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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 - Cultural Arts Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022Q SEW Pp�T CITY OF z NEWPORT BEACH c�<,FORN'P City Council Staff Report April 12, 2022 Agenda Item No. 8 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director - 949-717-3801, thetherton@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director PHONE: 949-717-3810 TITLE: Cultural Arts Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 ABSTRACT: The sum of $30,000 has been provided in Fiscal Year 2021-2022 to fund specific cultural or artistic programs as approved by the City Council. The City Arts Commission has the responsibility to review all programs and requests for support from arts groups and make recommendations for funding to the City Council for final approval. RECOMMENDATION: a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Approve recommended recipients for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Cultural Arts Grants as selected by the City Arts Commission in accordance with City Council Policy 1-10 - Financial Support for Culture and the Arts. DISCUSSION: City Council Policy 1-10, Financial Support for Culture and Arts (Attachment A) recognizes the importance of promoting culture and the arts within the City and establishes a Reserve Fund for Culture and Arts. In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, the sum of $30,000 has been provided for specific cultural or artistic programs as approved by the City Council. The City Arts Commission (Commission) has the responsibility to review all programs and requests for support from arts groups and make recommendations for funding to the City Council for final approval. Council Policy 1-10 defines arts groups as those involved in visual, musical, theatre, dance, crafts, performing and literary activities. The Commission considers the following in order of preference for granting support: Local arts groups located within the City of Newport Beach and offering programs to Newport Beach residents; and RX Cultural Arts Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 April 12, 2022 Page 2 2. Regional arts groups located in Orange County and offering programs to Newport Beach residents; and 3. Arts groups located in California and performing or offering programs to Newport Beach residents. Groups not offering programs or services to local residents are not eligible for support from the City of Newport Beach. The Commission received written grant proposals from 10 organizations for funding of approximately $40,850 in free cultural arts programming for the Newport Beach community in Fiscal Year 2021-2022. Grant applicants include: ORGANIZATION NAME Backhausdance AMOUNT $4,000 Balboa Island Improvement Association (BIIA) $3,000 Baroque Music Festival $5,000 E3 Solutions $1,850 Kontrapunktus $2,000 Laguna Playhouse $5,000 Pacific Chorale $5,000 Pacific Symphony $5,000 SandcastleKit Company $5,000 South Coast Repertory • $5,000 -i ,850 The City Arts Commission considered the 10 applications using the guidance as defined in City Council Policy 1-10, Financial Support for Culture and Arts (Attachment A). In addition, each arts organization was evaluated in light of the following additional criteria: Baseline Criteria: • application and report complete and on-time • arts organization (not individual artist) • non-profit organization • Newport Beach geographic focus Selective Criteria I. Service to the Public • promotion and outreach • audience development and participation • safety and accessibility • program diversity • community service FIN Cultural Arts Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 April 12, 2022 Page 3 II. Artistic/Programmatic Excellence • ideas and creativity • production III. Managerial/Fiscal Competence • mission and goals • organizational management • financial management The Commission paid particular attention to the fiscal prudence of the applicants. After careful deliberation, the Commission approved grant funding for seven local arts organizations, totaling $30,000, at its regular meeting on March 10, 2022. The recommended grantees include: ORGANIZATION NAME AMOUNT $4,000 Balboa Island Improvement Association (BI IA) $3,000 Baroque Music Festival $5,000 Laguna Playhouse $5,000 Pacific Chorale $5,000 Pacific Symphony $5,000 South Coast Repertory $3,000 $30,000 Backhausdance will present a dance education partnership program, Dance Expressions: Creativity and Choreography, to be held at two different Newport Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) schools (Corona del Mar and Back Bay) in fall 2022. The Balboa Island Improvement Association was granted funding for the eighth season of the Balboa Island Classical Concert Series, held at St. John Vianney Chapel, and its Summer Concerts in the Park series, which takes place at Balboa Island Park. The Baroque Music Festival will use grant funds to subsidize reduced costs for student tickets for a Handel Gala performance, to be presented at St Mark's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. The Baroque Music Festival will conduct outreach to promote the event to music departments in the Newport -Mesa Unified School District. Funds will also bring two Baroque -specialist opera singers from out of state to perform at the Handel Gala. The Laguna Playhouse will present the Our Stories program, a series of two- to six-week theatrical and fine -art workshops for students in schools and youth centers/shelters in the NMUSD. FIN Cultural Arts Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 April 12, 2022 Page 4 Pacific Chorale's chamber choir will present three performances at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. The performances will include professional singers and instrumentalists from the Pacific Symphony. Pacific Symphony will utilize grant funds to present the Class Act Music Education Program in two NMUSD schools, Anderson and Newport Coast Elementary. South Coast Repertory will use grant funds to professionally film the 2022 Theatre for Young Audiences production of Last Stop on Market Street for online viewing. The City Arts Commission did not grant funds to E3 Solutions, Kontrapunktus and SandcastleKit Company. E3 Solutions was denied grant funds because of insufficient income allocated to programs, and because the grant request allocated funds to its operating costs. Kontrapunktus did not receive grant funding because only 27% of the organization's income was applied to programs. The organization also projected a surplus of $60,500 at the end of the fiscal year. Similarly, SandcastleKit Company was denied grant funding as the organization projects a $31,000 surplus at the conclusion of the fiscal year. FISCAL IMPACT: The adopted budget includes sufficient funding for this grant program. The funds will be expensed from the City Grants account in the Cultural and Arts Department, 01060603- 821006. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Council Policy 1-10, Financial Support for Culture and Arts ATTACHMENT A I-10 FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CULTURE AND ARTS The City Council hereby recognizes the importance of promoting culture and the arts within the City of Newport Beach. A number of individuals and groups have been organized with the express purpose of developing and promoting culture, theatre and the arts. The City would complement these efforts by establishing a Reserve Fund for Culture and Arts that can be used for a) developing a master plan for the promotion of culture and arts; b) acquiring land and/or the construction of facilities to promote culture and arts and; c) instituting other cultural promotion projects. The sum of $55,000 shall be provided each year for specific cultural or artistic planning, promotion and/or construction projects as approved by the City Council. It is the policy of the City of Newport Beach that expenditures from the reserve fund should be matched equally by the community in the form of contributions and donations. In regard to the City's role in financially sponsoring art and cultural events, the City Arts Commission shall review all programs and requests for support from arts groups. The Commission shall forward its recommendations for funding to the City Council for final approval. Any appropriation shall not exceed 50% of the Arts Commissions' annual budget. For the purpose of this policy, arts groups shall be defined as those involved in visual, musical, theatre, dance, crafts, performing and literary activities. The following priorities shall be considered by the Commission. The order of preference for granting support shall be as follows: A. Local arts groups located within the City and offering programs to City residents; B. Regional arts groups located in Orange County and offering programs to City residents; and C. Arts groups located in California and performing or offering programs to City residents. Groups not offering programs or services to local residents shall not be eligible for support from the City. 8-5 I-10 History Adopted F-20 - 5-11-1981 ("Reserve Fund for Culture and Arts) Amended F-22 - 6-22-1981 Adopted I-20 - 1-24-1983 ("Co -Sponsorship for Cultural Arts") Amended F-20 - 11-14-1983 Amended F-20 - 1-23-1984 Amended F-20 - 3-28-1988 Amended F-20 - 10-28-1991 Created I-12 -1-24-1994 (incorporating I-20 & F-20, renaming "Financial Support for Culture and Arts") Amended I-12 - 5-8-2001 Amended I-12 - 4-8-2003 (changed to I-10) Amended I-10 - 8-8-2017 :.