HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.27.26 BAC MinutesCITY OF BOULDER
BOULDER, COLORADO
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING MINUTES
Name of Board/ Commission: Boulder Arts Commission
Date of Meeting: May 27, 2026
Contact information preparing summary: Melissa Mazany, (303) 441-3254
Commission members present: Caroline Kert (Chair), Jeffrey Kash (Vice Chair), Kate Cimino, Jill Katzenberger,
Montserrat Palacios, Gaya Vinay, Yaelaed Whyel
Commission members absent: None.
Staff present:
Lauren Click, Arts and Culture Manager
Sarah Harrison, Cultural Grants Senior Program Manager
Matthew Beutler, Arts Grant Specialist
Cindy Sepucha, Artists Program Administrator
Melissa Mazany, Senior Operations Specialist
Guests present:
There were no guests present.
Members of the public present:
Sarah McGregor, Beyond Academia Free Skool, BMoCA, Sam Nelson, David Ortolano, Turntable Tuesday, Tatyana
Filatova, Sophia Strong Studios, Kate Moore
Type of Meeting: Hybrid (Location: 1777 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302)
Agenda Item 1: ROLL CALL
Melissa Mazany, Senior Operations Specialist took roll call; all commissioners were present except for Jeffrey Kash
who joined soon after.
Agenda Item 2: CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m.
First motion by Yaelaed Whyel to approve the agenda as presented in the meeting packet. Second by Jill Katzenberger.
The motion passed unanimously.
Agenda Item 3: MINUTES
Item 3A: Approval of the April 2026 Meeting Minutes
Melissa Mazany mentioned a misspelling in Montserrat Palacios last name in the Commission Members Present list.
Kert added in the Public Comments section that “Junkyard Social” needed to read “Junkyard Social Club” and there
were two instances of that, and lastly Kate Cimino asked to have the order of agenda items reflect the order of the
meeting since she was sworn in earlier and participated in items that followed.
First motion by Whyel to approve the minutes as edited. Second by Cimino. The motion passed unanimously.
Item 3B: Minutes Practices
Mazany shared that the new process for the format of meeting minutes will move to action items opposed to verbatim
notes.
Agenda Item 4: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION [00:06:06 Audio min.]
Members of the public attended to observe.
Agenda Item 5: GRANTS PROGRAM [ 00:06:06 Audio min.]
Item 5A: Action: Boulder Vision Grant for Organizations Decisions
Harrison shared a presentation and presented the Grant Decisions on Boulder Vision for organizations. She stated that
the Commission members will vote on approval of the panel’s scored recommendations. Their options are the
following:
• Approve the recommendations
• Approve individual awards while submitting specific questions
• Postpone approval of individual awards pending the answers to specific questions
• Not approve the recommendations
She shared the final Community Project Grants (Organizations) scores for the panel. Harrison added a note that
according to the Boulder Chamber Foundation's application, initial indications suggested partial funding of $8,500.
Since the New Local was originally a partner in the project, they discussed the funding arrangement. As a result, they
will now be able to fully implement the project with the allocated $8,500.
Katzenberger moved that we approve the following organization for the 2026 Boulder Vision Grants for
Organizations: Boulder Taiko, Community Roots Art Festival/CRAFt, Control Group Productions, The Institute for
Embodied Cosmology, Parlando, Dance Continua Productions, Boulder Samba School, Band of Toughs, Hear Us Now
See Us Now, La Vecindad dba Mi Chantli, The New Local, and Boulder Chamber Foundation Transportation
Connection. Second by Cimino.
Discussion included Gaya Vinay sharing her thoughts on the process being detailed, attention to details and asked if
the commissioners can review their liaisons grant applications to make sure they have filled them completely. Click
responded yes, and next meeting will be discussing new liaison positions.
Lauren Click followed up sharing that we will be discussing new liaison positions in the upcoming June Commission
Meeting. She added that we can share resources such as the grant writing workshop and funding opportunities, but we
cannot review their applications prior to submission to keep it fair across other organizations. She added that
commissioners can review after the process is over.
The motion passed unanimously.
