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?

Monday, June 16, 2025

4:30 PM

Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the City County

Building in Room 209; attend virtually via Zoom.

A. Call To Order

Present: Chair Ritcherson, Vice Chair Puleo Moyer, Klehr, Curet, Miquelon,

McKinney, Garrett

Excused: Supervisor Rose, Yudice, Parks Snider

Quorum was established.

Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla

Call to order at 4:30 p.m.

7 -

Present

Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, AMNERIS CURET, MARY KLEHR, MARCIA

MIQUELON, Vice Chair FRAN PULEO MOYER, JENNIFER GARRETT, and

DESHAWN MCKINNEY

3 - KELLY PARKS-SNIDER, KELSEY YUDICE, and RICK ROSE

Excused

B. Consideration of Minutes

[MINUTES FROM THE 5/12/2025 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS

COMMISSION MEETING]

2025

MIN-118

Attachments: 2025 MIN-118

A motion was made by Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes from the May 12th

Commission meeting, seconded by McKinney.

The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.

C. Branding Discussion-in-depth review of Boltz Students report

Vice Chair Puleo Moyer and Dane Arts staff met this month to discuss Dane

Arts branding improvements including aspects such as tone of voice, core

values, and re-examining the mission and vision of Dane Arts.

The next branding meeting will take place 9 - 11 a.m. on June 27th to discuss

additional branding guidelines and next steps. Any interested commissioners

are welcome to attend.

Vice Chair Puleo Moyer is working with Dane Arts staff to create a

presentation for outreach to various municipalities around Dane County.

D. Areas of Focus Six-Month Update Reports

Curet Area of Focus - Grants:

Curet, Chair Richardson, and Brulla met to review panelist feedback

and recommendations for implementation in 2025 Cycle 2 and 2026.

Items discussed include: standardizing the grant panelist recruitment

process, application updates (items include but are not limited to:

video and attachment limits, clarifying language, content updates, and

updates to the budget section of the application).

Curet and Ritcherson recommend updating grant categories to align

with the Dane Arts mission by replacing the category of

“multidisciplinary” with “history/heritage” and allowing for the ability to

self-select multiple grant categories. Any major proposed changes will

be presented to the Executive Committee for discussion and approval

by the Commission.

McKinney Area of Focus: Grant Process Community Feedback Sessions

McKinney proposed conducting a series of nine focus group sessions

with 60-minute deep-dive discussions. The timeline for

implementation is flexible, and the goal is to administer any changes by

2027, in alignment with Dane Arts’ 50th Anniversary.

Community feedback could consist of a survey with potential for

participation in a focus group. Garrett recommended engaging

participants in either a survey or focus group, but not both to eliminate

redundancy.

McKinney shared a proposed outline of the focus groups and email

templates with the request that commissioners review and provide

feedback within the next week. Notes should be submitted via

comment directly in the document located in the commission Google

Drive.

While an initial announcement of the survey and focus groups should

come from Dane Arts staff, it will be helpful if commissioners can

assist in follow-up outreach to various artists and arts organizations

around Dane County

Chair Ritcherson Area of Focus: Friends of Dane Arts

The Friends of Dane Arts 501c3 has been formed, the first board

meeting was held, bylaws were drafted, board officers were elected,

and 2024 taxes were filed

A primary goal is to have all elements of the organization in place to

create trust and confidence when recruiting new board members.

Chair Ritcherson Area of Focus: Dane Arts Commission Roster

Chair Ritcherson and Director Fraire are discussing a potential new

board member with a focus on resource development to take the seat

formerly held by Jay Handy.

Supervisor Rose Area of Focus: Supervisor Rose will facilitate connections

between Dane Arts staff and various county supervisors.

E. Dane Arts Calendar of Events

Klehr provided an overview of upcoming events supported by the Dane Arts

grant program, events co-produced by Dane Arts, and events supported by

Dane Arts via private funding sources.

Vice Chair Puelo Moyer is performing on June 21st during Make Music

Waunakee at Drumlin Ridge Winery.

F. Executive Director’s Report

Commissioners are invited to the Dane Arts table at the July 16th Concerts on

the Square

Planning has begun for Business of Art V in 2026

Director Fraire is connecting with more County Supervisors

Dane Arts is working with County Board staff, county supervisors, and the

City-County Liaison committee on the acquisition of several sculptures

created during the 2024 Harry Whitehorse International Sculpture Festival,

and an original piece by Tom Jones for display at the City-County Building.

The 2026 Calendar and Poster jury met and selections are being finalized.

Director Fraire is discussing incorporating art in Dane County Parks with the

County Executive

Last week Dane Arts staff attended AFTACON 2025 presented by

Americans for the Arts. Director fraire has identified potential presenters to

recruit for Business of Art 2026.

Dane Arts staff will order generic business cards for commissioners to

distribute.

G. Future Meeting Items and Dates

The commission will not meet in July.

The next commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 11th at 4:30

p.m.

H. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda

None.

I. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law

None.