Metro Arts Commission Meeting - December 5, 2024
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Metro Arts Commission Meeting - December 5, 2024
The Metro Arts Commission convened on December 5, 2024, at 12:15 PM CST (18:15 UTC) to deliberate and vote on funding allocations, grant criteria, and policy updates. The meeting featured public comment, legal counsel regarding a conciliation agreement, and votes on operating and Thrive grant guidelines. No final allocation was reached due to loss of quorum.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Terry Davis (personal assistant to artist Alishaba Morozick) opposed the proposed $5,000 flat fee for Thrive grants, arguing it is insufficient given rising costs and would undermine the program. She also criticized the exclusion of micro organizations from Thrive and the lack of operating support.
- Alan Faye (executive director, Nashville Philharmonic) supported Commissioner Lefkowitz's funding proposal (Option B), advocating for distributing funds to more organizations even in smaller amounts. He criticized the commission's process and the staff recommendation to defund 43 organizations.
- Mark Schlicker (vice president, Friends of the William Edmondson Home site) echoed concerns about Thrive budget cuts, criticized the mural proposal as "a solution in search of a justification," and highlighted issues with fiscal sponsors and micro organizations.
Discussion Items
- Legal Counsel on Conciliation Agreement: Assistant Metro Attorney Cesar Ortiz Marsh (Tessa) explained that the commission is legally bound by a conciliation agreement with MHRC stemming from a Title VI complaint. He urged commissioners to read and comply, noting that terms have not been fully met. Commissioners discussed their lack of prior orientation and legal responsibilities.
- Operating Support Grants – Funding Scenario: The commission considered two scenarios: Option A (staff/committee recommendation) and Option B (Commissioner Lefkowitz’s proposal based on December 2022 guidelines). Option B scales awards to fund all organizations scoring over 70 (large: $400,000; medium: $50,000; small: $25,000; micro: $12,500). Approved 9-1 (Commissioner McCoy abstained).
- Thrive Grants – Criteria and Guidelines: The grants committee recommended a flat $10,000 funding model, eligibility for 501(c)(3) organizations and artist collectives, fiscal agent use, and other provisions. After debate on tie-breaking, a motion passed adopting the committee’s recommendation with amendments: first tiebreaker prioritizes council districts with no Thrive-funded projects; second tiebreaker uses rescoring by new panelists. The motion also included staff recommendations (allowing murals, background checks, priority funding for underrepresented districts, fiscal agents). Approved 9-0.
- Panelist Criteria: Approved staff recommendations: panelists paid $350, conflict of interest statements, in-person review over two days per category (Thrive and operating). Approved by voice vote.
- Allocation of Funds (Deferred): A motion for a 60/40 split (Thrive $1.305 million, operating $1.958 million) was made but failed when the roll call lost quorum. The original staff recommendation ($900,000 Thrive, $2.363 million operating) was not voted on.
Key Outcomes
- Operating Support Grants: Approved funding scenario B (Commissioner Lefkowitz model) for FY2025. Vote: 9-1.
- Thrive Grants: Approved criteria and guidelines with flat $10,000 model and tie-breaking rules. Vote: 9-0.
- Panelist Criteria: Approved.
- Allocation: No final decision reached; meeting adjourned without resolving the Thrive/operating split. A special-called meeting may be required.
- Next Steps: Staff will begin technical review and panelist selection for both grant programs. The commission acknowledged the need for further governance training and compliance with the conciliation agreement.
Meeting Transcript
As your chair, I want to help us get through everything today with respect and good thoughts and good deliberation. I'm just moving into this, and uh with that, we'll call the meeting to order. And I want to say that if you are a guest here and you want you want to speak, make sure that you do sign up in the back. Uh, Vivian, did we have anything online that we need to discuss before I read the land acknowledgement? Anything to pass out. Thank you. Thank you. It's okay. Thank you. Before we begin, we want to first offer a land acknowledgement. Please feel free to follow along on the screen as I'll read aloud. Metro Arts stands and holds space on the unceded and sovereign lands of the Cherokee East. U Chi and Shawnee peoples who've stewarded it for generations. 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. 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 that 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 and getting to know our native communities and more meaningful waves and deaf in excuse me in alignment with our rest of arts practice. Okay, moving into public comment, as we do every month. We want to regularly hold space for anyone. So at this point, I'd like to ask if anyone has signed up for public comment. Yes, we have three that have signed up. Um the first one is going to be Miss Terry Davis on behalf of Miss Alishaba Morozit Morzik. Sorry if I mispronounced that. Your time starts now. Good morning, everyone. My name is Terry Davis. I am the personal assistant to Alicia Bonrozick, who has done many murals, public art commissions, private art commissions, and lots and lots of nonprofit and community work in Nashville, Tennessee, Davison County. Um, so that's what I have to say today on her behalf. A fiscal agent is more work for an artist to navigate, especially given the ridiculously low budget. What procedures are in place if that fiscal agent doesn't release funds in a timely manner? Where can artists turn for help? The $5,000 flat fee for Thrive is a terrible idea. We are literally in the most expensive times of our lives, and the cost of everything is so expensive. Lowering the budget will make it almost impossible for artists to be able to provide a good project and also be able to pay themselves a living wage for the work they're doing. And you better believe that art is work. Supplies are very expensive. Time is expensive. One minute. Insurance is expensive. Renting space is expensive. You're making Thrive the opposite of what it should be, what it was designed to be. Thrive is an amazing stepping stone for me and other artists to learn how to work with budgets, learn how to work with institutions and actually be able to bring projects to life that we could never do on our own. Do you understand how life-changing 9500 was back in 2016 when I reserved my received my first Thrive grant? A community-based coloring book was created that was printed and distributed to thousands of people across Nashville with $9,500. And I could pay myself while actually doing the work and research, which was extensive and not worry about how I was going to pay bills during that time, so my kids and family didn't suffer because I was doing something important to me as an active member of this community. It was a huge success, and it's still required requested today. If someone wanted to do that today, it wouldn't be possible with $5,000. We've been to other cities and states, and we see how much they give to artists and creative endeavors, and we are far behind, and now we're going even further backwards.
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