Kane County Reporter

City of Elgin Cultural Arts Commission met March 8.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

A. Call to Order: 6:01pm

a. Commissioners Richmond, Miceli, Erlandson, Einterz and Kearney present. Chairwoman Rehberg present. Staff Wilhelmi and Harris present.

B. Roll Call:

C. Citizen’s Forum:

a. Mike Rende present

D. Staff Report:

a. Financial Report:

i. Event charges are coming through now.

b. Hemmens:

i. Events are starting to return to the Hemmens with the first one taking place on March 12th. A few more coming in after that.

ii. Additional changes to operations to continue to follow the Covid restrictions are occurring.

iii. Some renters are taking advantage of the reduced rates to video their work for online distribution.

iv. Schaumburg on Stage will be in house in April.

v. A new ticketing system will be in place in the coming weeks.

vi. Projects are continuing in the space to update the capabilities and equipment offerings as well as cleaning.

vii. Staff is slowing returning to meet the needs of the renters and space.

c. Art Showcase:

i. A small photo shoot recently took place in the venue.

ii. Regular maintenance and cleaning are occurring.

d. Approval of February Minutes:

i. Motion to approve the February Minutes by Commissioner Erlandson. Seconded by Commissioner Richmond. Approved by a vote of 6-0.

E. Old Business

a. 2021 ECAC Projects:

i. Black History Month:

1. The event was viewed almost 400 times. The artists were all paid for their time and chose the space in the visual art exhibit where they wanted to record their work. The video is still live and available for viewing.

ii. Making Space

1. Call for Art applications closed last week. A total of 4 submissions were received. The documentary team, Digital Alliance, was selected with Nicholas Thompson as the Artistic Director. Dr. Rise’ Jones was selected as the project’s facilitator.

iii. Going Dutch:

1. No update

iv. Shakespeare in the Park

1. No update

v. Elgin Fringe Festival

1. Submissions just closed. The EFF Committee will be meeting in the coming month to design the festival keeping CoVid in mind to make the festival feasible and manageable.

vi. Juneteenth

1. No update

vii. Elgin Summer Theater:

1. Up and Coming Theatre Company will be back and doing something outdoor. They are looking at Nunsense and Godspell.

viii. Elgin Short Film Festival

1. This event will move forward this year. Entries will be accepted April 1st. Ticket sales will be on hold until the fall approaches. A streaming component will also be incorporated this year.

F. Other Old Business:

a. Call for Art- storm drain art

i. The applications are now live.

ii. A press release will be going out in the coming week.

b. Hemmens mural

i. Will be installed this summer by artist CJ Hungerman.

c. Outreach Committee update

i. Commissioner Einterz reporting. She spoke with Elgin Theatre Company. Constructively, they hoped to have a better understanding of the grant scoring process. They noted that the air conditioning the Elgin Art Showcase could be improved. They noted a concern about the innovation portion of the Organizational Grant.

ii. Commissioner Erlandson reporting on speaking with Hamilton Wings. They report how they use innovation vs incubation in their grant writing to show how they are being innovative by learning every year. They noted that they see value in offering a heritage grant as well as a project grant. They noted how nice it was to speak with a commissioner on this level. They noted the importance to elevate equity in Elgin. 

G. New Business:

a. Heritage Granting

i. No update

H. Adjournment: 7:17

https://www.cityofelgin.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/7280