06.26.24 BAC Minutes1
CITY OF BOULDER
BOULDER, COLORADO
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING MINUTES
Name of Board/ Commission: Boulder Arts Commission
Date of Meeting: June 26, 2024
Contact information preparing summary: Lauren Kennedy, Board Specialist
Commission members present: Sheryl Cardozo, Maria Cole, Jeffrey Kash, Jill Katzenberger, Caroline Kert (Chair),
Georgia Schmid (Vice-Chair), Yaelaed Whyel
Commission members absent:
Staff present:
Matt Chasansky, Senior Manager of Cultural Vibrancy and District Vitality
Lauren Click, Arts + Culture Manager
Brendan Picker-Mahoney, Public Arts Program Manager
Cindy Sepucha, Arts Program Manager
Lauren Kennedy, Board Specialist, Community Vitality
Jake Hudson-Humphrey, Public Art Program Coordinator
Guests present:
Rachel Cain, More Sky Less Ceiling
Members of the public present:
Caulene Hudson (The Catamounts), Taylor Simpson, Liz Rowland (Boulder Chorale), Melissa Fathman (The Dairy),
Osman Parvez (The Dairy), Gaya Vinay (The Dairy), Brandi Numedahl (The Dairy), Vonda Neely (The Dairy),
Jennifer Mendelson (The Dairy), Lisa Albright (The Dairy), Brenda Kahn (The Dairy), Yvette Rollins, Jeff Nytch
Type of Meeting: Hybrid (Location: 1500 Pearl Street, Suite #300, Boulder, CO 80302)
Agenda Item 1: CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m.
First motion by Kash to approve the agenda as presented in the meeting packet. Second by Cardozo. There was no
discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
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Agenda Item 2: MINUTES [00:04:13 Audio min.]
Item 2A: Approval of the May 29, 2024, Minutes
First motion by Kash to approve the minutes as presented in the meeting packet. Second by Whyel. There was
discussion listed below, Cardozo recused herself from voting since she was absent from the May 29 meeting, and the
motion passed unanimously.
Schmid asked for clarification about the number of attendees listed, and if the high number of people were online.
Lauren Click, Arts & Culture Manager confirmed that the attendees were online.
Kash clarified that his statement about the Boulder Phil ending their season should have been presented as “the
successful season was conducted,” – pun intended - and Lauren Kennedy, Board Specialist, Community Vitality
confirmed she will update the minutes before sending them to the Chair for signature.
Agenda Item 3: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION [00:05:32 Audio min.]
Caulene Hudson (The Catamounts) gave an update about the work the Catamounts have been doing for the
community, including: - Educational programming at Heatherwood and Douglas Elementary Schools
- Offering Camp Catamounts
- Creating Uniquely Colorado Company
Hudson offered to meet with any commissioners who wished to know more about the programming. Kash asked where
Hudson was from, and she responded that she came from Florida and Nebraska and had been a teaching artist at a
children’s theater in Nebraska.
Melissa Fathman (The Dairy) gave a statement about Creative Nations and gave more information about the history of
the program and the work it’s done for the community. She explained that Creative Nations is in a portion of the Dairy
Arts building that has been permanently dedicated for the use of indigenous creators, with those creators having full
control of their programming. Fathman discussed how The Dairy Arts Center supports the program financially, and
how the program has become a blueprint for other indigenous programming across the country.
Kert asked, given the right circumstances, what the best way to reach out to The Dairy with questions about their grant
applications would be in the future, and Hudson responded that she was unsure at the moment who the best contact
would be.
Schmid made a statement saying that she had met with both leaders of Creative Nations previously.
Osman Parvez (The Dairy) gave a statement about his lived experiences with racism. He discussed his observations of
The Dairy Arts center and how he has not seen any racism in his time working there.
Gaya Vinay (The Dairy) gave a statement about her support for The Dairy Arts center, discussing recent claims of
exclusion of indigenous voices at The Dairy and how they are false, recent allegations of misuse of Creative Nations
grant awards by The Diary and how they are unfounded, and how The Dairy is transparent with their funds with
regular reporting. Vinay discussed her support of Marty Strenczewilk as the managing director of Creative Nations,
stating that he has demonstrated strong leadership and resilience.
Schmid asked about the claim that there were allegations made of misuse of funds and that Marty Strenczewilk is not
capable of running the Creative Nations program. Vinay answered that the allegation of misuse was made in her
recollection when Schmid, during previous commission meetings, talked about how the money was being allocated to
Creative Nations and The Dairy, and claimed that The Dairy was taking some of the grant money from Creative
Nations. Vinay stated that the other allegation came when Schmid in Vinay’s recollection, during previous commission
meetings, talked about the systemic racism being shown by The Dairy by having a person of color, Strenczewilk, come
to speak on behalf of Creative Nations. Schmid disagreed with Vinay’s recollection. Schmid and Vinay discussed what
the details are in the transcripts of previous meetings and agreed to look at the transcripts again for accuracy.
