Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission  
Consider:  
Who benefits? Who is burdened?  
Who does not have a voice at the table?  
How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?  
Wednesday, November 8, 2023  
8:00 AM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the City County  
Building in Room 421; attend virtually via Zoom.  
A. Call To Order  
Present: Chair Ritcherson, Vice Chair Klehr, Commissioner Puleo Moyer, Commissioner  
Curet, Commissioner Miquelon, Commissioner Garrett, Commissioner Handy,  
Commissioner Parks Snider, Commissioner Yudice  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla  
Call to order at 8:04 a.m.  
9 -  
Present  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, AMNERIS CURET, Vice Chair MARY KLEHR,  
MARCIA MIQUELON, KELLY PARKS-SNIDER, FRAN PULEO MOYER, JENNIFER  
GARRETT, JAY HANDY, and KELSEY YUDICE  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
1. 2023  
MIN-380  
[MINUTES FROM THE 10/18/2023 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
COMMISSION MEETING]  
Attachments: 2023 MIN-380  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes from  
the 10/18/2023 Commission meeting, seconded by Commissioner Parks Snider.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
D. Presentations: Clyde Mayberry, The House Inc.  
- The Dane Arts Commission welcomed Clyde Mayberry, Founder & CEO, The House  
Urban Arts Inc, and Jalessa Bryant UW Madison doctoral student and Board President of  
The House Urban Arts Inc.  
- The House Urban Arts Inc was founded in 2003 when Clyde Mayberry was inspired to  
start a dance team for youth by youth.  
- In 2007, their team won first place in an international dance competition on BET live.  
Additional live TV appearances have included performing for, Barack Obama at Monona  
Terrace.  
- The mission of The House Urban Arts Inc is to bring technical and professional  
services to Black and Brown youth.  
- The House Urban Arts Inc opened their first studio in 2019 after Clyde Mayberry and  
community members met to address the use of arts activities in response to an increase  
in local crime.  
- A current yearly budget for The House Urban Arts Inc is about $80,000 and meeting  
operational costs continues to be a challenge.  
- The House Inc is starting a new program titled “Dream Camp,” to mentor youth beyond  
dance to wider arts and professional development programming.  
- Jalessa Bryant is a dissertating doctoral student in curriculum and instruction at  
UW-Madison whose work and research focuses on learning beyond the school  
environment, cultural relevance, and nonprofit arts organizations.  
- The House Inc is currently building their collaboration hub, including the Foundation for  
Black Women’s Wellness, Sabrina Madison and the Common Council, MSCR, MMSD,  
MYArts, and the Black Excellence and Culture Center.  
E. Chair/Executive Committee Report  
1. Recap 2023 Cycle 2 Grants Review  
- Dane Arts staff are grateful for the initiative and work Commissioner Curet has  
dedicated to documenting the Dane Arts grant workflow.  
- Dane Arts staff are receiving community feedback that that the current grant application  
process is difficult to complete.  
- The next cycle of grant applications will be due February 1, 2024.  
2. 2024 Meetings  
- Dane Arts staff proposed the default Commission meeting time of the third Wednesday  
of the month. The Executive Committee meetings would be held the preceding Friday.  
- The only exception is October 2024 when these meeting times are not possible due to  
religious holiday conflicts. The Executive Committee approved rescheduling the October  
2024 Commission meeting on October 9th and the Executive Committee meeting on  
October 1st.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Miquelon to approve the 2024 meeting  
dates, seconded by Commissioner Handy.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote  
Meeting Time  
- To ensure meetings are fully accessible to the public, Dane Arts staff propose  
changing the Commission and Executive Committee meeting times from 8 a.m. to 8:30  
a.m.  
A motion was made by Commission Parks Snider to approve the updated  
meeting time of 8:30 a.m. for Commission and Executive Committee Meetings,  
seconded by Commissioner Yudice.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
F. 2024 Commission Focus  
1. Overall Focus  
- Chair Ritcherson noted that a primary focus for the Dane Arts Commission in 2024 will  
be fundraising.  
