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| | | | 1. Call to Order @ 4:02 PM | | | |
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| | | | 2. Roll Call | | | |
Roll call
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| | | | 3. Review and approval of previous meeting minutes
Minutes note: Member Murphy, seconded by members Pate moved to approve minutes of the 7/9/24. There were no objections. | | | |
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| | | | 4. New Business
a. Presentation regarding public art commission at the Vel R. Phillips Plaza
b. 2025 Sustaining Grant Application and process review
Minutes note: Mr. Casanova started by thanking all that participated in the project. He continue by talking a bit about Vel R Phillips who was a trailblazer, a fair housing and civil rights icon who should be better known, not just locally, but nationally. One of the objectives of this project is to raise her profile locally and nationally, particularly at a time when we are having a national discussion about monumentation and who do we recognize and why.
A monument lab out of Philadelphia recently did a study on monumentation in the United States found that only 6% of the monuments in the country are of females and a smaller percentage are females of color. That is starting to change earlier this year in Madison, when a sculpture of Vel Phillips was unveiled on the Capitol grounds.
That was done by Radcliffe Bailey, and it was the first outdoor sculpture on a Capitol grounds of an African American female in the country. In Milwaukee, we wanted to honor her, properly.
The location of the Vel Phillips Plaza is 401 West Wisconsin Avenue. In the 1980s, the buildings on this site were demolished, unfortunately, as part of an urban renewal project, the Redevelopment Authority, as an effort to revitalize this portion of downtown, acquired these properties to be demolished. As for the last two decades or three decades now, it has been a surface parking lot.
There have being various proposals for redevelopment over the years, but for economic conditions, financing reasons, those proposals did not move forward. Until the 2010 downtown plan, which identified Wisconsin Avenue strategy as a catalytic project in downtown. Then in 2011, the Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee Development Corporation was a public-private group that was formed to look at West Wisconsin Avenue in more detail. And it also identified this site as an important location and actually suggested putting a public plaza on all or a portion of this site.
In 2012, a Brewer's tailgate event was held in the lot; in 2013, the Marcus Corporation held an Indie Fest event related to Indie Car Racing returning to the Milwaukee Mile; in 2014, the first night market was actually on this site and there was a public art installation, the Moria Pavilion, at that time; in 2015, the Creative Alliance did a semi-permanent activation of a corner of the lot with multiple events and more temporary art done on the corner of 5th and Wisconsin in that lot, which then led to Sculpture Milwaukee utilizing the lot as a location for sculptures up and down Wisconsin Avenue. The first one being in 2017.
Unfortunately, Vel Phillips passed away in 2018, and 4th Street which runs along the east side of this lot was renamed Vel Phillips Avenue and then shortly thereafter plans were announced to extend the streetcar north to Bronzeville, north to Brady Street and south into Walkers Point and in doing so including a public plaza at this location that would serve the streetcars as well as bus rapid transit and other uses. In addition in 2019, Mayor Barrett and several members of the common council announced that the plaza at this location would be named after Vel Phillips, being called the Vel Phillips plaza.
As part of a tax incremental financing district that we created at that time, a $750 ,000 allocation was made for public arts at the Vel Phillips Plaza. Funds were divided between two different projects. One is informational and biographical kiosks that are installed in the plaza, telling the story of Vel Phillips and then funding for a signature public art piece that will be located along Wisconsin Avenue.
In the spring of 2023 the funding for the plaza was approved and construction started shortly thereafter.
In June of 2024 we had a ceremony to mark the completion of the construction of the plaza itself; kiosks depicted on the presentation provide dozens of photos of Vel Phillips as well as a lot of biographical information about her.
Concurrently to the construction of the plaza, we've been running a very thorough and deliberate process to select the public art to be located here.
Mr. Stange, procurement and compliance manager in DCD said that the design competition was approached in two phases; First phase was a request for qualifications, released in August of 2023 requesting any and all interested artists to provide a submittal with their experience qualifications and samples of works of art. 60 responses were received (from United States and Europe artists). Those responses were reviewed and scored by an art committee of 16 members. Three finalist were selected and moved on to phase two: they were asked to submit their proposal that would show an original artwork that honors Vel Phillips and for it to be a creative expression of her work, breaking many social and cultural barriers for women and women of color.
In August of 2024, the art committee selected Karyn Olivier for this project with a commission to spend 600,000.
Ms. Knode said that Ms. Olivier is interested in histories of place as part of a new generation of artists creating memorials. She uncovers hidden and latent stories that are buried or have been left untold. In her work, Olivier, quote, echoes the tension that exists in our shifting personal and civic lives. Karyn Olivier is specifically interested in those who should be honored and thus honoring Vel Phillips is a key part of her practice.
