Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Art Space Grant STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL DATE:July 19, 2016 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Christopher L. Foss, City Manager SUBJECT: Arts Space Grant Pilot Program Proposal Prepared by: Tegan McLane, Cultural Arts & Heritage Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council will consider a Staff proposal for an Arts Space Grant pilot program, under which the City Council would allocate use of a portion of the City’s time at Dublin High School Center for the Performing Arts and Education to nonprofit arts groups. Selected City-owned facilities are also included in the pilot program. Staff presented this pilot program to the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission on June 9, 2016 and the Commission is recommending the program as proposed. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Arts Space Grant pilot program. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Costs for the Arts Space Grant pilot program have been included in the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Parks and Community Services/Cultural Arts Operating Budget. Staff estimates administrative costs to be minimal, approximately $2,600 annually. Direct costs for facility attendants could vary, depending on the dates and facilities for which space granted. Time granted at Dublin High School Center for the Performing Arts and Education incurs no direct cost to the City. Time granted at City-owned facilities could incur direct costs of facility attendants and potentially lost revenue. Direct costs will be carefully tracked during the pilot program to provide City Council with complete information when it evaluates the pilot program. DESCRIPTION: At its March 1, 2016, meeting, the City Council approved an Agreement between the City of Dublin and the Dublin Unified School District for Use of Theatre Facilities at Dublin High School Center for the Performing Arts and Education, which allows for the City to grant use of some of its allocated theatre time to nonprofit arts groups. Staff was directed to develop a competitive grant program to allow arts organizations to apply to the City for time at that facility. 15 Page of The proposal for an Arts Space Grant pilot program was presented to Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission at its June 9, 2016, meeting and unanimously recommended its approval, with one requested modification - that Staff solicit feedback from local arts community at the conclusion of the pilot program to determine if the program is adequately meeting the needs of the arts community. Specifically, some Commissioners expressed concerns that the proposed eligibility requirements and grant procedures are 'too bureaucratic' and place undue burden on the arts groups. Should the City Council approve the pilot program, Staff is prepared to implement the pilot program this summer and award Arts Space Grants for the period November 1, 2016-June 30, 2017. At conclusion of the pilot program, Staff will present a final report to the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission. At the Commission's specific request, this final report will include broad feedback from the arts community, including not only feedback from those organizations awarded space under the pilot program, but also any received from those organizations that applied but were not awarded space and those who were notified of the opportunity and chose not to apply. The Commission will receive the report and may recommend to City Council changes in any of the following areas: Eligibility Requirements, Available Facilities, Grant Procedures and Grant Priorities. Arts Space Grant Summary Under the proposed Arts Space Grant pilot program, non-profit arts organizations will be invited to apply to the City of Dublin for space grants to use selected City of Dublin facilities and Dublin High School Center for the Performing Arts and Education at no charge. The City will promote the award recipients’ programs through normal City channels on a space available basis. Arts space will be awarded through a formal, competitive grant program, with Heritage and Culture Arts Commission reviewing applications and making recommendations to City Council, for their approval of the awards. Organizations receiving space grants will be required to submit a formal report at the completion of their space use, documenting participation - ticket sales, photos, etc. The organization will also address how well the program met the Objective/Outcome/Measures identified in their application. Eligibility Requirements Staff is recommending the Arts Space Grant pilot program be open to organizations that meet the following criteria: · 501c3 nonprofit organization serving City of Dublin residents, or a smaller arts club operating under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501c3. Applicant must provide proof of nonprofit status or letter acknowledging fiscal sponsorship and copy of fiscal sponsor’s nonprofit status. · Applicant need not be based in Dublin. · Applicant must obtain special event or general liability insurance, just as would be required of any other renter of City-owned or District-owned property. 25 Page of · Applicant must obtain City of Dublin business license. · Applicant must attend mandatory informational meeting and the Heritage and Cultural Arts meeting at which the grants are considered (Applicant could be asked to make a short presentation). · For groups requesting space for active (participatory) programs, i.e. rehearsals or workshops, Staff recommends the group be required to guarantee at least 51% of the participant slots for Dublin residents or that Dublin residents be given some sort of discount or priority registration. , · For groups requesting space for passive (viewed) programs i.e. performances or exhibits, Staff recommends there be no requirement that a certain percentage of the audience be Dublin residents, as that is difficult to measure and prove. However, if the groups have Dublin residents as performers or are showing the works of Dublin artists, that should be noted and those groups be given priority. Available Spaces For the pilot program, Staff recommends using only facilities that have a history of arts related programming and limiting the number of hours to be granted, so as not to severely impact the facilities’ normal rental availability or budgeted rental revenue. The facilities Staff recommends including in the pilot are: · Dublin High School Center for Performing Arts and Education - Fully equipped theatrical venue. Suitable for all theater, dance, music productions, as well as film or lectures. Seats 506. Includes technical staff. Up to 10, eight-hour days available to be granted. · Heritage Sunday School Barn - Black Box theater. Suitable for very small theater, dance, acoustic music productions, lectures, non-messy workshops. Seats 110 for performance, 50 for workshops. No technical staff included. Up to 80 hours available to be granted. · Heritage Old St. Raymond Church - Suitable for small acoustic music productions, lectures, film, non-messy workshops, participatory music programs. Seats 84. No technical staff included. Up to 80 hours available to be granted. · Heritage Little Classroom - Suitable for small art exhibit installations to hang for no more than two weeks. No technical staff included. Up to two weeks available to be granted. · Shannon Center - Ambrose Hall - Banquet hall with portable stage available. Suitable for theater, music productions, art exhibits, film, lectures, non-messy workshops, participatory dance events. Seats up to 300 for performance, 150 for workshop. No technical staff included. Up to 80 hours available to be granted. 