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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 17, 2024 Page 1 of 7 Minutes/Meeting Summary Cultural Advisory Committee September 17, 2024 7:00pm Main Committee Meeting Room/Hybrid Attendees: D. Thompson, Cultural Advisory Committee, Chair R. Coelho, Cultural Advisory Committee Member M. McFarland, Cultural Advisory Committee Member Z. Kazi, Cultural Advisory Committee Member A. Palmer, Cultural Advisory Committee Member R. Wali, Cultural Advisory Committee Member S. Almeida-Schroen, Cultural Advisory Committee, Vice-Chair S. Barakov, Coordinator, Public Art K. Roberts, Manager, Cultural Services V. Karakian, Supervisor, Museum Services J. St. Amant, Coordinator, Cultural Services (Staff Liaison) Araya Migwans, Clerk, Culture and Recreation (Recording Secretary) Absent: D. Davis, Cultural Advisory Committee Member A. Mujeeb, Cultural Advisory Committee Member M. Nagy, City Councillor, Ward 2 C. Farrell, (Acting) Supervisor, Cultural Services K. Bradley, (Acting) Curator, Pickering Museum Village Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) 1. Welcome and Call to Order D. Thompson welcomed members of the Cultural Advisory Committee (CAC) and called the meeting to order. 2. Review and Approval of Agenda D. Thompson put forth a motion for adoption of the current agenda as circulated. Moved by A. Palmer. Cultural Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda September 17, 2024. 3. Disclosures of Interest Page 2 of 7 Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) There were no disclosures of interest to matters on the agenda. 4. Approval of Minutes D. Thompson put forth a motion for the adoption of the minutes as circulated. Moved M. McFarland. Cultural Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes June 18, 2024. Carried. 5. Presentations/Delegations There were no delegations for this meeting. 6. General Business 6.1 – Pickering Arts Culture Engagement (PACE) Update M. McFarland spoke to objectives and updates from the PACE subcommittee which took place on June 26, 2024. - As spoken the objectives were to recommend a plan to expand Cultural Fusion to include as many cultural communities as possible; to represent and showcase elements of their cultures. - J. St. Amant advises of the Clerks’ Office, to put together a plan to present for upcoming/ongoing years to help expand Cultural Fusion. M. McFarland – Motion to have this PACE update report included in the CAC minutes. Moved by R. Wali. All in favour. There were no additional questions. Carried. 6.2 – 2024 Community Banner Series Top 3 Artists – for Endorsement Page 3 of 7 Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) J. St. Amant to seek endorsement to proceed with the selection of the Top 3 Artists – Serene Chan, Zuna Amir, Sima Naseem – as selected by the Public Art Jury, where their final banner designs will be installed on Kingston Road and Valley Farm Road in December 2024. The banners are to be displayed for 2 years and subject to approval pending approval of the Director, Community Services as per the Community Banner Policy CUL 140. Moved by A. Palmer. All in favour. There were no additional questions. Carried. 6.3 – Call to Artists – Placemaking Opportunity: Window Painting – for Endorsement S. Barakov to seek endorsement to proceed with issuing Stage 1: Call to Artists – Placemaking opportunity: Window Painting. After collection and evaluation by City Staff, the Cultural Advisory Committee will be informed of the highest ranked artist and will be asked for endorsement at the next meeting in October 2024. - A. Palmer asked what the approximate timeline of the following artwork to be displayed. S. Barakov responded to A. Palmer stating the artwork would be considered temporarily displayed from approximately November 2024 – February 2025. The goal is to have the display for Winter Nights, City Lights event in November. Moved by A. Palmer. All in favour. There were no additional questions. Carried. 