Ms. Olivier was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1968 and raised in the United States. She received her BA from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Her recent projects, in 2024, she appeared in the Whitney Biennial in New York, Prospect Six New Orleans, the Malta Biennial, and the Triennial of El Museo del Barrio in New York. Her work was included in Documentary 15 in Kassel, Germany, and she shows with Tonya Benachdar Gallery in New York.
Karyn Olivier writes, the most powerful memorials are those that attempt to bring us in. The bereaved, the stranger, the patriot, the passerby, the victim, the activist, the citizen. They are spaces for gathering and activation that we imbue with power. They evoke the living past and look to our future.
In her work, I Didn't Do It Alone, which is a working title, Olivier captures Philip's work as a politician, jurist, and activist. Philip has worked with her constituents, fellow common council members, and folks from across the political and cultural spectrums for the benefit of us all. "I didn't do it alone" is a phrase Phillips often used when talking about her accomplishments. With her interwoven set of elements, Olivier suggests the complexity of Phillips' life while inviting us to play a leadership role in our own.
Ms. Knode shared in her presentation different key elements in Olivier’s work, schematics, designs that, will show a vivid representation of Phillips’ life.
Ms. Olivier said that her initial proposal was going to try to mimic the capital and the curve, but it was not cost effective. She wanted the design to be enough that the public can understand the problematic nature of western democracy, and hopes that the columns in her design shows the people that this is our house. She gave an extensive insight as to how she encountered all projects and initiatives that Ms. Phillips had pioneered.
Member Morris thanked Karyn, and said that the board would like to support her in every way they can and encourage her to reach out if she needs anything. The Board supports moving forward with Ms. Olivier proposal and would not be preparing a report regarding this item, per MCO 320-12 (4).
b. 2025 Sustaining Grant application and process review -
Ms. Svetic presented a draft of the application and process for next year, based on what was done this year and after some tweaks based on their experience administering the grant; a survey was sent out to all the applicants to get input on what their experience was like, in completing the application.
The draft has a deadline of Monday, March 17th, end business day with a small flex period, to allow for correcting errors in the application and submit corrected application by that Friday, end of business day. there will be virtual workshop for applicants.
The review panel will review the applications and then those scores are turned into rankings, the application rankings will be presented at the May 13th Arts Board meeting for final determination.
For the most part, the feedback from the survey was very positive that the process is relatively simple
compared to other funders at similar levels, that they appreciated the online option that organizations really do appreciate and rely on kind of general operating funds like the sustaining grant.
We received the response of two agencies that did not receive monies who wanted more clarity around what areas were scored; the panelists want more information or less information. Ms. Svetic would be happy to staff the subcommittee and work on making updates to the process, the grant, and any part of the bylaws drafted back in 2022.
Member Flores requested that the funding process be clarify regarding partially funding on organizations if the full grant amount is not available, and to add clarification around the panelist scoring criteria. Ms. Svetic said that she will add these items and bring the application back to the MAB for additional review.
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| | | | 5. Old Business
Minutes note: There were no topics for discuss under this item. | | | |
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| | | | 6. Announcements
Minutes note: Ms. Svetic shared that the Milwaukee Arts Board, along with other municipal arts commissions, will be receiving the Creative Community Champion Award this year.
The award will be presented at the League of Wisconsin Municipalities annual conference, which is going to be held in Madison, Thursday, October 24th.
Ms. Klose share with members a link of the locations where the art car will be displayed. | | | |
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| | | | Meeting adjourned at 5:19 PM
Joanna Urtiz
Staff Assistant | | | |
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| | | | In the event that Common Council members who are not members of this committee attend this meeting, this meeting may also simultaneously constitute a meeting of the Common Council or any of the following committees: Community and Economic Development, Finance and Personnel, Judiciary and Legislation, Licenses, Public Safety and Health, Public Works, Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development, and/or Steering and Rules. Whether a simultaneous meeting is occurring depends on whether the presence of one or more of the Common Council member results in a quorum of the Common Council or any of the above committees, and, if there is a quorum of another committee, whether any agenda items listed above involve matters within that committee’s realm of authority. In the event that a simultaneous meeting is occurring, no action other than information gathering will be taken at the simultaneous meeting.
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| | | | Upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities through sign language interpreters or auxiliary aids. For additional information or to request this service, contact the City Clerk's Office ADA Coordinator at 286-2998, (FAX)286-3456, (TDD)286-2025 or by writing to the Coordinator at Room 205, City Hall, 200 E. Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202. | | | |
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