May Minutes

City of Chandler — Regular Meeting (2023-06-20)

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MINUTES OF THE 
CHANDLER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING 
TUESDAY, May 16, 2023 
5:00 PM 
 
Commissioners Present: Michelle Hirsch, Caitlin Penny, Tim Wiant, Mahfam Moeeni-
Alarcon, Rosanna Lantigua, Shachi Kale 
Commissioners Absent: Julie Ray 
Staff Present: Peter Bugg, Caroline Hudson-Naef 
CALL TO ORDER 
The meeting was called to order at 5:02 PM by Michelle Hirsch via Webex 
UNSCHEDULED /SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES / CALL TO PUBLIC 
  - Tara, no last name given, no comment made. 
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 18 MEETING: 
a) Caitlin made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Tim seconded the 
motion. The motion passed unanimously. 
ACTION AGENDA 
a) Select chair and co-chair for 2023-2024 
Peter shared that he had previously confirmed with Michelle Hirsch that she 
is able to serve as chair again and asked the commissioners if any of them 
would like to serve as co-chair. Caitlin volunteered to serve as co-chair. Tim 
motioned that Michelle serve as chair and Caitlin serve as co-chair for the 
2023-24 year. Shachi seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

b) Appoint representative to Scholarship Funding program on Tuesday, 9/12/23, 
5-8pm.   
 
Caitlin shared that she enjoyed participating in this selection panel last year 
and gave some details for the commissioners. Michelle Hirsch expressed that 
she was available but was open to a newer commissioner attending because 
of the civic engagement opportunities. Mahfam said she was interested but 
doesn’t yet know her availability for that date. Michelle Hirsch made a motion 
to select Mahfam as the Arts Commission representative to the scholarship 
funding panel and herself to serve as an alternate if needed. Tim seconded 
the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 
 
c) Tumbleweed Rec Center RFQ 
Peter had previously sent the updated version of the RFQ to the 
commissioners for review. Tim and Shachi caught several dates that were 
listed incorrectly. Michelle Hirsch requested several minor changes to 
wording and grammar. Michelle Hirsch made a motion to approve the 
Tumbleweed RFQ with these changes. Rosanna seconded the motion. The 
motion passed unanimously. 
d) INFLUX Repair 
Caroline shared that Lily Reeve’s sign was vandalized beyond repair. Peter 
shared about insurance information and a refresher for the project for the 
new commissioners. The commissioners discussed the option of paying Lily 
to replace the sign, waiting to hear more information from Risk Management 
about insurance to make that decision, or only paying Lily the insurance fee. 
Michelle Hirsch made a motion to pay Lily Reeves the insurance fee only for 
the damaged INFLUX piece. Mahfam seconded the motion. The motion 
passed unanimously.  
e) INFLUX Acquisition

Peter shared that Lily Reeves had already offered to donate her piece 
installed on Arizona Ave to the City’s collection prior to her other piece being 
vandalized. Peter recommended that the commission wait to decide until 
after the insurance issue had been settled for the damaged piece. Tim 
recommended consulting downtown Chandler businesses. After some 
discussion, Tim made a motion to table this decision until the insurance issue 
has been resolved. Michelle Hirsch seconded the motion. The motion passed 
unanimously. 
 
f) Bloomberg Grant 
 
Peter shared information about a grant opportunity from the Bloomberg 
Foundation. The goal of the grant is to fund temporary “asphalt art” projects 
that encourage traffic safety. He asked the commissioners if they approved 
of staff applying to the grant if they can garner the necessary support from 
other departments. The commissioners responded positively. Shachi made a 
motion to support staff applying to the Asphalt Art grant from the Bloomberg 
Foundation. Michelle Hirsh seconded the motion. The motion passed 
unanimously.  
 
