HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 - Cultural Arts Annual Report & Program PreviewAgenda Item No. 15
February 25, 2003
Cultural Arts Services
Library Services Division
City of Newport Beach
To: Mayor and Members of City Council
From: City Arts Commission
Catherine Michaels, Chair
Date: February 18, 2003
Re: Annual Report FY 2001 -2002
Program Preview FY 2002 -2003
On behalf of the members of the City of Newport Beach Arts Commission and Jana Barbier,
City Cultural Arts and Grants Coordinator, I am pleased to present our Annual Report for FY
2001 -02 and Program Preview for FY 2002 -03. The Arts Commission, established over 30
years ago, acts in an advisory capacity to the City Council in all matters pertaining to artistic,
aesthetic, historical and cultural aspects of the City. Our mission is to promote and support a
wide range of accessible cultural programs, activities and facilities to address the needs and
interests of residents and visitors in the Newport Beach community,
We have prepared the following report to bring you up to date on our recent activities.
2002 -2003 COMMISSION OFFICERS
Chair: Catherine Michaels
Vice Chair: Kathy Harrison
CULTURAL PROJECTS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS
■ Concerts in the Parks
The Concerts in the Parks Subcommittee works with staff to audition and secure talent,
promote and produce the summer concert in the park series.
2002 -03 Chair: Lyn Belasco; Members: Kathy Harrison and David Colley
In FY 2001 -2002, the City Arts Commission began the Concerts in the Parks series, to bring
the community together with free outdoor music performances. Two of the concerts took place
during the summer of 2001 with the "Susie Hansen Band" and "Zoot Suit Revue." In May of
2002, the third in the series was produced with "The Alley Cats" at Mariners Park. During the
summer of 2002, "White Room" performed at Mariners Park; and "Brazil Brazil" and the
"Jumpin' Joz Band" performed at Buffalo Hills Park. Between 500 and 1000 people attended
each of these concerts. Three concerts are being planned for the summer of 2003, two at
Mariners Park and one at Grant Howald Park. A fourth concert, provided through a recent
generous gift from the Newport Beach Arts Foundation, is being planned for late Spring, 2004.
CULTURAL PROJECTS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS continued
■ Lectures. Workshops and Performances
The Lectures, Workshops and Performances subcommittee works with staff to secure arts
educators, visual and performing artists, and other arts professionals to make presentations or
conduct workshops at the Central Library and other city facilities.
2002 -03 Chair: Arlene Cartozian; Members: Kathy Harrison, Kirwan Rockefeller, Dennis Baker.
■ Get Smart About Art
In FY 2001 -2002, the City Arts Commission began the "Get Smart About Art" lecture and
performance series, to provide free public programs that increase awareness and appreciation
of the cultural arts. In 2002, the Commission hosted three lectures and performances at the
Central Library, including: Ning Yeh with "Chinese Brush Painting;" Laurie Firestone with
"Entertaining at the White House "; and Karen Kleinfelder with "The Mirror -Masks of Andy
Warhol." Between 60 -90 people attended each lecture. Programs planned for 2003: February
1 —Karen Kleinfelder "Girls Could Not Resist His Stare: Picasso's Imaging of Women; "March
8 —Janet Plastino "Dancing from the Outside -In;" and April 12 —Keith Glassman's "Mavericks"
surfing modern dance.
■ Shakespeare in the Parks
For the first time in August of 2002, the Arts Commission sponsored a "Shakespeare by the
Sea" production of "Much Ado About Nothing ", at an outdoor venue in Corona del Mar. Over
900 people attended the play at Grant Howald Park. Planned for 2002 -2003 are two
productions at Grant Howald Park: "Twelfth Night" on August 9 and "Romeo and Juliet" on
August 10. These performances are being provided through a recent generous gift from the
Newport Beach Arts Foundation.
■ Newport Beach Film Festival Seminars
In April 2002, the Arts Commission co- sponsored a free two -day series at the Central Library
called "The Collaborative Art of Filmmaking, " in conjunction with the Newport Beach Film
Festival. More than 1600 people attended the 10 presentations, ranging from screenwriting and
directing to digital film techniques. The 2003 Seminar series is being presented again on April
51h and 6`h at the Central Library. Commission member Kirwan Rockefeller currently serves as
Vice President of the Film Festival Board of Directors and City Arts Coordinator Jana Barbier
participated as an advisor for the 2001 -2002 Film Festival Board of Directors.
