Fine Arts Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2023-04-12

Agenda
 Skokie Fine Arts Commission
 April 12, 2023 7 p.m.
 Skokie Village Hall Conference Rooms D&E


  I. Call to Order
 II. Introduction of New Commissioner – Pramod Joshi
III. Past Projects
 a. SOAR Art Exhibit at Oakton College (03/02/2023-04/04/2023)
IV. Upcoming Projects
 a. October 2023 National Arts and Humanities Month
 i. Proclamation
 ii. Google Form for Outreach
 b. Spring/Summer 2023 Skokie Through the Lens
 i. Theme Selection
 ii. Committee Selection
 c. October Storytelling Event
 i. Choose date(s) and location
 ii. Fundraiser for Skokie Community Fund?
 iii. Committee Selection
V. New Business
VI. Adjournment

Upcoming meetings: May 10, 2023
 Skokie Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street Skokie, IL
 Conference Rooms D&E




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Skokie Fine Arts Commission
 April 12, 2023
 Meeting Notes



 1. Call to Order at 7:02 p.m. by Chairperson Pam Garbarini
 Present: Chairperson Pam Garbarini, Staff Representative Meredith Gioia, and
 Commissioners Debra Hatchett, Pramod Joshi, Judy Levan, Doris Liberman, Sonya
 Osseny, Pamela Sloan, Mitch Thomas, James VanOsdol, and Ellen Waxberg
 2. Introduction of New Commissioner – Pramod Joshi
 3. Past Projects
 a. SOAR Art Exhibit at Oakton College (03/02/2023-04/04/2023)
 i. Overall, the exhibit was a great success
 ii. Purchases to be made: new poster(s) with explanation of what SOAR is,
 additional certificates and folders, bags
 iii. Suggestion was made to include a comment/suggestion box at open house
 for parents/teachers to submit their thoughts
 iv. Look into issuing a press release to Skokie Review and an article on Patch
 v. Musicians were nice addition to open house and should be invited again.
 vi. Schedule Oakton space for March next year with open house during
 Oakton’s spring break. Shorten open house to 2 hours only. Check with
 teachers as to start time. (Do they want it ASAP or would they like a
 break)
 vii. Gioia will add the photographs she took to the website
 4. Upcoming Projects
 a. October 2023 National Arts and Humanities Month
 i. Proclamation - Gioia shared a proclamation (included) for the
 commission to review. All agreed that it was comprehensive. Suggestion
 to perhaps add how the arts and humanities help us find our common
 bonds through collaboration and communication
 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
 iii. Discussion as to whether or not scheduling a culture crawl or mini gallery
 walk would be warranted. Commission agreed that we are simply
 publicizing what others are organizing not doing the organizing ourselves.
 If something happens organically, we may promote it. Maybe encourage
 Skokie Swifters to do a public art run or something? Reach out to Skokie
 Senior Services about them planning a field trip.




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 iv. Posters are being ordered. Important for the venues and businesses to have
 something to advertise their participation. Franchises may not post but
 many of the smaller individually owned businesses may.
 b. Spring/Summer 2023 Skokie Through the Lens
 i. Theme Selection - Poll winner was “Delighting in Our Diversity”
 ii. Committee Selection - Commissioners Levan, Waxberg and Hatchett
 volunteered to be on the selection committee
 c. October Storytelling Event
 i. Choose date(s) and location - Discussion centered around whether to hold
 it at Take Flight again or to explore a larger venue like Devonshire or
 Skokie Theater. Concessions are now available at both. Question as to
 whether the size would be too larger and lose some of the intimacy. Was
 part of the draw the “cool factor” of a performance in a distillery/more of a
 night out?
 ii. Fundraiser for Skokie Community Fund? – Concern was expressed as to
 the legality of charging for tickets. Need to check with General Counsel.
 Could we simply accept donations at the door/pass the hat?
 iii. Committee Selection – Commissioners Thomas, Liberman, VanOsdol, and
 Sloan volunteered to be on the planning committee.
 5. New Business – No new business
 6. Adjournment – Commissioner Lieberman motioned we adjourn and Commissioner
 Levan seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Upcoming meeting: May 10, 2023
 Skokie Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street Skokie, IL
 Conference Rooms D&E




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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, creativity, imagination,
self-expression, and problem-solving skills while also helping to develop a heightened appreciation of
beauty 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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