Kert added a follow up comment about the Boulder Chamber Foundation Transportation Connection. She shared that
at first she wasn’t sure about the Transportation Connection because it was a transportation project. After some thought
she became excited about how it fits in with accessibility.
Harrison followed up encouraging commissioners to utilize her as a resource for applicants and to have them attend the
grant writing workshops.
Item 5B: Grant Reports
Harrison presented the Grant Reports. She stated that the Commission members’ options are the following:
• Approve all reports
• Approve individual reports while submitting specific questions
• Postpone approval of individual reports pending the answers to specific questions
• Not approve the reports
She shared the Arts Education Project Grant Reports motion language.
Palacios moved to approve the reports by the Colorado Shakespeare Festival & Violence Prevention $3,000 and Luna
Cultura, Marionetas y títeres, proyectando nuestras voces para narrar nuestras historias $3,000. Second by Whyel.
Discussion from Vinay shared that she attended an event by Luna Cultura during Boulder Arts Week shouting out their
effort towards their event. She was disappointed by the lack of attendance and wants to keep that in mind for next year
to help events see more attendees. Kert added her appreciation for both organizations and projects. Motion passed
unanimously.
Harrison shared the Community Project Grant Reports motion language.
Katzenberger moved to approve the grant reports from Abby Kellems. Second by Palacios.
Vinay recused herself.
Palacios moved to approve the grant reports from Dairy Art Center. Second by Katzenberger. Six in favor.
Vinay returned to the meeting.
Harrison shared Upcoming Event Dates
• Cultural Organizations Summit: Accessibility, Groundworks Art Lab (May or June still finalizing date)
• Cultural Organizations Summit: Artificial Intelligence, Thursday, July 15 from 5-6:30pm at Kiln
• Cultural Organizations Summit: Sustainability, Monday September 14 at 12pm at Junkyard Social Club
Agenda Item 6: COMMISSION BUSINESS [00:20:39 Audio min.]
Item 6A: Liaison Updates
Kert proposed that moving forward the commission should focus on conversations and feedback they have received
with their General Operating Support (GOS) recipients opposed to upcoming calendar items to make more effective
use of their time.
Katzenberger shared an update on the Executive Director position at Groundworks Art Lab.
Whyel shared an update about KGNU Community Radios’s new headquarters.
Kert and Vinay shared that Kutandara is looking for a space for their school.
Vinay shared that Parlando will be presenting at the Accessibility Summit in June. She has been in touch with her
liaisons about applying for the Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety (CCRS) Tax Grant, she however does not
think they qualify since they do not own the building. She added that she is stepping down from the Board of Dairy
Arts Center and Roots Music Project.
Katzenberger clarified that she thought the liaison does not need to own the building and is able to apply for the CCRS
Grant. She is going to check and verify. Vinay later confirmed at 29:22 that she was incorrect and confirmed the
restriction is that the building cannot be owned by the City.
Click shared that liaisons will be reassigned in June.
Item 6B: Leadership Positions
Click shared that in June’s Arts Commission Meeting the commission will be voting on the Chair and Vice Chair
positions as well as the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) board liaison as well as Visit Boulder. She
continued that the City and commission will take nominations and that Harrison will send out an email with
information regarding the liaison positions as well as the BMoCA and Visit Boulder positions.
Kert shared that she thinks it would be best for the health of the organization to allow someone else to bring in a new
perspective to the Chair role. Kash added that Chair and Vice Chair have an additional meeting each month to discuss
agenda items for the upcoming commission meeting. Kert added that the Chair runs the meetings and it is the same
format each time. Kash shared that the Chair and Vice Chair come together with the City as a united front and support
one another.
Item 6C: Work Groups
i. Accessibility
1. Action: Statement of Accessibility
Harrison shared that the Accessibility Summit is coming up on June 22 and the staff’s meeting with the Center for
People with Disabilities is postponed until October,
Palacios read the Statement of Accessibility as shared in the packet in Attachment 2. Harrison shared that this
statement will be shared on a webpage with resources and will be included in the grants program.
Kert suggested adding the six bullet points that are listed in the Bedrock Grant, Accessibility Responses Report.
