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, September 13, 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 Garrett, Commissioner Miquelon, Commissioner Handy,  
Commissioner Gallagher  
Excused: Commissioner Parks Snider, Commissioner Yudice  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla  
Call to order at 8:00 a.m.  
8 -  
Present  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, AMNERIS CURET, Vice Chair MARY KLEHR,  
MARCIA MIQUELON, FRAN PULEO MOYER, LAURA GALLAGHER, JENNIFER  
GARRETT, and JAY HANDY  
2 - KELLY PARKS-SNIDER, and KELSEY YUDICE  
Excused  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
2023  
MIN-262  
[MINUTES FROM THE 08/09/2023 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
COMMISSION MEETING]  
Attachments: 2023 MIN-262  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes from  
the 08/09/2023 Commission meeting, seconded by Commissioner Handy.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. September Discussion Topic: Grants  
1. Preparation / Review  
- A grant budget of $97,000 for 2023 Cycle 2 was approved for recommendation by the  
Executive Committee. The budget will be confirmed during the October commission  
meeting.  
- 2023 Cycle 2 grant requests and break-down by artistic discipline are consistent with  
past cycles.  
- In the past, funds from the Lussier fund (a private source) were used to support Short  
Order and Capital grants. This cycle, all awards will only be allocated from the Dane Arts  
grant budget.  
- Commissioner Curet Grant Overview:  
- Grant allocations based on reviewer scores will be sent to commissioners prior to the  
October commission meeting.  
- Commissioner Curet has scheduled an upgrade to the WebGrants grant management  
platform which will begin December 1, 2023.  
- A meeting to review a trial of the upgrade will take place 9:30 – 10:30 AM on October  
10. Commissioner Curet and Commissioner Puleo Moyer will be in attendance.  
- It is recommended that any grant wording or other content changes are made after  
December 1, 2023 when the WebGrants upgrade is complete.  
2. Applications  
- 49 project grant applications were approved by Dane Arts staff for review by the grant  
review panel.  
- Two Short Order applications requesting a total of $1,990 and four Capital grant  
applications requesting a total of $10,077 were received.  
- Total requests for 2023 Cycle 2: $225,100.  
3. Panel Chair Assignments  
- Chair Ritcherson, Vice Chair Klehr, and Commissioner Puleo Moyer will chair four of the  
five panels.  
- New commissioners are encouraged to attend grant review panels as co-chairs to  
prepare for chairing in the future.  
D. Chair/Executive Committee Report  
- Supervisor Xistris-Songpanya is resigning from the Dane Arts Commission due to  
moving to Germany where she will earn her Master’s degree.  
- Serving on the Dane Arts Commission has inspired Supervisor Xistris-Songpanya to  
explore arts and policy as she pursues further education.  
- County Executive Parisi will appoint the next County Supervisor.  
- There are several County Supervisors who have expressed interest in serving on the  
Dane Arts Commission, but none have been confirmed.  
- Chair Ritcherson would like to see the new county supervisor appointed to the Dane  
Arts commission by year end.  
E. Area of Focus Updates  
Friends of Dane Arts:  
- Between now and the end of 2023, Chair Ritcherson and Director Fraire plan to develop  
recommendations for Dane Arts friends group bylaws to present to the full commission.  
- After bylaws and other logistics are established, a 501 (c)(3) application may be  
submitted.  
- Chair Ritcherson asked Commissioners to brainstorm potential board members for the  
Friends of Dane Arts friends group.  
Commissioner engagement:  
- Commissioner Puleo Moyer recommended creating shifts for longer Dane Arts events  
that require staffing when filling out the Dane Arts event spreadsheet.  
- Chair Ritcherson attended the DABL Outdoor Arts Festival on September 9th and  
received positive feedback from exhibiting artists both about the art market and  
Business of Art conference.  
Fund Development:  
- Commissioner Handy suggested examining a budget to hire Robb Hankins as a  
consultant.  
- Commissioner Handy and Commissioner Gallagher made a pitch to Sun Prairie Bank  
who demonstrated interest, but were unable to commit at the time of meeting.  
Commissioner Gallagher recommended reaching out to Sun Prairie Bank again as an  
early adapter once donation framework is in place.  
- All prospective fund development consultants are ready pending next steps by Dane  
Arts.  
F. Executive Director's Report / Upcoming Events  
- Volunteers are requested for the Dane Arts 2024 Calendar reception on October 23, 5 –  
7 p.m. at the Shannon Lounge in UW Madison Memorial Union.  
- Grants are assigned to all commissioners and public agendas for each grant review  
session are available online at danearts.com  
- The DABL Outdoor Arts Festival on September 9th was a success with over 1,000  
visitors over the course of the day. Over $15,000 in sales were earned by exhibiting  
artists.  
- Dane Arts and the Farley Center committed to partnering again to present another  
festival in 2025.  
- 2024 Dane Arts calendars are in production and will be sold at a retail price of $15.  
- Dane Arts requested $50,000 from the Evjue Foundation for 2024 programming.  
- Planning meetings are in process for the 2024 Business of Art Conference scheduled  
for March 7-9 at Arts + Literature Laboratory.  
- Dane Arts supported Artists in Residence continue to work at StartingBlock Madison.  
- Forward Madison FC continues to hire artists through Dane Arts to create gameday  
posters. The program is anticipated to expand with Forward’s acquisition of the Women’s  
Soccer Team.  
- Dane County departments are reaching out to Dane Arts about engaging artists for  
various projects.  
G. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
- The next commission meeting is at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 18. 2023 Cycle 2  
grant awards will be approved during this meeting.  
- All commissioners are encouraged to attend the October 23 Calendar Event.  
- Commissioner Puleo Moyer would like to invite the commission to gather at her home in  
the future.  
H. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
I. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
J. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Vice Chair Klehr to adjourn.  
Meeting adjourned at 8:48 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending commissioner approval.