Fine Arts Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2023-05-10

Agenda
 Skokie Fine Arts Commission
 May 10, 2023 7 p.m.
 Skokie Village Hall Conference Rooms D&E


  I. Call to Order
 II. Upcoming Projects
 a. October 2023 National Arts and Humanities Month
 i. Proclamation approval
 ii. Submission Form and Calendar Demo
 iii. Poster
 b. Spring/Summer 2023 Skokie Through the Lens
 c. October Storytelling Event
 i. Finalize date(s) and location
 ii. Responsibilities of subcommittee
III. New Business
 a. SOAR posters
 b. Cultural Arts Grants
IV. Adjournment

Upcoming meetings: June 14, 2023
 Skokie Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street Skokie, IL
 Conference Rooms D&E




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Skokie Fine Arts Commission
 May 10, 2023
 Meeting Notes



 1. Call to Order at 7 p.m. by Chairperson Pam Garbarini
 Present: Chairperson Pam Garbarini, Vice Chairperson Jeff Rhodes, Staff Representative
 Meredith Gioia, and Commissioners Michelle Beatrice, Debra Hatchett, Pramod Joshi,
 Judy Levan, Sonya Osseny, Pamela Sloan, Mitch Thomas, Vassi Vasevski, and Ellen
 Waxberg.
 2. Upcoming Projects
 a. October 2023 National Arts and Humanities Month
 i. Proclamation - Gioia read the updated proclamation (included) for the
 commission to review. All approved the proclamation so Gioia will
 forward it to the Mayor’s Office. It will be scheduled to be read at the
 October 2, 2023 Village Board meeting. All commissioners should plan to
 attend.
 ii. Google Form for Outreach - Reminder to commissioners that the Google
 form is open for them to add their suggestions of arts organizations to
 reach out to. Link is
 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QP2bq1zptHyUiV-Ffv123-
 D1QDgKFMjDxmR19_4lz8U/edit#gid=0
 1. Gioia will share poster and information with Alex Franz, staff
 representative to the North Shore Center for Performing Arts
 Board to be shared at their next meeting.
 2. Suggestion was made to reach out to Niles West and Niles North
 as well.
 iii. Vice Chairperson Rhodes explained the process that organizations would
 follow.
 1. Organizations would submit a Google form with general
 information about their organization. Subcommittee members
 would determine whether the organization fulfilled the criteria to
 be included. If so, the organization would be sent a link to submit
 their events.
 2. Organizations would enter in their own events and images, but the
 events will not appear on the calendar until a member of the
 subcommittee reviews and approves the events.
 a. This process was decided upon because it puts the
 responsibility for accuracy upon the arts organizations and
 lightens the workload for the subcommittee.



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 b. While all organizations will be sent the same link, the
 submissions will be separate and need to be approved.
 iv. Posters were delivered. They will not be distributed until the QR code is
 live. Concern was expressed about continuity of design in future years.
 Gioia explained that while the Skokie jumble logo will only be used for
 Downtown Skokie going forward, replacing it with the Explore Skokie
 logo while keeping the wordmark the same should be recognizable enough
 in the future.
 v. The subcommittee (Rhodes, Osseny, VanOsdol, Thomas, Beatrice and
 Sloan) will meet separately to finalize the criteria for organizations and
 events.
 b. Spring/Summer 2023 Skokie Through the Lens- “Delighting in Our Diversity”
 i. The first call for submissions will be included in the Summer edition of
 NewSkokie.
 ii. Chosen photos will be included in an online slideshow and printed out and
 exhibited on displays in the lobby of Village Hall for the month of
 October.
 1. If we get many submissions, may limit it to one per photographer
 for the lobby display.
 2. Perhaps include some sort of event/reception for the October 2
 Village Board meeting.
 iii. Gioia will investigate whether slideshow could be included on public
 access channel.
 c. October Storytelling Event
 i. After discussion, it was decided that next event should be held at Take
 Flight Spirits due to the ambiance and the opportunity to support a Skokie
 business.
 ii. Subcommittee responsibilities – Commissioner VanOsdol was suggested
 as the person to contact Take Flight since he worked on the last
 storytelling event there. Gioia will work with Commissioner Thomas to
 review Eventbrite to see if she is comfortable assuming the ticketing
 responsibilities. Commissioner Sloan will again assemble gifts for the
 storytellers.
 iii. Given that it is happening in October, the theme should reflect “spooky
 season” but be broad enough to allow for a variety of stories (ie Love Lost
 and Found in February). Commissioners were encouraged to give thought
 to ideas.
 3. New Business
 a. SOAR posters




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 i. Gioia unveiled the new SOAR posters to be hung at upcoming exhibits. It
 includes images of this year’s artwork and an explanation of what SOAR
 is.
 ii. Gioia will reach out to Oakton College to schedule next year’s exhibit
 b. Cultural Arts Grants
 i. After being absent a few years due to COVID, the Cultural Arts Grants
 program was reinstated in the FY2024 budget.
 ii. $10,000 has been budgeted for the Fine Arts Commission to distribute.
 iii. Discussion as to who may be eligible for the grants (schools or schools
 and not-for-profit arts organizations). Further discussion and a vote will be
 taken at the June meeting to decide.
 iv. Will also discuss granting fewer grants but in larger amounts to create a
 larger impact.
 v. Schools will be encouraged to investigate programs like artists in
 residence rather than one-day assemblies. Perhaps we will share links with
 them for ideas.
 vi. Even though the vote won’t happen until the next meeting, we will send a
 communication to the principals ASAP and ask them to share with their
 art/music/theatre/dance teachers so that they will be ready to submit when
 school is back in session in the fall.
 vii. Grant applications will be due October 1, reviewed and voted upon at the
 October meeting, and announced as the conclusion of Arts and Humanities
 month.
 4. Adjournment – Commissioner Thomas motioned we adjourn and Commissioner Sloan
 seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.


Upcoming meetings: June 14, 2023
 Skokie Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street Skokie, IL
 Conference Rooms D&E

 NO JULY MEETING




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NATIONAL ARTS & HUMANITIES MONTH
Village of Skokie, Illinois Proclamation
By George Van Dusen, Mayor of Skokie

WHEREAS, the arts and humanities are the embodiment of all things beautiful and entertaining in the
world -- the enduring record of human achievement; and

WHEREAS, the arts and humanities enhance every aspect of life in Skokie -- improving our economy,
enriching our civic life, driving tourism, and exerting a profound positive influence on the education of
our children; and

WHEREAS, arts education research shows that the arts help to foster discipline, collaboration, creativity,
imagination, self-expression, and problem-solving skills while also helping to develop a heightened
appreciation of the beauty of diversity and cross-cultural understanding; and

WHEREAS, we use the humanities -- history, literature, philosophy -- to explore what it means to be
human; and

WHEREAS, the arts and humanities play a unique and intrinsically valuable role in the lives of our
families, our communities, and our state; and

WHEREAS, the month of October has been recognized as National Arts and Humanities Month by
thousands of arts and cultural organizations, communities, and states across the country, as well as by
the White House and Congress for more than two decades:

THEREFORE, I, George Van Dusen, Mayor of Skokie, Illinois, do hereby proclaim October 2023 as SKOKIE
ARTS & HUMANITIES MONTH and call upon all citizens to celebrate and promote the arts and culture in
the Village of Skokie.




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