- Forming an independent 501(c)(3) Dane Arts friends group to support increased  
fundraising efforts is in process.  
- Director Fraire will meet with County Executive Parisi prior to his retirement. During this  
meeting, Chair Ritcherson recommends posing the question of how to best approach  
County Executives to request additional funding for Dane Arts.  
2. Focus of January Poster Reception  
- All commissioners are available for January 29th Dane Arts 2024 Poster Reception and  
Commissioner Meet and Greet.  
- The 2024 Calendar event was a success with nearly 70 calendars sold.  
G. Individual Areas of Focus Recap for 2023  
- Chair Ritcherson’s area of focus is to keep the commission at full capacity. Keeping an  
updated pool of prospective commissioners ready to replace any departing  
commissioners is an essential part of this process.  
- In 2023, Chair Ritcherson and Director Fraire examined the feasibility and possibility of  
formulating a 501(c)(3) Dane Arts friends group. In 2024, Chair Ritcherson’s focus is to  
establish an independent 501(c)(3) fundraising arm of the Dane Arts Commission.  
- Commissioner Handy has been working closely with Director Fraire to hire two  
consultants who will assist in implementing an external corporate employee giving  
program. Funds from this program would be received by the Dane Arts friends group.  
Commissioner Handy will continue working on this strategy with the intent of launching  
the first effort in 2024.  
- Communities that have implemented a similar program created by Robb Hankins on  
average raise $2 million per community.  
- Commissioner Puleo Moyer and Commissioner Yudice are working together in the  
Community Engagement Area of Focus and suggest a member of commission write a  
letter to the Wisconsin State Journal about the Arts and Economic Prosperity survey  
results.  
- Community engagement focus in 2024 includes exploring options for volunteers to sign  
up for events, potential for commissioners to write editorials on the work of Dane Arts,  
and the collection of testimonials from funded organizations on the impact of the Dane  
Arts more strategically.  
- Vice Chair Klehr noted that an ongoing mission of the commission is continued focus  
on visibility, connectedness, and promoting the value of Dane Arts.  
- Vice Chair Klehr will continue to update the Commission Handbook, including updated  
language to encourage commissioners chair grant review panels.  
- Commissioner Curet will continue facilitating the WebGrants software update and  
streamlining the process for administration and staff.  
- Commissioner Miquelon’s focus in 2023 was collecting Arts and Economic Prosperity  
audience intercept surveys through youth artist participation, which she calls “artivisim.”  
- Director Fraire will send commissioners key talking points about the Arts and Economic  
Prosperity study results and encourages them to share the one-page summary for Dane  
County with their networks.  
- In 2023, $20,000 was added to each of the two grant cycles for youth participation in the  
arts.  
- Commissioner Parks Snider discussed bringing youth together for a pop-up arts event  
based around why art matters from their perspective. The resulting content could be  
made into posters to display around the county. The objective of the project is to amplify  
youth voices and heighten awareness of the impact of the arts.  
H. Executive Director’s report  
- Reference Director Fraire’s notes for full report.  
- Director Fraire connected local artist T.L. Luke with Madison Symphony Orchestra for a  
world premiere performance of live illustration to Stravinsky’s Firebird.  
- T.L. Luke is creating a save-the-date card for the next Business of Art Conference  
March 7-9, 2024.  
- Dane Arts staff need commissioners to help deepen community connections by  
spreading the word about Dane Arts programs and attending events as representatives of  
the Commission.  
- Visiting artist Tito Medina will perform in Madison on Friday, November 10th and 11th.  
- Director Fraire will plan to host an end of year celebration for Commissioners.  
I. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
- The next Executive Committee meeting is Friday, January 12th at 8:30 a.m. and the full  
Commission will meet Wednesday, January 17th at 8:30 a.m.  
J. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
K. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
L. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 9:13 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending commission approval.