Arts and Culture Advisory Committee

Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 4:00 P.m. - 6:00 P.m.

Conestoga Room

City of Kitchener

200 King Street W, Kitchener, ON N2G 407

Present:

• M. Lam, Member
• I. Stefanescu, Member
• O. Ajibade, Member
• J. Hall, Member
• P. Evitts, Member
• R. Labrie, Member
• A. Mehta, Member
• N. Stretch, Member
• W. Rahimi, Member
• S. Florence, Member

Staff:

• M. Mills, Legislative Services
• K. Varin, Committee Administrator
• A. Hallam, Manager, Arts & Creative Industries
• J. Dueck, Director, Culture and Entertainment

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1.

Commencement

The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee held a meeting this date commencing at 4:00 p.m.

1.1

Acceptance of agenda

Accepted as amended: addition of item #5.3 by M. Lam under Information Items; on motion by J. Hall, seconded by S. Florence.

2.

Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof

None.

3.

Delegations

3.1

Legislative Services: Advisory Committee Training & Orientation

M. Mills shared information about committee procedures that included: the roles and responsibilities of the advisory committee, the meeting procedure, the expected code of conduct and the process around disclosing a conflict of interest.

4.

Discussion Items

None.

5.

Information Items

5.1

Committee Member & Staff Introductions

All members and staff present introduced themselves.

5.2

Arts & Creative Industries Overview

J. Dueck introduced the Culture and Entertainment Division and how the three teams of Arts and Creative Industries (A&CI), Special Events and Centralized Service Provider (Cultural Venues) collaborate. A. Hallam summarized the current priorities for the A&CI team, including: 

• delivery of an A&CI Action Plan that will outline focused goals and actions for next three years; it will include a budget ask to support the realization of these actions. The plan will be shared with ACAC prior to presenting to Council.
• working alongside THEMUSEUM team to determine next steps around operational challenges.
• reviewing the city of Kitchener Tier 1 and Tier 2 Community Grants program.
• the team is leading the largest public art commission thus far, to be sited at the Kitchener Indoor Recreation Complex (KIRC). It is currently in the early jury stages of artwork selection.
• the team will support an Indigenous run process for siting an artwork in Victoria Park. 
• the public art policy has been refreshed, and the team is looking at creating a temporary art policy.
• E. Rumble will give a presentation on creative spaces and the Public Art Policy and Program at a future meeting.

5.3

Highlights of previous term: Margaret Lam

M. Lam was the committee's chair. Over the previous two year's term, the committee:

• gave their perspective on the city's strategic plan 
• discussed and championed fair compensation for artists' work and accessibility considerations in relation to producing, installing and interpreting public art.
• revised the committee's Terms of Reference; the new version has to be ratified by Council and current members will provide their input into the final document prior to presentation.
• provided consultation for: the redevelopment of the Charles Terminal (Region), proposed development of Bramm Yards (city), the 2051 Official Plan (Planning, city), the operating model for the Conrad Centre for the Perfoming Arts (A&CI team, city).
• gave input to presenters on the topics of: accessibility barriers in public art, the Ankara Carnival, creation of filmmaking hub/studio in the region, creation of centralized artist directory and a proposal for a working table for downtown arts.

5.4

Honorarium & Reimbursement policy: Karoline Varin

The Honorarium and Reimbursement Policy for Advisory and Quasi-Judicial Committees of the Council was introduced in early 2024. It recognizes the value of the contributions, diverse voices, perspectives, experiences and expertise of committee members. The policy supports the city's commitment to reducing barriers to participation by citizens in all aspects of public participation.

Members of the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee are not eligible for honoraria, but they are eligible for childcare reimbursement as well as parking and transit passes to attend committee meetings. Parking passes and transit passes will be provided by the committee administrator at the end of each meeting upon request. In order to claim childcare compensation, a member needs to fill out an attestation through the volunteer portal Better Impact. Compensation can be claimed for a maximum of ten meetings per year, at maximum of three hours, at an hourly rate of $16.50.

For assistance with childcare compensation, members are asked to contact the committee administrator.

5.5

Chair & vice chair positions

On a motion by N. Stretch, seconded by S. Florence, J. Hall was appointed chair. Carried.

Two candidates put forth their candidacy for vice chair. Voting was postponed till the February meeting.

Action: committee administrator to check with Legislative Services if the committee can have two elected co-vice chairs.

6.

Adjournment

On motion, this meeting adjourned at 5:49 p.m.

Karoline Varin
Committee Administrator