6.4 – Call to Artists – Various Opportunities – for Endorsement - S. Barakov outlines the City’s commitment to collaborate with the community to celebrate out cultural diversity, heritage, and the arts Page 4 of 7 Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) with the opportunity on issuing the Call to Artists for the following: o Tribute to Sigrid Squire: the installation of commemorative plaque or otherwise, recognizing Sigrid Squire at the Bicentennial Garden. Requests for Proposals will be issued in December 2024. o Tribute to Paul White: the installation of a commemorative bench or otherwise, recognizing Paul White. Requests for Proposals will be issued in December 2024. o Celebration of Ernie Coombs: Council directed, referencing the Public Art Policy (CUL130) Section 06, staff to undertake a commission of Public Art at a location to be confirmed to celebrate the life of Ernie Coombs. Expression of interest will be issued December 2024. - R. Wali asked what the main purpose of displaying the Public Art for Ernie Coombs would be used for. S. Barakov responded that the main purposes of the Public Art for Ernie Coombs would be displayed as a tribute to show their respect. o Pickering Heritage & Community Center Public Art: A poll was taken at Cultural Fusion, regarding the installation of Public Art to take place at the Pickering Heritage & Community Center (PHCC). Approximately 843 votes were taken from the community and Location 1 (Exterior, Front of Building) was highly favored due to the highly visible and impactful space the PHCC has to offer. Moved by A. Palmer. All in favour. There were no additional questions. Carried. 6.5 – Award – Utility Box Wraps Update – for Endorsement Page 5 of 7 Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) - S. Barakov advises of the Call to Artists – Art Junction: Utility box wraps issued on May 22, 2024, as 12 submissions were received and reviewed by the Public Art Jury on June 12, 2024. S. Barakov states that Elexicon was able to grant us a bigger canvas for this project. - The Public Art Jury decided to award the opportunity to the following Artist – Rainer Naomi Magtalas. The artist was able to collect engagement from the community in order to incorporate these ideas into the design. - D. Thompson asked what the main concerns of Elexicon were. S. Barakov responds stating that there is no established Policy, due to the utility box being highly visible and attracting a lot of attention they were not sure if it was worth bringing in another artist. However, it was proven that the Public Art was highly favourable, so the proposal was made to have another utility box installed. - A. Palmer inquired if there would be a possibility for another artist to be granted this opportunity. S. Barakov responded stating the artist, Rainer, was chosen because of the high-level experience with curating artwork to scale onto a utility box. Moved by A. Palmer. All in favour. There were no additional questions. Carried. 6.6 – Award – Winter Nights, City Lights – for Endorsement - S. Barakov outlines the following Public Art that will be displayed during Winter Night, City Lights by Indigenous Artist – Nyle Miigizi Johnston. - A $15,000 Grant was applied for with OPG and will be used to fund this installation. The installation will remain onsite from November 15, 2024 to January 31, 2025. - S. Barakov specifies the reasonings behind the selection of the Indigenous Artist based on Page 6 of 7 Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) the Public Art Policy (CUL130), 10.1 – through direct invitation/commission or Purchase (Single/Sole-Source). Moved by A. Palmer. All in favour. There were no additional questions. Carried. 6.7 – Pickering Museum Village – Update - V. Karakian outlines the major updates that the Pickering Museum Village has recently endured, including: - Roots to Rebellion’s Grand Opening on August 17, 2024: the rejuvenation of the log house and log barn, alongside Public Art piece by Georgia Fullerton. - Gather and Grow Pop-Ups around the different City Facilities until September 30, 2024. Thereafter, Gather and Grow will be located temporarily at Geroge Ashe Library and Community Center from January – April 2025. - New programs that have been implemented including a new Blacksmith Shop, which is very popular by demand. Motion to move. All in favour. There were no additional questions. 6.8 – Pickering’s New Recreation Complex in Seaton – Open House and Community Engagement - Major updates presented by K. Roberts (in the absence of K. Bradley) touched base on the new multipurpose recreation complex in Seaton with construction set to begin Sprin 2026, to opening Spring 2029. - The final amenities will be guided by the City’s Recreation & Parks – Ten Year Master Plan, Pickering Public Library’s Strategic Plan and community engagement. - Open houses to take place: Page 7 of 7 Item/ Ref # Details, Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) o Thursday, October 3, 2024 from 4:30pm – 7:30pm o Wednesday, October 9, 2024 from 9:30am – 12:30pm o Tuesday, October 15, 2024 from 4:30pm – 7:30pm 7. Correspondence There was no additional correspondence to report. 