■ Imagination Celebration
In May 2002, Arts Commissioners participated for the fourth year in the "Imagination
Celebration" countywide family festival. Commissioners created and staffed a craft project,
which included a tissue paper collage and frame. More than 1,000 people participated in the
afternoon's activities at the Central Library.
■ Community Festivals
The Special Projects Subcommittee works with staff to coordinate special community festivals.
2002 -03 Chair: Dennis Baker; Member: Arlene Cartozian.
The "Don't Splash Where You Trash" community festival is being coordinated with the
Newport Harbor Nautical Museum in celebration of Clean Harbor Day on April 26, 2003.
Activities will include displays of art work from local 51h graders, family art workshops for visitors,
Harbor Patrol boat rides, marine life touch tanks, and an environmental scavenger hunt.
CULTURAL PROJECTS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS continued
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■ Cultural Grants Program
In accordance with City Policy 1 -12 (Reserve Fund for Arts and Culture), the Arts Commission
annually solicits and reviews requests for support from arts organizations offering cultural
programs for City residents and visitors. Programs can include publicly accessible cultural
performances, workshops, festivals, lectures and exhibitions which take place within the City of
Newport Beach, as well as projects providing K -12 students in Newport Beach public schools
with arts activities. Final recommendations are forwarded to City Council for approval.
In June 2001, the City Arts Commission received written Cultural Grants proposals from
nineteen organizations for funding totaling $101,000. After careful deliberation, the following
recommendations for awarding $40,000 in grants were made and forwarded to City Council:
Balboa Performing Arts Theatre Foundation ($1,700); Ballet Montmartre ($2,000); Ballet
Pacifica ($3,000); City Arts Commission ($6,000); Festival Ballet Theatre ($1,000); Laguna
Playhouse ($1,200); Newport Beach Film Festival ($3,000); Newport Harbor Nautical Museum
($1,125); Orange County Museum of Art ($6,500); Pacific Chorale ($1,000); Pacific Symphony
Orchestra ($2,000); Philharmonic Society of Orange County ($2,875); South Coast Repertory
Theatre ($3,000); Southland Opera ($600); STOP GAP ($3,000); and William Hall Master
Chorale ($2,000).
In June 2002, the Commission received written Cultural Grants proposals from eighteen
organizations for funding totaling $110,000. After careful deliberation, the following
recommendations for awarding $40,000 in grants were made and forwarded to City Council:
Ballet Montmartre
$2,000
Artistic directors and dancers in lecture /performance demonstrations for
students in Newport Beach Elementary and Secondary schools
Ballet Pacifica
$3,000
Lecture demonstrations to second and third grade students in
Newport Beach Elementary schools
Baroque Music Festival
$1,100
Chamber music concert at Sherman Library and Gardens
Festival Ballet Theatre
$1,500
"Ballet to School" programs in Newport Beach elementary schools
Keith Glassman Dancers
$1,000
In collaboration with the City of Newport Beach, a "Mavericks" performance
as part of the arts lecture /performance series
Laguna Playhouse
$1,400
"TheatreReach" productions
Music Rainbow
$1,250
Music Rainbow performance, based on the book "The Three Javelinas"
for first- graders in Newport Beach Elementary Schools
Newport Beach Film Festival
$3,000
"Collaborative Art of Filmmaking" Seminar Series
Newport Beach Sister Cities Association
$1,500
Spring 2003 International Festival at the Central Library
Newport Harbor Nautical Museum
$ 500
Lecture /Demonstration Series
CULTURAL PROJECTS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS continued
■ Cultural Grants Program continued
Orange County Museum of Art
$6,000
Teacher packets, docent visits, museum tours, hands -on art project,
family passes and bus transportation to Newport Beach students
from second grade to senior high schools in 2002 -2003
Pacific Chorale
$1,500
"Sound on Site" presentations
Pacific Symphony Orchestra
$2,000
Live "Informances" of chamber music in small ensembles integrated into the
Newport Beach Central Library's "Sunday Musicales" afternoon concert series
Philharmonic Society
$2,400
"Meet the Musicians "P'Ensembies on Tour"
South Coast Repertory Theatre
$2,500
"Eddy" tour performance to Newport Beach elementary schools
Southland Opera
$1,000
"Stories Come Alive" performances in Newport Beach elementary schools
STOP -GAP
$3,000
Interactive educational presentations in Newport Beach schools
The above programs are serving 18,000 people this year, 11,000 of which are students in
Newport Beach public schools. The City Cultural Grants program allows the Arts Commission
to present quality arts programs to Newport Beach residents for about $2.26 per person.
