OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Napa Public Art Steering Committee Meeting - April 28, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, April 28, 2026
BodyNapa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 56:22

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Okay.

0:06

Welcome.

0:08

I would like to call the meeting to order.

0:11

We could do the roll call, please.

0:14

Epic.

0:15

Here.

0:16

Hannafer here.

0:18

Murphy is absent.

0:20

Carlo Titus here.

0:22

And Newton is absent.

0:25

Thank you.

0:27

The agenda review and supplemental reports.

0:31

Any additional there are PowerPoints for 5A, 6A, 6B, and 6C this evening.

0:42

Thank you.

0:44

We'll open the floor to public comment if there are any public comments at this time.

0:53

Okay.

0:55

We have the approval of minutes from March 24th.

0:59

Has everybody had a chance to review the minutes from the last meeting?

1:03

Yes.

1:03

Okay.

1:04

Somebody'd like to make a motion to approve.

1:06

I'll make a motion to approve.

1:10

Second?

1:11

Second.

1:12

Okay.

1:12

All those in favor?

1:14

Aye.

1:17

Okay.

1:18

Thank you.

1:20

We'll be moving on to number five here, 5A, the Fine Arts Accelerator Program with Jennifer Owen.

1:27

Thanks for being here.

1:28

Thanks for the opportunity.

1:29

I'm gonna see if I can bring this up.

1:34

Which button?

1:35

Yeah, there's a new button.

1:40

DJ Elijah.

1:41

Thank you.

1:42

Thank you.

1:43

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.

1:46

I know 99.9% of you, but my name is Jennifer Owen.

1:50

I work for the city in the economic development division.

1:54

And I appreciate this opportunity to share a program with you, hoping for your help and getting the word out about it when it goes live, and also your input on it if that feels appropriate to you in the minute, in the moment.

2:06

So I'm here to talk a little bit about a program called the Napa Makes Initiative.

2:10

This is an initiative I've had the privilege of working on for the four years that I've been part of the city.

2:16

It grew out of an economic development study that my predecessors commissioned in 2019.

2:21

A group of very smart people came, took a look at the city of Napa and provided some recommendations saying, hey, you're a tourism hospitality wine industry, very, very strong.

2:32

But there's also a problem inherent there that if something goes sideway with that, we are not really efficiently uh balanced to have a diversified and balanced economy.

2:41

So they recommended a couple of sectors that they identified as being here and nascent in the economy and recommended that if we as city uh employees were able to provide those sectors a little bit more uh support, that it might help us kind of balance our economy.

2:57

And uh among those sectors listed was a group that today we call Napa makes, and that is creatives, artisan makers, manufacturers.

3:08

Um I've been working with this population for four years and have done a number of things.

3:14

The pictures in front of you are intended to illustrate some of those things.

3:18

It's largely been awareness building and service providing.

3:23

Um over the course of the four years, I kept hearing what I felt like was different versions of the same story, which was I am Jennifer, I make such and such product.

3:36

I know it's a good viable product, but I don't know how to produce at scale.

3:42

I don't know how to market.

3:44

I'm not sure that I'm doing my finances right.

3:46

So that led to the creation of these accelerator programs.

3:50

Um we have to date um executed two of them, focused on two totally different groups.

3:56

Um the first picture, top left of your screen was our artisan makers accelerator.

4:01

These are people who produced um jewelry, ceramics, leather bags, custom woodworking.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Art█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Arts And Culture████████12%
Economic Development██████9%
Parks and Recreation███5%
Personnel Matters█2%
Procedural█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Napa Public Art Steering Committee Meeting - April 28, 2026

The Public Art Steering Committee (PASC) met on April 28, 2026, with members Epic, Hannafer, Carlo Titus, and later Garrett present. Murphy and Newton were absent. The meeting covered updates on the Fine Arts Accelerator Program, a proposed sculpture donation, a new temporary land art initiative, and general program updates. The committee voted to recommend acceptance of a donated sculpture and nominated a member to a selection panel.

Consent Calendar

  • Unanimous approval of the minutes from the March 24th meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

Fine Arts Accelerator Program (Item 5A)

  • Jennifer Owen from the city's economic development division presented the Napa Makes Initiative, which grew out of a 2019 economic development study recommending diversification beyond tourism. Two accelerators have been held: an artisan makers cohort (12 participants, sponsored by Mechanics Bank) and a food entrepreneur cohort (15 participants, sponsored by Redwood Credit Union). The next accelerator will focus on fine artists, called the Working Artists Accelerator, launching in late June 2026 as a six-week program with a final showcase. The curriculum will include business plans, finance, pricing, gallery sales, copyright, and public art (co-led by Sarah). Owen requested feedback on curriculum and help promoting the program. Committee members expressed strong support and interest in seeing the draft curriculum. No vote was taken.

