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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Metro Arts Commission Meeting - October 10, 2024: Funding Restructure and Public Art Approvals

Metropolitan Council — Thursday, October 10, 2024

BodyNashville, Tennessee

SessionMetropolitan Council

DateThursday, October 10, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:14:18

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Um yeah, so we have another artist here today, so Elena Anderson.

0:04

She is the co-founder of Nashville Women and Jazz and the founder and director of National Musicians for Change.

0:10

She uh has worked with Urban Housing Solutions, but today she is going to perform a song to close out this joint meeting and start the next session.

0:18

So here you go.

0:32

I'd like to just ground us in why we're here today.

0:36

And it's because of art, right?

0:38

We want we all are here on the common understanding that art is important.

0:44

And how we support artists is where we are creating tensions because there's no answer.

0:59

Um my experience with Metro Arts has kind of shifted dramatically over the last year.

1:09

Um I applied for funding during the pandemic as an artist and didn't receive it, and personally felt like it was because I was a musician, and maybe I needed to be in a different place because maybe Metro Arts didn't see music as an art focus.

1:27

Um a lot went into my understanding of where Metro Arts was going through that experience.

1:34

Um over the last two years I've been developing more in a relationship with Chuck and have been trying to understand more about the future of Metro Arts, and so I'm happy to be here to listen to and be a part of the conversation of moving forward.

1:49

Um, but I think it's important that we acknowledge how um integral music is in the art industry.

1:57

So I'm happy to share with you a song that I wrote a couple years ago.

2:02

Um and as most artists, I haven't completed and I haven't released because of funding.

2:11

I have to work multiple jobs to be able to afford to live in Nashville.

2:16

Um and unfortunately I don't make the money that I need to survive from music.

2:23

So um when I was asked to sing here today, I was like, what am I gonna do?

2:27

I typically perform with a band in a dark club, so this is very out of the norm for me.

2:32

Um so I'm like, am I gonna sing a cappella?

2:35

Like I play a little bit of ukulele piano guitar, but I don't really do that in front of people, it's more for songwriting purposes.

2:41

So I'm gonna share with you a very unreleased song that I recorded in the studio a couple years ago.

2:50

I spent thousands of dollars on it and um still have yet to release it because it needs thousands more.

2:56

Um so all this being said, however you're feeling right now, if you need to close your eyes and just like get away and pretend we're in a jazz club or you know, your favorite club, but wherever you go to relax or listen to music or wherever, um, I'm gonna share with you a little bit of uh of me.

3:32

I hope it speaks to you in some way and help us get through uh the next two hours.

3:49

Well where I'm from made the thing that made me who I am today.

3:55

I'm here for many different times and many different minds.

4:02

I'm a long way to journey that's destination Happy OK I'm giving it to you on the helpful branching and give a myself away because I'm the only one here.

4:29

I got a bad clear mind.

4:33

I'll be getting up track losing time.

4:36

Stay in back to that we are that needs some time.

4:48

Step back and fail up.

4:56

Y'all can stab.

5:20

To myself, I will fight like a lawyer that was meant to be and I will be out and hold back down and won't be ashamed to stand up out.

5:34

I'll put my faith to work and continue to believe.

5:40

That is the journey, not the destination.

5:45

Come from this morning.

5:50

I can't keep taking myself for granted.

5:53

I'm giving myself away.

5:59

I mean the every day.

6:06

Find out what it means to be.

6:11

I'm taking care of TCP.

6:18

Take care of T C S T I'm taking care of me.

6:24

I can take care of me.

6:37

I'll be in the biggest safety.

6:43

I'll be a safety on taking care of me.

6:49

Step back then, clear on my mind.

6:52

I'll begin up track over time.

6:55

Stay up, then we clear my I need some time.

7:09

Let me feel my time.

7:19

I think we all need a little bit.

7:24

Um I just got the thing.

7:28

Um musician, I'm a community organizer here in Nashville.

7:40

Um of my projects is Nashville Women in Jazz, where I bring together women and marginalized voices in the jazz community to help empower each other and share resources and help connect each other with um opportunities in the city, and one opportunity that I built for us is a residency at Urban Cowboy, where we are performing every Thursday night from 7 to 10, which is tonight.

8:05

If you're not doing anything, if you really need a drink after this, all this Urban Cowboys is a great spot at supporting women and um so come check us out every Thursday at Urban Cowboy from 7 to 10.

8:27

Thank you so much.

8:28

I've known you so long, I've never heard you sing.

8:31

That was awesome.

8:32

Really awesome.

8:33

Alright.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Arts And Culture████████████████████████████████████████40%

Grant Funding████████████████16%

Procedural███████████11%

Legal Affairs███████7%

Public Arts███████7%

Public Engagement█████5%

Personnel Matters████4%

Racial Equity███3%

Affordable Housing███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Metro Arts Commission Meeting – October 10, 2024

The Metro Arts Commission held a joint meeting on October 10, 2024, beginning with a musical performance and remarks from artist Elena Anderson. The primary focus was rescinding previous grant allocation votes due to legal concerns about race-based discussion, followed by a new vote on funding scenarios. The commission also approved several public art projects, a new chair, and discussed operational challenges including a hiring freeze and a pending cultural planning pause.

Public Comments & Testimony

Elena Anderson, co-founder of Nashville Women and Jazz and founder/director of National Musicians for Change, performed a song and spoke about her experience with Metro Arts. She stated that she applied for funding during the pandemic and was denied, feeling it was because she was a musician. She emphasized the importance of music in the arts and the financial struggles of artists, noting she works multiple jobs to afford living in Nashville.
Several commissioners and staff provided extensive comments during the grants discussion (see Discussion Items).

