DC Council Committee of the Whole Holds Nomination Roundtable for Arts Commission Reappointments - May 6, 2026
DC Council Committee of the Whole Holds Nomination Roundtable for Arts Commission Reappointments - May 6, 2026
Chairman Phil Mendelson convened a public roundtable of the Committee of the Whole to consider the mayor's nominations for reappointment of four individuals to the Commission on Arts and Humanities. The hearing included testimony from a representative of an arts nonprofit and statements from three of the four nominees. The record will remain open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Andrew Dolan, executive director of Solos NUA, expressed strong support for the Commission and emphasized the need for stable funding. He noted that DC is in a period of economic uncertainty and that nonprofit arts organizations have not fully recovered from the pandemic. He stated that when a nonprofit arts organization closes, it is unlikely to be replaced, unlike restaurants, and urged the council to give as much authority, autonomy, and funding to the Commission as possible.
Discussion Items
- Nominee statements: Janice Kim (Ward 4) testified as a first-generation immigrant and advocate for youth access to arts, music, and dance. She highlighted her service on the finance committee and as treasurer, and emphasized the importance of sustaining grant making despite budget cuts. Carla Sims (Ward 6) testified as a communications strategist and chair of the public arts committee. She cited increased grant applications and event attendance, and outlined three priorities: investing in DC artists, telling DC's cultural story beyond the Beltway, and championing public-facing cultural moments. Hector Torres (Ward 6) testified as a practicing artist and retired hotel executive, chair of the education committee. He highlighted his work on senior programming, Latino outreach, and a desire to reinstate a photography program for returning citizens.
- Conflict of interest disclosures: Each nominee described steps to avoid conflicts. Kim stepped off all boards that could pose conflicts. Sims recuses herself from decisions involving her husband (a musician who received Commission grants) and Duke Ellington School of the Art. Torres stepped off other boards after joining the Commission.
- Budget challenges: Chairman Mendelson noted that the Commission's proposed budget for the next fiscal year is lower than the current year, and the dedicated sales tax revenue stream has been subject to mayoral sweeps in the past. Nominees acknowledged the challenge and discussed the need for creative solutions, partnerships with universities and private sector, and ensuring equitable distribution of grants.
- Chairman Mendelson raised the possibility of additional grant criteria, such as considering an organization's economic stability, its contribution to the broader arts ecosystem, and using conditional grants to leverage diversity (e.g., board diversification). Nominees responded that some conditions already exist and that they would bring these suggestions to the board for discussion.
Key Outcomes
- Hearing conducted for three of four nominees: Janice Kim, Carla Sims, and Hector Torres. The fourth nominee, Demetrius Butler, was absent and will be rescheduled.
- The record will remain open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, for public testimony and additional statements.
- No vote was taken; the nominations will proceed to the full council for confirmation.
Meeting Transcript
I'm going to order this hearing or round table. This is a public round table of the committee of the whole of the council of the District of Columbia. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council and Chair of the Committee of the Whole. The Committee of the Whole is actually having two hearings this morning, or today. We start with this public round table, where we are going to hear testimony regarding the mayor's nomination for reappointment of four individuals to the Commission on Arts and Humanities. That hearing will probably be about a half an hour, maybe a little longer. I'll take a brief break and then we'll start the second hearing, which is a public hearing on the mayor's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. And we will be hearing testimony in this order, first concerning the Department of Buildings, then considering the Commission on Arts and Humanities, then the Office of Planning, and then the excuse me, the Office of Zoning, and concluding with the Office of Planning. We actually have a lot of witnesses who signed up. We are not going to start with the on the budget hearing. We're not going to start with the Commission on Arts Humanities because we were translation services were requested for uh of us for some witnesses for the Department of Buildings, so we'll start with them. In any event, we're going to go through these nominations. I'll adjourn the uh round table and then uh I'll take up the budget hearing. On um March 12th, the mayor sent to the council for nominations for reappointment to the commission on arts and humanities. PR 26-569, Demetrius Butler, PR 26-570, Janice Kim, PR 26-571, Carla Sims, and PR 26-572, Hector Torres. The stated purpose of these resolutions is to confirm the mayor's nomination for reappointment of these four individuals. The Commission on Arts and Humanities is an independent agency in the District of Columbia Government. It's responsible for evaluating and initiating action on matters relating to arts and humanities and is the designated state arts agency for the District of Columbia. The Commission is also responsible for selecting and distributing grants to artists and arts organizations in the District of Columbia, as well as grants to the to humanities DC. I would say the bulk of what the Commission does, or at least its budget, is grants, which are important for many arts organizations. The record in this matter will be open for two weeks. That is, it will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026. We have, I believe, six or seven witnesses who registered to testify. I believe most of them are online, beginning with Rebecca Lichtenberg, who is executive director at Studio Theater, Mark Chalfont, who is executive and artistic director at Washington Improv Theater, Amy Austin, who's president and CEO of Theater Washington, Anderson Wells, who is managing director at Constellation Theater Company, Alexis Hartwick, who is managing director at Keegan Theater, Abigail Cady, who is director of institutional partnerships at Arena Stage, and Andrew Dolan, who is executive director at Solus NUA. I am told that Andrew Dolan is the only one who is here. And is online. So let's turn to Andrew Dolan. You're up. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Andrew Dolan. I'm the executive director of Solos NUA and arts nonprofit here in DC. Thank you for taking some time to listen to the arts leaders here in town. I feel and we all feel that DC is in a period of economic uncertainty, and the nonprofit art sector has yet to fully recover from the destabilizing effects of the pandemic. And I appreciate the focus the mayor has put into stabilizing restaurants and retail and the work that the council has done to provide continued support structures for our neighborhoods. And it is the districts, your continued support for the arts. That means that here in DC, arts are integrated into the lives of the folks who live here. And that's not the case in other cities. And it's something I'm really grateful for here in DC. I live over on 14th Street near Logan Circle, and there are a few restaurants that have four lease signs in the window. And when a restaurant goes, oftentimes another restaurant comes in. There's an entrepreneurial spirit of somebody who can take out a business loan and start a new endeavor. When it comes to the nonprofit arts, we don't have that luxury. A nonprofit organization is really a network of trusting relationships that have been built up over many, many years. And when there is cuts to our funding model year over year, it makes it difficult for us to stay in business and provide the communities with the services that we offer oftentimes for free or reduced cost. And unlike a restaurant, like we're when a nonprofit goes away, another one isn't necessarily going to pop into that new vacant space. There aren't economic incentives for arts nonprofits to start up. It takes like a decade to finally get to a place where one can have a space and provide performances or galleries. And when there are destabilizing factors to our funding, that makes really really difficult landscape to work in.
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