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CAC - 1) Update from Culver City Artist Laureate Alexey Steele on Projects and Activities for 2020 and 2021; and, 2) Provide Comments as Appropriate
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Meeting Date: January 19, 2021
Contact Person/Dept: B. Christine Byers / Administrative Services - Cultural Affairs
Phone Number: (310) 253-6003
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: Meetings and Agendas - Cultural Affairs Commission (01/15/21); Culver City Cultural Affairs Foundation (01/15/21); Dr. Janet Hoult (01/15/21)
Department Approval: Serena Wright-Black, Assistant City Manager (01/15/21)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Cultural Affairs Commission consider the information provided herein and at the meeting and make comments as appropriate.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Alexey Steele was appointed Culver City Artist Laureate by the City Council on January 13, 2020 for a two-year term ending December 31, 2021. At that time, it was anticipated that Mr. Steele would be focused on promoting artmaking in the city and steering the community to its own values and artistic expression while also developing his own work. A specific plan for the two-year Artist Laureate was to be developed in conjunction with City staff, the program coordinator (Alicia Ide) and the CAC Artist Laureate Subcommittee (Chair Tania Fleischer and Commissioner Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin) to ensure a realistic approach with tangible outcomes given the allocated time and resources available.
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health orders, Mr. Steele has responded in numerous ways to the need of the Culver City community, emphasizing art as a vehicle for emergency relief. Mr. Steele’s work to date has involved children, youth, and the elderly, as well as less recognized and at-risk populations. A detailed written summary provided by Mr. Steele is attached.
The Artist Laureate Program budget for calendar years 2020-2021 was $20,000. $8,000 of this is for the Artist Laureate, divided between two equal payments. Culver Arts has contributed a total of $13,600 toward the 2020-2021 program which was deposited to Fund 413 (Cultural Trust Fund) and offsets the balance of the coordinator fee and underwrites the entirety of the Artist Laureate stipend.
Alicia Ide was hired by the City as the program coordinator in 2019. She implemented and coordinated the application process, which included developing a web page for the program, on-line application guidelines and forms, as well as identifying and hosting a selection panel. The contract for the program coordinator was $9,600 for a two-year period of which $7,732.50 was spent between September 2019 to March 2020. In March 2020, Ms. Ide was appointed to a full-time position in the City’s Public Works Department and the program coordinator contract was closed. Ms. Ide has been able to continue to work with Alexey Steele and Cultural Affairs staff since March of last year and was, among other projects, instrumental in helping set up and coordinate technical details and promotion of the three-part live drawing session with Dr. Janet Hoult in the fall of 2020.
As anticipated, the City has paid for professional graphic design services to support the program. To date, these costs total $1,300 and were incurred in 2019 in conjunction with creating the program guidelines, coordinator recruitment materials, Artist Laureate application and outreach materials (e.g., postcard). The City has also provided in-house copying services on an as-needed basis.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Other than staff time, there are no additional costs associated with this agenda item.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 21-01-19_ATT_Alexey Steele Artist Laureate Update for 2020
RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
That the Cultural Affairs Commission:
1. Receive the information and make comments as appropriate.