HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 15, 2020
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Minutes/Meeting Summary
Cultural Advisory Committee
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
7:00 pm
Electronic Meeting – Webex Platform
Attendees: J. St. Amant, Coordinator, Cultural Services (Chair)
T. Ryce, Supervisor, Cultural Services
L. Gibbs, Supervisor, Museum Services
C. Cooper, Cultural Advisory Committee Member
J. Currie, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
D. Davis, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
P. DeWilde, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
M. Francis, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
N. Holland, Cultural Advisory Committee Member
A. Moscote Freire, Cultural Advisory Committee Member
V. Raees, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
C. Sabean, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
J. Sabean, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
A. Sardar, Cultural Advisory Committee Member
B. Sopher, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
D. Poole, Clerk-Typist (Recording Secretary)
Absent: E. Forde, Cultural Advisory Committee Stakeholder
Guests: Clara Addo-Bekoe, Manager, People and Culture
Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
1. Welcome and Disclosure of Interest
J. St. Amant welcomed everyone in attendance and
called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm.
J. St. Amant reviewed City Policy ADM 040, Section
14. No disclosure of interest was brought forward by
any of the committee members.
Staff welcomed and introduced the new Council
appointed committee member, A. Moscote Friere
2. Approval of Agenda and Review of Minutes
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
Staff advised that Dennis Gazarek is unable to
attend the meeting as a delegate and will be
replaced by Mark Puigmarti to conduct a
presentation of a different nature.
Staff recommended the removal of item 7 from the
agenda.
It was the consensus of the committee to accept the
changes to the agenda as presented.
The committee reviewed the minutes from the
meeting held on Tuesday, August 6th, 2020. It was
the consensus of the committee to adopt the
minutes as received.
3. Delegation Presentation
T. Ryce introduced Mark Puigmarti, noting that he is
a local artist that is proposing a piece of development
funded art, which is going to be installed in the
Treasure Hill Neighbourhood at the intersection of
Brock Road and William Jackson Drive. Renderings
of the piece, which are in line with the theme of
“Nest”, were reviewed by the committee.
M. Puigmarti provided an overview of the piece,
noting that the design is an abstract tree like piece
that is a little different then how you visualize a tree.
The rendering is 15 feet high and 10 feet across
and will consist of various lengths and sizes of open
ended weathering steel tubing, which doesn’t
deteriorate through exposure, and is constructed at
right angles. The joinery will be a homogenous weld
so that water can’t get in and freeze. The tree trunk
is stacked 4x4 tubing cut at different lengths. The
inside dimension of the square tubes are just under
4 inches, which is ideal for chickadees and
sparrows. They layering and stacking will create
little voids that is very inviting to wildlife. Each
branch will look like a profile of a gable end of a
home or roof type piece and will be in glass. At the
very top will be a stainless steel nest looking feature
with a forged bronze bird that connects all the dots.
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
This is a way of bringing attention for a place to live
and nest.
A committee member requested that a recognizable
bird, which is appropriate for the area, be situated at
the top of the piece.
T. Ryce indicated that this piece will be situated in a
circular garden area consisting of a 10 foot diameter
of plantings.
4. Pickering Museum Village Update
L. Gibbs provided the following updates:
The museum received $100,000 in COVID
relief funding from the Department of
Canadian Heritage. The museum will be using
this for critical infrastructure repairs and
operations, including revenue shortfalls.
The museum received $2,000 from Central
Counties Tourism to promote the new
Christmas drive-thru tour. The museum
received $2,000 earlier this year to help
promote the haunted ghost tour.
The museum has added Friday and Saturday
nights to the Haunted Ghost drive thru tour
due to demand. Every night has been sold out
since July.
The museum is offering on-site education
programs for learning pods and small groups
this fall. The museum is also launching virtual
programs for school groups this fall/winter.
The museum became a formal partner of
Temperance & Temptation, Central Counties’
Tourism partnership initiative. The program
encourages tourists to do self-guided driving
tours of South Durham, listen to a podcast
about the temperance movement and
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
bootlegging, and visit local businesses.
The museum is starting to work to build local
partnerships to support the Anne in Pickering
theme for the museum next year, to attract
tourists to the region. The museum will be
developing an exhibit, audio tour and bicycle
tours that feature Anne of Green Gables, and
the museum as a film site for several Anne-
themed movies.
The Combination barn construction is currently
underway. The building is being repaired and
will feature a new permanent exhibit about
agricultural history in Pickering for spring 2021.
The museum is working on developing a
partnership with other museums to create a
virtual portal featuring the history of Ontario
blacksmithing. The project would also include
contemporary tutorials on blacksmithing, with
education resources.
5. Cultural Pop-up Updates
T. Ryce provided an overview of the free Cultural
Pop-ups events, which have received incredible
feedback and reviews on social media.
J. St Amant advised that he is working with 2 artists
on installation projects. Both artists have agreed
that they want the feedback from the CAC on their
proposed concepts.
J. St Amant reviewed the piano project, which has
been designed by a black artist from the community
that represents themselves and the work that they
do. They wanted their look and design to be positive
in nature for the community. The design concept
includes international sheet music, dancing images
from around the world, and influential singers.
