The Metro Arts Board of Commission held a specially called meeting on October 10, 2024, at 12:05 PM. The primary focus was on the status of Executive Director Daniel Singh, who is on continuous FMLA, and the selection of an interim director. After public comment and extensive deliberation, the commission clarified Singh's administrative leave and voted to appoint Dr. Paulette Coleman as interim executive director, subject to HR negotiation.
For Commissioner Hardin to come back before we get started. Thank you all for being here and your patience. Good afternoon, everyone. Again, thank you so much for being here. I am going to call the specially called meeting of the Metro Arts Board of Commission to order at 1205. Before we get started, I do just want to just do roll call really quickly, just to make sure that we have everyone who is here and just make sure that we have established quorum. Chair Love is here. Commissioner Lepowitz. Commissioner Hardin. Commissioner Jester. Commissioner Neplin. Commissioner Wade. Commissioner Watts. Commissioner Wes. So absent is Commissioner Bell, Commissioner McCoy, and Commissioner Nicholas Phillips. All right. Oh, and Commissioner Kurtz. I've her name's right by mine. Yes. Okay. So thank you so much. We have established quorum. I do want to take the moment to again welcome everybody here. If you notice at our last commission meeting on the agenda, there was a note that was right above the agenda items. And I just want to just make a note of what that is, why that's there. We haven't been made aware that we needed to include this in all of our agenda items. And I'm just going to read that just this first time, just verbatim, just so everyone is aware of that and what that means and what that is. And so pursuant to provisions, section two 68030 of the Metro Code of Laws. Please take notice that decisions of the Arts Commission may be approved to the appeal to the Chancery Court of Davidson County for review under a common law writ of search or I always get that word messed up. Any appeal must be filed within 60 days after entry of a final decision by the commission. Any person or other entity considering an appeal should consult with an attorney to ensure that time and procedural requirements are met. Yes, we do. We have four. Yes, go ahead. All right. The first person we have is Will Schutz. And you can come to this podium here. And I'll let you know when your time starts. Good afternoon, Commissioners. My name is Will Schutz, and I am here with National Opera as the director of marketing and PR. The National Opera Art National Arts community, which is comprised of organizations and artists numbering in the thousands, who should be focused on the work of performing and dancing and singing and sculpting and painting and giving everyone in this city a broader access to the transformational power of art. This community's been turned into a circular firing squad. Because Daniel Singh made promises to everyone without a plan to honor those promises. As a result, many of us lost confidence in Metro Arts. Not someone who simply tells everyone what we want to hear and makes promises that cannot be kept. When confidence in Metro Arts is restored, we can all work together to advocate for more funding for the arts from Metro Council, which we've wanted to do all along. That's the work that we're looking forward to. Thank you. All right, next we have on the list, Ms. Damone Boyd.