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Cole brought up that she is interested in going to The Dairy on Fathman’s invitation, and Kert, Kash, Whyel, and
Cordozo echoed their interest. Click informed the commission members that if they all go at once, it will have to be a
meeting that is recorded and available to the public. She also let them know that they could attend in groups of 2 to not
have to advertise and hold a meeting.
Agenda Item 4: COMMISSION BUSINESS [00:25:07 Audio min.]
Item 4A: Land Acknowledgement Update
Click gave an update about her conversations with Phil Yates, a contact at the City of Boulder Tribal Council, and
discussed how the efforts of the Land Acknowledgement Committee might need to be a larger discussion with other
members of City staff. She discussed how the topic of land acknowledgement lead to a bigger discussion about what it
means to be an Arts Commissioner in relation to this topic and how she should have a more concrete update at the next
meeting regarding next steps.
Kert asked about upcoming projects, and Click updated that there will be a project called The Boulder Blueprint
coming soon.
Agenda Item 5: MATTERS FROM COMMISSIONERS [00:26:57 Audio min.]
Item 5A: Liaison Updates
Cole gave an update about the BMOCA show and its success. She also updated about the number of architects who
have submitted for the work happening at the North Boulder campus. Cole discussed attending the Boulder Youth
Orchestra and Boulder Phil Harmonic concert where they performed house music.
Kert discussed attending an event at The Dairy where they showcased classic films, put on by Commissioner Jeffrey
Kash. She highly recommended the event.
Kash discussed the Shakespeare Festival and their upcoming shows, the Colorado Music Festival and their upcoming
season at Chautauqua, the Movers and Shakers fundraising event at The Dairy, the full summer schedule of Motus
Theater, and classic movie event at The Diary.
Cardozo updated about her experience at Betsy’s Mad Librarians Improv Show, and said it was a great time with
humor appropriate for all ages.
Whyel updated about a musical Lightning Thief held at The Dairy, and said it was a very good musical. They shared
that The Spark has a summer concert playing Les Misérables songs opening at the end of June and running through the
first week of July.
Katzenberger updated that she is hosting the Rocky Mountain Equity fundraiser Queer Circus this weekend. She
updated about the Boulder Comedy Festival that has already occurred and the upcoming Queer Comedy Festival. Kash
discussed how Katzenberger will likely be assigned former Commissioner Borowsky’s liaison assignments.
Item 5B: Other Topics from the Community
There were no other topics from the community.
Agenda Item 6: PUBLIC ART PROGRAM [00:33:34 Audio min.]
Item 6A: Public Art Program/ Collection Update
Brendan Picker-Mahoney, Public Arts Program Manager gave updates about:
- Open RFQs for artwork at the Western City Campus Building
- An upcoming dedication event for Nuages by Daily tous les jours at the new NoBo Library
- Installation planning for North Broadway public art
- Guided Public Art Tours: Cole asked if there are accessible options, such as an interpreter, available, and Jake
Hudson-Humphrey, Public Art Program Coordinator gave information about efforts to make the tour
accessible and self-directed. Kert brought up that Kim Brody at Ars Nova Singers might have information
about technology available for self-guided tours.
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Rachel Cain, More Sky Less Ceiling updated the commission about the arts collection audit. She outlined the criteria
her team used to define City-owned public art, the breakdown of the audit results, and the differences between public
art and urban design. Cain and Picker-Mahoney discussed the next steps for the project, including creating signage and
maintenance plan for the art pieces, doing another physical inventory, updating the Beehive Database, and importing
the collection to the Public Art Archive.
Kert asked for clarification about the art that is staying with Parks and Recreation, and Picker-Mahoney discussed that
the pieces that don’t meet the definition of public art will stay with Parks and Recreation.
Cardozo asked if there was contention with Transportation and Parks and Recreation, and Picker-Mahoney clarified
that those groups understand Public Arts will help with maintenance of pieces that meet the definition of public art, so
it is unlikely there will be contention. Cain and Kash discussed the financial implications of maintaining these pieces,
pointing out that the other groups will likely enjoy the lessening of the financial burden. Kert echoed these sentiments.
Cain, Picker-Mahoney, Kert, and Kash discussed and clarified which art pieces were being considered and how many
there could be.
