Metro Arts Commission Meeting - October 10, 2024
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Metro Arts Commission Meeting - October 10, 2024
On October 10, 2024, the Metro Arts Commission held its regular meeting with eight commissioners present, reaching quorum. The meeting opened with a land acknowledgement, introductions of new commissioners Jesse Rosenbloom and Mayra Yu, and featured public comment on the Title VI conciliation agreement, two public art design approvals, committee reports, and staff resignations. Note: The transcript refers to this as the August meeting, but the provided date is October 10, 2024.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes of the July 18 meeting were approved with an amendment adding Commissioner Nichols Phillips to the attendance list. The motion carried unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ashley Batchelder (Metro Human Relations Commission) stated that the conciliation agreement between Metro Arts, Metro Legal, MHRC, and complainants fully resolves the Title VI complaint and moves into a compliance and monitoring phase. She expressed that the agreement should not be viewed as enforcement to cancel or delay any current fiscal year grants and objected to any conclusions positioning the Title VI complaint as the reason for such outcomes. She noted one additional conciliation meeting focused on policy changes adopted from fall 2022 through 2023 and urged that any grant program overhaul not disservice prior work.
- Ben Tran, new chair of MHRC, clarified that the agreement does not prohibit Metro Arts from proceeding with the current grant cycle, including operational grants and Thrive. He cited page six, item five, which directs Metro Legal and Metro Finance to work with stakeholders in good faith to protect Thrive grant programs and identify a mechanism for distributing Thrive Light grants. He asked commissioners to trust the work already done and see this year's grants through, warning that delay or cancellation would replicate the problems that led to the original complaint.
Discussion Items
- Artist Spotlight: Sean Witzel, playwright, actor, and founder of Destiny Theater Experience, performed an original poem written from the perspective of a prison cell, inspired by his work at River Bend Maximum Security Institution. He discussed his one-man show '23-1' about solitary confinement, his workshops with Southern Word, his service on the Metro Nashville Community Review Board, and upcoming performances including 'Lightning Girl' at the Dark Horse Theater on August 23–24 and a pre-show piece at Nashville Shakespeare Festival on September 14.
- Public Art Committee: Jessica Ingram presented two design proposals.
- Omari Booker's design for Strobel House, Nashville's first permanent supportive housing, incorporates community engagement from Daybreak Arts and Room in the Inn. The design includes three-dimensional elements in planters and murals conveying themes of abundance, transformation, and enjoying nature from safety. The budget includes subcontractors, installation, materials, artist fee, overhead, and 20% contingency. The commission approved the design unanimously via roll call vote.
- Creative Girls Rock, led by Alicia Bemarozic, presented a design for the Z. Alexander Luby Community Center, funded by participatory and percent funds. The monumental mural honors Z. Alexander Luby and civil rights figures and includes the text 'education, justice, community, equity.' Since Metro Arts will purchase materials and handle installation, the budget only covers artist fees. The commission approved the design unanimously via roll call vote.
- Ingram reported Lending Library exhibition results: 113 artworks were purchased for a total of $61,045; the average purchase price was raised from $661 to $2,000. In an optional demographic sample, 39 artists identified as BIPOC, 17 as people with disabilities, 9 as ELL/immigrants/refugees, and 10 as LGBTQI. Of the most recent 53 artists, 45 were first-time Metro Arts participants. She also announced the fairgrounds dedication on September 12 and resigned as Public Art Manager.
- Darren Jackson, Communications Manager, showcased video packages supporting the public art collection and also resigned. Both staff members were thanked for their contributions.
- Grants and Funding Committee: Commissioner Jester reported that the conciliation agreement sets a path forward for Thrive and Operating Grants. She outlined deadlines: Thrive Working Group to identify options by October 29, 2024; present recommendations by January 6, 2025; draft legislation by February 25, 2025; submit by April 1, 2025. For operating grants, a community engagement plan is due by October 15, 2024, and final policies by January 6, 2025. She emphasized moving quickly but carefully to avoid further harm. Attorney Tyler Yarbrough clarified that the working group addresses the legal mechanism for distributing funds to individual artists, while policy decisions remain with the commission. He confirmed the agreement does not preclude moving faster than the deadlines and does not require discarding prior work. Commissioner Watts sought and received confirmation that the working group is responsible for the mechanism, while Metro Arts retains policy authority.
- CARE Committee: Commissioner Lefkowitz reported the committee is developing a definition of equity to use as a living document when evaluating proposals and providing recommendations. Commissioner Watts suggested also defining 'vibrant community' and 'equitable' to align with the mission.
- Budget and Oversight Committee: Commissioner Watts reported the committee is reviewing existing administrative processes and procedures, human resource issues, and will bring recommendations to the full commission over the next six months. The committee will determine its future in February.
