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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 15, 2020 Page 1 of 9 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 Page 2 of 9 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. Page 3 of 9 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 Page 4 of 9 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 Page 5 of 9 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. Page 6 of 9 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 Page 7 of 9 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 Page 8 of 9 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 "[Click here and type Subject]" Page 9 of 9 "[Click here and type date]" Copy: (Acting) Director, Community Services City Clerk