Matt Chasansky, Senior Manager of Cultural Vibrancy and District Vitality gave an update about why the Boulder
Public Library has such a large collection of art pieces. He talked about a 1990s agreement between the Boulder Public
Library and the Boulder Arts Commission Grant Program, wherein the Boulder Arts Commission must return one
piece of artwork to the Boulder Public Library for every grant they approve. This practice was discontinued in the
2000s and officially removed from the Grant Program in 2015. This agreement is the reason the Boulder Public
Library has such a large collection of art pieces.
Click asked for a timeline, and Picker-Mahoney clarified that they will have updates before the end of the year. Kert
asked if the Arts Commission could host an event. Click discussed that there are different resources for funding the
maintenance of the adopted art pieces.
Agenda Item 7: GRANTS PROGRAM [01:05:22 Audio min.]
Item 7A: Action: Arts Education Project Grants Decisions
Click introduced the options for Arts Education Project Grants.
Schmid moved that The Catamounts, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Cultural Caravan, Boulder International
Film Festival, Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Open Studios, Boulder Opera, and Luna Cultura, art, science, and
culture for thriving communities but not the Dairy Arts Center be awarded grants in the Arts Education Project Grants
category. Cardoza seconded, Cole voted against, motion carried.
Cole stated that she voted against the motion because she felt the Dairy Arts Center should be included in the motion.
Kash moved for the Dairy, Cole seconded, Schmid offered Kash an opportunity to recuse himself due to his personal
involvement with The Dairy. Kert asked for clarification on the definition of a conflict of interest and Click clarified
that Kash is not legally showing a conflict of interest because he does not have a vested interested in The Dairy and
will not receive monetary gains from voting for The Dairy to receive this grant. Schmid brought up the fact that Kash
has deep personal connections at The Dairy. Kash confirmed that he will not recuse himself. Jeff Nytch asked if he
could respond to Schmid’s comments, and Kert clarified that he could not at this time. The vote was unanimous, and
the motion passed.
Cardozo made a motion to approve Junkyard Social and Whyel seconded, Katzenberger recused herself, the motion
passed unanimously.
Item 7B: Action: Grant Reports
Click presented the options for the Grant Reports.
Kash moved to approve the grant reports for Colorado Shakespeare Festival and Street Wise Arts, Cole seconded.
Kash, Kert, and Cole made comments in support of both organizations and the work they are doing. The vote was
unanimous, and the motion passed.
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Click went over upcoming due dates for the Leadership Pipeline Scholarship Fund, the dates for leadership training,
and the dates for the retreat.
The commissioners agreed on 8/23 for the training and decided to discuss the retreat date via email. Cardozo asked if
Click has cross-referenced the dates with any religious or non-religious holidays, and Click confirmed she will make
sure they don’t overlap.
Agenda Item 8: MATTERS FROM STAFF [01:20:36 Audio min.]
Item 8A: Boulder Arts Week Update
Cindy Sepucha, Arts Program Manager gave a brief history of the Boulder Arts Week. She updated the commission on
the 2024 numbers and how they were up from previous years. Sepucha discussed the overwhelming positive feedback
received from participating organizations and artists as well as the somewhat negative feedback. She also discussed the
attendee feedback, which was mostly positive. Cardoza asked if the event were marketed by the City, and Sepucha
answered that the City did promote the events somewhat.
Sepucha discussed the options for future Boulder Arts Weeks, including doing the same thing as previous years,
adding an awards event component and maintaining a year-round presence, and/or completely changing the event to be
a larger event. Sepucha discussed the financial implications, and Kert asked what the current budget is. Click clarified
that the budget is $40,000 and is split up during the year. Kert asked what the budgeting focus is for staffing, and
Sepucha answered that staffing is being considered and accounted for, and that there were fewer volunteers this year
than last year.
Click brought up other financial resources, including a fund for small grants, that can be utilized.
Item 8B: Questions about the Manager’s Memo
There were no questions about the Manager’s Memo.
Agenda Item 9: ADJOURNMENT [01:36:01 Audio min.]
There being no further business to come before the commission at this time, Kert adjourned the meeting at 7:36 p.m.
Date, time, and location of next meeting:
The next Boulder Arts Commission meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. This is a hybrid
meeting to be held at The City of Boulder’s Community Vitality Department and via a Zoom webinar link.
APPROVED BY: ATTESTED:
Board Chair Board Secretary
8/29/24
Date Date
Aug 29, 2024
06.26.24 Arts Commission Minutes - Final
Revised
Final Audit Report 2024-08-29
Created:2024-08-29
By:Lisa Wuycheck (wuycheckl@bouldercolorado.gov)
Status:Signed
Transaction ID:CBJCHBCAABAAperQHFHvRxBENtBWg2OkiSkuhNJLtmHN
"06.26.24 Arts Commission Minutes - Final Revised" History
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