The phrasing of the artist’s title, “Music has no
Colour”, and design concept evoked a great deal of
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
discussion among the committee members.
Discussion points included:
Cautioning around stereotypical use of
clothing; maybe want to have a visual
diversity of people dancing but not tie it to a
particular ethno-cultural tradition.
Music has many colours.
Music comes from a particular culture and
particular tradition.
Don’t want to shame the concept however it
could create some umbrage for people who
are musically inclined.
Does the potential exist for copyright
infringement with the use of certain sheet
music and how do you choose the most
representative pieces.
The artist should define the scope of what
she is trying to capture.
J. St. Amant to address the comments of the CAC
with the artist and invite them to apply the
comments to the artist statement or present as a
delegation.
J. St. Amant reviewed the design concepts
proposed by Hallie Ndorley and indicated that this
piece of art will be located on a portion of the
eastern exterior wall at the West Shore Community
Centre. The piece will take a few weeks to complete
and will be installed for a period of one year.
Moved by C. Cooper
Seconded by N. Holland
Recommendation:
That City of Pickering staff proceed with H. Ndorley
J. St. Amant to provide the
comments of the CAC to
the artist.
Staff to keep the CAC
apprised of the ongoing
work.
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
to produce an artist concept and artist agreement to
create a final mural.
Carried
6. Sub-Committee Updates
ABRT Preparatory Sub-Committee
M. Francis advised that members of the sub-
committee have reached out to interested parties as
well as individuals they thought might be interested
in the work of the sub-committee, some of whom
may be on a higher level, which may result in some
professional hurdles to overcome to engage them.
As a result, there have been discussions on the
possibility of having an advisory to the committee as
allies and predominantly as members of the black
Pickering community. Additional focus has been on
a developer who is interested in helping to get black
youth engaged in the construction trades with
mentorship and support. They have committed to a
letter of intent.
C. Cooper indicated that the sub-committee is
waiting to get the survey back to go out to the
community.
T. Ryce advised that a request is out with a
professor at Ryerson however a response has yet
to be received after initial contact and follow up
correspondence.
Indigenous Relations Building Sub-committee
J. Currie advised that Chief LaRocca of the
Mississauga’s of Scugog Island First Nation
provided a lot of great input into the Pickering Land
Acknowledgement Statement and recently had a
meeting with Mayor Ryan in which great progress
was made.
T. Ryce indicated that the Pickering Land
Acknowledgement Statement is in the final draft
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
form and has been given the blessing of Chief
LaRocca.
T. Ryce advised that the meeting between Mayor
Ryan and Chief LaRocca resulted in initial talks
about collaboration and an invitation from the City to
attend the Orange shirt day flag ceremony on
September 30th as well as an invitation to facilitate a
conversation around attending Remembrance Day.
There were initial talks about Cultural Safety
training, which the Chief graciously offered to
facilitate. This information will be going forward in
the report to Council along with the action plan on
September 28th.
Chief LaRocca will be providing the gift of a First
Nations flag to be flown on Orange Shirt Day. The
flag will be presented to Mayor Ryan by John Currie
on behalf of Chief LaRocca. The flag will be flown
from September 30th until October 7th.
J. Currie advised that Chief LaRocca is very happy
with the progress made thus far and wants this to
be the beginning of a long term relationship.
T. Ryce reviewed the Indigenous Relationship
Building Action Plan noting that there will be an open
call for the sub-committee primarily to stakeholders
and Indigenous residents, as we would like them to
shape what the projects will look like.
J. Currie provided an overview of the Rotary Club’s
plaque program whereby they are attempting to
have a land acknowledgment plaque in every park
across Canada to create an opportunity for
education and awareness.
T. Ryce reviewed the Indigenous Land
Acknowledgement and Relationship Building report,
which covers the progress made to date.
Moved by C. Cooper
Seconded by N. Holland
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
Recommendation: To endorse the Indigenous Land
Acknowledgement and Relationship Building report
in principal.
Carried unanimously on a recorded vote
Public Art Sub-committee update
J. St. Amant requested that 3 committee members
take on the work of the Public Art Sub-committee
going forward. C. Sabean, J. Sabean, and D. Davis
volunteered to take on this role. J. St. Amant
advised that 4 additional Pickering residents will be
added to the sub-committee.
J. St. Amant requested that 2 committee members
act as judges for the Community Banner Program.
B. Sopher and A. Moscote Friere volunteered for
this role.
7. Meeting Schedule – Remainder of 2020
J. St Amant proposed to revise the meeting
schedule for the remainder of the year to the
following dates:
Tuesday, October 13th
Tuesday, November 10th
Tuesday, December 8th
A survey will be provided to the committee
members to determine availability for the proposed
meeting dates.
D. Poole to send out a
survey to the committee
members with the
proposed dates.
8. Other Business
t
h
No other business was conducted resulting in the
adjournment of the meeting at 9:00 pm.
Meeting Adjourned: 9:00 pm
Minutes/Meeting Summary
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Copy: (Acting) Director, Community Services
City Clerk