Cimino suggested using “removing barriers” opposed to using “cultural, financial and linguistic disabilities.” That
would change the sentence to “The Boulder Arts Commission affirms that accessibility means striving to remove
barriers that have historically prevented specific communities from participating.”
Harrison responded that we could bring up the caveat that accessibility means different things to different people, and
bring up financial barriers etc., to the webpage without including it in the statement.
Whyel moved to approve the Boulder Arts Commission Statement of Disability Access with the edits that were
discussed. Second by Vinay. Motion was unanimous.
2. Upcoming Events
Harrison shared that she will be meeting with the Sundance accessibility point person the following day.
ii. Sustainability
Click shared that the sustainability work group will be meeting and working on a draft for the Arts Commission
sustainability statement.
iii. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Work Group
1. Draft Values Statement
Click discussed the Draft Values Statement as shared in the packet in Attachment 3.
Vinay shared that she thinks the values are solid. She referred to the guideline that references the “simplest tool to fit
the task”. Click responded suggesting encouraging communications versus specific disclosures would be actionable.
Vinay added that the statement should acknowledge the values are evolving and tradeoffs are worth considering.
Kert shared that cost savings should be balanced with the human impact of people losing their jobs. She also pointed
out that “asserting that consent is not optional” felt clunky and “obtaining consent is not optional” felt better. She
referred to the fourth bullet point “Equity must be actively protected” and asked how does an artist or organization
give input? She suggested that that point needs more explanation on how to minimize bias when using systems. She
shared that in the final bullet point “Empower and educate yourself and program users to know what is best, expected
practices and centering on the accountability of the individual rather than the tool itself.” felt unbalanced. It feels like it
is pushing responsibility onto the user without recognition that tools are being created with bias. Cimino added to
remove the word “slow” and leaving it as “responsible and thoughtful adoption”.
Final bullet- empower and educate yourself- felt unbalanced. Pushing all the responsibility onto the user. Tools are
being created with biases.
Katzenberger asked about if the AI Statement would be directly applied to the grant process.
Harrison and Click answered that creating AI guidelines that are flexible enough to allow thoughtful, mission-aligned
projects involving AI while ensuring public funding does not support uses that conflict with the commission’s values,
such as replacing artists’ work. They also noted the need for practical safeguards, including ensuring grant reviewers
use independent judgment rather than relying on AI-generated evaluations.
APPROVED ON:
APPROVED BY: ATTESTED:
_________________________________________ ___________________________________
Board Chair Board Secretary
________________________________________ ___________________________________
Date Date
Cimino commented on bullet point 3, Disclosing use of AI and transparency. She hesitates that the use of AI should be
disclosed when using in communications or decision making. She gave examples of using AI to help think through
problem solving, social media posts, and wording on their website. She added that artists should be required to disclose
if it is being used to create or influence the art that’s being created. Kert added that it should be disclosed in matters of
decision making, such as grant panels, making elections and open calls. Cimino agreed and suggested removing
disclosure in environmental impact since it would not be feasible to quantify.
Cimino brought up clarification with the use of the word “equity” in the next bullet point. She suggested removing the
first sentence and saying, “systems can reflect and amplify existing biases” and then clarify by saying “equitable
practices” opposed to using the term “equity” which has several meanings.
Katzenberger added the overall message is to understand using AI as a tool and do not replace the human element of
creativity.
2. Upcoming Events
Upcoming dates were referenced earlier during Agenda Item 5B Grant Reports.
Agenda Item 8: MATTERS FROM STAFF
A. Questions about the Staff Memo
There were no questions about the Staff Memo.
B. New Arts Commission photo
Not everyone was present for the photo. It will be put on next month’s agenda.
Agenda Item 8: ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the commission at this time, Kert adjourned the meeting at 7:14 p.m.
Date, time, and location of next meeting:
The next Boulder Arts Commission meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. This is a hybrid
meeting to be held at The City of Boulder’s City Manager’s Office at Penfield Tate II and via a Zoom webinar link.
07.10.26
07.10.26
yaelaed whyel (Jul 12, 2026 17:31:11 GMT)
yaelaed whyel
Jul 12, 2026