Donation of Cycles 2 Sculpture (Item 6A)

  • Sarah introduced a proposal by artist Peter Hassan to donate his sculpture "Cycles 2" (valued at approximately $20,000) to the city's public art collection. The sculpture is made from corten steel and consists of three interlocking discs representing science history. The proposed location is on Main Street between Pearl and First Streets, replacing the temporary "Cycles 3" artwork. The donation includes a concrete plinth and transportation, with only staff time and signage costs to the city. The Public Art Steering Committee voted 3-0 to recommend acceptance of the donation.

Temporary Land Art RFQ (Item 6B)

  • Sarah presented a draft Request for Qualifications for a temporary land art initiative called "NatureCulture: Art in the Open" at the Oxbow Preserve. The program evolves from the Napa Art Walk and will invite artists to create site-responsive installations in four zones (excluding flood-prone areas). A tiered budget structure was proposed: artists would receive a $1,000 stipend plus production budgets up to $5,000 (Tier 3), with a total project budget of $25,000 for the first two-year exhibition (spring 2027 to spring 2029). The timeline calls for the RFQ to open May 1 and close June 1, with installations by spring 2027. Committee members expressed concerns about the low budget limiting high-impact work and the short submission period. Staff noted that using reclaimed materials and park staff support could offset costs. The committee also discussed marketing and the importance of engaging local artists. Laura Titus was nominated and seconded to serve on the selection panel. A separate discussion highlighted the desire for having at least two PASC members on future selection panels to ensure artistic expertise is not diluted.

General Public Art Program Update (Item 6C)

  • Sarah reported:
    • Fuller Park is in final installation stages, with an opening ceremony planned for mid-May 2026. The new pavilion will be a reservable picnic area.
    • Street banner program: accepting submissions inspired by the Fourth of July and the 250th anniversary of the United States, due May 15. Locations include the Senior Center and Napa County Library.
    • A summer intern position is open, applications due May 9.
    • Second Street pavement art: Phase 1 (bullouts using Street Bond SB 150) in May and June; Phase 2 (preformed thermoplastics for Main and Second crosswalk) later in summer.

Key Outcomes

  • Committee approved the minutes from March 24 unanimously.
  • Committee voted 3-0 to recommend acceptance of the Cycles 2 sculpture donation from artist Peter Hassan. This recommendation will be forwarded to staff for final evaluation and potential council approval.
  • Laura Titus was nominated and confirmed to serve as the PASC representative on the temporary land art selection panel.
  • Staff will incorporate committee feedback into the RFQ document before its May 1 launch.
  • Commissioner appreciation dinner scheduled for May 13 at the Redwood Credit Union on Devlin Road.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Welcome. I would like to call the meeting to order. We could do the roll call, please. Epic. Here. Hannafer here. Murphy is absent. Carlo Titus here. And Newton is absent. Thank you. The agenda review and supplemental reports. Any additional there are PowerPoints for 5A, 6A, 6B, and 6C this evening. Thank you. We'll open the floor to public comment if there are any public comments at this time. Okay. We have the approval of minutes from March 24th. Has everybody had a chance to review the minutes from the last meeting? Yes. Okay. Somebody'd like to make a motion to approve. I'll make a motion to approve. Second? Second. Okay. All those in favor? Aye. Okay. Thank you. We'll be moving on to number five here, 5A, the Fine Arts Accelerator Program with Jennifer Owen. Thanks for being here. Thanks for the opportunity. I'm gonna see if I can bring this up. Which button? Yeah, there's a new button. DJ Elijah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. I know 99.9% of you, but my name is Jennifer Owen. I work for the city in the economic development division. And I appreciate this opportunity to share a program with you, hoping for your help and getting the word out about it when it goes live, and also your input on it if that feels appropriate to you in the minute, in the moment. So I'm here to talk a little bit about a program called the Napa Makes Initiative. This is an initiative I've had the privilege of working on for the four years that I've been part of the city. It grew out of an economic development study that my predecessors commissioned in 2019. A group of very smart people came, took a look at the city of Napa and provided some recommendations saying, hey, you're a tourism hospitality wine industry, very, very strong. But there's also a problem inherent there that if something goes sideway with that, we are not really efficiently uh balanced to have a diversified and balanced economy. So they recommended a couple of sectors that they identified as being here and nascent in the economy and recommended that if we as city uh employees were able to provide those sectors a little bit more uh support, that it might help us kind of balance our economy. And uh among those sectors listed was a group that today we call Napa makes, and that is creatives, artisan makers, manufacturers. Um I've been working with this population for four years and have done a number of things.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com