Joliet.

So I think we're the we're the only one on in Illinois.

If I re if I remember the presentation, we're the only Joliet was the only one in L and in Illinois.

Possibly.

Anyway.

Yes, possibly.

Thanks, Donna.

Okay.

Any other public or uh sorry, member comments?

Uh seeing none, we can move on to public comments.

Uh this section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding non-agenda items and are allowed a maximum of four minutes.

It is not a question and answer period, and staff and the commission members do not generally respond to public comments.

Um so is there anyone in the public who would like to comment on non-agenda items?

Seeing none, uh the final item on the agenda is adjournment, so a motion to adjourn would be in order.

So who is there a second?

Second.

Okay.

Motion by Stober, second by Falado.

Uh all in favor of adjourning, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Motion carries meetings adjourned.

Thanks, everyone.

Congrats on it.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Uh yeah.