8. Other Business 8.1 – New Applications for CAC Members - J. St. Amant advises that application for the selection of the new CAC jury will be open from September 9 to October 6. - J. St. Amant advises if you are a reoccurring member you will have to reapply - The 2-year contract will still be in effect. 9. Next Meeting – October 15, 2024 10. Adjournment Moved D. Thompson. Carried. Meeting Adjourned: 8:05pm Copy: Director, Community Services To: Cultural Advisory Committee From: PACE Subcommittee Subject: Report of the Subcommittee The following report will also act as meeting minutes, which took place on June 26, 2024. PACE Subcommittee Members: Michael McFarland - Chair Debbie Thompson Samantha Almeida – Schroen Ruchi Wali Objectives of the PACE Subcommittee: 1) to recommend a plan to expand Cultural Fusion to include as many cultural communities as possible. 2) to engage each of Pickering's cultural communities in showcasing elements of their culture (arts, music, dance, food and drink) to the community at large through new initiatives, activities and partnerships. 3) to recommend public art that represents the Pickering Mosaic. The first item to report is that Samantha Almeida–Schroen, Vice Chair of the Cultural Advisory Committee and a member of the PACE sub-committee, welcomed her first child - baby girl Zenita Lina Lewis, born June 30 at a solid 9lb 4oz. Item #1 We are pleased to report that three organizations answered our email wishing to meet. They are the Hispanic Canadian Alliance of Durham, Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Durham Region Branch and Welcome Centre Immigrant Services Pickering. Jesse Arranged a meeting room for us at East Shore Community Centre. The meeting took place on June 26, 2024. PACE Subcommittee Report Page two September 17, 2024 It was a very informative meeting, and lack of communication was the number one item that came up throughout the meeting. Whether this is valid will take some discussion. The three organizations represented at the meeting were pleased to have been asked to attend. They wondered if the deadline for Cultural Fusion participation could be extended. And Jesse arranged for the extension, and we notified the three organizations. The meeting lasted a little over two hours. We learned that many organizations already have events throughout the year in conjunction with the City of Toronto cultural events. Perhaps that train may have left the station for the City of Pickering. More work is required. We also learned that the three organizations have extensive reach within their respective communities and are prepared to assist with communications from the Cultural Advisory Committee. Only three attended the meeting despite the two emails to cultural committees. While a little disappointing, the PACE sub-committee feels it is a start, and we can build from this meeting. However, it does say something about the cultural communities, and we believe we need to prepare a questionnaire as a research tool. It could include specific questions to understand why cultural communities stay within themselves and do not reach out to the entire community. PACE will prepare a first draft and bring the survey to the full committee to prepare the final questionnaire draft. We will attempt to send it out before the next meeting. Item #2 There was one more item from our meeting with the three organizations. It is presented here just as information as it will require extensive discussion about the pros and cons of such a request. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Durham Region Branch brought up the idea of having a Ukrainian village. When we started to talk about it – it seemed to gain some excitement. The topic turned to the City of Pickering Mosaic Village. We discussed this topic for 45 minutes. PACE promised to discuss this idea and see if it was feasible. We believe this is a long-term plan and may have too many obstacles to overcome. However, we must show the organizations that we did our due diligence. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress said they would contact us in the fall to discuss their idea. PACE may begin looking into this project; however, because of its complexity, it will no doubt be carried forward to the new Cultural Advisory Committee. PACE subcommittee report Page three September 17, 2024 Item #3 The Subcommittee has begun preparing our presentation to the City of Pickering Council for financial support for our branding of the Pickering Mosaic – Many Cultures – One Community. We will bring it to this full committee for your input and approval. It requires staff input for costs and reaching out for designs. We will have this ready for the October meeting. This report completes the latest PACE activities.