■ Visual Art Exhibitions
The Exhibitions Subcommittee works with staff to solicit, select, install and remove artwork for
temporary visual art exhibitions in City Hall and the Central Library Galleries; organize annual
juried art exhibitions; and inventory, maintain and re -hang the City art collection as needed.
2002 -03 Chair: Kathy Harrison; Members: Arlene Cartozian and Lyn Belasco.
Fall 2001 Juried Art Show (Newport Beach Artists)— Fifty -one artists submitted a total of
128 pieces. The jurors were Lila Crespin, Arts Education Director, Newport-Mesa Unified
School District and Swinder Cooper, OC arts educator. $816 in entry fees was received.
2002 Juried Photography Show —Forty -nine photographers entered a total of 117 pieces.
The show was juried by former Arts Commission Chair William Valentine. $784 in entry fees
was received.
Spring 2002 Juried Art Show (Orange County Artists) —Sixty -three artists entered a total of
165 pieces in this all -media show. The jurors were art instructors Gretchen Beck from
Concordia University and Patricia Clark from Cal State Long Beach. $1,008 in entry fees was
received.
City Hall Exhibits 2001 -2002
July- August
September- October
November - December
January- February
March -May
CULTURAL PROJECTS AND PUBLIC
■ Visual Art Exhibitions continued
May -July
Back Bay and Monte Vista HS Student Exhibition
OASIS Watercolor Class Exhibition
Fall Juried Exhibition
Tracy Hartman Photographs
NHHS and CDMHS Student Exhibition
PROGRAMS continued
Spring Juried Exhibition
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July- September
Juried Photography Exhibition
October - November
Newport Beach Employee Exhibition
November - January
Fall Juried Exhibition
City Hall Exhibits 2003
Beatrice Anderson
November ('02) - January
Fall Juried Exhibition
January-March
Four Award - Winning Watercolorists
March -May
Spring Juried Exhibition
May -July
Juried Photography Exhibition
July- September
Flowers and Seascapes
September- November
Newport Beach Employee Exhibition
Library Exhibits 2001 -2002
January
Mike Tauber
February
Hal Beral
March
Kathleen Grace
April
Beatrice Anderson
May
Steve Simon
June
Tim Earley
July
Richard Kent
August
Jerome Muller
September
Karen Feuer - Schwager
October
Julius Shulman
November
Brian Murphy
December
Carolyn Reynolds
January
Joan Corman Bloch
February
John Connell
March
Rick Ferncase
April
Barbara Spitz
May
Gena Mezo
June
Lydia Ringwald
July
Marlyse Ruess
August
Karen Luchesi
September /October
John Steinbeck Retrospective
November /December
Albert Beach
Library Exhibits 2003
January- February
Jane Hill
March -April
Howard Folsom
May -June
Janet Rosener
July- August
Jose Mendoza
September- October
Howard Hitchcock
November - December
Anna Couch
■ City Hall Holiday Tree
Continuing an annual tradition, the Arts Commission decorated the Holiday Tree in the
City Hall lobby.
CULTURAL PROJECTS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS continued
■ City Permanent Art Collection
The Arts Commission began a major new project to inventory, organize, review condition, clean
and repair the City's extensive permanent art collection. Art work was considered for new
exhibition rotations in city facilities, and will be prepared for a future City Hall exhibition. The
Horizon public art sculpture at City Hall was cleaned and repaired in 2003.
Two new pieces were added to the collection in 2001 -02: a painting of Ruby's Diner was
donated by Douglas Cavanaugh, in honor of their 20th anniversary in Newport Beach, and a
painting of the Balboa Pavilion by local artist Steve Simon was purchased for the collection by
the Arts Commission.
