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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Metro Arts Commission Meeting - November 21, 2024

Metropolitan Council — Thursday, November 21, 2024

BodyNashville, Tennessee

SessionMetropolitan Council

DateThursday, November 21, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:35:31

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

0:02

Order.

0:03

Pursuant to the provisions of S point six two point six eight zero three zero of the Metropolitan Code of Laws.

0:10

Please take notice the decisions of the Arts Commission may be appealed to the Chancery Court of Davidson County for review under a common law rate of a saturator.

0:18

Any appeal must be filed within 60 days after entry of a final decision by the commission.

0:23

Any person or other entity considering an appeal should consult with an attorney to ensure that time and procedural requirements are met.

0:30

So I want to welcome everybody that I am really thrilled to be uh our chair this year.

0:37

I'm looking so forward to working with each of you.

0:40

Um we've I've got a really good team here of thought leaders.

0:43

I'll look around this and we're filled, and I'm really happy.

0:46

Say thank you.

0:47

I'd like to start with a roll call first.

0:50

So, Vivian, can you start the roll call, please?

0:53

I sure can.

0:55

Commissioner West here.

0:58

Commissioner Hardin.

1:00

Commissioner Lequitz.

1:02

Here.

1:04

Commissioner Brown.

1:07

Commissioner McCoy.

1:10

Commissioner Gester.

1:11

Here.

1:13

Commissioner Kalau.

1:14

Khalil, sorry.

1:16

Here.

1:18

Commissioner Knight?

1:19

Here.

1:20

Commissioner Kurtz.

1:21

Here.

1:22

Commissioner Love.

1:24

Present.

1:25

Commissioner Nichols Phillips.

1:29

Commissioner Rosenbloom.

1:31

Here.

1:32

Commissioner Wade.

1:35

Commissioner Watts.

1:36

Here.

1:38

Commissioner U.

1:40

Here.

1:41

Thank you.

1:43

Thank you.

1:44

Thank you to all of our guests for being here.

1:46

I'd like to remind you to sign in when you come in.

1:48

And if you're here for public comment, please sign in for that.

1:52

Thank you so much.

1:56

Excuse me.

1:57

We appreciate everybody being here, and we want to give everybody time to speak.

2:00

So I'd like to go ahead and read the land acknowledgement before we begin and offer that, and then we can move into public comment.

2:08

Metro Art stands and holds space on the unceded and sovereign lands of the Cher Cherokee East.

2:17

Every community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their energy to making the history that led to this moment.

2:26

Some were brought here against their will.

2:28

Some were drawn to leave to leave their distant homes in the hope of a better life.

2:31

And some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted.

2:35

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.

2:43

We pay respects to elders, past and present.

2:46

Metro Arts invites you to join in our commitment and getting to know our native communities in more meaningful ways in alignment with our restorative arts practice.

2:55

Now we will open the floor for public comment.

2:58

We have a maximum of 20 minutes allocated for comment.

3:01

Two minutes for speaker.

3:04

All right.

3:08

You can come to the mic, and I'll let you know when we are at the one minute mark.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural████████████████████████████28%

Community Engagement█████████████████17%

Arts And Culture█████████████████17%

Grant Funding███████████████15%

Public Engagement█████████████13%

Budget Equity Analysis██2%

Legal Affairs██2%

Cultural Heritage█1%

Equity in Transportation█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Metro Arts Commission Meeting - November 21, 2024

The Metro Arts Commission convened on November 21, 2024, at 12:00 PM (started late, ended at 2:00 PM) for a regular meeting. The agenda included roll call, a land acknowledgement, public comments, approval of minutes, a public art project budget increase, committee updates, and extensive discussion on the FY25 grants process, including the Thrive program and general operating grants. The meeting highlighted ongoing tensions with the Metro Human Relations Commission (MHRC) over the conciliation agreement, missed deadlines, and the urgent need to finalize grant criteria for council approval.

Public Comments & Testimony

Director Tucker (MHRC): Expressed full support for equitable distribution of public resources and concern that Metro Arts has not responded to MHRC's offers of help. He stated that MHRC will not support any document that is not in the best interest of Nashville's arts ecosystem and warned that the January 6, 2025 deadline for new grant policies is likely to be missed.
Councilwoman Joy Styles: Voiced deep disappointment over the lack of progress, emphasized that the Metro Council will defer any sloppy legislation, and urged the commission to act quickly. She noted that the December 3 council meeting is the last realistic opportunity to present something.

Discussion Items

Approval of Minutes: The August 14, 2024 minutes were tabled after corrections were requested by Commissioners Watts and Hardin regarding wording and completeness.
Public Art Committee – Arthur Avenue Project: Ann Leslie Owens presented a request to increase the artist budget from $400,000 to $500,000 and site work budget from $100,000 to $400,000, both from the percent-for-art fund. The project is part of a larger NDOT and TDOT collaboration. Commissioners raised questions about the total budget and the role of the mayor's transit plan. The motion passed unanimously.
Budget and Oversight Committee: No report due to lack of quorum; Commissioner Watts called for more transparency on budget items.
CARE Committee: Vice Chair Hardin reported that CARE has not met since the last meeting but is working on an equity definition and hopes to be involved in the grants process.
Grants and Funding Committee: The bulk of the meeting was devoted to this item. Staff (Dr. Paulette Coleman and Sydney Davis) presented recommendations for FY25: a $900,000 allocation for Thrive (out of $3.256 million total grant funds), with a maximum grant of $5,000 per individual artist to fund as many applicants as possible. They also outlined criteria for Thrive and general operating grants, including a fiscal agent mechanism for individuals. Commissioners raised concerns about the lack of advanced notice of documents, the change in Thrive cap from $20,000 to $5,000, insufficient community engagement feedback, and poor communication with MHRC. Legal counsel Tessa Lynch explained the tight deadlines: to meet the December 17 council meeting, criteria must be filed with finance by December 2 and legal by December 4, requiring a grants committee meeting by November 25-26 and a commission vote by November 27. The conciliation agreement requires collaborative public engagement, and MHRC indicated the sessions were insufficient.

Key Outcomes

Approved: Public art budget increase for the Arthur Avenue project (artist budget to $500,000, site work up to $400,000) – unanimous.
Tabled: August 14 minutes.
Scheduled: A grants committee meeting (noticed for Monday or Tuesday, Nov 25/26, 12:30 PM) and a special commission meeting on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, at 10:00 AM, to discuss and potentially vote on grant criteria and allocations.
No votes on grants: The commission did not vote on any grant criteria or allocations; these will be addressed in the upcoming meetings.
Communication: Commissioners directed staff to provide all documentation and community feedback before the special meetings, and urged improved communication with MHRC.
Contingency planning: Legal counsel is proactively communicating with MHRC about potential breaches of the conciliation agreement deadlines.

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