35 Page of · Dublin Senior Center Ballroom - Banquet hall with small raised stage. Suitable for music productions, art exhibits, film, lectures, non-messy workshops, participatory dance events. Seats up to 248 for performance, 150 for workshops. No technical staff included. Up to 80 hours available to be granted. · Dublin Senior Center Art Classrooms - Suitable for messy and non-messy workshops. Seats up to 30. No technical staff included. Up to 80 hours available to be granted. · Dublin Library Community Room - Suitable for art exhibit events, lectures, film, non-messy workshops, participatory music events. Seats up to 120 for assembly, 50 for workshops. No technical staff included. Up to 80 hours available to be granted. · Dublin City Hall Lobby - Suitable for small art exhibit installations (light weight, two dimensional, non-framed pieces only). Up to two weeks available to be granted. Grant Procedures The Arts Space Grant application will be designed similar in format to the Community Grant applications, in that applicants will be required to pick Objectives, Outcomes, and Indicators (Measures) from a list of those acceptable to the City. For the Arts Space Grant Pilot Program, the Objectives/Outcomes will be derived from the Public Art Master plan. Applicants will also be required to demonstrate how the program benefits Dublin residents by meeting the City’s Mission, Vision and Values. Applicants will also choose from a list of qualitative measures acceptable to the City which ones they will use to measure the success of their program. Applications will be reviewed by Staff for completeness and availability of the facility/date/times requested. Staff will place a tentative hold on facility/date/time. If the applicant’s first choice facility/date/time is not available, Staff will propose alternative facilities or dates/times to the organization prior to meeting. Should the organization wish to proceed with an alternate request, Staff will place a hold on the new time and note the change in the application. If multiple organizations request the same space, Staff will hold the requested date and contact each to determine possible alternate facilities/dates/times. Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission will consider all eligible applications, rank applications and recommend space grants up to the pre-determined hours limit. If multiple organizations request the same space, the award shall go to the applicant whose proposal was ranked higher. Organizations that rank highly but do not receive their first choice can be offered their second choice, if space is available. Staff recommends organizations be granted space for one program only, and that hours granted be limited to no more than 40 hours per organization, or one two-week display period during the facility’s normal open hours. Staff further recommends, if the pilot program is successful and the Arts Space Grant program continues, organizations be 45 Page of required to wait one full year before applying again. This will encourage new organizations to apply and foster diversity of arts within the City. Organizations granted space under the program will be required to submit a brief report following their program and report on the measures they selected in their application. Grant Priorities Staff recommends establishing grant priorities to ensure that the recipients of free space are chosen in a deliberate and thoughtful way, and the free space grants support the City’s overall arts goals. Staff recommends the following be priorities: · Program supports Dublin’s arts goals as identified in Public Art Master Plan. · Program has the potential to provide a high number of participant hours to Dublin residents. Participant hours would be measured by the estimated of Dublin residents multiplied by the number of hours they would be involved at the facility. · Program is affordable for Dublin residents. · Program has broad community support, as evidenced by attendance, donations, etc. · Program is unique to Dublin, the Tri-Valley or the Bay Area. · Applicant organization has demonstrated its professionalism and its ability to produce the proposed program. · Applicant organizations that have a past history of partnerships with City of Dublin have a good track record for fulfilling their obligations to the City. · Viewed as a whole, the grant awards for the year represent a variety of art forms and/or cultures. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: An email notice of this staff report item was sent to arts organizations and individuals who have applied to be listed in the City of Dublin’s Arts Database. ATTACHMENTS: 55 Page of Arts Space Grants Proposed Pilot Program Arts Space Grant Program •Provides in-kind support to the non-profit arts community •Facilitates a variety of affordable arts activities at Dublin public facilities •Establishes criteria and process for selecting organizations and projects to receive support Eligibility Requirements •501(c)3 nonprofit organization, or smaller arts clubs with fiscal sponsor •Need not be based in Dublin, but must serve Dublin residents •General liability insurance, naming City as additionally insured •Dublin business license •Mandatory info meeting and Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission meeting where grants are considered. Eligibility Requirements, continued •For active (participatory) programs, guarantee 51% slots available for Dublin residents or discount, priority registration for Dublin residents. •For passive (viewed) programs, no required percentage of Dublin residents in audience, but priority given to groups with Dublin performers or artists Available Spaces •Dublin High Center for Performing Arts and Education •Heritage Sunday School Barn •Old St. Raymond Church •Heritage Little Classroom •Ambrose Hall •Senior Center Ballroom •Senior Center Art Classrooms •Library Community Room •City Hall Lobby Space Restrictions •Limited number of hours per facility per year •For DHS only, specific available dates will be listed •For City-owned facilities, groups may request any date •Technical staff included at Dublin High Center for Performing Arts •No technical staff at City facilities •Maximum 40 hours per organization, or two weeks’ display period on exhibits Grant Procedures •Mandatory informational meeting •Application includes objectives, measures •Staff reviews for completeness, date availability •Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission reviews, ranks applications, recommends awards •City Council awards Arts Space Grants •Grantees submit year-end reports Grant Priorities •Program supports Dublin’s arts goals •Program has potential to provide high number of participant hours •Program is affordable for Dublin residents •Program has broad community support •Program is unique to Dublin, Tri-Valley or Bay Area •Applicant has demonstrated professionalism, ability to produce proposed program •Applicants with past history have good track record fulfilling obligations to City •Viewed as whole, grant awards represent variety of art forms and cultures Tentative Timeline •Grant applications available, August 1, 2017. •HCAC considers grant applications, September 2016. •Council makes awards October 2016. •Award period, November 2016-June 2017. •June 2017 – survey of arts organizations, per HCAC request. •June 30, 2017 – recipients final reports due. •July 2017 – Report on pilot program presented to HCAC, City Council.