■ Community Involvement
The Arts Commission recognizes the importance of integrating the arts in community activities.
With this in mind, Commission members participated as volunteers in the following programs:
judged the NB Chamber of Commerce "Sandcastle Building Contest" (September 2002); juried
the "South Coast Fine Arts Festival" at Newport Dunes (October 2002); judged the Recreation
Department "Halloween Window Decorating Contest" (October 2002); judged the "Peace
through Understanding" art and essay contest at the Central Library (October 2002); consulted
with the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce on a proposed Chalk Street Festival (August
2001); assisted the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission with ideas for their Scoping
Session on the Newport Village passive park site (October 2001); acted in an advisory capacity
to NB Conference and Visitors Bureau on cultural tourism; and offered their services for the
2006 Newport Beach Centennial Celebration Committee.
ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
■ General Plan Update
The Arts Commission made a commitment in 2002 to see that a Cultural Element was included
in the City's General Plan update. Commission members attended the Visioning Festival in
January 2002 and the Community Visioning Summit in November 2002. The Commission,
working with GPAC members, submitted a revision to the Community Services Vision
Statement, and the addition of "arts and cultural facilities" was approved. In June 2002, the
Commission held a Community Arts Planning Workshop at the Central Library (similar to the
Neighborhood Planning Workshops) to solicit and share information from the City's artists and
arts organizations regarding important cultural issues in Newport Beach. In November 2002,
the Commission submitted to City staff and GPAC a statement of cultural vision and priorities.
The Commission and staff are currently working on the written draft of a Cultural Element for
the General Plan.
■ City Policies
The Arts Commission revised the Donation of Art Policy (1 -13) and the Art in Public Places
Policy (1 -18) and has submitted them to Council for approval.
■ Volunteer Support
The Commission recruited volunteers for a support group called Friends of the Arts, to provide
assistance for exhibition receptions and juried shows.
ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS continued
■ Strategic Planning
The Strategic Planning Committee works with staff to research and recommend short and
long term cultural planning strategies for approval by the full Commission and City Council.
2002 -03 Chair: David Colley; Members: Cathy Michaels and Kirwan Rockefeller.
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In addition to work on the General Plan update, this committee has been working on the 2003-
03 budget and program plan, including identifying primary and supporting customers, and
cultural goals and objectives.
■ Marketing-and Public Relations
The Marketing and Public Relations Committee works with staff to build resident and visitor
awareness of nonprofit arts organizations, artists, and galleries through print, website and
broadcast advertising and public relations activities. The Committee also works to strengthen
community relationships by providing cultural, historical, and aesthetic expertise for city staff as
well as cultural and civic organizations.
2002 -03 Chair: Kirwan Rockefeller; Members: Dennis Baker and Cathy Michaels.
The Marketing Committee is working on a cultural tourism marketing brochure that features
the City's artists, galleries, museums, performing arts groups, cultural festivals, gardens and
nature centers, and other nonprofit cultural organizations. This brochure will be placed at
chambers, conference and visitors bureaus, city hall, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and
other public venues, and is made possible by a generous gift from the Newport Beach Arts
Foundation. The Committee and staff have updated the City's arts website, distributed arts
information through the Newport Beach schools, and are also working on a water bill notice of
the summer concert series and a fact sheet on commission.
■ The Newport Beach Arts Foundation
The Arts Foundation Liaison Committee works with this tax - exempt corporation, which raises
private funds supplemental to City appropriations (just as the Library Foundation does) to
support, promote and extend the cultural activities of the Newport Beach Arts Commission.
Members of the Arts Commission serve as ex- officio members of the Newport Beach Arts
Foundation, attending Foundation meetings and providing guidance as to Commission program
priorities and community needs
2002 -03 Ex- Officio Members: Lyn Belasco and Cathy Michaels
The Arts Foundation recently completed a major fundraiser, Chateau Samara, a showcase
house tour in Pelican Crest. The Foundation will be donating $15,000 to the City of Newport
Beach in February 2003 to support planned Commission programs. The Foundation is
currently planning its next event, an art exhibition and music festival in Corona del Mar.
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