g) Select finalist for possible art purchase 
Peter explained how the Arts Commission purchasing process works, and 
had previously asked the commissioners to review a list of options of artists 
who have exhibited in Vision Gallery or at the Chandler Center for the Arts in 
the last year. The commissioners gave their top picks, with several listing 
multiple favorites. Of the commissioner’s votes, Cam DeCaussin, Daniel Nez, 
and Michelle Emami were the top artists. Peter requested for the 
commissioners to also include Jacob Meders due to the connection his 
artwork has to the city, and the commission agreed. Michelle Hirsch made a 
motion for staff to reach out to Daniel Nez, Michelle Emami, Cam DeCaussin, 
and Jacob Meders for information about availability and pricing of artworks 
for potential purchase. Shachi seconded the motion. The motion passed 
unanimously.

BRIEFING ITEMS 
a) Museum RFQ – Peter will put together for June’s meeting. He is 
recommending a budget of $5,000, which was not specified in the budget 
approved earlier this year. He also shared that the Museum is interested in a 
longer-term project but wanted to see how the process worked first. 
 
b) Ongoing public art projects 
a. Peter shared that unknown to our staff, some of the traffic control box 
locations selected for the Basha High School collaboration are actually 
in Gilbert, and needed to be relocated. Peter has already arranged for 
this to be done. 
b. Tim shared about the completion celebration for the Downtown 
Library art project and the board game café, which had good turnout 
from city leadership. 
c. Michelle Hirsch shared about the Shumway project unveiling, and was 
very complementary about Miguel Godoy’s engagement activities 
throughout the project.  
d. Caroline shared about the Pueblo Alto mural celebration, saying that 
over 100 people including community members, artists, and city staff 
attended.  
e. Peter gave an update on the CCA lobby project with Kaori Takamura, 
who will submit a new design draft by the end of May. 
f. Peter gave a brief description of the Fire Station Memorial project for 
the new commissioners, and shared that it should be installed this fall 
after the station is built. 
c) Outside Public Art Projects 
a. Peter shared a design by Zach Valent for the median in front of City 
Hall on Arizona Avenue. This project will not be funded by the Arts 
Commission. 
b. Peter shared a request from Parks for a mural at the Xeriscape 
Demonstration Garden and that the commission can take a formal 
vote on it next month. Peter shared that due to the low visibility, lack 
of funding from Parks, and difficulty of wall dimensions, he did not 
recommend approving this project.

c. Peter shared that we were also asked by the DCCP to do a wrap on an 
APS box in Downtown Chandler. Peter can work on this after the DCCP 
gets approval from APS. 
d) Maintenance Projects 
a. Peter explained the situation so far with the upgrades to the Turbulent 
Shade structure at the Museum. He shared that he should have two 
different test reinforcements installed by the June meeting, and that 
the engineer will evaluate these and then fix the rest.  
MEMBERS COMMENTS /ANNOUNCEMENT 
- 
Tim shared that Dallas is now on his travel destination list, as there is a new 
Meow Wolf opening there. 
- 
Michelle Hirsch shared that she is honored and humbled to be selected by 
Chandler Lifestyles as a 2023 Woman of Chandler. 
CALENDAR 
  a. The next regular meeting will be on June 20 in person at Vision Gallery. 
INFORMATION ITEMS 
Current Exhibitions 
a. 
Vision Gallery – Along the Colorado – March 17 – May 26, 2023.  
 
Upcoming Exhibitions and events 
a. 
Vision Gallery – Untraditionally American: Kat Davis and Brianna Noble – June 
3 – August 19, 2023. Reception: June 2, 6-8 p.m. (tentative)   
b. 
Chandler Center for the Arts Gallery – Frank Gonzales: Sacred Spaces – May 
20 – August 5, 2023. Opening Reception: Friday, May 19, 6-8 p.m. 
ADJOURNMENT 
a) at 6:13 PM Michelle Hirsch adjourned the meeting.

________________________________ ____________________ 
Michelle Hirsch, Chair 
 
 
Date