Members

Priti Tripathi

Deborah Castello, Vice Chair

Kelly McLeod

Elizabeth Chong

Paul Leonidis

Councillor Joe Virgilio

Regrets

Judi McIntyre, Chair

Anna Gauci

Councillor Alex Chiu

Staff

Linda Irvine, Manager, Parks and Open Space

Development

John Ryerson, Manager, Varley Art Gallery

Blair Labelle, Committee Clerk

Others

Jane Perdue, Public Art Consultant

The second meeting of the Public Art Advisory Committee in 2006 convened at 7:05 p.m. with Ms. P. Tripathi in the Chair.

1. MINUTES OF THE MARKHAM PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON JANUARY 30, 2006

THE MARKHAM PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Markham Public Art Advisory Committee held on January 30, 2006 be adopted with the following amendment:

That the words “It was suggested that an evaluating sub-committee comprised of various stakeholders, including members of the community, may be a good way to engage community consultation.” be removed and replaced with “It was suggested that a technical committee be established comprised of Markham staff in order to assist with the process of reviewing and coordinating a Markham Public Art Advisory Plan”.

CARRIED

2. 2006 ENVIRONMENTAL ART PROGRAM

Staff advised that a report regarding the 2006 Environmental Art Program will be going forward to the February 21^st Development Services Committee meeting and then to a forthcoming meeting of Council to obtain support for the use of funding in the amount of $20,000.

3. FUTURE MEETING DATES

THE MARKHAM PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

That the next meeting of the Markham Public Art Advisory Committee convene on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ontario Room,

And that all future meetings convene on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Ontario Room, Markham Civic Centre.

CARRIED

4. MARKHAM PUBLIC ART PLAN

Ms. Perdue distributed a revised copy of her Public Art Plan which highlights the objectives and processes moving forward through a four phase program. She indicated that first phase would be completed by the end of February with the second phase beginning when the Markham Public Art Advisory Committee (MPAAC) met on March 8, 2006. Ms. Perdue provided an overview of the steps within the ensuing phases of the program.

The Committee discussed whether the Public Art Plan would focus strictly on the visual arts. Staff noted that Council had approved the initial framework for MPAAC which did concentrate on the visual arts but that the Public Art Plan could allow for the synergy of other expressions to be considered. Members agreed that public spaces to engage performance art and other expressions are available, but the resources necessary for event planning were sometimes limited. Staff suggested that further exploration of these issues could be vetted through the Markham Arts Council.

Ms. Perdue distributed a document which put forward the working goals and methods for the Plan’s development. The Committee suggested that a focal point of the Plan should be centred around the uniqueness of Markham through areas such as the environment, history and heritage. Members noted that the Plan should also engage diversity, celebrate the rapidly growing communities within Markham and, if possible, relate to school curriculum. The Committee recommended that the word “stable” occurring in the second ‘Working Goal’ be removed and replaced with word “existing”. There was also a recommendation put forward that the idea of engaging the public be added as an additional ‘Working Goal’.

Ms. Perdue commented that the Plan could focus on using existing resources within the Town as opportunities for installations to demonstrate the uniqueness of Markham. Examples such as bus stations, historic sites and heritage areas were discussed. Ms. Perdue presented various illustrations of integrated, semi-integrated and independent works of Public Art.

The Markham Public Art Advisory Committee adjourned at 8:48 p.m.