- Nominating Committee: Commissioner Wade reported the committee is developing a slate for chair, vice chair, and secretary, with elections required in September per bylaws. A special meeting will likely be needed. Commissioner Love clarified she completed a term and is not stepping down. Attorney Tessa stated that if elections are not held in September, current officers remain in place until successors are elected.
- Interim Director's Report: Dr. Coleman welcomed new commissioners, announced two additional commissioners would join after August 20, and directed all managers to submit annual report summaries by August 23 and policy/procedure documents by August 31. She noted the annual report is required to release grant funding; the last posted report is 2021, though a 2022 version exists. She read a statement on the conciliation agreement, emphasizing commitment to continue grants while complying with state law. She reported that Thrive awarded over $900,000 in FY24, up from $200,000 and $250,000 in the three years preceding. The working group will meet regularly and report to the commission. Recruitment for staff vacancies is underway.
- Chris Sofote, Finance and Operations Director, announced his resignation.
Key Outcomes
- July 18 minutes approved with amendment (unanimous).
- Omari Booker's Strobel House design approved (10-0 roll call).
- Creative Girls Rock's Luby Community Center design approved (10-0 roll call).
- Staff resignations of Jessica Ingram, Darren Jackson, and Chris Sofote acknowledged.
- Confirmed that the Thrive Working Group focuses on legal mechanisms while the commission retains policy decisions.
- Conciliation agreement deadlines affirmed; the commission encouraged faster action where possible.
- A special September meeting will be scheduled for officer elections.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for your patience. Um, if you are in the audience, you know that parking was a little bit difficult, and so we were trying to find parking to make sure that we had our commissioners here and we had quorum. We do have um eight people here now, and so we are excited that we have made our quorum, and I do want to call our August meeting to order. It is now 1207. Um again, I want to welcome um everyone here. We do have uh a new commissioner with us. Um, her first meeting. I would just give her a moment just to say hello, her name, and um, yeah, who she is, or anything she wants to say about herself before we get started. And make sure you hit the green button so we can all hear. Yes, okay. Wow, never done that before. Okay, I'm my name is Jesse Rosenbloom, and um I'm just very honored to be here. I've been involved with the national art community for several years, so I'm just excited to uh be part of it. Thank you. All right, thank you, Commissioner, and welcome. We are so excited to have you here. All right, we'll we will do our land acknowledgement now, as we always do before our meetings and our um our committee meetings, and I'll just read it. Metro Art stands in whole space on the unceded and sovereign lands of the TRKEs, UT and Shawani peoples who have stored it for generations. Every community owes this existence and vitality to generations from around the world to who contributed their energy to make in the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in the hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. We acknowledge we are all standing on ancestral lands, and we honor the thousands of enslaved African peoples whose lives were physically and spiritually stolen. We pay respects to elders, past and present. Metro Arts invites you to join in our commitment to knowing our native communities in more meaningful ways in alignment with our restorative arts practice. All right, now we will have public comment. Um as a reminder. Yes, as a reminder, public comment is limited to two minutes with 20 minutes total for the entirety of our public comment period. Um you will have needed to sign in prior to the meeting. Um I'll ask um Ms. Vivian now. Do we have any uh people for public comment? We do, we have two. Okay. The first one is Miss Ashley Batchelder. And I'll let you know when your two minutes starts, and then I'll let you know when you are at your one minute mark hold on one second. All right, and your time starts now. Uh good afternoon, everyone. I'm Ashley Batchelder with the Metro Human Relations Commission. Last week we finalized a conciliation agreement between Metro Arts, Metro Legal, MHRC, and the complainants who filed a complaint with us last year. This serves as a full resolution of the Title VI complaint. And though we technically label this complaint as now resolved, it means that we now move into a compliance and monitoring phase of the Title VI process. Uh, you received from me yesterday a copy of the agreement and an explanation of its seven main points or terms. I'm here with the chair of the MHRC, and we're happy to answer any questions or be in dialogue with you about it today or any time as we move forward. What I wanted to comment about and just be very clear about is that we don't want this agreement to be viewed as either a tacit or explicit like enforcement of canceling or delaying any grants for the current fiscal year. And I will respectfully um object to any conclusions that position the Title VI complaint as the reason for either of those outcomes or similar outcomes. And as you know, uh we've been deep in the weeds with you all about this over the last year, and I hope that this body sees MHRC as a resource and not a detractor to the work that you um are working to accomplish together. And so to that end, uh I look forward to continuing to work with you all. And as described in the agreement, we have one more conciliation meeting with the MHRC, the Arts Commission, and the complainants, which is specifically focused on policy changes that were adopted from fall 2022 through 2023. And I understand from watching committee meetings that you are likely to propose a reset or a change or an overhaul of the grant programs, but I hope that this isn't done in a way that's a disservice to all of the work that current and previous commissioners' staff and community members have done in those policies. And so that's what our last meeting is to focus on.
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