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, April 17, 2024  
8:30 AM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the City County  
Building in Room 209; attend virtually via Zoom.  
A. Call To Order  
Present: Chair Ritcherson, Commissioner Curet, Commissioner Garrett, Commissioner  
Handy, Commissioner Yudice, Commissioner Puleo Moyer, Commissioner McKinney  
Quorum was established.  
Staff: Mark Fraire, Augusta Brulla, Moises Garcia  
Call to order at 8:32 a.m.  
7 -  
Present  
Chair RODERICK RITCHERSON, AMNERIS CURET, FRAN PULEO MOYER,  
JENNIFER GARRETT, JAY HANDY, KELSEY YUDICE, and Chair DESHAWN  
MCKINNEY  
3 - Vice Chair MARY KLEHR, MARCIA MIQUELON, and KELLY PARKS-SNIDER  
Excused  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
1. 2024  
MIN-013  
[MINUTES FROM THE 03/20/2024 ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS  
COMMISSION MEETING]  
Attachments: 2024 MIN-013  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to approve the minutes,  
seconded by Commissioner Handy.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
C. Business of Art 2024 Feedback Report (Moises Garcia)  
• Cultural Affairs Specialist (LTE), Moises Garcia, presented a consumer feedback report  
analyzing qualitative feedback from conference attendees and speakers.  
• 50 survey responses were collected from March 9 – April 8, 2024.  
• Key findings:  
- 50% of attendees became aware of the Business of Art Conference via word of mouth,  
with social media coming in second at 25%.  
- 89% of responses to workshops received a positive rating.  
- 87% of people demonstrated a “positive sentiment” rating. Participants loved the  
workshops and staff, new skills gained, opportunity for networking, and showed a  
willingness to attend again.  
- Recommendations for messaging going forward include focusing on presenters, overall  
conference experience, reaching current customers.  
- Areas for improvement include conference and workshop registration, and navigating  
the day-of workshop locations.  
- Three key value drivers for consumers were networking, knowledge and skill building,  
and business development.  
• Future recommendations that are top priority for 2025 include improving lunch  
menu/distribution and workshop organizational logistics.  
D. Action Items  
1. Approve 2024 Cycle 1 Capital Grant Awards  
• An overall 2024 grants budget of $218,000 was approved by the commission.  
• The budget of $115,000 was approved for distribution during 2024 Cycle 1.  
• The approved budget will fund Capital and Project grant awards and grant panelist  
honoraria (23 panelists at a rate of $100 each).  
• 2024 Cycle 1 Capital Grant requests are as follows:  
- Dance Wisconsin - Dance Wisconsin's new Pilates equipment used for cross training.  
Request: $1,125.00  
- IP Ministries - Creator's Cottage Printing Press. Request: $3,000.00  
- Madison Children's Museum - Art Studio Equipment. Request: $2,363.00  
- Opera for the Young - Touring Sound System. Request: $500  
• Dane Arts Specialist August Brulla presented the award recommendations on behalf of  
Commissioner Klehr. Commissioner Klehr's recommendation, approved for  
recommendation by the Executive Committee, proposes awarding all applications 50% of  
their request, with the exception of Creators Cottage which she recommends awarding an  
extra 16% based on merit. The award recommendations are as follows:  
- Dance Wisconsin: $563  
- Madison Children’s Museum: $1182  
- Opera for the Young: $250.00  
- Creators Cottage: $2000.00  
- TOTAL: $3,995  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to approve the allocation of  
$3,995 in capital grants as outlined above, seconded by Commissioner Curet.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
2. Approve 2024 Cycle 1 Final Allocation Budget  
After $2,300 is deducted for panelist honoraria and $3,995 for Capital Grant awards, the  
remaining proposed 2024 Cycle 1 budget for Project Grant awards is $108,702.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Curet to approve a 2024 Cycle 1 project  
grant budget of $108,702, seconded by Commissioner Handy.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
3. Review/approve 2024 Cycle 1 Grant Award Allocations  
• Grant Review Process: Applications are submitted and reviewed by Dane Arts staff,  
panels of experts in the community review and score applications, suggested awards are  
generated via a mathematical formula based on score, requested amount, and available  
funds, and the Executive Committee and Commission discuss final grant award  
allocations prior to approval.  
• 66 Project, 6 Short Order, and 4 Capital grants were received in the first cycle of 2024  
for a total of $287,118 in requests.  
• Commissioner Curet presented the proposed project award break-down.  
• Commissioner Curet and the Executive Committee recommended funding the 65 project  
grant applications whose scores ranged 74% - 96%. Scores are consistent with past  
cycles.  
• An outlier application (#25062) receiving a score of 56% was not recommended for  
funding due to the incomplete nature of the application.  
• Though the Dane Arts Commission strives to award as many eligible applications as  
possible, applying for a grant does not guarantee funding.  
• Proposed award percentages by discipline closely reflect amount requested ratio and  
are as follows: Music (37%), Multidisciplinary (21%), Arts in Education (14%), Visual Arts  
(12%), Dance (12%), Theater (3%), Local History (1%).  
• 60% of awarded applications claimed to provide equitable opportunities for youth to  
participate.  
A motion was made by Commissioner Handy to approve 65 project grant awards  
as outlined above, for a total of $108,702 2024 Cycle 1, seconded by  
Commissioner Yudice.  
The motion was carried unanimously by a voice vote.  
E. Report on Short Order Grant Allocations  
• 6 Project grant applications were received, totaling $6,000 in requests. 5 applications  
were eligible.  
• Director Fraire proposed awarding $500 to the following 5 applications:  
- Triangle Community Ministry - Therapeutic Art at the Triangle Community  
- Village of Cottage Grove Library Board - Beats and Books: Unleashing Summer  
Reading Vibes with Dane County Bookmobile and 'Think Like a DJ' Event  
- Village of Belleville Economic Development Commission - Belleville, WI Downtown  
Mural  
- Conjunction Arts - Path of Voices: a Public Artwork at Madison High Schools  
- Conjunction Arts - East High -- Path of Voices  
F. Executive Director’s Report  
• See Director Fraire’s notes.  
• Director Fraire would like to assemble a team of Commissioners to volunteer at Fete de  
Marquette July 12th – 13th.  
• Commissioners are encouraged to attend community arts events.  
• The May 6th poster event is postponed due to venue challenges.  
G. Reports to Committee  
None.  
H. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
• The next commission meeting is May 15, 2024 at 8:30 a.m.  
• Chair Ritcherson discussed the possibility of hosting a County Executive candidate’s  
debate in the future.  
• Upcoming Dane Arts supported events will be added to the Google spreadsheet.  
I. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None.  
J. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None.  
K. Adjourn  
A motion was made by Commissioner Puleo Moyer to adjourn  
Meeting adjourned at 9:37 a.m.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Augusta Brulla pending commission approval.