Discussion Items

Rescinding Previous Votes: Metro Legal advised that the July 20, 2024 vote on funding distribution (Scenario A) was at risk of a lawsuit because the discussion centered too heavily on race. The commission voted to rescind the overall funding structure and all subsequent category votes (Thrive, micro, small, medium, mid-size, large). Each rescission passed unanimously.
New Funding Scenario Debate: The Grants and Funding Committee recommended Scenario 1 (prioritizing smaller organizations and individual artists). After lengthy debate, Scenario 1 failed (6 in favor, 7 opposed). Commissioners then proposed and withdrew a motion for Scenario 4 with caveats, then a clean motion for Scenario 4 passed. The commission then voted on allocations under Scenario 4 for each category: Thrive ($175,382.50), micro, small, medium, mid-size, and large. All passed, with four abstentions on the large category.
Public Art Committee Proposals:
- 2024 pilot gallery at Main Library: Three temporary exhibits per year, $50,000 from temporary funds. Approved.
- Lending Library Phase 2: Expansion to 60–80 artworks across multiple branches, purchase maximum increased to $2,000 per artwork, project budget $200,000. Approved.
- Selection panel for permanent supportive housing art at Joe Johnston Street: Nine-member panel approved.
- Mural assistance program: Up to $25,000 for a consultant to develop a mural program, funded from the percent-for-art fund. Approved (one abstention).
Nominating Committee: Commissioner Angelico was nominated and approved as chair for the next term, beginning November 1, 2024.
Appointment to Public Art Committee: Kara Robinson appointed for a three-year term.
Executive Director's Report: Daniel reported a hiring freeze due to budget uncertainty, which has delayed hiring of seven open positions. The freeze may force a pause in the cultural planning process. Additionally, Metro Legal has requested a compliance audit of grant contracting.
Old/New Business: Discussion on implementing a written policy to limit public comment to five minutes (per new state law effective July 1, 2024). Commissioner Tessa requested a policy on intellectual property rights in grant contracts; staff will research.

Key Outcomes

Rescinded all votes from July 20, 2024 on funding allocation (Scenario A and each category).
Approved Scenario 4 as the funding model for FY24, allocating $175,382.50 for Thrive, and full funding for micro, small, medium, mid-size, and large organizations based on the scenario.
Approved Main Library gallery pilot (up to $50,000), Lending Library Phase 2 (up to $200,000), selection panel for permanent supportive housing art, and mural assistance consultant (up to $25,000).
Elected Commissioner Angelico as chair for the next term.
Appointed Kara Robinson to the Public Art Committee.
Acknowledged hiring freeze and potential pause in cultural planning; staff will meet with HR.
Directed staff to research public comment time limit policy and intellectual property protections in grant contracts.

Meeting Transcript

Um yeah, so we have another artist here today, so Elena Anderson. She is the co-founder of Nashville Women and Jazz and the founder and director of National Musicians for Change. She uh has worked with Urban Housing Solutions, but today she is going to perform a song to close out this joint meeting and start the next session. So here you go. I'd like to just ground us in why we're here today. And it's because of art, right? We want we all are here on the common understanding that art is important. And how we support artists is where we are creating tensions because there's no answer. Um my experience with Metro Arts has kind of shifted dramatically over the last year. Um I applied for funding during the pandemic as an artist and didn't receive it, and personally felt like it was because I was a musician, and maybe I needed to be in a different place because maybe Metro Arts didn't see music as an art focus. Um a lot went into my understanding of where Metro Arts was going through that experience. Um over the last two years I've been developing more in a relationship with Chuck and have been trying to understand more about the future of Metro Arts, and so I'm happy to be here to listen to and be a part of the conversation of moving forward. Um, but I think it's important that we acknowledge how um integral music is in the art industry. So I'm happy to share with you a song that I wrote a couple years ago. Um and as most artists, I haven't completed and I haven't released because of funding. I have to work multiple jobs to be able to afford to live in Nashville. Um and unfortunately I don't make the money that I need to survive from music. So um when I was asked to sing here today, I was like, what am I gonna do? I typically perform with a band in a dark club, so this is very out of the norm for me. Um so I'm like, am I gonna sing a cappella? Like I play a little bit of ukulele piano guitar, but I don't really do that in front of people, it's more for songwriting purposes. So I'm gonna share with you a very unreleased song that I recorded in the studio a couple years ago. I spent thousands of dollars on it and um still have yet to release it because it needs thousands more. Um so all this being said, however you're feeling right now, if you need to close your eyes and just like get away and pretend we're in a jazz club or you know, your favorite club, but wherever you go to relax or listen to music or wherever, um, I'm gonna share with you a little bit of uh of me. I hope it speaks to you in some way and help us get through uh the next two hours. Well where I'm from made the thing that made me who I am today. I'm here for many different times and many different minds. I'm a long way to journey that's destination Happy OK I'm giving it to you on the helpful branching and give a myself away because I'm the only one here. I got a bad clear mind. I'll be getting up track losing time. Stay in back to that we are that needs some time. Step back and fail up. Y'all can stab. To myself, I will fight like a lawyer that was meant to be and I will be out and hold back down and won't be ashamed to stand up out. I'll put my faith to work and continue to believe. That is the journey, not the destination. Come from this morning. I can't keep taking myself for granted. I'm giving myself away. I mean the every day. Find out what it means to be. I'm taking care of TCP. Take care of T C S T I'm taking care of me. I can take care of me. I'll be in the biggest safety. I'll be a safety on taking care of me. Step back then, clear on my mind. I'll begin up track over time. Stay up, then we clear my I need some time. Let me feel my time.

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