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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-25 Arts Culture Commission MinutesEdina Art Center Board Meeting October 25, 2007 Members present: Gene Andersen, Dolores Dege, Liz Eisenbrey, Mike Kelly, Bill McCabe, Heather Randall King, Ken Rosland, Daniel Schroeder, Ruth Valgemae Jim Van Valkenburg. Members absent:. George Hadjiyanis, Staff present: Diana Hedges, Phil Johnson Call To Order Meeting was called to order at 4:00 pm by chair, Jim VanValkenburg. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the September 27, 2007 meeting were read and corrected, seconded and approved. MEDIA STUDIOS UPDATE-Phil Johnson Phil reported that Media Studios staff had been tracking referral sources during October to determine the effects of new posters, leaflets and a Sun Newspapers advertisement. The tally to-date was: leaflets = 11 new customers; Libraries = 8; ad in newspaper = 6; poster = 1; and cable listing = 1. A discussion ensued as to the returns from expensive newspaper ads versus other, cheaper media. Even though the Sun newspaper ad was heavily discounted, it still would be impractical to do this very often. Phil also reported that digital photo classes were going very well. Computer classes, such as Photoshop and Photoshop Elements continued to have problems with a wide range of student skills levels. Those students with good computer skills were frustrated with the instructor having to spend time with explaining basic computer operations to some students rather than moving apace on the Photoshop course materials. After discussion of various alternatives, Phil offered to explore with the instructors an approach using initial Photoshop overview sessions which will then allow students to self select appropriate private lessons. CARNIVAL RECAP - Diana Hedges The October 2007 carnival was the best ever. Large crowds enjoyed the tent shows and browsed the art on display as well as the gift shop. Special thanks to Anne Spooner who led the effort to pull it all together. Heather King remarked that all comments addressed to her were positive. Diana commented that the large performance tent saved the day when a cloud burst threatened to stop the show. Parks and Recreation Director, John Keprios, was at the Carnival and said it was wonderful to see such great community involvement and diversity in attendees. The food provided by Dino's was great, also. OUTREACH AND PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE-Diana Hedges Diana asked if all Board Members had received the minutes from the Edina Public Art Committee (EPAC). Pat Greer had emailed the minutes to the Board. Pat had also mailed the minutes to members without email. Several members had not received the minutes and asked to get a copy after the meeting. DIRECTOR'S REPORT - Diana Hedges BUILDING EXPANSION ATR & S, the architectural firm, will meet with the Board at 4 pm on Nov. 15th. Diana stated that the original project estimates are too low. Expect the new figures to be substantially higher. HOLIDAY GIFT SALE Setup in the Clark Gallery and the Gift Shop begins on October 31. Vendors will bring in their merchandise throughout the remainder of the week. The sale begins on November 8 and runs through December 22. AUCTION IN FEBRUARY We will auction pies as a fundraiser again this year. A chairperson is needed for the auction. MEMBERSHIP REPORT - Liz Eisenbrey This agenda item was carried over from the September meeting. Liz distributed a one-page summary containing membership levels, trends, comparisons to two other local art centers (Bloomington and Minnetonka) and a recommendation that membership rates should remain the same. If an increase is desired, the family membership could be increased from $40 to $45. Diana thanked Liz for her work in sending reminder letters to each month to those whose EAC membership is about to expire and for the analysis done for the membership report (attached to these minutes). In the ensuing discussion, several members asked questions and offered comments. Mike Kelly suggested that membership should be required for those enrolling in classes. Currently class tuition has a non-member price with members paying 10% less. Diana commented that this might be appropriate for longer classes but it would raise the price for one-session classes and workshops to an unattractive level. A person registering for a $30 workshop would be discouraged by the additional $30 requirement. Jim VanValkenburg asked if we could find out how many people taking classes are not members. Diana replied that this was not easily done using our current manual hardcopy system but it should be possible next year as we pursue computerized membership and registration capabilities. Once such a system is in use, staff will be able to "mine the data" in many ways. Heather King suggested the family membership could be raised to a nice round $50. This would still be a tremendous bargain for any family. Mike Kelly commented that we should take every opportunity to raise rates and increase revenues wherever possible. Waiting for another year until 2009 could mean substantial revenue lost unnecessarily. Ken Rosland suggested that if family memberships were to be raised modestly to $45 in 2008, then computer records could tell us whether the rate raise caused positive or negative results during the year. He offered a motion to that effect. Gene Andersen seconded. The motion passed. PUBLIC COMMENTS No members of the community-at-large were present. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 pm.